Big Changes

To start off, I will update everyone on the status of our new house. We are scheduled to be out of our apartment by this Thursday (May 15th) and our house is supposed to close by then. We are still waiting to sign the final papers, which will probably happen tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday and then we should get the keys to the house by Tuesday or Wednesday. It makes for one very hectic week!!! I have to finish packing and get everything moved in to the house within a couple of days. I originally wanted to paint the walls before everything got moved in, but I don't think I'll have the time. In addition, my co-worker Delynne is gone in Las Vegas the whole week, so I can't take off work on such short notice. And, this week is particularly crazy at the Teen Center because the Spring Prom for the middle-schoolers is this week and I am the only one that has experience in selling tickets- particularly important because there will be people coming in and out of the building all week to buy tickets and the phone will probably be ringing off of the hook! So, to compensate, Jesse will probably take a little time off of work so that we can sign the papers earlier in the day and move everything in in one day. And I'll be painting and unpacking during the morning hours before going to work each day, and then finish the day with Jesse helping. I can't wait to make the house our own and will be proud to show it off online and have several house-warming parties!!!On another note, I graduated yesterday!!! After 18 consecutive years of school, and 5 months out, I returned to my now alma mater, donned in my cap and gown to cross the stage and receive my fake diploma (since I already received the real one in the mail). At first I thought that maybe it wasn't worth it to have waited 5 months for the ceremony- maybe I should've just done the December ceremony instead. However, once I got there and walked through the baccalaureate with my old friends, I realized how proud I was to be there. There were 91 students receiving Associates, Bachelors, and Masters degrees combined, all in 1 ceremony. And there were roughly 9 of us receiving a Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology. I got to sit by, and walk across the stage with, my closest fellow students- those that shared my psychology classes for more than 3 years. In addition, for years there had been large tree in the courtyard of the school. Everyone loved this tree and it was really common to get pictures taken in it on campus. However, the day of my wedding, they cut the tree into pieces! One guy in my class, though, took pieces of the tree and carved wooden cross necklaces out of it for each one of the psychology graduates. On each one is engraved "NCC 08". It means a lot to me to have this memorabilia and I now have it hanging from my rear-view mirror so that I can see it everyday. Along with Jesse, my mom, brother, cousin, and aunt attended the ceremony. It was a little disappointing that many others who were invited didn't show, but I'm thankful for those who did. It's nice to have my family there supporting me during my big life events.In other news, Jesse's football games have been going really well. His team is ranked #1 and are currently undefeated with only 2 more games of the season. His next game is this Saturday @ 6pm at Churchill High here in Eugene. The next week his team has a bye, and the following week they will play in Medford. I am quite certain they will make it to the championship playoffs, though, which results in 3 more subsequent games. It's been a challenge for Jesse this season. It's nothing like high school or college was. They currently only practice once a week and have games nearly every single week. Each away game is every other weekend and at least 3 hours away. The guys on the team also take everything really seriously. While Jesse just wants to play and have fun, his teammates often grumble and complain about everything, even when they slaughter the other team. They get really upset if Jesse messes up on snapping the ball and give him a lot of crap if he misses a game or practice due to other life situations. In addition to demanding so much of his time, this affects Jesse's attitude towards being there. He gets frustrated and questions whether he wants to continue to play next year. However, once he's out on the field, he gets so full of energy and is so pumped up to be there. It brings him back to his biggest passion that consumed most of his life. He goes back and forth about whether he'll continue to play next year, but I think that we will just have to see how things go. Right now, it's just a stressful thing when he's got so much going on in his life outside of football. I figure that when things calm down, Jesse can make a better decision about whether he really wants to play next year or not. He's done awesome this season, though, and I'm so proud of him. He plays with all of his heart and maintains a positive attitude through it all. Despite never having been into football before, and barely understanding the rules, I can't help but cheer with excitement as they score a touchdown each time.Well, it's getting late and I want to post pictures of all of these events. So here you go: