on how the scriptures are the COOLEST!

So we're STILL WAITING to hear from BYU, W&L, and the University of Richmond about law school.  It's been two months!  Sheesh.  On a positive note, Ave Maria (see previous post about acceptance there) tracked down one of their LDS students from Idaho to call Ricky and talk to him about the school!  How amazing is that?  I mean, it's a Catholic school, so Mormon kids from ID are probably pretty rare. :)  It definitely wouldn't be a bad choice--the school is on the Gulf Coast of FL, four hours (driving) from Key West, two hours from Miami, and they offered Ricky a half-tuition scholarship!  (Plus, you don't have to be teacher certified to get hired as a teacher in Florida...you only have to be qualified to be certified, and then you can start certification after you start teaching.  I could definitely live with that!)  But, we'll see. 

Oh yes, and about the title of the post--Ricky and began reading the Book of Mormon together a year ago this month, and (except for a few weeks of the summer when I was doing efy) we've read a chapter (half a chapter for the long ones) every day since then.  Well, we're not quite done yet, but last night we hit 3 Nephi 11, which is one of the greatest chapters in all Book of Mormondom.  Reading about Christ and his arrival always reminds me of how grateful I am to know Him, His gospel, and how much He loves me.  For a Biblical reference, I gave a spiritual thought for FHE this week about the verse "Jesus wept."  It's one of the most well-known, being the shortest, but I realized recently that I had no idea off the top of my head what story that verse comes from. 

[This is the break where you think about if you know the story.]

It's the story of Lazarus!  Let's recap--Christ is informed that Lazarus is dying, but purposefully waits a few days before going to see him.  (Jewish tradition said that the spirit of the deceased lingered for three days after death, so Christ was making sure there could be no doubt of the miracle He was about to perform.)  When he arrives, Lazarus is dead, and Mary and others are obviously distraught.  Christ knows that Lazarus will be fine, and yet here is where we see "Jesus wept."  Instead of just fixing the problem and dismissing the incident, Christ "mourn[s] with those that mourn" and "comfort[s] those who stand in need of comfort," understanding the pain that they're experiencing just as He understands the pain that we feel in our lives.  This isn't only a great reminder that Christ understands every trial we face, but also a wonderful example of how to treat those who experience sorrow or difficulty.  Sure, we may be able to fix the problem or make the situation better, but do we really sympathize?  The moral of the story is that yes, the scriptures ARE the coolest.  Even the shortest. :)

And for lack of anything else to say, here is a list of current favorites:
-toaster oven bagel melts
-framed pictures
-feather pillows
-Super Mario Wii
-Series of Unfortunate Events book series
-the original "Annie"
-SPRING!