Don & Molly's Dallas Wedding Weekend!

The picture pretty much sums it up: we had a wonderful time at the wedding of our very good friends Don and Molly. The wedding was Saturday, May 21, in Dallas, which also happened to be Stephany's birthday! We left Becker with the grandparents and embarked on a two-night stay in downtown Dallas—no car, plush hotel room, and lots of fun!

Here we are riding the M-Line trolley between downtown and Uptown Saturday morning. We had enjoyed the rehearsal dinner the night before at a restaurant within walking distance of our hotel, the Fairmont, and since the wedding wasn't until that evening, we spent the day enjoying the city. We ate lunch in Uptown and enjoyed a beer at The Gingerman (as always, I was so impressed with the number of quality beers on tap).



Here's Stephany in the Fairmont's rooftop garden. My beautiful birthday sweetheart!



The Beck Group, a design-build firm, has a building directly across the street from the hotel. It was a nice reminder of our little guy.



Don and Molly had their wedding at the Dallas Museum of Art. I just have to say—the DMA is one classy place to have a wedding! I mean, renting out a major, contemporary museum with elegant halls and ornate pieces of modern art is just cool. Check out the reception hall:





They had a fantastic new wave 80's cover band called The Spazmatics play at the reception. I have to say: I have never seen Stephany dance as much as she did that night. I also have to say: I have never danced as much as I did that night. It was SO much fun! Stephany danced her little heart, and her feet, out that night. Fantastic.





Us during a break from dancing. At some point during the reception, very fun sunglasses started appearing everywhere. We eagerly participated.



We had such a fun time in Dallas that weekend. Don and Molly asked us to read Scripture at the ceremony, which was especially an honor for us. Stephany read 1 John 4:9-12, and I read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. Most importantly for us, we were able to be with our dear friends to celebrate the beginning of their marriage. It was a joyful time for us, and we pray the Lord's blessing over this new union that He has graciously provided.

Nathan

Nathan's Graduation from Law School

On Saturday, May 15, I graduated from SMU's Dedman School of Law. Graduation marked the completion of three years of a lot of things for us: our life in Dallas, a lot of hard work, a lot of perseverance and patience, our time of being with the friends we made there, our time together prior to having children. It was a momentous occasion for a lot of reasons for us. We were both proud to be able to say that we enjoyed the experience of Dallas and law school, despite the challenges, and that we felt we had made the absolute most of it. God blessed our lives richly during these past three years.

Prior to the hooding ceremony, a family party was thrown for me at Jamie's parents' house in Plano. Here's a picture of my mom and me.



And this was the fantastic cake that she brought for the occasion. It was chocolate with raspberry filling. Wow. The cake alone was almost worth the three years of law school.



This is me with my friends Amy (left) and Jessica (right), both law students in my class and two very good friends of ours, before the ceremony. We were so happy to meet so many wonderful people in law school. We made some friends, like these, that we will know for years to come.



Me in my regalia with my mom just prior to the ceremony.



The three of us.



The family photo: Malory, Mom, me, Becker, Steph, Tish, and Stephen.



I had been looking forward to this picture ever since we found out Stephany was pregnant. I was SO happy to have my son with me at my graduation. This is a picture we will always cherish.



And another one of the three of us!



Me beneath the huge law school sign in the Quad, which was installed for the ceremony.



Malory and Stephany.



Jessica and Malory.



Our friend Debbie from our home group of the past three years was also there with us to celebrate.



Pictures of the ceremony and me with my classmates.





This is me receiving my diploma from the law school's dean.





Me and Don, my good buddy.



Me, Don, and Molly, all so happy to have graduated! They were recently engaged, which is really exciting for us! We're hoping to be back in Dallas for their wedding next spring.



My mom and me. I was so happy that she was there.



Tish, me, and Stephen. I really enjoy getting pictures of the three of us, and this was a great one for me.



Us with Debbie.



And concluding the evening with another family photo.



The graduation ceremony was quite an event for us. It was bittersweet in a way. I was very satisfied with the immense effort I expended in law school, and the sense of accomplishment was very gratifying. At the same time, it was sad to say goodbye to so many good friends, from school and elsewhere in Dallas. It was also hard knowing that we would be moving away from my side of the family, who are all in Texas now. Having encouragement and support from our family and friends has been hugely important to us in the decisions we have made this past year.

We left Dallas just a few days after graduation and are now safely in Albuquerque. We are mostly settled in with Stephany's parents, who have graciously opened their home to us. Also, Malory moved back from Dallas this past weekend and is living with us, as well, which is great. I started my review course for the New Mexico bar exam just a few days after arriving in New Mexico, so I will stay busy with studying all things law until I take the bar exam on July 27-28. It continues to be an exciting and busy time for us.

To all our family and friends, thank you for all you have been to us and done for us in making this posting what it is. We are so happy to share in life with you.

Nathan

SMU Child Advocacy Clinic

During my final year at SMU Law, I have been involved with the law school's W.W. Caruth, Jr. Child Advocacy Clinic. When I first began considering to which law schools I would apply, part of my evaluation of schools became whether a school offered a legal clinic, and which type of clinic it offered. SMU Law hosts a number of clinics in its Clinical Program: Civil Clinic, Criminal Prosecution Clinic, Criminal Defense Clinic, Tax Clinic, Small Business Clinic, and Child Advocacy Clinic. The clinics offer law students a chance to practice under a supervising attorney and provide local residents with free legal aid. Students also get course credit.

Last semester (the first semester of my third and final year), I became a Student Attorney in the Child Advocacy Clinic, which was my top clinic choice (students apply for a spot in the clinics and are then selected in a lottery system). I was given a child neglect case, where I became the Guardian Ad Litem/Attorney Ad Litem of a two-year-old in the child welfare system. My partner Nicole (farthest on right above), who represented my client's younger sister, and I worked together to navigate our clients' cases through a district court in the Juvenile Courthouse. We appeared before the judge in our case several times to present motions and orders, and we also worked with Child Protective Services, the Assistant District Attorney prosecuting the case, and Dallas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates—my sister, an RN, is a CASA in Marshall), as well as our clients' parent and foster parents. This semester, I am a Chief Counsel in the clinic. I do not represent children or have cases, but I am a resource to assist current Student Attorneys in the clinic.

My experience in the Child Advocacy Clinic has been very rewarding. Approaching law school, I knew that I wanted to work in a legal clinic, and I felt that this particular clinic would provide me with an opportunity to do something I may not be able to do for a while once I am in private practice. I hope to be able to contribute my skills and legal abilities to help children in the future, whether it is through direct representation of kids in the child welfare system or some other form. So many children in the system have such huge needs, and the legal system plays a very large role in their lives. Good legal representation of their needs in court can result in their placement in the best environment available to them.

My first experience with legal aid was when I worked during the summer of 2008 at Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. I am glad to have had another opportunity to be involved with legal aid through the SMU Child Advocacy Clinic. I look forward to learning more about opportunities to serve the diverse legal needs of the community when we move to New Mexico.

Nathan

SNOW!

Dallas had a record amount of snowfall over the past day and a half! DFW Airport reported 12.5", the most ever in a 24-hour period. It started snowing pretty hard Wednesday night and continued through Friday early morning. We definitely haven't seen this much snow around here before! We spent most of the day inside, but we did head to campus early in the morning (so I could turn something in before the weather got really bad), and then I ventured out in the afternoon for about an hour to take some pictures of the neighborhood and the campus.

This was early Thursday morning. It continued to snow pretty hard all day.



We saw this on our way to campus (only a few blocks from where we live), which made us laugh.



Here are some pictures of the park not too far from where we live. It was really beautiful.











Here are some pictures of the law school. I’d definitely never seen it look like this before!











And here are pictures of the main campus area. There were quite a few people out, playing with their dogs, throwing snowballs, making snowmen and other art, and enjoying the weather. It was fun to see. SMU (which cancelled classes yesterday afternoon and all day today) posted some pictures and video of the snow.















As I was walking around and taking pictures of the snow and the buildings, I enjoyed thinking about the encounter between man and nature. Man had built these beautiful buildings and inscribed part of his nature into them, and nature had come and covered them with its touch (which can be both wonderful and deadly so often). Man can insulate himself from nature, but he has absolutely no control over the greatness of it.







This is how it looked from our apartment yesterday afternoon.



Today, the temperature has risen and the snow is starting to melt. It was fun while it lasted. We were glad to be inside, though, that's for sure.

Nathan