Is there a Dr. Taylor in the house?

What d'ya think?  Am I destined to become a professor?  Will my name one day be followed by a "PhD"? Maybe.  It's looking more probable.

So, after a bit of a hiatus (to anyone who actually reads this, I'm sorry), I'm returning and reporting.  And what I have to report on is blessings (brachot, in Hebrew).  Blessings all around!  Miracles!  (Nesim)  James has moved to Salt Lake, where he is living with our cousin for a bit while he gets himself settled.  He is doing so well, I can hardly believe the last two years, which were the trial, to be sure, actually happened.  He is preparing for a mission, attending institute regularly, and trying to make himself worthy of the girl of his dreams.  I couldn't be prouder of him.

Tyson is going through a rough patch, and I'm praying for him all the time.  But he is home, trying to work through his demons, and I believe he will become a great man.  As for the youngest of us Taylors, Cisco is also doing very well.  He is doing well in school and basketball, and the biggest problem is the money it takes to keep up with him.  Tournaments, ball games hours away (requiring a hotel stay at least twice a month for my parents, in addition to the gas), exclusive training camps, etc.  He may never be Michael Jordan (but I won't discount him yet), but he is doing us all proud.  And he's a good kid.  I'm doing my darndest to get him to squeeze an Eagle Scout project in there - that would certainly be the icing, and a great blessing to him, if he would just realize it.

And now for the most recent and most personal blessing.  On Friday I found out that UCLA, my second choice for PhD program in Israel Studies, accepted me.  That is a blessing - but it comes with a great deal of uncertainty as to cost.  California universities are being hard-hit by economic situation there.  Nonetheless, I was very pleased.  But then imagine my sheer joy at the revelation that I have also been accepted at Brandeis.  That comes guaranteed with a fellowship (meaning, most of my living expenses are also funded)!

As I have not yet written this in my journal, and I sometimes copy and paste from the blog to supplement my journal, I'll tell you the story.  I had just finished class - it was 4:50 p.m., and I was walking out of the Schusterman Center (the Center for Israel Studies, where my class was held).  I stopped just in front of Professor Troen's door to get a banana out of my bag (if you will recall, Professor Troen is the professor who a) controls my future at Brandeis; and b) I completely cried to last year, only two weeks ago this time - that whole stupid getting the car registered issue).  He has been much more friendly, less aloof, of late.  Good sign, I suppose.  He stepped out of his office, to my surprise (he's usually gone by that time), and said hello.  He asked which class I had just left, and I told him, and then he said, "Well, what classes are you going to take next year when you're studying here?".  I told him I had a lot of courses I wanted to take, and then hesitated.  Did he say what I thought he said?  Indeed he did.

Not only that, he continued, as if nothing had happened.  I explained that I hadn't heard anything yet, and he said, "You will, and when you do, you need to come talk with me in my office so we can plan out what courses you need to take...(and he continued to talk about which departments I need to do cross-disciplinary studies, etc.)."  Then he proceeded to tell me that with my excellent Hebrew (what?!) I would jet ahead, that I didn't need to take 5 years to graduate (I'll go with that!), and I would stand out in the academic world.

I told him thank you, that I would come and visit with him, and then scuffled away, a bit stunned.  I walked over to my friend Karen's desk (who is a PhD student in Israel Studies already), and told her the story to see if perhaps I misunderstood, or maybe he was just messing with me.  She was ecstatic - assured me he would not do that, and then she and the other girl there congratulated me.  Wow!

A few minutes later Professor Troen was showing someone (I don't know who - someone Israeli) around the Center, and as I walked by he stopped me and introduced me as "another one of our excellent students."  A little stunned again (he is NOT the same professor as before, who never seemed to have time or patience to talk with me, and was always surprised when I did good papers), I said hello, then went on my way.  Later that night I got an email from Jonathon Sarna, the professor who is helping me with my Thesis, and who is basically the Truman Madsen of the Judaic world, congratulating me.  He said the official offer would come shortly, and that they would give me a fellowship of $24,000 a year.  Sure beats the $5000 a year I have been making working as a tutor!  I'll still work a little bit, I'm sure, but I can hardly believe how blessed I have been!!!

Two years ago I decided to put in another round of applications, after failing the first time.  Brandeis was the only school who accepted me.  I had no idea how great of a school Brandeis is.  Heck, I had no idea Brandeis even existed!  I only knew I wanted to study Israel - anyone who has known me for a long time knows that this has been my dream for a long time.  Yet I had no idea how to go about it.  But I took my naive little steps forward, and Heavenly Father carried me the rest of the way.  He still is carrying me.  I don't deserve it.  I suppose none of us deserve the blessing, the abundant blessings we receive.  Mosiah got it right - we just can never hope to be profitable servants.  But I am grateful.

So, as I close, I want to share a few of the pictures of recent good times.   You'll notice that James seems to have more than his share of camera-time, but he is the brother that seems to have time to do stuff with me the most.  I intend to change that - and get some equally fun pics with the rest of them.  The other pics are random memories of the last year - Lilac Fest, Sister Missionaries out here in Boston, whom I love, fun with Patty and her girls, Seder dinner with Ruth last April, etc.

Thank you all for your prayers, love and support.  This isn't the end - but your prayers and support have brought me here to the beginning of another great adventure.