DANIEL P. KIEFER, JD. Attorney at Law... (to be, anyway)

I remember over three years ago, consoling Dan when he was wide awake in the middle of the night with nerves before taking the LSAT. His future in law school and as an attorney depended on his test-taking ability, but he could not sleep. How was he ever supposed to perform to the best of his ability on a four-hour exam, functioning on zero sleep? Panicked with anxiety after walking up and down the stairs and getting in and out of bed, Dan fell to his knees in desperation. I sat helplessly beside him as he prayed out loud,  begging Heavenly Father that if Dan would not be able to sleep, that somehow the Lord would make up the difference. Dan fell asleep some time after that. With merely two hours of sleep, he arose in exhaustion and I nervously continued to pray for his success. When I picked him up, Dan sat in awe beside me, explaining how calm he felt throughout the entire exam. Despite lack of rest, his mind was able to focus, to concentrate. Three weeks later as we opened his test results with anticipation, we celebrated in shock and gratitude to see that Dan had received the highest grade on the LSAT than he had ever done during his practice tests. 

Five weeks later on January 26th, 2008, Dan and I hugged with pure happiness and excitement when he received his acceptance letter to Brigham Young University. Everything had come together as we had hoped, and we knew the Lord had followed through on Dan's desperate plea for assistance. While Dan thought the only way he would succeed on the LSAT was on receiving sleep, he had faith that perhaps the Lord would answer Dan's prayer some other way. It was not Dan's first choice for an answer, but it still worked. That was the first of many experiences over the following three years when the Lord would answer our prayers, not necessarily in the way we hoped for, but in what we needed. 

Dan's first year of law school began late August, 2008. He was in the infancy of his journey, with little understanding or forewarning of what would come his way. It was a couple weeks before he formed a study group of six people, which would eventually grow into a reliable group of eight or nine who would become some of his best friends. Unfortunately, not long after his first year began, Dan's father passed away from rectal cancer. It was an emotional, rough beginning for Dan but he continued to do all that was asked of him as he progressed through his first year. 

Second year has been said to be easier, but with summer job applications and ever-demanding school work, as well as Dan's co-curricular activities like Moot Court, Dan votes second year to be the most academically challenging. Ty's passing, of course, was an excruciating loss that had every right to deter Dan from continuing, or at the very least, from doing well in school. But with support from his amazing friends, Dan was able to obtain his best grades that semester. Even with a stressful summer working as an associate and fighting for a job in a failing economy, Dan moved into third year with employment lined up for Las Vegas, NV. 

With a devastating loss in both his first and second year, Dan and I were not sure how to anticipate his final year of law school. Fortunately, it began with the happiest news of my pregnancy and continued to progress positively from there. Dan enjoyed his year as Moot Court President, organizing, traveling, and competing for his third time, and likely doing well enough academically to receive Magna Cum-laude ("With high honors").  The highlight of the year was probably traveling to New Zealand, but we also held lots of parties with friends and experienced the smoothest year yet. At last, the long awaited day arrived:

On Friday, April 22nd, 2011, Dan walked across the stage, hooded as a Juris Doctor and received his well-deserved diploma. We were told to sit quietly and wait for all the law students to receive their diplomas before cheering. That was a bit of a let down, since both our families just wanted to scream and cheer for him!

But that first hug said it all: As Dan and I wrapped our arms around each other, I felt him tremble and a surge of emotion coursed through us, releasing itself in tears. The past three years (and all the preparation leading up to it) flew through my mind and I couldn't help but think, "It's done. It's all over."

Dan then opened his hand to show me the wallet-sized picture he carried.

We both cried some more, but the feelings of loss and pain that we've been working through were mixed with pride and joy. It's been some of the hardest years, yet also some of the very best. No matter what was thrown our way, Dan did not quit. In fact, these life experiences only seemed to fuel his desire to succeed. I have no doubt Dan is meant to accomplish great things in his life and will be able to help and serve many people. I also know both Dan's father and Ty were watching Dan cross that stage: one man proud of his son, and the other proud of his Daddy.

Ryan and Emily had to take off to pick up Addie before our group shot, but they were there, as were Thomas and my dad, and all of Dan's family from Las Vegas (but I still need to get a copy of that one). Dan was so happy that so much family could be there to support him. It really means a lot to him, and to me, too. 

Most of these friends were in Dan's study group.

We are really sad to be saying goodbye to all of these friends and their wives.

In case anyone is wondering, Dan has not lost his sense of humor over the years. He is still the life of the party, and it will make his day if he can get you to laugh.

I just have to brag that Dan picked out my entire outfit for graduation. I needed a second opinion at Motherhood, but the maternity dresses were just not doing it for me. So Dan walked around to a couple stores with me, picking out the silvery top that I probably would never have tried on. He suggested matching it with a black skirt I all ready had at home. Then he surprised me by saying, "You probably need new shoes, huh?" I shook my head, explaining that I have one pair of black shoes that I wear with everything. He then shocked me further by saying, "Well, maybe you need some silver shoes to tie in the silver top to the black skirt." I raised my eyebrows as high as they could go, wondering, "Who is this man?" But I consented. Dan pulled me into Famous Footwear, where I doubted finding any dressy shoes inside. But within one minute, Dan found this pair of heels that matched absolutely perfectly to my top. Again, looking at the price tag, I never would have considered them, but Dan insisted and it didn't take me long to cave!

I loved my shoes . . . but I certainly paid for it by the end of the day! After graduation, I walked across campus to the parking lot barefoot because my feet couldn't take it anymore. The next day, my body felt like I'd done some major workout with how sore all my muscles were. Kinda ridiculous! It was worth it though.

Well, here are some favorites from our photo-shoot that my mom was nice enough  (and patient enough) to take for us. It took over an hour at two different parks to find the right lighting, background, and for both of us to look good at the same time (without remnants of looking annoyed at each other) before we agreed on a few!

My handsome man in his robes. Love how he looks. 

We also stopped to celebrate with Ty.

While I'm at it, happy 36 weeks to me!

We had a fabulous Easter weekend with family. But that will have to wait for another post!