Finding JOY in the journey

This past Sunday night, Jacob came to me and asked if there was any way I could fly to Dallas in the
middle of the week and attend the graduation ceremony for the Presidential Leadership Scholars.
We had discussed the idea previously, but I had decided it wouldn't work out. But in that

moment, I knew I needed and wanted to go, so I should do anything I could to make it happen.

And happen it did.

Our phone photos aren't fancy or even that clear, but they help keep an incredible memory close to

our hearts. I don't have words to express how blessed I feel to have experienced the last few days.

Jacob had to leave early on Monday, but I didn't fly out until Wednesday morning. The flight

was one of those relaxing, wonderful experiences and because I'm not a great rider of airplanes

(too many headaches and claustrophobic feelings involved for my liking), I was so thankful.

The next day I spent plenty of time getting ready. It was a pretty daunting task for me, since fancy
I am not. After taking this photo at the hotel, before leaving to meet Jacob at the Presidential Center,
I texted Jacob and told him, “Um, so this whole idea of what I am about to do feels incredibly
strange and nerve-wracking to a person who cleans high chairs in her spare time.”

Jacob texted me this picture before things began and I arrived. All of the sixty scholars who were
graduating that day. These people are doing incredible things. I truly was in awe of each one of them.

And then the program began. We were one of the last ones into the auditorium, since Jacob
was making sure everything was in order, but were still only this far back, even in the last
row. Which was so fabulous when Mark Cuban came out to be interviewed. I was
extremely impressed by him and really enjoyed listening to what he had to say.

They lightly teased him about his troubles with the Mavericks the evening before
and he gave the perfect response. You will have to see it yourself. (Details below.)

After another incredible speaker, Jake Harriman (one of the graduating scholars), who gave
an extraordinary speech, we had the privilege of watching Margaret Spellings interview
President George Bush and President Bill Clinton. It was truly beyond amazing.

Their wisdom was profound, their humor was hysterical and their advice was genuine
and good. I just wish I had the words to explain how incredible it was to be there in person.

Afterwards, they brought each of the scholars out onto the stage, while reading a short
paragraph about what they are doing to change the world. It was humbling and neat to watch.

After the graduation was over, we were all invited to a special dinner. We just happened

to run into Mark Cuban first thing and my abundance of boldness kicked in. He was just
the nicest guy and we talked for a bit about our families and I asked him if he would mind
if I got his autograph for our kids, who love his show Shark Tank. He said he would

love to do that and afterwards, we got this picture of he and Jacob together.

Not long after this picture, I was walking across the room and at one of the tables, sitting down
to eat, was Laura Bush. Since no one was around her, I walked quietly up to her, apologized
for interrupting and just told her how impressed I was with her and what a privilege it was to
meet her. She looked me in the eye, thanked me and shook my hand. She was so gracious.

Within a few minutes, Presidents Bush and Clinton came in and were surrounded by people. Most of
the room was in line for dinner and after Jacob and I got our plates, we found our assigned table and
got ready to sit down. As I was about to sit down, I just had the strongest feeling to walk over to see
if there was any way I could say hello to President Bush (who I have long admired and respected).

As I walked over to where President Bush was speaking to a couple of people, they began asking
everyone to sit down. I paused for literally just ten seconds and the next thing I knew, President Bush
turned to me and with the kindest eyes, asked me how I was doing. I introduced myself and told him
who I was married to. He acted like he recognized Jacob's name, but I knew he had met a million
people associated with PLS over the last few months and wasn't sure if he did in fact remember him.
It didn't matter though and I just told him I wanted to take the opportunity to thank him for being so
incredibly kind to Jacob and to our children back in December and what it meant to me as a mother.

As I spoke, my nerves and emotions got the better of me for a second and I could feel a few tears
coming. I tried to calmly get a hold of myself, and as I did, President Bush reached out and hugged
me, just like a grandpa would to any grandchild. It was truly just the sweetest thing. I finished what
I was saying and again, he reached over and hugged me twice more, telling me thank you for talking
to him. And then, as we both turned to sit down, he reached over, kissed me on the cheek and said,
"You are such a sweet girl. Thank you again." I'm still not sure how I made my way back to our table.

Within just a few minutes of sitting down, I looked around and realized President Clinton

and Mark Cuban were only about three tables away from us. I couldn't get a good

photo of them, due to pillars, but it was really neat to see them so close by. I turned

in the other direction and there, at the table closest to us, sat President Bush.

We had already been told that President and Mrs. Bush couldn't stay the whole time and
not long after, he stood to go. He started to walk toward our table and everyone stood up to
be respectful and say goodbye. Several people stepped forward and talked to him for a
minute. I definitely felt like I had been given my time and stood quietly with Jacob in the
back. President Bush finished talking and turned toward us to walk around our side of the
table. As he did, he walked up to Jacob and shook hands with him, thanked him and then
reached over and hugged me to his side and said to Jacob, "You have a sweetheart here."

I mentioned before that I wasn't 100% positive that he knew who Jacob was when I introduced
myself. I wouldn't have been surprised, but like I said, he just meets so many people. As he
walked away though, I realized he knew exactly who Jacob was when he turned to us
and said with a funny smile on his face, "Six kids huh?" And then turned and walked away.

Just when I thought I couldn't like him any more.

This picture makes me laugh for a lot of reasons. After the dinner, they had a band there playing
some pretty awesome music. I felt bad that few people were joining in on the dancing. As we
started to walk outside to listen to the band for a bit, we saw Margaret Spellings not far ahead of
us. She seemed in a hurry, but when we realized what she was hurrying to, we started to laugh.
Not only was she headed out to dance (see the cute blonde lady with her back to the photo?),
but within three minutes of taking this picture, she had nearly everyone out there on the dance
floor. It was truly hilarious! I know it didn't hurt that most everyone there had been drinking,
but still, seeing Margaret Spellings head up the dancing fun was a highlight of the night.

(And this picture has nothing to do with anything. Anything except it is my favorite
house ever. I ran across it driving around Dallas and I plan to dream about it every night
for a few weeks. Or months. Or years. You are welcome for the random photo insert.)

Two last, but certainly not least, thoughts.

First, Jacob just noticed that they just posted the video of the ceremony on Thursday night.
The program was a pretty big deal and covered by most all of the major news organizations.
The video is long, but may well be worth your time. The link is here for those interested.

(And a little help if need be:
Mark Cuban's interview starts at 19:28.
Jake Harriman begins his speech at 57:43.
The two Presidents begin speaking at 1:09:54.
The graduates start to walk at 1:46:10.)

In addition, they have included the video (starts at 50:52) that they put together of the first group
of Presidential Leadership Scholars. And while it was much more powerful in person, as I watched
it, I was completely overcome with the part Jacob has had in all of it. He was behind the scenes in
everything that happened, along with many others who were so instrumental in something so truly
amazing coming together. He worked incredibly hard to make sure it was the best program possible,
because he knew it mattered to others and it definitely mattered to him. I really don't have a way
of conveying how I felt watching that video, but I will always remember the overwhelming
adoration in my heart and how blessed I felt (and feel) to be married to Jacob and to be his.

And last, mostly and above all, I just feel overwhelmed with gratitude at all that I have been given.
I sat through my time in Dallas and couldn’t believe that the Lord would bless us so very much.
Yes, to meet interesting and amazing people that are truly serving others on a regular basis.
But mostly, to have a life where I could see my Heavenly Father blessing me beyond my wildest
dreams—beginning with being a wife and mother and ending…well, I see no end in sight.

I’m so grateful for my life.
I'm just so very blessed.