*Insert Witty Title Here*

Whoooooof! (that was me letting out a very deep sigh of relief)

I have graduated!  Well, technically, I won't "officially" graduate until August since I have to complete 2 online classes, but I was able to walk in PSU's graduation ceremony on Saturday.  My original graduation date was set as August 11th - the day after my wedding!  Obviously, I had a bit of a conflict with that, but was fortunate that I was granted permission to walk early.

 

The BFFL.

Jenna and I have been together practically since Day 1.

We met our first semester of freshman year in Bio 110 in a lecture hall of over 700 people - talk about fate! It was totally awesome to be able to sit by my best friend of the past 4 years at our college graduation.

 

DONE... almost!

 

Me and my parents.

 

The family (minus Matt who was taking the picture).

I am so grateful to my family and their support they have shown me over the past 4 years.  Without each and every one of them, I would not have been able to enjoy college and mature into the young woman I am currently.  Thank you, everyone!

So... now what?!

Currently, I am at home in my bed with my fat, Garfield-look-alike cat curled up beside me snoring away.  Ahhh, what a life!

Ohh, by the way, I have finished updating our wedding website: http://hemrickbrown.ourwedding.com/

Meet Me in St. Louis!

"Meet me in St. Louis, Louis,

Meet me at the fair,
Don't tell me the lights are shining
any place but there..."

I'm headed to St. Louis tomorrow! While I'd much rather play with a rabid raccoon than sit in a car for 12 hours tomorrow, I'm very grateful that I have the opportunity to go to the NCAA wrestling tournament.

When Katie and I met for bagels today, she suggested we find a way to road-trip out for the tournament. She and David had found 2 tickets for the finals and wanted to see if I was interested in going. Easy answer = OF COURSE! Thankfully, when I brought the idea up to Matt, he found me tickets from someone who didn't show (thanks, babe!!). David and I booked a hotel while Katie went to class and that was that - we're headed to St. Louis to watch Penn State wrestling capture another national title!

My butt is sore just thinking about the long car ride that looms ahead of me, but having Matt and a wrestling tournament (and hopefully a quick visit to the St. Louis temple!) on the other end of that journey will certainly make it worth while! I pray for a safe trip and a fun weekend ahead!

*clap* *clap* TREE!

Its amazing how Heavenly Father knows just what you need sometimes.

I've been having a constant, nagging worry about what I'm going to be doing/where I'm going to go after I graduate. My time at Penn State (as a student) has gone by entirely too fast, and now I'm being thrown into the process of trying to find an affordable place to live and to get a job. I'm completely worn out. Thankfully, I have been blessed with a really great neighbor who always knows when to knock on my screen door... and tonight was one of those nights.

I can always count on Katie to make me laugh and talk about things in a very therapeutic, yet appropriately loud and immature, manner. I was in desperate need of that tonight since I had a slightly disappointing day and needed to miss institute to work on a paper. Halfway through my paper, I was hitting a wall - I was entirely overwhelmed and could feel myself sliding into a funk. Then, much to my relief, I heard a familiar "Laurennnnn...?" coming through my porch screen door, so I headed outside to meet Katie.

Two hours and two additional visitors later, my sides were aching from laughing so hard. Although, that could have just been the result of me accidentally running into a shelf in Katie's kitchen...

Heavenly Father knew I needed that time to laugh and to be distracted from myself. I am grateful for the opportunity I had tonight to spend time with friends and have a much needed laugh... or two... or twelve...