The Weekend that Josh Graduated from College

 

Last Thursday, we left about mid-morning and drove to Rexburg, Idaho, where Josh was set to graduate from BYU Idaho.  It's only about a three-hour drive and we couldn't check in to the motel where we were staying until 3 p.m., so we had an early lunch in Brigham City, Utah, then we stopped in Pocatello, Idaho so Charly could go to a couple of game stores he had been wanting to visit.   Even with the leisurely drive, we got to Rexburg exactly at 3 p.m., and checked in the Motel 6, where we have stayed on most of our trips to see Josh.  Motel 6 is not high-end, but the rooms are clean, the staff (mostly college kids) are super helpful and friendly,  and the price is right.  This is the room we stayed in.  I realized this will probably be the last time we stay at Motel 6 in Rexburg, for a long time, if ever again.

Once we were checked in to the motel, we picked up Josh at his apartment and headed out to dinner at an all-you-can-eat pizza place in the town called Pizza Pie Café.  This has been one of Josh's favorite places to eat in Rexburg, and we enjoyed eating there one last time. 

Friday morning, we got to campus about two hours before the main graduation event.  I worried about finding a good parking spot, but I need not have worried.  We actually parked in a lot right in front of this building, the "I Center" where graduation was held.  The I Center is a beautiful and huge event center that is usually used for special speakers and religious services.  It was almost completely full for the main graduation which included all of the spring semester graduates. 

Here are the graduates filing in for the ceremony.  There were a total of 2,542 graduates.

The graduation was beautiful. There were two amazing musical numbers and several inspirational speakers.  I loved that the speakers emphasized that the graduates need to go forward in faith and make an impact on the world in many positive ways as disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. 

I admit that I am probably prejudiced, but I thought Josh looked very handsome all dressed up for graduation.   Most of the graduates were dressed up in their "Sunday best" under their graduation robes.  They all looked great.

Later, there was a convocation for each of the colleges within the university, where the individual student's names were called and they were given their diploma covers.  The convocation for Josh's college - Language and Letters - was held in a large chapel in the building where religion and theology classes are taught. 

Here is Josh receiving his diploma cover.  The actual diploma will be mailed to each student. 

Here is Josh being congratulated by multiple professors in his department.   Overall Josh (and we as parents) have been very impressed with the faculty at BYU Idaho.  They truly seem to care about the students and adhere to Biblical Christian teachings. 

Here's Josh just after he got his diploma cover and was congratulated by the professors and dean of the college. After the convocation we took lots of pictures, because graduating from college is a big deal. Here are some of the many pictures, the proud mother of the graduate took.

Josh has a history degree from the College of Language and Letters at BYU Idaho. 

I love that the mission of BYU Idaho is to "Develop Disciples of Jesus Christ." There is a Christian emphasis on everything done at the school, right down to starting each class with prayer. 

Josh is now part of the legacy of BYU Idaho.

We wanted to take more outside pictures, but as you can see from this picture, it was a really windy day. 

Josh wanted to go to Outback Steakhouse to eat after graduation.  Here we are enjoying a celebratory meal. 

After the meal, we went back to campus for some outside pictures because the wind had died down a bit.  Here is Josh by one of the signs at the entrance to the campus.  You can see that he had changed out of his shirt and tie, but still looked great.  

We are very proud of Josh and all his hard work.  Now all four of our children are college graduates!  

Saturday morning, the day after graduation, we packed both Josh's and our cars, and headed back to Utah. 

Josh said goodbye to the apartment where he lived for the past almost three years while he attended BYU Idaho.  His apartment was on the middle floor, on the right side of the doorway.  By and large, he enjoyed living there and had some very good roommates. 

On the way back to Utah, Josh and Charly drove in Josh's car and I was alone (with lots of Josh's stuff) in our car.  The drive went very well. Traffic was relatively light all the way home and there were no problems.  I listened to and finished this excellent audiobook, Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham.  I would recommend this book to anyone concerned about non-Biblical ideas and philosophies seeping (and sometimes flooding) into the church. We were home by about 3:30 p.m..  We had two cars to unpack and lots of laundry to do (Josh had been saving his up until he could use mom's washing machine).   We were up later than usual, then, I had a hard time sleeping with all of the thoughts and memories of the past few days swimming around in my brain until the wee hours of Sunday morning. 

We were up and off to church on Sunday morning as usual.  Josh is now attending church at a different location which has a congregation of young adults just his age.  After church, I was tired from not sleeping well, so I took a nap, which was very helpful.  

Later, I fixed ham, potatoes Au Gratin, salad, green beans, and corn for dinner.  We all enjoyed eating Sunday dinner together.  It's been a while since we have done this. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Josh graduating from college!
• Traveling safely to and from Idaho.
• Getting Josh settled in here at home.
• Josh having an online job interview Friday after graduation and having several good job leads.
• Enjoying lovely, sunny, warm spring weather here in Utah this weekend.

Coming up this week:

Monday - Back to school - Spring Break is over. 

Monday - Follow-up appointment for my broken foot.

Tuesday - Dental appointment for Charly.

Tuesday - Women's activity at church.

Wednesday - Doctor's appointment for Charly.

Wednesday - Dental appointment for me.

Thursday - Saturday - Apologetics and theology conference.

Praying for:

• A dear friend who is back in the hospital in ICU.
• Another friend who is succumbing to the ravages of dementia. 
• Josh as he searches for a job. 
• Our nation.

That's all for this weekend's post.  Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the week ahead, and have a blessed Holy Week!

Until next time,

😊🕆Deb🕆💖

  

Currently at the End of the First Week of April

 

The weather this week has not been very spring-like.  We had one day that it rained and snowed all day, but fortunately, the snow did not stick on the roads down here in the valley.  Our temperatures have been quite cold every day.  I am looking forward to the warmer temperatures in the forecast for the weekend and next week. 

I'm reading the same books I have been reading for a while  - Glass House by Brian Alexander, Bad Religion by Ross Douthat, both nonfiction,  and a mystery/suspense book by J.A. Jance, Cruel Intent.  I hope to finish all of these books and more in April. 

I'm listening to this very interesting audiobook, Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham.  I'm over half-way finished with this very thought-provoking audiobook.

I've been working on another puzzle, which I finished Wednesday evening.  This was another thrift store find, that was actually a brand-new puzzle still in the sealed box and bag.  I got it for only about $2, so it was a bargain.  It's a nice picture and I have enjoyed putting it together.  I will keep this one and maybe do it again sometime.  

I'm loving my new Striiv Fitness Tracker.  It works well and is so much smaller and less awkward than the much larger smartwatch I have been using. Thanks to my long-time blogging friend Karen at Life is Good - Smile for her recommendation of the Striiv.  Karen walks several miles every morning, and she has the best walking tips and equipment of any blogger I've read.

I'm enjoying these fun, positive t-shirts that I ordered on a half-price sale from the company Love in Faith.  Teachers at the school where I teach are allowed to wear t-shirts with positive messages and these fit the bill perfectly!

I'm celebrating that Josh's final capstone research paper has been accepted by his professor and the department chair and he will be graduating with his Bachelors Degree in Language and Letters next week!   All four of my children will then be college graduates!  

I'm looking forward to having a week off for spring break next week and being able to attend Josh's graduation from BYU-Idaho at the end of the week. 

I'm thinking about a conversation I had with a student the other day.  This student has not been to school for several weeks.  She came back yesterday and told me, with tears in her eyes, that her mother had been deported and that is why she had not been to school.  I am now trying to help her catch up on her work, hoping that she will keep coming to class. The student told me that her mother had a work permit, but was deported anyway, and the family is now working with an attorney to try to get her back in the states. I know that illegal immigration is a very serious problem, and we cannot have completely open borders, but there are also individuals with lives and loved ones behind every deportation story.   There are no easy answers.

I'm worried about the economy, as I enter the final twelve months of my working life.  I am grateful that we decided to buy a house in Southern Utah last summer, but I am hoping that we can get our present house sold for a good price when I retire.  I'm also worried about Josh getting a good job after his graduation. He already has at least one lead on a good job, so I am hoping and praying that works out for him.

I'm grateful that I will be off all next week for Spring Break, and then have only seven more weeks of school this year before I begin my final Summer Break of my teaching career.  The plan is that next school year will be my last in the classroom, so after that, summer break will be forever break!

That's all for this post. Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good weekend!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Never regret a day in your life.  

Good days give you happiness

and bad days give you experience."

~Anon.

A Weekend Trip to Idaho and Home Again

I took a personal day off from school on Friday and we left about mid-morning to take Josh back to Rexburg, Idaho,  where he is finishing up his last two semesters at BYU-Idaho.  The weather was beautiful, and the traffic wasn't bad, but we took our time and stopped as much as we needed to. We got to Rexburg about 2:30 p.m..   

We  took Josh to his apartment, then checked into the Motel 6 in Rexburg where we stayed.  It's the most economical place to stay in town, and it's quite new.  The rooms are not fancy, but they are comfortable and the staff (mostly BYU-Idaho students) are very nice and helpful. 

After we checked into the motel, we went to check out this cool little used bookstore that Josh found and told us about.  It was an interesting place to browse. 

Later, we all went out to dinner together at a place Josh recommended.

We had some really good Chinese food.  I had delicious Orange Chicken - one of my favorite things. 

We left to come back to Utah Saturday morning.  We had great weather.  Saturday was a beautiful spring day.  I saw this lovely tree in bloom near one of the places we stopped on our way home.  

We stopped at a thrift store and also another used bookstore on our way home.  I have been trying to buy fewer books lately, but I couldn't help myself on this trip and got a few new books that I am excited to read. 

We arrived home from Idaho about 3 p.m. on Saturday, in the 2010 Kia Optima (shown above) which we will soon be giving to our grandson, on his 18th birthday. 

After we got home, we had a lot of things to do - unpack, catch up on laundry, finish the weekly house cleaning and mow the lawn.  It was a busy afternoon and evening. 

Sunday morning we were up and off to church in time for the 9 a.m. worship service. 

After church, Charly and I watched the scripture master class we are following on Youtube. I always learn alot from it. I also did some volunteer indexing at Familysearch.org.  (If you don't know what indexing is, it's basically typing information into from original historic records into a database so that people searching for information on their ancestors can readily access the information).  Sunday afternoon, I indexed some immigration and marriage records from the 1920s.  While I worked, I listened to one of my currently favorite religious/Christian Youtube channels.  The picture is a screen shot from the Youtube channel.

After indexing, I took a little Sunday afternoon nap. When I got up, I had my favorite "wake-up" beverage - Strawberries and Cream Dr. Pepper zero sugar, with half and half in it.  Yum!

I went out for a walk later in the afternoon.  It was another nice day.  Trees and flowers are out in bloom everywhere.  The air smells sweet with the fragrance of all the flowers!

This old car was parked at one of the houses up the street from ours. It is a restored Plymouth Fury III convertible, probably from the 1960s.  I like old cars, and this one was beautiful, and in pristine condition.  

Sunday dinner was bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, tater tots and Asian salad. It was simple, easy and very good. 

Weekend gratitude:

• Having Josh come home for a few days.
• Traveling safely to and from Idaho.
• Getting all the weekend chores done after we got home.
• Having a positive and restful Sunday.

That's all for this weekend. Have a good week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Now the God of hope will you with all joy 

and peace in believing,

that ye may abound in hope,

through the power of the Holy Ghost."

~Romans 15:13 KJV

 

Currently and The Weekend We Became Empty-Nesters....Again

The weather - is hot - 95 degrees with 23% humidity.  I am staying inside in the AC today.

I'm feeling - tired.  The past weekend, moving Josh up to Idaho, was exhausting.  I have also been going through the clothing Josh left in his closet here.  He didn't have room for everything in his student housing room, so he asked me I would go through his closet and donate some of the clothes he hadn't worn for a while.  A woman in our church congregation volunteers at a local homeless shelter and has asked for clothing donations for the homeless, so last night, I was able to take a box of some of Josh's clothes that he hadn't worn since high school.  I also cleaned all of the bathrooms this morning, so I am tired and I laid down and took a little nap this afternoon.

Listening to - The Matt Walsh Show on Youtube.  He's saying some very interesting things about the recent news about big pharma, depression and antidepressant medication, and incidentally, I completely agree with him.  I absolutely do not agree with him on everything, but I do on the topic of depression and antidepressants. In the background, I can hear the dryer drying all the laundry I have been doing today. 

Watching - nothing today.  Last night, Charly and I watched the final episode of The Chosen season 2. 

Celebrating - the beginning of Josh's move to Idaho and beginning his educational journey at BYU-Idaho. 

Reading - We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.  I'm not crazy about this book, but will finishing it probably today or tomorrow.  I will then read Walking on Eggshells by Jane Isay.  I am still listening to the audiobook I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai.

In the kitchen - take-out Chinese food for lunch.  I only ate half and will eat the other half for dinner.  

Thinking about - our trip to Idaho over the weekend to move Josh to BYU-Idaho.   Here is a little more about that. 

We left our home about mid-day on Friday to drive to Rexburg, Idaho where Josh will be going to school at BYU-Idaho.   Josh took his car, we we drove with him because he couldn't fit all of his stuff in one car.  Also, we wanted to be there to help him get settled in, and deal with any last minute move-in glitches.  

We stayed in Pocatello on Friday night, because Josh wanted to meet up with a certain young lady he met who lives there. Pocatello is about 2.5 hours from where we live in Utah, so we go there by late afternoon on Friday, accounting for gas and potty stops. While Josh met up with his friend for dinner, Charly and I had dinner, then went "treasure hunting" in a couple of Pocatello thrift stores.  I didn't take any pictures at all on Friday, but then there really wasn't much worth taking pictures of. 

Saturday morning, we all woke up pretty early and decided to make the drive up to Rexburg (only about an hour and a half) even though Josh couldn't check into his new apartment until the management office opened at 11 a.m..  Josh asked if we could find a place to go on a little hike while we were waiting.  We had considered going to Craters of the Moon National Monument, but that was a round trip of 250 miles away, and we simply didn't have time for that.  

We found a great little hike about 25 minutes from the college Josh will be attending and drove out along country farm roads, until we got to Cress Creek Nature Trail. This was a lovely, 1.5 mile loop hike that offered awesome views of the Snake River and surrounding farmland.  Here are some pictures. 

It was a nice way to spend the morning together before Josh checked and began moving into his new space.  

This is the apartment building that is now home to Josh.  Josh's room is the on the middle (2nd) floor. 

Josh's student apartment is a six bedroom with a common living room/dining room/ kitchen area.  All of the bedrooms are single/private bedrooms. 

This is the kitchen area.  Some other students were also moving in on Saturday and some of their cleaning supplies were on the table. 

This is Josh's bedroom, as he began to move in.

The bedroom is small.  It has a desk and a twin size bed with drawers in the bed frame.  The opposite wall is a closet space with some shelves for storage.  

Once Josh had everything in his room, we went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant then to several stores so he could get some things he needed. 

One of the things we were looking for was some kind of room air conditioner for Josh's bedroom.  There is not central air conditioning in his apartment, although there is a window AC unit in the common living room/kitchen area.  Josh had a tower fan, but we finally decided to order this small room evaporative cooler through Amazon.  

Later, we also went to dinner.  The fries I got with my cheeseburger were delicious - probably made fresh from Idaho potatoes. 

Sunday morning, Charly and I left quite early in the morning to come back to Utah.  There was a beautiful sunrise on Sunday morning, which seemed symbolic of the dawning of Josh's adventure as a student at BYU-Idaho. 

We got back home about lunch time on Sunday. We ate lunch and unpacked.  Later in the afternoon, I got a text from my daughter with this invitation to our granddaughter's baptism next month. We were happy to get this invitation and we are looking forward to attending this happy family occasion!

This weekend is a long holiday weekend in Utah, because we have a state holiday - Pioneer Day - which celebrates early pioneers reaching the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.   Monday was just a regular day for Charly and I. We worked on our weekly cleaning chores, then got lunch at a new to us Asian restaurant.  This was the Mongolian Beef I ordered and it was delicious!  I ate half for lunch and will have the  other half for dinner.  

Coming up this week - a lot!  I have appointments tomorrow and Wednesday, a meeting of my book group on Thursday evening and a day-long event on Friday. 

What I'm thankful for - 

• Safe travels to and from Idaho
• Getting Josh moved into his student apartment
• Having a nice hike on Saturday morning
• Getting invited to our granddaughter's baptism next month
• Josh continuing his education at BYU-Idaho
• More fun coming up before I go back to school on August 11

That's all for this post.  Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  Have a good week. 

😊Deb💖

"The future belongs to those who believe 

in the beauty of their dreams."

~Eleanor Roosevelt