We've been featured!!!

There's another adoption blog that featured us!! Feel so honored! If you'd like to check it out, click here. Please feel free to share our blog, e-mail, this feature, or whatever. We find our forever baby with help of great family and friends like you guys!! Love to all!

The vedict

Yes, I am late in posting this. We went on a vacation (post on that is coming) so I have not done any blogging. Anyway~ just to refresh memories, last Wed., the 25th, I meet with the nursing division chair. Very nice woman! But pretty much told me I'm SOL (so-outta-luck). She has heard the rumors that students repeat courses several times, but I could not produce any names and she has not found anything in the records (remember, she just came to UT, let alone the school, in Dec. or Jan.). She said that it's a two strikes your out game. Meaning you can fail one class, you repeat the class, stay in the program but if you fail a second class you are dismissed from the program. My first "failure" was Fall of 2009.

Little side note: I put failure in quotations because I got a C both times, but not a C+. I'm sorry, but I don't consider a C failing, but the college does.

She said the reason why it is the two strikes your out policy is because of accreditation issues. She told me the only option I have is to work with my LPN for a year, then reapply to the advanced placement program (LPN to RN program). This would mean I'd have to repeat the WHOLE second year of nursing school. Not just the one class, all 6 classes in the second year of the program! Oh I'd have to retake, and pass, the two modified state board test the school gives too. Yeah, ... I don't see that happening. Not because I can't do it, because I don't want to do it and I think it's ridiculous.

I talked to her about how ridiculous that class, with it's test, are. She said they are looking into making major changes with several of the classes, this class being one of them.

I talked to my amazing teacher about it. We talked about the possibility of me taking it to the dean to appeal. I don't know that I will, but I am still considering. Jared and my amazing mother in law think I should put on boxing gloves again and keep fighting. My incredible mom is neutral, so far as she'll say. I have a feeling she wants me to fight too, but doesn't want to say it since she knows how big of a struggle it's all been.

So we are still exploring options in finishing my degree. We've looked at two options so far. One sticks out, to me. There is an on-line LPN to RN program. This one has seven classes, BUT I can test out of them. The advisor person I talked to thinks I can test out of most of them because of how far I've already gone. The thing we're worried about is accreditation. Gotta look into it.

Anyhow~ that's the low down on recent school update. Thanks again, so incredibly much, for all the love, prayers and support through all this. Love to all!!

Bio and Adoption

We will soon be featured on an adoption blog and we were asked to provide a short bio and why we want to adopt. What I... this is Jared by the way... wrote was not what was needed but I thought it was a fun bio and adoption thing so here it is.

“Being nerdy is not fun!” That is a phrase you will never hear from Jared. He claims that blinking lights are interesting, not because they are blinking but because of all the fascinating different ways light can be produced. Incandescents, florescent, LED; they are all entertaining to his geeky personality. This fascination with the small and trivial makes him a great engineer.  

One of Devin’s favorite smells is chlorine bleach. She has mastered the art of using the whitening substance without getting it on her clothes. This talent has taken years to develop and several shirts in the process. She feels that learning this skill is a major accomplishment as she can wear anything while cleaning.

Together Jared and Devin have the ability to shine light on all blemishes in the bathroom and have them removed.  

Between the two of them they only have 14 siblings. This is much too small of a family. Considering that you only increase your family by 1 with a biological child. We set out to find a better way to grow our family. Adoption seems to be the most efficient means to boost the caliber of our family. With adoption you do not just include a child to the family; there is also an opportunity to add the birth parents as well as their parents and siblings. This ability to multiply, instead of add, was a major contributor to our decision. We love adoption and hope to share the experience with as many people as possible. Please feel free to visit our blog (jndpayne.blogspot.com) or shoot us an e-mail (jndpayne@gmail.com). We love getting to know people and would be more than happy to answer any and all questions you have for us! Thanks so much for taking the time to read about us.

Baseball

First off, let me start out by thank you all so incredibly much for the love and support!!! You are all awesome. I'm so blessed so have so many family, friends to help through hard times. Here's somewhat of an update... I've been emailing with a teacher of mine. FABULOUS teacher. Has literally been the best teacher I have EVER had. Genuinely cares about each and every one of the students. I can't "sing" enough praises about this teacher. Anyway~ this teacher has been helpful. I will call first thing Monday morning to make an appointment with the division chair over nursing. I will try to appeal the A & A committee's decision. Once again, I'll keep you all updated. And thank you from the bottom of our hearts for EVERYTHING! Love you all!

So now on to the funner, not so mushy stuff! I decided I'd just blog about the baseball game we went to last Monday. Like I mentioned, the kid that we were there to watch is an 11 yr. old in our ward. We're good friends with his parents. This kids was one of my scouts; now he's Jared's. He played great!!! He hit triple play to lead off the third inning. His team ended up winning by one point! We took him to 7-11 to celebrate (yes, be jealous Mel j/k). Kind of a side note, he said this was his first time going to 7-11 and having a slurpee!! He'd had slushies, but not a slurpee. (I know you're dying of shock Mel). Anyway~ it was a blast. We're so honored to have had that privilege of taking him, watching him play. Here are some pictures from the event.

We... okay, I was bored waiting for the game to start. This is what you get when you have a way tired, bored, silly mood Devin

Pre-game warm up

Another pre-game warm up

Of course, the blog post wouldn't be complete without a picture or two of Buddy! I don't know if I've updated on how big he is or not. He's has stopped growing at 40 lbs! I took him to the vet about a week or two ago. He weighed in at 43 lbs... the vet suggested Buddy loose 3 lbs. Which is quite the trick since one of his owners loves to give him treat and I'll give you all a hint, it's not me! He's such a great dog. He's done fabulous with all the kids we've had around the house lately. I don't think he's learned any new tricks. So yeah, that's about it for Buddy. Now for the pic!

Our Mr. Buddy dog aka phluphy (Jared's way of spelling fluffy)

Hope this finds you all well!! Love to all!!!

Trying to be positive

Sorry, still slacking in keeping up as well as I should. I'm trying. Please don't give up on me. We've still been busy, busy but good overall. The bad, stress part is at the end. Monday the main, exciting thing was we went to a baseball game!

Kind of long story, but we took an 11 yr. old boy to his game and stayed to watch. SO FUN!! Loved it. Pictures are to come. I may let Jared do that one too, just because he understands baseball better. Tues. I FINALLY got caught up on my house cleaning.

Wed. I got some cleaning and laundry done... yes, I have decided to divide my cleaning into days. I know it's June Cleaver, or whatever, but it works for me. Anyway~ I then went to lunch with a friend of mine. SO MUCH FUN!!! Love woman time!!! Yesterday, Thurs. was a bitter/sweet day ... again. Seem to be having a lot of those lately. Anyway~ in the morning I went to the temple with my grandparents and ... he's the other grandfather of a couple of my cousins.

FABULOUS!! Time there. We were celebrating the 59th wedding anniversary of my grandparents!! Amazing huh? Anyway~ when I got home is when the bitter started. So...

As you all know, I failed one class this last semester. So I'm one class away from getting my nursing degree. Well, part of the process of retaking a class, in this program, is writing a letter to an advancement and ... A & A committee. Forgot what the other "A" stands for. Anyway~ I wrote the letter and have been waiting for like 2 weeks to hear back from them. Yesterday was the day. The A & A committee decided to dismiss me from the program. This means that I will not be able to finish my degree at this college. I try to stay positive most of the time, ... and I'm doing a bit better now that I've slept on it... but I feel frustrated, discouraged, inadequate, and a whole lot of other feelings. Prayers are definitely welcomed at this point. We will hopefully start making some decisions today (ie., do I have enough fight in me to find a new program and ... I don't think I'd have to start ALL over again, but yeah... or do we call it quits here and if I need the degree then I can go back later). Thanks for all the love and support!!

A good week!

This has been a fabulous week!! I wish life could always be this awesome!!!

Jared did his normal work, scouts, loving life week. He has spent a little more time on his book scanner. If you don't remember about it, you can read here. Anyway~ nothing is really new for my amazing, patient, loving husband.

I have loved not stressing about school. I spent time relaxing, catching up on trek stuff, on house cleaning, visiting friends... loving life! I kind of feel like I need to be doing more then I have been. This week I plan on trying to do a couple of my "life after school" goals. Goals such as making a dinner menu and cooking more, exercising more, etc. I'll keep you all posted on how that goes. Yes, I do realize I still haven't graduated, but it's close enough, right?

Yesterday (Fri.) afternoon, until tomorrow (Sun.) we have 2 kiddos in the foster system again. This is our first time with 4 and 15 (just a reminder, I use the number in their age. that way I maintain the confidentiality). They are so sweet!! I think I say that about all of them though, huh? hehe I love all kids, what can I say.

Anyway, that's us in a nutshell for the week. How was all of your guys week??

Crazy couple of weeks

Yes, we are still alive. It's been quite the last couple of weeks~ hence behind in the blogging. Hopefully I can get back on the ball. So here's what we've been up to.

The week of April 24th my amazing mom was in town! I didn't get to see her much (thanks a lot school!) but we did have a date and went to see the Carl Bach Museum. It was amazing!! Loved having the time with my mom too. Don't get much one on one time with her, so I enjoyed every minute of it. Here are some pictures of when my mom was here.

silly niece

beautiful Mom

fun nephew

maybe 1/3 of the Zobrist family

That weekend we also had a blast spending some time with Jared's side of our family. We started off by a graduation celebration! Jared has a cousin who's husband graduated. Jared's uncle, aunt, and cousins all came in. It was so fun to see them!! Later that night Jared's sister and her family came down. Love seeing them! Oh! Jared got a new toy too! I'll see if he'll blog about it.

Aunt, cousin-in-law, uncle

Jared's cousin's family

3 cute, cute babies... if i remember right 3, 5, and 7 months

On to the next week, the week of May 1st. Sunday I dropped Jared off, and he car pooled up to the airport. He spent most of the week in FL at a work conference. I may be able to get him to do a post on it (yes, two blog post from Jared! YAY!). Anyway~ after I dropped off Jared, I picked up my grandma and we went to a baby blessing. One of my cousin's had a baby first part of February. I then went to my ward and chilled out for the rest of the day. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were finals. You all ready know how Monday's went (if not, read here). Tues. and Wed. went great. I passed the classes and life is good, in that sense! I pretty much played all that afternoon. Thursday, I got house keeping stuff done and then the real fun started. Thurs. afternoon, I picked up 7 (a kid in the foster care system that we watched all weekend) from school. We had a blast playing until bedtime. Fri., I took 7 to school, went and picked up 15 and 3 (siblings that are also in the foster care system that we watched all weekend. Sorry, if you can't tell I'm using the numbers in their age. Confidentiality reasons). I took the 2 kiddos and we picked up Jared from the airport!!! I was SSSSOOOO good to see him after that horrid week. Unfortunately Jared was wiped out most of Fri. and Sat. from his trip. He played a little bit with me and the 3 kids. We all went to the park, played games, etc. It was different being the parent figure to 3 kids. I loved every min. of it! Can't wait for a permanent placement. Church was fun juggling them. After church, two took naps and we got to play with the third. We then had the foster parents for 15 and 3 over for dinner! Thanks again for everything Heather!!! We then took 7 home, and got her to bed. Her foster parents are friends of ours too. Sorry, no pictures of this week. I had the camera and thought about it, but, once again, confidentiality rules.

So, to end this blog post... here are some random pics.

"Save me Dad! But let me watch"

Buddy getting so big! Luckily he's stopped growing at 40lbs!

Buddy's favorite sleeping position

Jared playing basketball with his scouts

Anyway~ that is a sum of our last couple of weeks!!! Hope all of yours was great! Love to all!!

Sad day

Well... today was the BIG day for if I was going to pass high acuity and graduate on Wed. Unfortunately, I didn't do as well as I needed to on the final. I got a 82.19 instead of the 91.5% ...

I'll have to try again next semester I guess. Thanks for all the prayers, well wishes, and support! Love you all!!