Doctor's Orders~

Wow, wow, wow...Steve is now a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania...wow, wow, wow!

Honey, I love you and am so proud of you!

On Friday, October 21st, Steve successfully defended his dissertation...and wrapped up 5+ years of study, research, study, research, study, and research in the lab of Professor Amos B. Smith III.

The title of his thesis is Synthetic Studies of (+)-Nodulisporic Acid A: Development of An Efficient Route to Eastern Hemisphere Sub-Targets.  It's a thriller, folks, an absolute thriller...and if you're a chemist, then you will actually understand it...but I'm not a chemist, so I'm pretty much lost once I get past the Dedication and Acknowledgement pages.  But I do understand these pages and I am humbled.  My dear Steve, you are my heart's treasure.  Make sure to read to the end of the acknowledgement section...

Lord, we are so thankful~

Steve, you are amazing and I am so blessed to call you my husband and share life with you.

Here's the recap of our Steve-defends-his-thesis-we-celebrate-and-finally-relax day :)

My parents arrived on Thursday for the BIG DAY...Mom and Dad, we are so thankful that you could share this event with us.

Friday came and it was a great morning.  Steve went to school earlier than us...his talk was not until 2, so we didn't have to go in as early as him.  My parents, the girls, and I hit the Dunkin Donuts before heading into the city.  I had just learned the night before that Steve was supposed to have some goodies available before his seminar...kind of like a mini reception.  Really?...thanks for the notice...the poor guy had forgotten about this little detail until the night before the event...you know, with all the preparing for his seminar and final details of his thesis, reception food had slipped his mind.  Thankfully, grad students consider coffee and donuts appropriate mix and mingle food :)

We met up with Steve and got ready for the big event.  I tried to prepare the girls..."you might not understand a lot of what Daddy will be talking about, but just be still and quiet while he's giving his talk."  (They did a wonderful job during his lecture...they sat quietly and patiently...good job, girls.)  They were so excited...and happy to be wearing their fancy dresses...and very happy to be eating donuts for lunch...yep, I completely forgot to bring the cheese and fruit I had planned as a snack for them after feeding them an early partial lunch at home.  Here are some pics before Steve's lecture.

Bella, preparing for her lecture~

Sweet Sophia, waiting for Daddy~

Oma, Opa, and the G girls~

Our friend from church, Mark Whitfield, arrived...what a blessing to have him join us...thanks Mark!

Steve and Mark...we are blessed by your friendship, Mark~

Finally, it was time for Steve's talk.  I loved the introduction that Professor Smith gave him.  Then, it was showtime.

Professor Smith introduces Steve~

The seminar begins~

First, I want to share that I had never seen Steve actually give a chemistry presentation...I really wasn't sure how it would be.  I knew he would do well, but I had no idea just how awesome he would be!  It's pretty neato, because I have known Steve for 16 years (we've been married for 13 of those years) and I had never seen him in "lecture action" before...I was IMPRESSED!

He was calm, cool, and collected.  He was wearing a suit and tie (and looking HOT, I might add) and then he began talking about the chemistry he's done over the past many years on this project.  I was mesmerized...but very quickly (like a few sentences in) I realized I had no idea what he was talking about.  Seriously, he was speaking a different language.  Bella looked over at me with a quizzical look and whispered, "I have no idea what Daddy's talking about."  My response, "Neither do I, honey."  I also realized that most of the other people in the room understood exactly what he was saying.  Here's a clip from his lecture...he does get a bit crazy with his laser pointer :)

Even though I had no idea what the words meant, I was in awe of what Steve was doing, of how he carried himself, of how these words just rolled off his tongue...I knew God was with him and I also gained a much bigger appreciation for how God has made Steve, how He has made Steve's mind to work and think.  I know my husband is smart (I personally like the word brilliant) and I know he has a passion for research, but I saw a new facet of him that day in that auditorium...a facet that I am thankful God allowed me to see.  

His lecture lasted about 45 minutes...two out of three daughters fell asleep during it...sorry, babe :)  And then it was time for his oral exam with his committee.  It's a private exam, so we had to wait outside the auditorium.  We were told it could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours...Steve's lasted about 20 minutes and then he joined us.  We all waited while his committee discussed and made a decision.  Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long before Professor Joullie came out and congratulated Steve.  Then it was back in to the auditorium for congrats and signing of papers...and some pictures.  WOOHOO...he was done...he had officially earned his doctorate in chemistry!  WOW!

Acknowledgement slides...we are so thankful for the support of our families and our church and friends~
Steve also shared a picture of the girls as part of his acknowledgements...and one of me too...we love you!

Official signatures~

Dr. Gonzales and his committee~

Dr. Gonzales and the fam~

The Dr. and the Mrs.~

We experienced a strange round of emotions...excitement, relief...it was weird to think that all this work/struggle/sacrifice was over...on one hand it was so exciting, but on the other it was such a feeling of relief that we were just glad it was over.  Then it was time for champagne and cake with Steve's group.

Apparently, the tradition for Professor Smith and his new Ph.D is to celebrate with champagne...but first they try to hit each other with the flying corks.  They actually tried to get the bottles nice and bubbly before trying to shoot each others eye out...I made the girls hide behind me for safety :)  Steve missed Professor Smith, but got me in the shoulder (lucky for him, it didn't hurt) and the cork landed right in Gracia's stroller.  We enjoyed a toast and cake and simply hanging out with Steve's friends and fellow grad students.  Here are some video clips of the champagne dual and the toast to Dr. Steve...

Steve and friends...Hi Alia :)

Strawberry Shortcake...it was amazing!

That's a layer of cheesecake in the chocolate cake...wow...it was delicious!

Dr. G and Baby G~

The current members of the Nod Squad (Matt, Steve, and Jason)...the team working on Nodulisporic Acid A~

Eventually it was time for me to feed Gracia again, so I took the girls with me to a small classroom.  I let the girls draw on the blackboard while I fed Baby Gray.  You can tell you're the daughter of a chemist when this is what you doodle...I love it :)

Even though she fell asleep during Steve's lecture, she obviously paid attention to some of it :)

Bella's chemistry doodles...what kind of molecule did I draw, Daddy?

Everything wound down and it was finally time to head home...and out to dinner.  My parents took us to Carrabba's that night...yummy! 

We were both so tired by the end of the day...we were physically and emotionally exhausted...and so very thankful :)

Steve, I love you...I am so proud of you...I am so impressed...I am so thankful~

Rach~