7 Years and Counting...

Seven years ago today, Jeff and I were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City temple. It is, and always will be, one of the best days of my life. It was the beginning of a lifetime (and beyond) with my very best friend.

Our wedding ceremony was profoundly spiritual--we knew without doubt that getting married was right, that we were doing it in the right way, in the right place, and at the right time. The love we felt for each other and from our families, friends and our Heavenly Father was overwhelming and almost palpable. When I think about joy, true celestial joy, I think of that day.

The best part is that Jeff and I are happier and more in love than we were then! The past 7 years have been truly wonderful and we look forward to all that's ahead of us.

What do you think? Do we look older?

Seriously Folks...

Wear the sunscreen. I had the first of two pre-cancerous ("severely displastic") growths on my back removed on Wednesday. Ouch! I swear they inserted the anesthetic directly into my muscles--I've been really sore! The spot was about the size of a pencil eraser. And now I have this lovely two-inch scar as a souvenir of my days of being young, tan, and invincible. Souvenir #2 will arrive in two weeks.

Oh yeah, I also happen to be allergic to bandage adhesive of all kinds. It's been real fun trying to find something to keep this sucker covered that doesn't make me want to itch a hole in my skin! Jeff told me on our way to lunch today, "Lover, you get more special (as in special needs) every day."

Stay tuned for a 7-year anniversary celebration of our love on Sunday!

A Quick Public Service Announcement

Wear sunscreen when you're outside and get suspicious skin spots examined by your favorite dermatologist.

That is all.

An Excellent Weekend

It's always a treat to be able to spend extended periods of time with Jeff and this weekend was no exception! Jeff and I were able to spend all weekend together--uninterrupted by studying, errands, and all of the usual things that keep us busy. We ate at a few of our favorite restaurants, went to a couple of parties, saw Robin Hood, took a couple of naps, ran together, and that was just Friday night and Saturday!

Today we were able to attend church and listen to Elder Nelson, an apostle of Jesus Christ, speak. I underestimated how neat that would be. It really was cool to see him in a more relaxed setting than General Conference. He was pretty funny! I think my favorite moment of the whole thing was when he asked all of the primary children to stand, give him a wave, and sing him the first verse of "I am a child of God." A little boy behind us stood right up and started singing as loud as he could, not bothering to wait for the organist and the rest of the children to start singing. An apostle asked him to sing, and he was going to do it right then (good lesson there, I think)!

This afternoon I tackled boule. I have been wanting to take an artisan bread baking class but, alas, there are none to be found in Gainesville. So, I'm left to learn on my own. Thankfully, today's efforts were pretty successful (read: tasty)! Yum!

I hope your weekend was as good as ours! I'm off to watch the series finale of Lost. I'm not confident I won't be lost when it's all over...

Our New Toy

Jeff has been eying these adjustable weight dumbbells for several months. He's excited to have them and I am too! My goal...to have Madonna-like arms by the end of the summer (well, maybe not that extreme--she is a bit sinewy)!

Not too exciting...

I know I've been neglecting this little blog 'o mine but, really, we haven't been up to anything that exciting! I suppose we should be grateful for our relatively uneventful life!

After Jeff finished his first year of dental school, he started two days later with the second year. He's in desperate need of a vacation (2 more weeks!)--Kyle and Kim are hijacking him again this year for half of his time off. They are going to put him to work laying some tile in their bathrooms. All I have to say is that they better return him promptly this time, with all of his digits in tact, and without a weapon (gun)!

Work has been keeping me busier than usual but, with all good things (grant proposal, papers, new employees, community work). I'm grateful that I am able to work and that I enjoy what I do. I am definitely in need of a vacation at the moment but, two work trips to Denver and San Antonio in June will have to do for now.

As evidence that we are still here, alive and kickin', here are a couple of pictures of Jeff making fast work sanding his mouth mold (I'm sure there's a technical name for it that escapes me). I think his professors intended him to do it by hand but, he's a practical and handy guy.