it's that time again!

Sorry, guys. These were the only pictures I could find really fast on Facebook from our Halloween. Hope you guys have a fun night! Post pictures of your costumes!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Do you remember that time?

yeah me neither....

This time three years ago I went to a crummy London play. I asked for my money back at intermission and I got the, "You crazy American" look.

Well, 2006 in comparison to 2005 ended up stinky. Nothing in the United States was cool anymore. Not even the fantastic plumbing. I asked Heather "Stay" one day in a depressed, wanderlustic, desperation how she survived coming back from London. She replied, "I didn't, I had to go again to get over it!"

Summer of 2007 I worked for Anasazi, a primitive wilderness therapy program for teens. Life Changing. The fall of 2007 brought student teaching in US History and ESL. It also brought the realization that I didn't wan't to teach in public schools. I was unsure of what to do as I finished teaching and started the new year. Suddenly, (literally) I decided I was supposed to be a social worker. I found and applied to programs that week. (BYU's deadline was the 15th of January) I got into BYU's social work masters program. It was nothing short of a miracle since I did not have half the pre-reqs, a similar undergrad, or any experience. I feel very blessed.

Spring of 2008 I started working at a domestic violence shelter and I revisted Europe! This time I went to Germany. Bakeries! Chocolate! Architecture! Public Transport! I started the masters program this fall. Then I got this bomb-dig internship. I am going to go to Botswana all next summer 2009 and study the role of fathers for children. Big issues there! I am pretty sure Renata worked a little phone magic for me. BLESS HER. We hope to have a sample size of over 1,000! We think we may be the first to ever do a study like it about Fathers there. Its super exciting. I joined a bowling league with some Social Work Chums. Our team name is. "I can't believe its not gutter."

Nothing much else except that I've been dating this boy for 10 months and we are taking a trip to Chicago next month. Yipee!! London Love.

Hey all, I hope this fall is finding everyone well. It is hard to believe that 3 years has gone by since we all lived together. Well, as many of you know, Jen (who some of you met) and I married the spring following London and I promptly joined her in Houston Texas. But alas, Texas and the Wrathalls were never meant to be --as soon as Jen finished her MPH, we headed for greener pastures. At about that time, I, discontent without a Doctorate, applied for graduate school in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah. So here we are getting a Ph.D in Comparative International Sociology (thanks to Renata for introducing me to sociology while in London).



I teach Social Psychology at the University while I finish up my coursework next semester and then on to my dissertation. Meanwhile, Jen oversees the Utah health data collection at the Utah Dept. of Health. I can't have imagined a more eventful year since we moved here--my mother and grandmother passed away, my dad married my college mentor, and Jen's parents have both put roots here in Salt Lake. In the Spring of this year, Jen and I bought a "Painted Lady" Victorian downtown.



We're also expecting a little girl this coming March--that's all we know--she's a healthy 21 weeks along. It seems every semester brings another big life challenge. I am starting to wonder what else can happen?

deep in the heart of texas

I never ever ever thought I'd be living Texas, but I am, and I love it.

After graduation, Sam sold out corporate-style and joined the giant Dow Chemical, so we moved to Katy, TX just outside Houston. I got a job doing ABA therapy with several small, wily, and cute children with Autism. Eventually though, living in a family ward got us to thinking we should probably have a family, so we decided to have a baby. I started substitute teaching in January to (hopefully) expose myself to a little less on-the-job physical beating. Sam went to China for the middle two weeks of April. Pregnancy, loneliness, and a sinus infection kept me crying for a day and a night straight, but I soon recovered with the help of a few inspired phone calls and the FABULOUS ward we're a part of here. Five days after Sam came home, our baby decided she was sick of being cooped up and decided to enter this world, a month early, and bum rather than head first. One hasty C-section later, we heard the healthy cry of Miss Anna Sophia Cosby.

Anna hung out in the NICU for a week while her lungs took their sweet time getting ready for life outside the cocoon. Since then, she's filled our home with sweet coos, long gazes, chunky barfs, cute giggles, nasty poops, and wide-eyed-wonder at her new little body (usually in that order). We love her a lot and it's hard to imagine life without her.

Sam studies for the GMAT with every spare moment and will someday apply to business school. Will it be for next fall, the fall after that, or the fall after that? It depends on the day, but once the decision is made, we'll let y'all know.

In the mean time, we LOVE reading about all of your lives. I'm a huge blog addict. If you are too, you can check ours out at livingeden.blogspot.com. And if you ever want to see some great national treasures like the Johnson Space Center, or the Beer Can House, we're the perfect place to stay. Happy posting!

Love, the Cosby's