Fun lunch!

Well I can't work all the time, contrary to what Mark thinks, so I took the opportunity today to have lunch with Julie and Katie, good friends of ours in MI. We went to Flats Grill and it was so yummy. They do sandwiches quesadilla-style. All 3 of us are super busy so it was amazing we were able to find a time that worked for all of us, but we did! It was a quick lunch but so nice to sit and talk, and catch up on all of the news about our families as well as other friends we haven't seen in awhile.

I went to the Grad School today to have my thesis evaluated. I think getting all of the formatting right is a bigger headache than the writing itself. They have to make sure all of the fonts are big enough for microfilming, and that can be difficult with chemical formulas. But it's been done by others and it will be done by me. Eventually. ;) At least I don't have to pay for tuition anymore!!

It is finished. (almost) :)

Wednesday morning at 9am I defended my Ph.D. thesis. Finally. :) It's been a long time coming. Oh, I should mention that I passed. Always a good thing. Hopefully now sleep will become part of my regular routine again, although I'm not back home yet. I have a few corrections to finish up from my committee but nothing major, and I will be so happy when it is all done.

I want to thank the many of you who have been praying for me, some of whom didn't even know what you were praying for. God has sustained me in absolutely unbelievable ways during the past few weeks. He has kept me safe and healthy through a few weeks of very little sleep and a really bad diet (the truffles were delicious!). He gave me the wisdom and grace that I asked for, to be able to answer questions and converse as a true daughter of His--with a calm heart knowing that I had nothing to fear regardless of the outcome of my defense. God continues to hold me in His hands. I feel His presence daily and I am so grateful for it. So again, thank you and please know that God definitely heard every one of your prayers and it was very evident in my life.

Back to corrections! :)

Ramblings

...and that's exactly what it's going to be. I haven't had much sleep for the past week or so--I think God is preparing me to be a parent. If I get to eat as much chocolate as I have been, I'll be all set. As I mentioned in the last post, I've been a little stressed, and my response to that is to snack. Luckily for me, one of Mark's patients gave him Godiva chocolates, a friend brought back truffles from Denver, and I bought Mark peanut butter cups the other day (just to be nice :) ). I actually didn't want any chocolate last night! (after I'd already had a truffle *smirk*)

Last weekend was crazy as usual for us, but made so much more fun by the presence of our good friend Rob. I'd post a link to his blog but I'm not allowed to do that. ;) Anyway, we had a good weekend and I hope Rob did too, as he sort of got sucked into our chaos. He should remember that being the order of the day from college (Ole South at 2am? Hot chocolate? I am so there. And no, I don't know who took the Christmas tree from in front of the admin building.).

I am not planning to post again until sometime after mid-week next week (so don't worry about checking until at least next Wednesday), but hopefully I'll have gotten some sleep and be a little more coherent by then!

Weekend!

I am so excited it's Friday, in part because I'm really tired. I've got some big stuff coming up in the next few weeks and I'm more than a little stressed. The nice thing is that God is totally taking care of me, both physically and mentally, and hopefully I won't drive Mark crazy over the next few weeks.

I am, however, really looking forward to tomorrow. My sister will be in town and we are going to have lunch with her and her boyfriend! I don't get to see her very often and it will be great to catch up. Then tomorrow night Mark has a vintage base ball game followed by a Cajun potluck. That should be interesting. ;)

We are now the proud owners of a table saw. That puts us at table saw, circular saw, jigsaw, router, compound miter saw, and assorted drills, etc. The next power tool purchase (I think) will be a drill press. We've had a request to make another bed. That's always a good excuse to purchase power tools.

And...I already know what I'm getting Mark for his birthday! Yes, it's in December. Yay for me for being 4 months early. I can't give any details on here 'cause he'd find out, and I want it to be a surprise. So you will have to wait just like Mark. I'll be sure to post and let you know if he likes it.