A Great Year!

Lately I've been really surprised to hear so many people say, in one way or another, "2011 was a terrible year!"! I loved this year. It was a really good year for us. Here are a few highlights of our year:

* Shayebear totally blossomed as a videographer. It's been AMAZING to watch what he can do.  He started working with ThePianoGuys in February and completed about a dozen or so videos with them. Through this process we became good friends with all the guys involved, and just had a blast! Later this year, Shaye decided as much as he loves working with ThePianoGuys, he feels most fulfilled when he has total control over his own work. He parted with them on a good note and stays in good touch with them. Now Shaye is building his new channel Shaye2k.  I'm so proud of my hubby!

* In association with the point above, I was featured in a Piano Guys video, "Rolling in the Deep"! It was so surreal because I've listened to Jon's music since I was a kid, and I think Steve is so so amazing. I was so grateful for this amazing opportunity to perform again and on such a huge platform.

* I completed my Ph.D. coursework alive! Yipee! (More about that in the post below.) On top of that, I was able to teach at Dixie State, UNLV, and The University of Phoenix. I absolutely love teaching and scholarship!

* We went to Bellingham, Washington (again). So much fun! We can't get enough of this place!

* We spent lots of precious time with our families. So grateful for every day with them. This is a picture from a girls' weekend with my Mom and sisters at Mandalay Bay in Vegas. :)

* I became a lot more domestic this year. I have been on a crocheting rampage lately and have really been challenging myself with cooking. With the help of Pinterest, I have collected lots of recipes and have been having a ton of fun with it. For our family Christmas party on my Mom's side I made 2 super difficult cakes. A six layer salted caramel chocolate cake and a white chocolate mud cake. It took me 7 hours, but they were so yummy it was worth it!

* I have been working on being more grateful this year. I definitely have had my moments...lots of moments... of feeling sorry for myself for one reason or another, but overall I've been more successful at being in the moment and being grateful for my life.

* We've spent lots of times with these cute little cheeky dogs. Here is a picture of us Christmas morning at my parents'. I am such a nerd with these two. They really are my little babies. They are a blessing to us!

* I have got to spend one more wonderful year of marriage with Shaye. It's been 5 and a half years, and he continues to be the best husband I could ever ask for.

This is just a short list of what we've done this year, but we have been so, so blessed. 2011 has been a fantastic year and we look forward with hope and excitement on 2012. I hope it is a wonderful year for all of you! Lots of love!

Ode to UNLV

Hello friends,

Life has been very good to us lately. We're so blessed. Shaye has been doing a lot of film work, and expanding his business, so that's all been great. Also, I am now finished with my doctorate coursework! Can't even articulate how relieved I am about that. I wanted to write a little post to reminisce about good old UNLV.

Here's a little day in the life of a UNLV grad student:

6:45 a.m.: I left St. George and Drive to Las Vegas (and don't I look happy about it?)

8:00 a.m.: I arrived at UNLV. This is the building I taught in.

8:30-12:45: I taught World Literature to 2 classes of 35 students each. Here is one of my classes. The classrooms looked like prison cells. Totally gray with no windows. Sometimes the students acted like prisoners too. :)

12:45 Stopped by my office to help students. This is a space I shared with 6 other instructors. Glamorous, no? :)

1:00-6:45 p.m.: I took classes in this,  the humanities buildings. This semester it was Contemporary British Lit, American Realism, Detective Fiction, and Gothic Fiction.

7:00 pm: I braved the crazy Vegas traffic and drove home.

10:00 pm: I arrived home sweet home to St. George.

Boy oh boy did this semester test my mental and emotional stamina. Thank goodness for Shaye! He kindly listened to me when I complained and kept me laughing through my more neurotic moments. Just for the record, I wouldn't recommend making a 4 hour commute twice a week, nor would I recommend 11 hour academic days. I was blessed to get all As this semester and make it through well, but it definitely took a toll on my health. So happy that it's over!!

This is my last day on campus, at least as a course taking student. I have to say, I felt a little nostalgic when I pulled out of campus.

I learned so so so much as a student at UNLV. I'm sure that I have a lot to learn ahead of me as I study for my comprehensive exams and then write my dissertation, but I've already come so far. I learned a lot of things that I expected to learn...all about Literature, of course, but even more important, I learned a lot about myself. I have never been around or befriended so many people so very different from me. My testimony has grown more than I could have imagined. There were lots of moments of being mocked for being a religious person, even more so for being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but in these moments of being challenged, I learned that I really believe what I think I believe. It's not only for convenience or because I'm not intellectually capable of accepting life without God, like many of my peers would say. I definitely was exposed to a whole lot of things I didn't like, but I learned that people--no matter how they live their lives--are God's children and deserve love and respect. I've always known this, but it was really put into action in my interactions with people at UNLV. So grateful for these realizations.

Plus...get a load of this. These are the books I read for the fall. About a third of them I read in the summer before. It was good, crazy, mind numbing fun! :)

Thank you so so much to all those who have supported me throughout this process. Again, I am not finished yet. I still have A TON of work to do before I'm officially Dr. Scott. (That looks super weird!) Hopefully I'll be done with the entire process sometime in 2013, but I can do most of the rest at home. Wahoo! :)

Full of Gratitude

First...I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I've posted! I've thought of posting too many times to count, but I've been crazy busy lately (more on that in a later post :)). I have so many things to be grateful for, and I just wanted to take a few minutes to count my many blessings...

I am grateful for:

1. Wonderful friends: In regards to my last post, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your words of kindness. I was unprepared for how many touching and wonderful things you all said to me in your comments and in other private messages and conversations. When I'm having a bad day, sometimes I read through the comments in that post and feel so much less alone. I have truly felt, not only lifted up, but CARRIED by my wonderful friends through this difficult time. You'll never know how much your friendship means!

2. My family: There's no easy way to sum this up, except for that I am so blessed to have such supportive, inspiring family member. We're so blessed to live close to so many family members and learn and grow with them.

(And yes, these two little furry babies are definitely part of my family! :) )

3. Shaye: This guy is really my #1 blessing. I knew when I married him that I was the luckiest girl in the world, but now, more than ever, I know this. He is the best friend in the world I could ask for, and he supports me and makes me laugh every day.

4. My testimony: It's hard to put this blessing into words because it is so huge, but I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I am loved and that I have been so blessed to have been born into God's true church on the earth. I'm thankful that He has given me the challenges and experiences to be able to stand up now, more than ever, and count myself as a believer.

5. My work: Teaching English is one of my life callings, I've decided. I. absolutely. love it. (How was that for grammatically correct? :)) It can be super challenging at times, but I really feel that I make a difference in what I do, and find a lot of joy in it.

6. All things domestic: Cooking, and crocheting (at the moment), are seriously the biggest stress relievers for me. I often get this domestic itch, sink myself into a project, and then feel so much better. I'm grateful for all the wonderful things to create in the world!

7. The future: I know it's not good to live for the future (or in the past,) but I have a lot to be excited for in the future. We're moving forward with In-Vitro Fertilization in the next few months, and even though we're definitely nervous because this procedure is so costly, we're very excited for what the result could be. (Fingers and toes [and eyes] crossed!) I'll keep you updated as our journey continues! :)

These are only a few of my many, many blessings. So many more that I can only count internally! I love you all! Happy Thanksgiving!

Redefining Failure

The last few months we've been back in the process of fertility treatments, which is always a stressful, yet exciting thing for us. We've done 2 more rounds of artificial insemination (IUI) and both have been unsuccessful. The first negative was pretty rough for me. We kept it a secret from our families because we've been feeling a lot of pressure from them lately, but that ended up being an added stress to not have anyone to talk to about it. This second negative was not as bad. I think the first negative was the hardest because the last time we tried IUI over a year ago I miscarried. I guess deep down inside I really thought it would work the second time, which made it harder when it didn't.

Statistics say that if a couple doesn't get pregnant after 4 rounds than it isn't a likely solution, so we're going to try it one more time. I actually am really glad this chapter is coming to a close. Fertility treatments are always rough because they can be pretty painful with my endometriosis. But I feel at peace with the steps we've taken. If this next round doesn't work, then we're on to In-vitro. Even though it is ridiculously expensive ($12,000 a round), if it brings us our miracle, it's a sacrifice we're willing to make!

This whole process has really changed my perception of failure. Like most people, growing up I had disappointments, and moments when I felt a considerable loss in my otherwise happy, blessed life. Looking back on these moments, I can't help but laugh.

Like the time I didn't make Jetettes and all of my friends did. I thought the world was over...

...Or the time I worked hard all summer and hoped to get the lead (Cinderella) in the school play, but ended up being an Ugly Stepsister. :) (It ended up being a blast, by the way.)

In the moment, these things seemed like a big deal, and later on, ended up being just a brief moment of change. Everything ended up turning out for the best.

But the last 4 and a half years have completely changed my perspective on failure. Up until when we started trying to get pregnant, I fully believed that I had control over my life and my destiny. If I ever failed at something it was because there was something inherently wrong with me or I hadn't worked hard enough. I didn't understand that "failure" is sometimes part of Heavenly Father's plan.

Well, after failing to conceive month after month after month for years, I've come to a new understanding about what failing is. I'm not a failure. I just have an element in my life that is outside of my control. Don't get me wrong, I've had days when I've felt bitter and angry and confused, but through it all I've come to accept that it's not my fault.

I believe we all encounter forces outside of our control in our lives. Things that we may not understand in the moment, but things that in retrospect make sense or serve a purpose. I know that our struggle with infertility will be like that someday. In the past I've asked questions like, "How can I be more righteous in my life so that Heavenly Father will bless me with a baby?" or "What traits is He waiting for me to develop so that I can be worthy to be a mother?" Now, I no longer blame myself for what is happening. I know that this challenge has nothing to do with me not being worthy or righteous enough. The hard things that we face are not God's way of punishing us, but His way of paying us a compliment--that he knows we can handle the difficulties life brings and that we can be further refined and become more like Him.

My new definition of failure: The only way I can truly fail in this challenge is by giving up or losing my testimony. All I can control is my attitude.

This I know for sure.

My Little Camera Man

Many of you are my friends on Facebook, so you've already heard me bragging about Shaye. He has been doing so many amazing things lately with his talent for film. He's been teaming up with a few of his buddies lately filming with "The Piano Guys" Youtube channel. In just a few months they've already grown about 26,000 youtube subscribers and their videos has received millions of view collectively. It's been a really fun thing for him. A month or so ago he helped film this Jon Schmidt video:



What I am most proud of is this film Shaye made of Southern Utah. Not only did he create all of the film here, but he also composed the music you hear. Doesn't Shaye rock?! There are a lot of exciting videos to come on "The Piano Guys" channel, so stay tuned! I couldn't be more proud of my little camera man!

Vegas Trip with my Mom and Sisters! :)

It's been way too long! I haven't posted in a long time and that has mostly been because there hasn't been much exciting going on lately with us. I just finished my semester at UNLV (hooray) and have had a short break from school and work. It's been a nice 2 1/2 weeks, but it went way, way too fast. I have to start teaching again on Tuesday, but before I go back to reality, it was a huge treat that my mom took my sisters and me to Las Vegas this weekend. We had such a blast and she spoiled us rotten!

My sisters and me in our matching pajamas my mom got for us. :) We stayed in the Mandalay Bay, which was really nice!

We ate at the most delicious restaurants. This is all of us at breakfast of Raffles Café in Mandalay Bay. Yum!

We swam in the man-made beach at Mandalay Bay too and played around in the lazy river. :)

We also went shopping. This is at the Canal Shoppes in the Venetian. We sat in St. Marco's square, ate gelato, and listened to a live concert. So much fun!

I'm so grateful to have such an awesome mom and great sisters. I really couldn't ask for a better family. I'm so blessed! Now I'm rejuvenated from all this pampering and ready to head back to work!

Under the Knife

Tomorrow is the big day. I'm having surgery again for my endometriosis. I'm hopeful that the doctor will be able to give Shaye and me some more information about how my endometriosis has progressed in the last two and a half years since the last surgery I've had. I have a new doctor, Dr. Rogers, who is using a more high tech laser to zap all of my adhesions, so we're hoping for better results. If all goes well then I'll be one step closer to reaching our end goal of parenthood. Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes!