Nate and a coworker recently got interviewed about the Joseph Smith Papers website for a podcast called "Mormon Channel Daily." Check it out! http://www.mormonchannel.org/listen/series/mormon-channel-daily-audio/interview-with-joseph-smith-scholars-january-13-2015

  After a very long time, a whole lot of effort, and a gracious mentor, I am proud to announce that our very own Nate is published! Buttons are bursting left and right! Everyone run out and buy the book today! It's on Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/Zion-Canyon-Reader-Nathan-Waite/dp/1607813475 ) and has been sighted at Deseret Book, and it will be at the gift shops at Utah's national parks. Hopefully Barnes and Noble and other bookstores in the area will pick it up too. A blurb (copied and pasted from Amazon, let's be serious) on his book, A Zion Canyon Reader,  which was published by the University of Utah Press: Zion National Park is one of the country’s most-visited and best-loved national parks. For the first time, lovers of the park have in one volume the best that has been written about the canyon. A Zion Canyon Reader is a collection of historical and literary accounts that presents diverse perspectives on Zion Canyon—and the surrounding southern Utah region...

Birth story post still to come. In the meantime, here are a few things of note from the past few days. Chickens They eat cat food. Who knew? Also, one of them started crowing. It's very unfortunate, because it was Addison's favorite, Buzz Lightyear. We had a date all lined up to turn him into a freezer meal, and then at the last minute a friend's brother just happened to need a rooster for his new farm, where I'm sure Buzz is now enjoying his choice of the ladies. Bryn and Buzz Addison The poor boy has been throwing up (and down) for the past two days. Thank heavens for friends who will run to the store and get Gatorade and pull-ups for us. He is also currently fascinated by ocean life. Bryn Cut her hair yesterday all by herself. I'm still saying prayers of gratitude that she bypassed the gorgeous foot-long ringlet pigtails and just went for a little bit in the front. Either way, scissors are off-limits for a little while. She is very pro...

We spent last weekend in St. George. Nate was invited to give a presentation to the community on Carl Bloch, a famous artist that he just wrote an article on a few months ago. The presentation went great, and his grandparents, uncle, siblings, and parents (and me) were all able to go. Here he is 'neath the all-seeing eye in the St. George tabernacle where it all went down. Addison and Bryn had the best time in St. George. They always love getting spoiled by their grandparents. They slept for at least half of the drive home, but when Addison woke up he was pretty adamant that we needed to turn around and go back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Luckily we'd just stopped in Scipio, which has a petting zoo complete with a zebra, so that distracted him long enough for us to get him back in the car. Nate spent a lot of the time there preparing for the presentation and also doing research for another presentation he's got coming up in a few months. On Saturday, though, he was ...

Heads up: I almost titled this post "A Big Fat Brag on Natey." So get excited. Nate is insanely busy these days. It seems like we are always thinking our lives cannot possibly get busier and then they do. I daresay, however, that Nate is really becoming quite a pro at balancing all his responsibilities. He's taking two graduate classes on top of a full-time work week plus a daily commute time averaging two hours and twenty minutes. And he's the elder's quorum secretary at church. I'm ready for bed just thinking about it. As far as school goes, we're beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. One more semester. One more class. And it is NOT a night class. HOOrah! He met with the graduate advisor a few weeks ago and he has officially applied for graduation in May! I will now insert a shameless brag: She did a double-take when she saw the results of the portion of the MA exam that he took last spring. Apparently he passed with honors, which is quite u...

Just taking a moment to brag on the hubby and refer you to a great article in the most recent issue of BYU Magazine. It takes a look into the lives of German members of the Church during WWII. Check it out!