A little too close to the End...

Well, yesterday was the scariest day of my entire life. I watched my husband come inches away from sliding off an extremely icy canyon cliff. I thank the Lord that He was there guiding the car to safety.

We drove down the Shoshone falls canyon to take a look at the waterfall and take some pictures. On the way up there was a side road down to the lake that was covered in frozen mist from the falls. The trees and grass were beautiful, so we wanted some pictures. Little did we know that the road we turned onto was covered in about an inch thick of slick black ice. There is no control in your car on ice like that. The cliff was at our left and the canyon wall at our right. We kept sliding toward the cliff. Finally the car stopped and Scott told me to get out. He wanted to try and get the car turned around or reversed or something.

I had to turn around. As soon as he tried doing anything the car slid more toward the edge. He realized the brake would do nothing and he had to drive down the road and turn around. I was praying harder than I ever had before.

As he was coming up the hill, the car couldn't get any traction right on the last bit, so he tried the brake. Instead of stopping, he slid backward with no control and the Lord pushed the back end of the car into the canyon wall. The car went right between a large rock on the right and left and the back tires found the sage brush and grass. He stopped and was able to get out of the car. I waved down a truck coming down the main road and they picked us up and took us to the top to call home. They ended up taking us home. Mom Dodds called a tow truck and Scott and Sue went down to meet them.

300 feet of cable and chains, a little salt to walk on, and a few minutes, they were able to pull the car up.

I had never been so happy to see and hug my husband as I was when he walked in the door.

It is amazing to think and reflect back on those scary moments and see the Lord's hand in what happened. I am just in awe that nothing worse happened. We were so close to falling over the edge. Especially Scott. I don't know how I could live if I lost him. And the Lord knew that too and kept him safe.

I will never forget this experience and every time I remember it, my stomach will turn and I'll shake a little bit. But I will never forget the love of God and his incredible hand leading us and guiding us through our life. He is there. He loves us. He loves you. He is keenly aware of our needs and the desires of our hearts. Do not ever forget the Lord. He never forgets you.

Graduation, interview and job all in a week!

So my life has been a crazy whirlwind this past week! Here is the timeline:

Monday: finished my last day student teaching in kindergarten

Wednesday: went out to lunch with student teacher friends and found out about a job opening.

Wednesday night: got a call from our advisor that she had called the school.

5 minutes later: got an interview scheduled for the next morning.

Thursday 9:30am: interviewed with the principal and vp

10:03am: got a call and message from principal

10:35am: called him back, wanted me to finish the application and come in for a 2nd interview on friday

3:00pm: 2nd interview scheduled for Friday at 8am with the whole kindergarten team

Friday at 8am: 2nd interview with whole team. GREAT interview :-)

11:10am: phone call from principal offering a job as a Full time kindergarten teacher starting January 4th for the rest of the school year!!!!!!!!!!!!

So after that phone call and talking to him for a bit about what I needed to do, I called Scott and told him. I was super sweating, shaking and almost crying. What an incredible blessing!!! I signed the contract on Monday morning and got the keys and talked to the teacher Monday afternoon.

I am really excited for this job but I am absolutely terrified and overwhelmed. I have no idea where to start or what to do. I'm so used to mentor teachers telling me what to teach or plan or do, and now I have to make all the decisions. What a huge and exciting challenge!

Also, since Scott and I are here in Idaho for Christmas, I only have 6 days to completely set up my classroom and do home visits to about half of the students! AHHHH!!!! I would LOVE any help or suggestions or anything. I definitely need any help I can get! But I'm so excited and I already love the kids even though I don't know them. :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

A picture says 1000 words....

Well, since I have absolutely NO idea how to nicely organize photos on this blog, here is an assortment of things that have happened in the last 3 1/2 years. These pictures include novice ballroom attempts up to back up tour team. Also, freshman roommate to eternal roommate. 1 year anniversary, 1st kiss and epic moments caught on film that define us as a couple (pic with sunglasses and hats).

I have enjoyed these past 3 1/2 years at BYU. Enjoy the pictures that captured only small moments in time.

p.s. I AM A BYU GRADUATE!!!!!!!!!! (now I just need to receive that diploma...)

We are excited about our future! It's looking bright :-) And we love you all!

Career Change

Many of you probably know, but for those of you that don't I will let you in on all the new happenings. Karissa and I are about to be done with school, and I was looking for a job, but I have moved a new direction in the career field. Karissa and I have decided that a career in Business Finance is not where I am supposed to be, and so we are going to Chiropractic school. I know that that may sound crazy because it is so different from Business, but I used to want to be a chiropractor. I decided to go the business route only because that is kind of what was easier and I really didn't know what else to do. Karissa and I both feel really good about the decision, and now we are trying to figure out what school to go to, and I am looking to defer my graduation so that I can still go to school at BYU while I get my pre-requisites done. As soon as we know if I can defer or not we will be looking for which school is going to fit us the best. We are so happy and excited. I finally feel like I am headed the right direction in my life which is so nice to know. So instead of thinking that I was a week away from being done with school I am now going to be in school for over four more years. Oh well it will benefit us in the end. Well that is our life in a nutshell for the moment. We love you all.

I love...

I love....

christmas music

christmas lights

snow

clouds

hot chocolate with peppermint ice cream in it

soft cozy blankets

cuddling with Scott under a cozy blanket

Irresistible Apple lotion from Bath and Body

my Toshiba laptop

our Jeep (even when it sucks)

reading Christmas books

Kenny G and Harry Connick Jr. at Christmastime

making cookies

eating delicious soup

going out to sushi with best friends

seeing best friends get married

big family Thanksgiving dinners

having full and well stocked shelves in the kitchen and storage room

sharing food with others

holding brand new babies

cleaning the house before Scott comes home

teaching school

thinking about being done with school Dec. 15th

sweatpants and hoodies with a blanket on the couch watching a cute movie with my Love

free ward breakfast buffets at Magleby's with french toast

I love...

spending time with my family

I really love...

spending time with Scott

Only one more week of student teaching and then I am done! One more week of classess and finals for Scott, then he is done! Too bad since we're graduating we don't qualify for Pell Grants anymore...

Life couldn't be better!!!!