If it wasn't for that spider, I never would've made it through law school

OR- Hypochondriacs R Us

JAKE- I have started work and Chelsea has started school. So, it begins. I have been thinking lately that it was about time that we got started with what will essentially be our routine for the next year. Of course I say that now, but I am sure I will be complaining about the never ending drag of our lives in about nine months, but what can ya do. A week or so ago Chelsea and I saw a spider living by the front door of the house. He or she was nestled into the phonebook that dangles from the pay phone next to the door. So naturally I destroyed its web and thought nothing of it. Well, it remade its web a short time later and now we don't have the heart to kill it (the resilient little bugger) so instead we have adopted it and named it Dex, like the phonebook. I have started my online course as well. It looks like it will be a lot of writing; not surprising considering it's English 102 Freshmen Writing. Enough jabber, it's time for family fun evening.

So zombies CAN go to church

OR- Good news if you are married to Chelsea Reynolds

I suppose four can be the magic number for now then. I was offered all four jobs that i interviewed for. A 'thank you' email to the perioperative services department received a response confirming they were going to offer me the job there if HR wouldn't have told them i accepted the position in the laboratory. Now, I am not saying that I am anything special. In fact I am quite sure that these departments had several openings and perhaps I was just one of few applicants. Seriously I am not trying to make it sound like I am praiseworthy. I am telling you this so I can give credit where credit is due. Who says that paying your tithing doesn't pay off? These job opportunities were a blessing. Period. I got the exact job that I wanted in the exact place i wanted to work. Sure I put in the hours of interviews, driving there and back, phone calls, emails, etc. But I could not have done it alone. I couldn't do this life thing alone. Not without a Father in Heaven looking out and helping. Yes, actually stretching forth His hand and helping. And this is not something that I alone enjoy, millions could testify of the same thing. Don't mistake coincidence for the very handiwork of the almighty.

      On another note. I don't claim to know much. I mean, many of the great mysteries of the universe i simply do not comprehend. Although, do you think it is possible that my wife is actually getting more and more beautiful as time goes on? How is this conceivable? She's so hot and getting hotter! All I can do know is just sit back and enjoy the show. I'm telling you people she is really starting to shine out here in so many ways, and it is my privilege to be a part of it. What a wife! Hey, if you can't laud your wife via blog, where can you do it?

Shmorienshmation

The above should read: "Orientation", but this is the way all words are sounding in my head right now. Orientation at Vermont Law School is an all-day week-long extravaganza. Eight AM to five PM everyday. Most nights there are things going on as well, so things usually start winding down around twelve or thirteen hours after getting started in the morning. JD students, here for three years and becoming a lawyer at the end of it all, have it somewhat rough. They have no say in their classes or schedule for the entire first year, and are pushed away into sections that are basically built-in study groups. MELP students (me) might actually have it rougher. The goal of the professors for this week is to make sure that every MELP student knows as much about the law as one would learn in the whole first year of law school, so that we will be ready to take the classes that the 3L (third years) and LLM (Post JD Master of Laws) students take, starting the first day of school.

This is not an easy task.

I am by far the youngest in this year's admitted class of only twenty-four, and am finding myself to be ridiculously under-qualified. Most of these people have spent years cavorting around the Amazon, working in the Peace Corps, or having whole other lives, like the retired policeman and mother who was an elementary school teacher for fifteen years. I don't know how I got admitted into this remarkably prestigious program. ASU didn't want me, but the number one program in the country did? Yes, I am still bitter about that. Oh well. Since I am moving there in a year, I can wave this Harvard-Yale-Dartmouth caliber diploma in their face and say "neener neener!"

So this week is very tiring, and incredibly informative. I am learning all about the law and will be able to hold my own with any lawyer in a matter of days. That is, if words will stop sounding like gibberish.

On another note--a few things we have learned about the house (if you didn't know, we occupy a very small area of the house, and are oblivious to what goes on in the rest of it):

• it is well over 10,000 square feet.
• it is four stories tall plus a basement.
• the fourth floor is a full-sized BALLROOM.
• Theodore Roosevelt (the former president) stayed here frequently...our bedroom? used to be his.
• after Lincoln was assassinated, his wife and family "fled to Vermont" and lived here.
• the Law School still owns the majority of the building and cooks all of its meals in the industrial kitchen (sometimes we smell things...)
• there is a pub in the basement.
• there are other tenants. they have a dog.

It is really quite remarkable, and the history is very rich indeed. We have mixed reports on its paranormal activity, and some nights, I wouldn't be surprised to believe some of the shadier stories (see Jake's post on the midnight disturbance). All in all, we actually really like it here, and in all honesty, it has to be seen to be believed. 

We may have stumbled onto greatness with this one, folks.

For now, more reading and case briefing and trying to sleep at all at night.

AND ONE MORE THING! Jake got three job offers today. THREE. He took one. I will let him post about it later.

Wife of Green Tables

OR- Putting shame in your name


JAKE- The last of the interviews have been finished at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. I have interviewed for four different positions now, and all of them are pretty varied in context. First was EKG Tech (doing ekg's on patients) then, Phlebotomist (drawing patients' blood) third was Surgical Support Tech II (do everything in the operating room that you never think about having to be done) and finally, Sterile Instruments Tech II (clean surgical instruments). Oh sure there a few that i would prefer over the others, but can i really be picky? They all seemingly offer great pay and benefits. Chelsea and I had our first ever family home evening tonight, and yes, it was just about the cutest thing ever. I prepared a media-enriched interactive lesson that really hit the spot. Did you know that the Vermont Law School nickname and logo is the Fighting Swans? Chelsea is a Fighting Swan. Maybe not as bad as the Wichita State University Wheatshockers, the Campbell College Fighting Camels, or the University of California at Irvine Anteaters. All of which strike fear in the hearts of their opponents and the hearts of the people who make sweatshirts and caps with these ridiculous logos on them, hoping someone will buy. This just in, sadly the Russell sweatshirt company has opted to use the following as their nickname and logo- The Russell Sweatshirt Falling Profit Margins.

italiano traditional...o

JAKE- Here is what i made for dinner. A tomato sauce from scratch consisting of tomatoes, garlic, farmers market basil, salt, pepper, olive oil and love. Then i made up some penne pasta, plus we had an italian sausage from the farmers market that may have well been cut from a pig that was actually alive in the morning, im not sure. it was a good meal with a good wife. Speaking of she, might i say that chelsea has been doing really well out here in South Royalton. Those of you that know her may know what i mean. sure, at night she can have some tough anxious moments, but other than that she has been so stinking fun. I swear she is getting funnier and funnier every day. her wit and humor has been so right on the money. Its not that she has changed, but its like there is more of her than before; more flavor to enjoy. Yeah, she is more full of that chelsea flavor that we all love... its like she has gone organic. No preservatives or additives, just pure wife. Hey if im not going to laud her over the pulpit at church at least i can do it in this blog. Did you know that 80/20 ground beef is as cheap as 1.99 a pound out here? that is a special deal. i think maybe we should load up and have burgers every night for goodness sake. oh boy, i muust run up a large hill tomorrow; the last two times i have done it i have felt like i was going to throw up. Run.Run. We had dinner at our landlords house(barn) last night and though i wasnt much part of the conversation, i think i overheard people saying that there are raccoons out here as big as black bears. Is that possible? If thats true than i guess i should be more scared of a rodent attacking me than a carnivorous beast. i thought that sort of thing was only possible in the fire-swamp. alright i will stop this blog... as you wish.

if you were in the South Royalton Ward, you would be hearing this on Sunday:

Here is my talk. Jake didn't want to post his, but is willing to send it to anyone interested.

I am Chelsea Reynolds, formerly Chelsea Hinckley. I am twenty-one years old. I am five feet and four inches tall, and have already nearly exhausted my supply of cute outfits, so be prepared for repeats.

I truly am a mover by heart. Growing up, my family never stayed in one place for too long, and after a while, I start to get the itch to get up, get out, and see something new. Before I was born, my parents and older sister moved around and around the Midwest as my dad gained work experience doing internships after receiving his MBA from BYU. But, in the grand Mormon tradition I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Weeks after my birth, my family relocated to Minnesota where my dad took a job with Northwest Airlines where he worked until 2006. You can now find him at the top of a tall building in downtown Minneapolis where he works as a VP for US Bank. He took to the banking business when the airline industry began to tank, and has been looking to get out of the banking business since about a month after his hire. My mother is an artist, and is recently gaining some national recognition. Go Mom! If you are truly interested in what kind of art she does, I can tell you separately, as it is difficult to explain over the pulpit. As I previously mentioned, I have an older sister that lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, who is another artist, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. I also have a younger sister who is studying Opera performance and Painting at Southern Virginia University. As you can tell, I come from a family of artists. This also makes me the classically and intrinsically motivated middle child. I studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Minnesota after a brief stint at Southern Utah University. I am now ready to begin work on my Master’s degree at Vermont Law School, a Master of Environmental Law and Policy, which is what has brought us to this beautiful part of the country.

My husband and I are a truly classic tale of a home ward romance and freakishly cosmic chance. We first met before either of us remembers, when our parents were great friends. However, to keep things interesting, my family moved away to Chicago, then to Seattle, and then to Florida…but the universe was watching out for us, because eventually, it brought me back to Minnesota where, after many adventures of his own, Jake was waiting. After a few years, we dated, then we didn’t date, then we dated, then we weren’t on speaking terms, then I winked at him, then we fell in love and were married almost exactly a year later. Ladies, never underestimate the power of a single wink.

As an English major and a lover of words, I am always interested in new ways to describe things, new ways to play with format and style, especially with Sacrament Meeting talks. I have given talks in rhyme, a sassy top-ten, and it has always been a lofty goal of mine to one day give one in iambic pentameter. Don’t worry; you do not have to be that lucky congregation. But for now, picture this: I have decided to tell you the many things that I believe on an innate level. What I believe not as a member of the church, but as a human being. Then, hopefully, it will become evident to you why I am a member of the church, because the teachings of the church align themselves so nicely with what I believe as a person.

First, I believe in people. I believe that people were put here to help each other, and to be different from each other. I believe that in our differences, we were created from the beginning, so that we could learn to live with one another in a constant celebration of diversity. M. Russell Ballard said, “Just as we claim the right to worship as we choose, we believe [others] have the right to worship—or to not worship—as [they] see fit. All of our interpersonal relationships should be built on a foundation of mutual respect, trust, and appreciation. But that shouldn’t prevent us from sharing deeply held religious feelings with each other. Indeed, we may find that our [religious and] philosophical differences add flavor and perspective to our relationships, especially if those relationships are built on true values, openness, respect, trust, and understanding.” This great country that we live in was erected out of many nations, and it took the input of all those nations together to create what we have today. Some question the church’s respect of different cultures and different religions, particularly considering our vast missionary efforts. Here is what I believe. This is also my favorite scripture: 2 Nephi 29:7 “Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?”

From this, I gather that of course the Lord is a respecter of cultures; He made them. A visiting teaching message instructs us to “value our diversity as we blend our efforts.” How lucky we are to be different. I believe in people.

I believe in education. I believe that one of the primary reasons we were put on this earth is to learn everything we can. I have a rabid desire for education, and I thrive when I am surrounded by papers and books. That is probably the reason I have decided to pursue a graduate level education. I anxiously await the day when I can receive the senior auditing discount at my local community college so that I can continue to take classes and soak up as much information as I can. This love of education is one reason why I enjoy moving around so much. I love to visit a new place to take in all it has to offer: rich and varied histories, delicate ecosystems, a culture unlike any other. When I see someone with a skill I don’t have, I admire them, for they have gained a piece of knowledge that I have yet to experience. One day I hope to learn how to milk a cow, grow a cucumber, or fix a toilet, and if I stay here long enough, I just might get that opportunity.

Education comes in all forms. Schooling is an easy way to gain knowledge. You sit in a desk while a teacher literally tells you everything you need to know for an upcoming exam. You quickly jot down notes and graphs that will help you memorize names and dates that are only needed to pass this class. While that is a worthy goal, it is not the only way that we can pursue education. I try to take in every mode of education, such as watching someone do something they do well, or talking to somebody who has a passion for a subject you know little about, so that I will have a broader understanding of life in all of its aspects. The late prophet Gordon B. Hinckley wrote, “This Church came about as a result of intellectual curiosity. We believe in education, and we spend a substantial part of our budget on the education of our young people. We expect them to think. We expect them to investigate. We expect them to use their minds and dig deeply for knowledge in all fields. If we have a motto, it is this, "The glory of God is intelligence."” The Gospel Library of Topics says, “a good education will prepare us for opportunities as they come” and I hope that by educating myself now, I will be ready for the many opportunities I will have throughout my lifetime. Gordon B. Hinckley also taught that “the Lord wants you to educate your minds and hands” and I intend to do just that. I believe in education.

I believe in art. Coming from a family of artists of all kinds, my appreciation for the arts came at an early age. I remember the first time I cried while bearing my testimony. I had recently accompanied the ward choir as they sang the Wilhousky version of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, and the feeling I got while playing, and even whenever I think about it now, was something that came directly from my heart. Art has the power to inspire us, to change us even, and I believe that we should receive it with open arms and sincere hearts. Singing hymns is the perfect way, and the easiest, to show the Lord that we appreciate Him. Not only are we afforded the opportunity to sing several hymns each Sunday, but we are expected to sing to the best of our ability. You do not have to be perfectly on pitch to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. What better way to show your thanks than to sing to the rafters a song that praises our pure and loving Maker. Music is just one outlet in that great mechanism we call art. Not all of us are painters or quilters or sculptors, but as one of my favorite quotes says, “We can’t all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by” (Will Rogers). So even though, in a family of artists, I am not the most artistically gifted, I am a great art appreciator, and in some cases, that is the more important role.

My grandmother is a docent at the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City, and it is amazing to me how many people around the world use art as a way to glorify their creator. The Savior and His Mother are some of the world’s most often used subjects in many forms of art, and as a people that loves their Redeemer, I believe that we should be exposed to these great works of art. In a 1996 New Era, M. Russell Ballard wrote, “I have never painted a picture, composed a sonata, or won an award for acting. But I have been inspired by artists and their art…Inspired art speaks in the language of eternity, teaching things to the heart that the eyes and ears can never understand…No one can gaze on the art of Michelangelo and not see the hand of God. Michelangelo said, “The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.”” Art is a way of showing the world what we know. I believe in art.

I believe in myself. I believe that in each person there is a light of goodness that should be constantly reached for. I believe in edifying myself so that I can help those around me in whatever way I can. I believe that self-love is paramount to all other loves, and without that first and all-important love, other attempts at love will fail. Although love of self is a difficult task at times, as there is always seemingly someone better out there than you, it is one of the most important lessons that we can learn in this lifetime. Matthew 22: 37-39 instructs us, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The last sentence here strikes me. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”. This great commandment is usually shortened only to “Love thy neighbor”, and by so doing we are eliminating the other half of the commandment: to love ourselves. How can we effectively love our neighbors as ourselves, if we do not first love ourselves?

As part of this self-love, I believe in keeping my body healthy. I believe that our bodies are gifts and in order to respect what I have been given, I need to keep my body as capable and competent as possible. For me, that means exercising and eating good food in good quantity (something I sometimes struggle with). It also means completely avoiding dangerous substances which family history tells me I have a weakness for. I respect the capabilities of my body too much to endanger its future by polluting it with substances proven to do me harm. Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants gives the Saints the Word of Wisdom, which instructs us to keep our bodies healthy and clean, and by so doing blesses us with health, wisdom, knowledge, and the capacity to do the things that of which we have need. I believe in myself.

I believe in family. I believe that the family is the primary construct of society, and all larger models of people are built around the singular family. I believe that our families are our closest neighbors, and that to fully follow the aforementioned commandment to love our neighbors, we need to love our families. I believe that the bonds we form with our family when we are young are the bonds that will stay with us forever. Having two sisters, I also believe that sharing a bathroom between three teenage girls can be difficult and straining on even the most solid of relationships, but that in time, those unions will continue to strengthen and mature, despite any stolen T-shirt or hairspray. Henry B. Eyring said, “It is the sealing power and our knowledge of it which changes and transforms our family life here and our expectations for the joy of family life in the world to come.” I believe that families continue after this life, and that all the joy we share with our families here on earth will be magnified in the worlds to come. I believe in family.

I believe in God and my Savior. I believe that the Savior created this amazing world, under the close supervision of the Father, with incomprehensible foresight and unimaginable magnitude. I believe that there is a God watching over all, and that His love for us is unending and undeniable. I believe that those who are happiest in this life are those who recognize the hand of God in it. Bruce R. McConkie said, “I think the Latter-day Saints have a great obligation pressing in upon them to rejoice in the Lord, to praise him for his goodness and grace, to ponder his eternal truths in their hearts, and to set their hearts on righteousness. If we are going to work out our salvation, we must rejoice in the Lord.” I believe that God is good to all, and that through the Savior we can all come unto Him when He calls us home. As Howard W. Hunter said, “I am grateful for my affiliation with a people who have a firm conviction that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ.” I believe in God and my Savior. Basically, it comes down to this: why am I a member of this Church? Even if, somehow, by some realm of the imagination the prophets were wrong (although they aren’t), even if, somehow, something went awry somewhere along the way (although it hasn’t), even if it weren’t true, it would still make me a better person, and that alone makes it worth it.

In the words of Alma, “Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel” (Alma 26:16).

i sat down to write a talk and this is what came out.

I am constantly reaching for the goodness in me. Sometimes I have to reach farther than I am capable, and still come up short. I have a bad habit of saying everything that I am thinking, without regard for inappropriate timing or the guarantee of hurt feelings. This habit has gotten me into trouble many times, and for years I have tried to curtail this naturally occurring character trait. However, it was not until a few days ago that I realized that simply holding back is not enough. I need to change the way I think. I need to eliminate the thought process that leads me to these unkind and often misconstrued judgments. I am notorious for loudly proclaiming my dislike for certain trendy items. For years I vowed not to read Harry Potter. Turned out to be a huge fan. That little pouf of hair that is worn by so many girls, I stridently opposed. Turned out I love it and am wearing it in my wedding pictures. Songs are the same way for me. Being a musician at heart, I have a tendency to be somewhat of a music snob. Listening to new songs can be an almost painful procedure. The music is shabby, and the lyrics always leave something to be desired. Immediately and true to form, I make a statement that cannot possibly be true, “this might be the worst song I have ever heard” or, “there might be worse songs out there than this, but…” The difficult thing for me then is getting over myself enough to admit that I like them. Scanning the radio in secret is not the best way to promote trust in a relationship, nor is it the best way to listen to the songs you want.