A Personal Victory

For the past year I've been working on my Ph.D. and I've been loving it! However, I've been waiting to formally apply to the program formally because some of my entry exams were not as high as they needed to be. This is fairly common at UNLV because several of the GRE (Graduate Record Exams) are pretty difficult to pass. UNLV allows students to take 12 credits before official admittance, which is what I've been doing.

UNLV has 2 test requirements: that their applicants score in the 75th percentile of higher in the GRE General Test and in the 50th percentile or higher for the GRE Literature subject test. I passed the GRE Literature test finally in March (Wahoo!); however, I barely missed the General test by scoring in the 74th percentile, basically 1 question too low.


I was bummed about this, but when I began applying a few months ago, UNLV told me that my General score was great. They said that the test company reported that I scored in the 95th percentile, not the 74th percentile I thought I had scored. I was super relieved at first, but then I got to thinking there must be something wrong with what UNLV was telling me.

So I had UNLV send me the scores, and low and behold, they were Amanda Scott from Loveland, Ohio's scores. Oh no! So then I was faced with a decision of whether or not to raise this to the UNLV's attention. I knew they would never be the wiser if I kept my mouth shut, but of course, I couldn't live with being dishonest about this score. So I told them this high score on the test (in the 95th percentile) was a different Amanda Scott's scores and they told me to hurry and retake the test.

The past two weeks I've been studying to retake this test. It is something that I would usually take a few months to study for, but because the deadline for my application is November 1, I had to act fast! I studied really hard and learned about 1200 new words. And I prayed that Heavenly Father would bless me for being honest. And boy did he ever, I took the test today and scored in the 97th percentile! Not only is this high enough to reach UNLV's requirement, but it is even higher than that other Amanda Scott's scores. I'm so relieved that my hard work has paid off and feel so blessed for Heavenly Father's help. Now I have my fingers crossed that I'm officially admitted in the next few months. Wish me luck! :)

Our New Puppy!

In mid-July we did a crazy, spontaneous thing. I was in the Utah Valley area visiting some of Shaye's family and we decided, totally spur of the moment, that we wanted a second dog! I called a breeder in Spanish Fork and we got little Max!

Isn't he adorable? He's been so fun because he's quite a bit sweeter than Mimi--though we really love Mimi, believe me. But Max is more silly and sweet, while Mimi is smarter and sassier. :) We love our sweet little guy! Now Mimi has a buddy to play with!

Welcome Baby Landon!

Congratulations to Skyler and Jamie on a beautiful new addition!! Little Landon Michael was born yesterday at 5:54 pm, weighing 7 lbs 11 ounces. Jamie and Landon are doing great!


Skyler called us just a few minutes after the baby was born and so we got to come and see the new arrival get his first bath and everything. I got to hold him about an hour after he was born. So special! I've never been in the delivery room so soon after a baby is born and was amazed at the peaceful feeling there. I'm so proud of Jamie. She is such a strong woman! I hope I can be as good as a mom as she is someday. In the meantime, it's so fun to be an aunt to all the little Scott cuties!

This Summer So Far

Stephanie Belle graduated from Dixie High. She is now going to hair school at Taylor Andrews. I'm so proud of her!

Shaye turned 26!

We've had plenty of long car rides with the windows down with this cheeky dog, our Mimi.

I went to girl's camp (just for one evening) with the darling Young Women in our ward. They're all so darling!

The AWESOME Maui Movie Shaye Made!

Maui Revealed from Shaye Scott on Vimeo.

Shaye made the coolest video of our trip to Maui. I think I'm licensed to brag on him a little bit here. He's been filming weddings as a side job and making short films just for the past few months and he's seriously so good at it! I love watching his movies over and over, especially this one. I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. You can click on the link below the movie to watch it in HD, which looks awesome!

MAUI!

We went to Maui for a week earlier in May and had the time of our LIVES!!! It was just Shaye and me on this beautiful, exotic island! If you haven't been to Maui before, I can't recommend it enough. I've been to Oahu, which I also loved, but Maui is my new favorite.

This is the lanai (or patio) attached to our hotel room. We had a spectacular oceanfront view and could always here the waves. There were sea turtles playing right on the beach. It was magical!

We went on this gorgeous 4 mile hike through the jungle, swatting mosquitoes the whole way. (I had 17 bug bites after this hike--I counted.) We hiked through this bamboo forest. It was crazy beautiful. Then at the end of the hike we ended up at the ginormous waterfall, (pictured below). It was an adventure!

I'm the tiny speck at the bottom. :)

At the Seven Sacred Pools in Haleakala National Park.

Sunset on the Road to Hana. Doesn't Shaye have mad skills with the camera?

This part of the island, Upcountry, was so mountainous and gorgeous, but didn't really look like Hawaii--maybe New Zealand or somewhere.

This is us on top of the Haleakala Crater. This is only 4 linear miles from the beach, but 10,034 above sea level! It was so peaceful and quiet up here and we could see Hawaii and Oahu from up here!

This is at a fun little restaurant we found on the beach in Lahaina. It was so yummy! I'm hooked on Poly food now!

Oh my goodness! Have you ever had Hawaiian shave ice? We heard about this place in Lahaina that had a PERFECT review history and decided to try it our first night--we went back every single night to try new flavors. This is not a snow cone, people! It has a texture similar to ice cream and all of the flavors taste EXACTLY like the real flavors. Amazing! Ululiani's Shave Ice is a MUST TRY if you're in Maui!

Sunset in Old Lahaina Town.

We had such a wonderful time! I feel so blessed to have so much time with my sweet, handsome husband!

The Road Less Traveled

A wise poet, Robert Frost, once wrote:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I have thought about this poem a lot the past few weeks. In all truth, life is a journey in which sometimes we choose our path and sometimes our path is chosen for us.

Those of you who are close to me know how much I want to be a mom. At the end of March Shaye and I went on a total emotional roller coaster ride at the sheer joy of finding out I was pregnant and then the gut wrenching disappointment of losing the pregnancy within the week. Though I know early miscarriages are very common (some sources report that 50-60% of first pregnancies end in early miscarriage), it was quite difficult for me because we've been trying to conceive for so long. In some ways it is a huge blessing to know that I can get pregnant at all. Even so, my first thought when I found out I was miscarrying was, will it take us 3 more years to get pregnant again?

The bottom line is that I don't know what will happen, but I do know that God has led me down a path and He will continue to lead me. It is a path that I never thought I would go down-- a path full of graduate research conferences, faculty meetings, alone time with Shaye, and a fluffy little dog who makes a pretty good substitute for a baby... for now :)

I'm grateful for all that I have. And as brilliant as Robert Frost is, I think his poem neglects the most important part of the journey--our Master Guide and Savior. I know that I am not only taking the road less traveled, but I have a merciful Guide who knows all paths and will help me through.