And the decision is...

...NOEL'S GOING TO DO A PHD AT FULLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We made the decision earlier this week; Noel will start the PhD program in the fall (PhD in Practical Theology with an emphasis in Homeletics). We turned in a deposit to Fuller, so it's official! We're excited to pursue this new endeavor, but are still unsure of what the next few years will look like. There are still a lot of unknowns (especially in terms of the cost of the program), but we'll take it one step at a time. We feel confident and excited that this is the right thing for us.

Hiking

It's Emily and Jason's last day here. :( The weather is spectacular (mid to upper 80's and sunny) and we decided to spend the afternoon hiking. This hike is basically just stream hopping with a waterfall at the end. It was a lot of fun and great to spend the afternoon outdoors.

We'll miss you, Jason and Emily!

Sequoia

Emily and Jason arrived last Friday and we headed up to see the big trees. We checked the weather before we left and were expecting temperatures in the upper 60's. Little did we know, the temps predicted were for the entrance to the park, which is at a much different elevation than the part we actually hiked in. The trails were totally snow covered and the high was only around 40. Brrrrrrr!!!!! Luckily Emily had an extra sweatshirt that I could borrow and I layered all the clothes I wore on Friday with all the clothes I packed for Saturday. Despite the shockingly cold temperatures, we had a spectacular time. The park was beautiful and it was a really fun, quick getaway.

This is the biggest tree in the world! It was impossible to capture the whole thing in the picture, but it's height is not what makes it the biggest anyway. The density of the trunk is the determining factor.
Jason and Noel standing on "Beetle Rock". We ended up returning to this rock to eat lunch. What a great view!

Noel and me on "Big Trees Trail"

On the way out of the park, lupine was growing everywhere. It was so beautiful....and so much warmer!

Easter

We love spending time with fellow Hope grads and are so fortunate to have such a couple at our church! Bob and Carole Bos have become family to us out here and invited us to have Easter dinner with them at their Presbyterian retirement community. We had a delicious meal and are so thankful for their friendship.

Desert in bloom

We headed to Temecula on Friday to visit Marcia and Paul. We love going there; it's a great place to get away, relax, and unwind. On Saturday they took us to Borrego Springs to see the desert in bloom. It's particularly beautiful this year since we've had quite a bit of rain. It was quite a sight to see!

These caterpillars were everywhere!

Marcia and Paul

Marcia packed a great lunch for us and we ate it under the "shade" of a cactus.

The wildflowers were beautiful.

A Great Day

Wednesday was a great day in the Snyder household. Noel finished his finals from his toughest quarter ever. He was definitely ready to close the books on this quarter (and I am definitely ready to have my husband back!). We are looking forward to spending a bit more time together in the coming week. I can't believe he only has 1 more quarter of class work! We're thankful that this upcoming quarter should not be nearly as difficult as the quarter he just finished.

Noel also received a phone call congratulating him on his acceptance into the PhD program here at Fuller! We're still not sure if this is something he's going to pursue, but it's an honor to get accepted. He was offered a scholarship, but the amount isn't enough to "seal the deal", so we have a lot of thinking and praying to do about what the future holds for us. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for us as well during the next month (since we need to give Fuller an answer in 30 days).

Here's Noel holding his acceptance letter.

Working from home rocks!

This is what I wore to work today. How about you?