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It finally happened... I have defended my thesis - Wahoo!! This was the last and largest major hurdle on the road to earning my Master's degree, and it feels so good to finally be past it. After nearly three years of hard work and a few setbacks, I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I defended on Tuesday March 10th, and my defense was in the form of a 45 minute PowerPoint presentation to my committee of three professors and any other fellow students or colleagues who were interested in coming. Ben and Arianna were there, as well as Ben's cousins Steph, Clark, and Clara. It was really cool to have a few cheerleaders in the audience! I really appreciated their support.

After my presentation, everyone was dismissed and I was left to face my committee alone as they asked me questions about my project. This was the part I was really nervous about because I had no way to know what they would ask or how to prepare for their questions. In the end it went pretty well -- they asked me a few questions about my project and my methods, and made a few suggestions about my thesis manuscript. Then they dismissed me while they stayed in the conference room and talked about me amongst themselves. This only lasted 10 minutes or so, and then they came out with signed paperwork in hand and said "Congratulations, you passed!"

As Ben and I were heading back to our car to go home after the long day, we found a wonderful surprise... Steph and Clark had decorated our car with window paint on the outside and balloons on the inside. Ben must have been in on it too, because they seem to have had a car key. They invented new words, such as "Biotastic" and "Theserific," and my favorite was "Master of Mice... and Ben." Seeing these decorations just totally made my day - I was really touched that everyone was celebrating with me, and that so many people cared. Thanks guys!!













So what's next? I just have to finish incorporating the minor edits and few other suggestions my committee members recommended for my written thesis, and then I will be submitting my thesis to the dean of my college for his approval and signature. From there, I print off a few copies of my thesis on some fancy paper and take those to the BYU library to be made into a hard-bound book. My thesis will also be put into PDF format so it can be accessed online. And then I'm done! My official diploma will show an August 2009 graduation.

Let me take a moment to tell you about how wonderful my husband has been through all of this. The months and weeks leading up to my defense were pretty stressful for me, and I needed a lot of time on campus and away from the distractions of home. For months, Ben would come home directly after his classes at UVU to watch Arianna so I could go to BYU campus for a few hours in the afternoons. He did this every day, trying to do his homework during the baby's naps, but not being able to get much done most days. He has sacrificed a lot to help me finish this degree, and I love and adore him for it. I am so blessed to have Ben as my husband, and I am so happy to be his wife. We make a good team, not to mention dang cute kids! I love you Ben!!