Go Figure!

My first year of pharmacy school is complete! I worked hard, and among the fruits of my labors was a 3.982 gpa. That is a reflection of many long nights and very early mornings. Not only did I have to endure this, so did my wife. She was left husband-less for the better part of a year, and I admire her strength to not only deal with the circumstances with a smile on her face, but to encourage me as well. Thank you Spring! In addition to being gone during the school year, I have been gone for the majority of summer. I took a job as a Governor’s School counselor at my university. Governor’s School is a chance for the upper echelon high school students (upper echelon in accolades, not in wealth) to spend 5 weeks in a college setting while taking 7 credits. It was the first time I’ve ever lived in a dorm. Who would have thought that first would happen AFTER I was married? All in all it was a terrific experience. I learned a lot about myself; the things I like and the things that need improvement. The very afternoon I finished the Governor’s School, Spring and I left for what would be a 35.5 hour straight drive to California. I am out here for a pharmacy internship and we thought it would be fun if Spring came out for a week. We had a lot of fun with the family, and I was reluctant to have Spring go back to Tennessee. But hey, someone’s gotta work right?


On Spring’s last day in California we made a 2 hour drive to my grandma’s house to spend the night, since it was relatively close to the LAX airport that Spring would be departing from the following morning. We made a quick stop at a store, and upon returning were unable to get the car started. I knew it was a problem with either the battery or alternator, but was hoping for the cheaper to fix problem: the battery. Spring was able to find someone to give us a jump and we were on our way again… or so we thought. Once on the freeway the car started badly sputtering, and then gave out completely. Thankfully, we were on a downward slope and I was able to exit the freeway and pull into a gas station. I knew if it were an alternator problem it would cost $100’s. We had recently bought an extended warranty for our car but couldn’t find the paper work anywhere. We finally were able to find the number for the company issuing the warranty and, sure enough, they were closed for the weekend. We got towed to a auto repair shop and they discovered the problem was simply that my battery had gone completely out. Thank goodness! And another thank goodness that the battery didn’t give up the ghost while we were on our long drive from Tennessee. Just another 40 miles and it would have. In any case, we were finally on our way to my grandma’s. We hit loads of traffic (on the weekend no less) and were so excited to finally arrive at our destination that I locked my keys in my car! Go figure!

New Political Blog

I just started a new blog in which I articulate my views of the world of politics. Take a moment to check it out.

http://www.adamkcooper-politics.blogspot.com

Tennessee & Beyond

Spring and I are getting pretty well settled here in Tennessee! Spring was able to quickly find a job, and one that she enjoys at that. That has been a huge blessing for us. Our ward has been nothing less than amazing. I don't think I've ever been invited to so many dinners! Spring received a calling as a Relief Society teacher our second Sunday in the ward and I got a call to be a Gospel Principles teacher and a Ward Missionary. Our callings have been challenging and rewarding (as are most callings). School is keeping me pretty busy. I love finally learning everything that will apply to what I want to do! On top of the school work I was voted as one of the two Honor Code Representatives for my class, was invited to represent my class during a Board of Visitor's Meeting by the Dean, and have been invited to become a Student Ambassador by the Admissions Committee. Oh, and on top of that they already have us out in the field working at pharmacies. It's been a great experience so far. The semester's already gone by so fast... Almost too fast!

Quick Update

We made it! We're finally in Tennessee! As a quick update, Spring and I got married in the San Diego temple July 11th. It was a beautiful day, albeit a little too windy for Spring's liking. We drove back up to Utah a few days later and packed all of our stuff into a 16 foot Penske truck. The next day we began our 2,000 mile move across country. We drove for about 10 hours a day for the first three days and our 4th and final day was only a 5 hour day. It is absolutely gorgeous where we live! Everything is a robust green. We have a little swing on our front porch which overlooks the rolling hills of the area. Our town would definitely be considered "country," which definitely adds to the beauty. We're only a minute or two from a couple food stores and Pizza Hut, Pappa John's, McDonald's, Taco Bell and Dairy Queen! So we have the sites of the country with the closeness to the "essentials" of a city. I'll be sure to post pictures soon, but for the time being we don't have internet at our apartment and have to come to the local library to use it. That's all for now. :)

Some Untouched Engagement Pictures

School is Out!

My last semester at Utah Valley State University has finally come to an end! I now have about a 3 month summer before I begin another 4 years of my doctorate program. There's so much to do in the next three months, but I'm looking forward to every minute detail of it! I get married on July 17th! We've only been engaged for a couple weeks, but most things seem to be taken care of already. Spring has already found her wedding dress! I think the last few things we need to get done in regards to the wedding are finding a tux for myself, taking reception photos and sending out wedding announcements. I am so looking forward to getting married in the temple. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to be sealed for time and all eternity to the most amazing girl I've ever met. I do not know what, if anything, I have done to deserve someone of her magnitude. Whatever the case may be, it is my solemn pledge to work everyday to be worthy of her. It's difficult for anyone to truly comprehend "eternity," and I am no exception. Even so, may I be so bold as to suggest that eternity alone may not be long enough to spend with Spring? I am so grateful for the opportunity to create not just a family with her, but an eternal family. I have been taught from early on that families can be together forever. When your young it's difficult to comprehend a blessing of that magnitude. Heck, if you were anything like me as a kid, you may have cringed at the thought of spending more than 5 minutes with your family at some point, let alone being with them for forever. Thankfully, I have matured. I now realize the magnitude of such a blessing. I am grateful for the opportunity to be with my current family forever, and am all the more excited to create an eternal family of my own. Two blessings my fiance has blessed me with: A growing capacity for love and a growing desire to become more Christlike. So... pretty much I've found the perfect girl :)

On another note, I was reading and came across the following: [The Lord] doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world. I thought a lot about that. Certainly it is the Lord who bestows blessings upon us. In which case, how might our personal blessings "benefit the world"? My thought is that we do not possess sole ownership of our blessings. Heavenly Father expects the blessings he freely gives us to benefit those around us as well, thus benefiting the world. The blessings we receive should have a positive impact on those around us. We can provide positive impacts by doing something as small as smiling. Sometimes that's all it takes to change the mood of another.

I'm Engaged!!!

I suppose the best place to begin this blog is to say I'm marrying my dream girl. She's everything I could have hoped for, and so much more. As far as the engagement goes, I wanted to propose on Saturday the 25th. Spring (my fiance) I think was catching on that I was going to propose to her soon. To throw her off my scent I told her the fulfillment department of the ring store contacted me to tell me that there was a two week back order on the ring. The scent was lost! The weather reports weren't looking too good for the weekend. The last decent day weather wise was Thursday. On Wednesday I decided I was going to do it on Thursday. Wednesday night I went to see Spring's dad and asked permission to marry his daughter. He said yes! Thursday afternoon I took Spring up the canyon under the false pretenses of a hike. We walked a little ways to a spot where two little streams come together to become one. I told her that before we went any further I needed to tell her a story about these two little streams. I said, "These two little streams are cool all by themselves, but they wanted to be a part of something bigger and better so they came together. Now they're both apart of something bigger and better than anything they could have been on their own. We're both cool, you and I. I want to be apart of something bigger and better though. That something is being with you for all time and eternity. I want to learn with you. I want to grow with you. I want to grow closer to Heavenly Father as we both grow closer to one another." I then got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She said yes! We're getting married July 17th in the San Diego temple. We're both ecstatic about everything! Here are some pictures:

The Two Little Streams




Where they converge









And this is where we'll be getting married!