Missing Our Car

Our car has been in the body shop for the past week (see post below) and boy do we miss it! We're driving a rental, which normally I wouldn't mind except ours is a smokers-rental and it stinks, stinks, stinks! I think people are beginning to wonder if we've picked up a horrible, carcinogenic habit! Jeff bought a half-dozen air fresheners that he's strung around the car. It's helped a little bit. Now it smells (strongly) of vanilla with a hint of ashtray. We're hoping to be back in our car by the end of the week!

On a positive note, we had a nice relaxing weekend and Jeff is settling into his life as a man of leisure after becoming a "master of the science," as he's taken to calling himself. I'm drafting a long honey-do list that will help him not be too leisurely this summer!

I was also grateful yesterday that my YW counselors were called. It is a relief to have help and I'm so excited to work with some really great ladies! The initial shock has worn off and I've gotten more organized over the last couple of weeks. This has helped me to feel like I might be able to do this!

Happy Monday to you all!

One Proud Wife...

I am so proud of my sweet husband. He did such a good job in his defense today and he is so smart! He's all finished and we're enjoying a pizza picnic in bed tonight. We'll go out and celebrate this weekend--we're both pretty beat!



Of course, the day wasn't without incident. A woman backed into Jeff while he was driving through the parking garage to park before his defense. He wasn't happy...



Not to worry, it's going to get fixed on Tuesday. Still a pain, but fixable!



Congratulations, love! I'm very proud of you!

Jeffrey Tobler, M.S.

Jeff defends his thesis today! He is *so* excited to be done!

A New Calling...

So, the bishop called last night and asked to meet with me and Jeff before church this morning. So naturally, we spent most of our dinner date trying to think of all the possible callings that could be coming. Well, this morning I was called and sustained as the new YW president! Crazy! Jeff's had a few fits of giggles about it today--he insists he's not laughing at me, he's laughing with me. In all seriousness, I am excited about it. The girls are amazing and I am grateful and humbled to be able to serve them. It's a good opportunity for me to keep on learning and growing and I'm hopeful that this'll make me a better person. Bring on the meetings! (Two tonight all ready!)

P.S. This is a big week for Jeff...he defends his Master's thesis on Thursday! He's definitely ready and excited to be my house-wife this summer!

Welcome Spring! We missed you...

We had the perfect weather in Gainesville this weekend. Low 80's, not a cloud in the sky... We hung out by the pool on Saturday, went to the park on Sunday, it was absolutely perfect! If only we didn't have to lose an hour on Sunday morning...it's not right for it to be dark outside when your alarm goes off!

I offer my condolences to those of you who may be in colder climates... ;-)

Wii Like to Play & Have Clean Dishes

After 6 months of hand-washing our dishes, we finally have a new dishwasher (thank you Dad and Betsey)! Hopefully, a matching oven and fridge will follow soon!



We've also discovered that Wii is so much fun! We're not really video game fans but, this we can get behind! Here are a couple of picks of Jeff doing the ski-jump and hula-hooping. Dad & Betsy brought theirs over to play last night. Another thing we might want to save-up for (after the new fridge and oven...)!





As a side note, Jeff turned his master's thesis in to his committee chair today. He defends in a couple of weeks and is so excited to be almost done! I'm so proud of him...he made it look easy!

Nothing Like a Little NASCAR on Valentines Day

I'm headed to Daytona with my family to watch a little NASCAR for Valentines Day. Should be a fun day! Jeff has to stay home and work on his thesis (sorry, love).

A little surprise

So, when Jeff and I got home on Wednesday night I was absolutely exhausted. I wanted to just settle in with a blanket and watch some mindless TV. So, I sat for maybe an hour, watching TV writing and loading my last blog post, and just resting. When it was time to go to bed, I grabbed my pillow to put it in its proper place for sleeping and out fell a little wrapped package! Jeff had a big grin on his face and an "I can't believe it took you this long to find it" look. Inside was a beautiful diamond, right-hand ring. Something special to commemorate my big day. It's absolutely beautiful and I absolutely love it. I have to take it to get sized tomorrow and am sad that I have to give it up for a week!

Jeff was so proud of himself to have surprised me with something so beautiful! Thank you, my love!

That's all she wrote...

It's all done! I successfully defended my dissertation this afternoon and am officially "Dr. Tobler." It hasn't really set in yet. For now, I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep, finally being out of my (fabulous) heels, and a fun long-weekend at Disney with my family.

It really was a great day and it couldn't have gone much better!

Tomorrow's the Day...

I defend my dissertation tomorrow afternoon! YAY! There were times over the past 3 years when I thought this day would never come! Jeff's told me this morning, "Enjoy your last day a a "normal" person"... I think he meant it in a good way. ;-)

It really has been an amazing opportunity to continue my education and grow in so many ways. I feel so much more capable in my work and am excited about the opportunities this will bring to me and our little family. I feel like I'll be able to have a broader influence for good and for whatever reason, I know that this opportunity was something my Heavenly Father wanted for me. I can see His hand in all of the things that have happened for me to even have the opportunity and have felt Him strengthening me as I've pushed beyond my natural capacity to accomplish what I needed to. I was running my errands on Saturday--had my sun-roof open, singing along to the Mama Mia soundtrack, enjoying the sunshine--and I thought, life is good. Jeff and I have been incredibly blessed (over the last couple of months in particular) and "joy" is truly what we feel. It's such a great feeling to have things falling into place and to feel true joy after so many years of hard work.

We are excited for tomorrow and I am grateful that I'll have some of my family here for my big finish!