As of Late...

Wow, what a whirlwind this last little while has been. It seems like the day has just started and it's time to go to bed. We've been busy and truly blessed.

Our last weekend in SLC, we actually left town to go to Shelley, ID for the Harwell Family Reunion. It was great to reconnect with the Harwell cousins. Despite our tent and everything in it getting soaked by the sprinklers, it was a great little trip.

What's not to love about this photo? The Harwell "kids" with Grandpa Stan.
Back row: Scott, Susan, Alan. Front row: Bill, Grandpa, Curtis and Loretta.

The Harwell crew. It's so fun to be part of such a great family.

We zipped home on Saturday night to go to church in our ward one last time and to finish packing before moving day on Tuesday. I was overwhelmed with the amount of people who showed up to help move us out. Either they like us or they were excited to see us leave... I'd like to think it was the former. I think I told Ian about 100 times that I couldn't stand to leave such a wonderful place.

Ian's parents helped us drive down to St. George. We packed up our four vehicles and drove caravan-style. After a few days of job hunting and trying to make a place for ourselves, we hit the road again to Palisades State Park for the 1st Sanderson Family Reunion. We weren't sure if we were going to make the trip until the day before, but I'm so glad we did. I have a lot of fond memories with my Sanderson cousins and we stayed up until late at night (ya know, like 11:30 or something) talking and laughing until our stomachs hurt. Such good times.

Megan and I rowing back to shore. Does anyone else think this is as hilarious as I do?
This was the only way we could sit without tipping that teeny raft over.

We're missing a few, but I freaking LOVE these people.

My dear Grandma Bills let us stay in her house in St. George for the first couple weeks. We weren't sure about our employment situation and how much we could afford for rent, so being able to use her empty house was a LIFESAVER! I don't know how we would've made it without her.

I started school two days after the Sanderson reunion, and that same week, I got this in my email:

"Dear Cori,

Congratulations!  You have been accepted as a student in the Dixie State University Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program for spring semester 2014.  You will be allowed to continue through the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program as long as you remain in good standing. Classes will start Tuesday, January 7, 2014." 

I read it a few times to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, and then I called Ian to tell him. He said, "Yaaaaaaaay! I told you!"

I walked out into the muggy day that is so uncharacteristic for St. George and called my mom. The dam burst at that point and she couldn't understand me through my tears as I told her I got accepted. I felt like a 100-lb weight had been lifted off my shoulders as all the uncertainty about what the next couple of years would bring melted away. I remember as a sixteen-year-old sitting in a class at EFY, a teacher named Brother McKeoen talked about living the life The Lord has in store for you. He related the story of his life after his mission where he decided in a matter of days that he was going to move from The UK to The US, and how everything fell into place because he was following the spirit. He stood and spoke with an intensity I had rarely seen before, or since for that matter, and said, "When you get to the point in your life where you're standing in front of two doors, and one says 'lose your life' and the other one says 'find it', (referring to Matt. 10:39) you run through that first door and don't look back, because you will see some amazing things happen." I remember just hanging on his every word but really having no idea what he was talking about. I've spent the last two years learning that lesson, trying to "lose my life" and have faith that I could do this really hard thing. Reading that letter was the perfect manifestation of the fact that Heavenly Father truly moves mountains when you're living the life he has in store for you.

It's hard to believe, but we've been in St George for almost a month! It's been a bit of an adjustment (mostly avoiding heat stroke) but we're loving it so far. After watching in amazement at even more tender mercies that came our way, we moved into a townhouse on Tuesday. Ian snapped a pic right before we signed the lease.

Our place. #78

We like the extra space, but the stairs have proven to be slightly annoying. I swear I go up and down about 50 times a day. I just stand at the top for a few seconds and decide if I have everything I need before I go down so I don't have to hike back up to get my phone charger or something dumb like that. I now know why it was such a big deal for my mom when we moved from our tri-level in West Jordan to our rambler in American Fork all those years ago.

For the time being, I'm just finishing up a couple last minute classes and getting ready to start the nursing program. Now that I know it's happening for real, I just want it to be here! Ian's starting nerd school in the spring at SUU. He's decided to change his major from Business to Math with an emphasis in Actuarial Science (See, I told you. Nerd school). He'll hopefully start his career as an Actuary about the same time I get done. The words don't do justice when I say how grateful I am for this time in my life, and amazed at how it's all come together.