Donut Falls and Other Adventures

This past week has been quite an adventure. A week ago I escaped reality by hanging out with two of my best friends, Savannah and Lynnae, in Salt Lake. It felt like old times and it was amazing! We stayed up until 3 in the morning talking and then hiked to Donut Falls the next day. Now, a week later, I really wish I were back with them, feeling like I did with them. Good news is that I made it to the falls this time and without breaking anything! Here are a couple of pictures:

Work this week was emotionally exhausting, to say the very least. It is so hard to learn about what the kids have to deal with at home knowing the only thing I can do to help them is love them and be the very best teacher I can be. Many things have come to the surface this week that make me ache for these kids and wish I could take them home and take care of them myself--or have my own kids to love and take care of.

Monday, we had a child throw up at lunch. Tuesday, I had to help a child through a kind of seizure. Technically, it's something like holding breath syndrome, but he's been doing it since he was 3 weeks old, so there's got to be something more to it than seeking attention. He's the child that I've thought a lot about at home this week. He is going through so much right now. Wednesday we had a field trip to the dentist. The field trips went well, considering how the previous two days went. We did spontaneously buy two society finches when we randomly went to a pet store after the dentist with our kids. I've recently really have wanted to get pet birds, so it's kind of fun to finally have some even though they aren't mine. The kids haven't named them yet, but we will do that on Tuesday. One of the problems with the birds are that we failed to remember that one of our kids in the afternoon has asthma... not good. So, we may end up having to get rid of them. Oh well, I guess. :(

Thursday, so much happened that I can't even get into it, but it was enough that I really had to keep myself in check that I didn't become the cranky co-worker on "Happy Cranky Co-worker Day." Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to my 3 days off of work next week! Today was parent teacher conferences and I had a long list of things I needed to get done, which I was very happy I was able to do despite feeling so overwhelmed and just tired of being at work this week.

On the bright side, I started scrapbooking again! Just about every night this week I've scrapbooked while rewatching season 4 of Chuck. It felt so good! Tonight I finished scrapbooking pictures of things I've done since I've moved here except for pictures from my Nauvoo Pageant experience this year, which I will probably start tomorrow. It feels so good to accomplish something. Scrapbooking just gives me so much joy. I know, it's weird, but that's me. :)

On the not-so-bright side, when my grandma went to the doctor on Thursday, she fainted in the waiting room. Afterwards, they did blood tests and everything came back normal, so they think that she may just be dehydrated. I wouldn't be surprised. She's had numerous dizzy spells lately, so I'm actually glad that she fainted when she was there so they could know about it and try to help her. I just really wish that she hadn't driven herself home after that. It makes me nervous every time she drives, even more so to think that she drove after she fainted! I also wish she had called me and I could have helped her. On Monday she will have an echocardiogram done. They will do an ultrasound on her heart to see exactly how it is functioning now that she's had some treatments done to help her with her congested heart failure. That should help us know where she's at in the disease and what needs to be done to continue helping her feel comfortable.

Oh, and for those of you who don't already know, my dad got a job! He was only out of work for about two weeks, which was awesome!

Random Thoughts

For the past many years I've told people that I don't really like Halloween. I've been thinking about it, and I decided that I do like Halloween except for two things about it--scary and gruesome. I think it's kind of cool that one day a year we can dress up as anything we want to just for fun and then it's okay to go around to neighbors (or strangers) houses to receive a treat. It's a fun holiday in that way. I just really, really don't like the feelings of being scared or the gruesome decorations, etc. that come with Halloween. Hence, why it is my least favorite holiday.

Speaking of holidays, I've been thinking a lot about the holiday season and the spirit that fills the air during the season. Yes, it's commercialized, but I do my very best not to get into that by doing what I can to personally make it a time of year to celebrate my Savior's birth and show my love for family and friends. I do my best all year round to remember the Savior and serve others, but there is just something about this time of year that just makes me so happy. In the past, I've tried to make my Christmas gifts to family and friends meaningful. Usually they've been homemade gifts, but I'm really struggling to know what else I can do. I don't normally express my love through gift giving, so that's another reason why Christmas is a special time for me to show my love for my family.

I've debated just buying gifts like everyone else in the world, but then I think about my financial situation. I just looked at my dental insurance claims (because they've finally been processed) and it makes me sick to think how much I have to pay for the implant. I know it's what I needed to do, but it still makes me sick thinking about it. I should be able to pay it off fairly quickly, but it won't be without some sacrifice. I'm used to doing that by now anyway, but it sure makes Christmas a little more difficult to figure out.

I am super excited for the holiday season to begin. When I was younger, my family and I did the 12 days of Christmas for a family. We would give them one piece of the Nativity everyday with a nice little phrase or scriptures and a goody. We also usually chose a family who we would provide "Christmas" for if we knew they were in need. I will never forget those traditions and how they made me feel closer to Christ. I want to continue these traditions in my own family, starting now. Right now I don't have the funds to provide Christmas for a family in need, but I can do the 12 days of Christmas thing. There also may be a way that I can start doing the other tradition without spending too much money... I don't know. Anyway, I spent some time online tonight looking stuff up and now I'm really excited to get started. I'm not sure who I will do the 12 days of Christmas for yet, but it will be great.

I'm also really excited to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I always look forward to setting up my Christmas village the day after Thanksgiving. This year, though, I'm going to bring some (if not all) of my village back to UT with me to set up in my basement to enjoy. I have a house or piece of the village to represent every year of my life. Since it will be my home for a while, I might as well, really make it feel like home. I also want to set up a Christmas tree and decorate it with my ornaments I've collected over the years. I hope my mom will be okay with that, mostly because I didn't think I'd want to do that until I was married. We've purposely collected Christmas houses, ornament, and angels enough that when I take them away, my mom will still have some to set out. I know it won't be the same, but it's something I want to do. If anything, it would be good to give my future husband a really good warning about what he'd be getting himself into if some day, when he is dating me, he has to help me set up the village! That will be the day I will find out if he REALLY likes me! My family and I joke about this EVERY year we set up the village. This year I am going to recruit my home teachers to help me. I'll consider it a trial run.

No work for the last two days of this week! I've got some awesome plans that I'm super excited about. It's about time for a reunion with my best friends, Savannah and Lynnae!

Reasons? Who needs 'em!

Yesterday morning I decided that I wanted to dress up to go to see the play My Fair Lady in West Valley City. I wasn't going with anyone, but I felt like I wanted to dress up for it. I didn't want to just look nice, I wanted to look and feel BEAUTIFUL for me and not for anyone else. So, I decided to wear my formal red dress that I bought for Oscars Night last year. Why not? I asked my friend Anna, who loves styling hair, if she'd like to do it for me. While she did it, I decided to ask her if she wanted to go to Olive Garden with me since I wanted to do more than go to the play by myself. I also asked one of my home teachers if he'd humor me by joining us in our spontaneous formal night. Besides, even though I was looking beautiful for myself, a part of me still wanted a guy to see it.

The night couldn't have been better. Considering it was gradually put together in one day, it was exactly how I wanted it and more. I went to the play and got many compliments on my dress and hair. I might have stood out like a sore thumb, but I didn't care. The show itself was really good. I was impressed with the stage and the costuming. The acting was really good, too. It wasn't until after the play the I heard back from my home teacher that he would join us. He was incredible. I didn't expect him to treat us girls like it really was a formal occasion by opening our doors to let us in AND out of the car, among other things. The servers were really fun, too. They kept asking us why we were all dressed up and they didn't believe us when we told them that we really didn't have reason except because I felt like it. I think we were the talk among the servers last night, which was kind of fun. The food was yummy and I really loved talking to my friends. It felt good to get to know them better and feel like I do have friends here who I can do random things like this with. Here are some pictures from last night and from some adventures from the past month or so:

Shooting with my ward for FHE. First time ever and it was a bit scary!

 

My classroom "Den" and tree that we made.

And, of course, just a few of the reasons why I teach preschool...

77 Days and Counting...

This past week it suddenly got cold in Utah... it even flurried a little. It was a little surprising only because we've had perpetual spring all summer long until these last couple of weeks. It was even more surprising to me, though, that on that first cold morning, as I climbed into my car (with seat warmers), I got excited. I usually dread winter in Utah because I hate driving and walking in the snow, but something about being cold and then warming up in the car reminded me of Christmas, or more specifically, the holiday season and all the memories I have associated with it. November and December are my favorite months of the year. Usually starting Nov. 1st, I feel a certain joy of the spirit of friendship, family, and togetherness. I love making and seeing people happy. The spirit of the holidays to me is the spirit of celebrating all that I hold dear to my heart. Most importantly, I love feeling the spirit of Christ most every where. Of course there is commercialism of Christmas, but I try not to let that destroy how I celebrate all the reasons why I am grateful and the birth of my Savior. Usually this spirit or feeling doesn't come to me until after Halloween, but this week I already felt it and I am feeling so happy! My life is wonderful (which reminds me to watch my favorite movie...)! The Lord has truly given me the strength and peace I need to carry all the responsibilities I have in my life right now.

With all that said, I've already started thinking about decorating my little basement for Christmas. I've decided that when I go home for Thanksgiving, I want to take some, if not all, of my Christmas village houses back to Utah with me so that I can set them up to enjoy. I also have thought about setting up and decorating my own Christmas tree. My grandma has one she decorates all year-round, but I want my own tree down in the basement. The only problem with that is that it's buried beneath all the stuff I went through and stored away for Grandma. Yeah, it's at the very bottom of everything... it was the first thing I put in there. Awesome. So, I am going to recruit my home teachers to help me unearth it and set it up. All the while, I am going to play Mannheim music, just like we do at home. :D My home teachers are going to love me even more after this! ;)

Prophets Speak Today

I am so grateful for my testimony of the doctrines taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am grateful that there are living prophets on the earth today. I KNOW that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet and he and the apostles speak God's word to the world today.

Today I had the opportunity to hear them speak in person. As I walked into the large conference center surrounded literally by thousands of people, I was filled with gratitude. I've attended general conference many times before today, but for some reason, all those people holding up signs asking for extra tickets made me realize how great an opportunity and blessing it is to sit in the same room as the Lord's chosen prophet and apostles. I think it's easy to take it for-granted when I live in Utah and have had many opportunities to be in the presence of apostles and prophets. That will never happen again.

As I waited for the conference to start, I watched as the apostles slowly made their way in to take their seats on the stand. Many of them chatted with each other for a while, embraced each other, or touched each other on the arm or shoulder to show their love and care. It reminded me of my experiences in the Nauvoo Pageant and how we cast members did those same gestures because we really FELT that love for one another, on and off stage. Immediately, that made me realize what seems obvious, but really increased my testimony of having living prophets and apostles today. I realized that these apostles (Quentin L. Cook, Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, Boyd K. Packer, etc.) are no different than the apostles of the early restored church (Parley P. Pratt, Heber C. Kimball, Brigham Young, etc.) that I've learned about and seen portrayed on stage and have come to know and love. In fact, they are no different than the apostles that Christ called when he ministered on the earth! As I watched these great men interact, I imagined I was watching Heber C. Kimball or Parley P. Pratt, and I gained a greater appreciation for what these men do and I KNEW, once again, that they were called by God for us today. When President Monson walked in and we all stood in silent respect, I felt the spirit witness to me, again that he is the prophet. Yes, it would AMAZING to hear the prophet Joseph Smith speak, and I would stand in respect of him just as I did President Monson, but I know that Thomas S. Monson was called to be our prophet today, to tell me what I need to know in today's world. It's an incredible blessing. I couldn't help but wonder what an apostle and prophet's life is like today since I've read so much about what it was like for the early prophets and apostles. They are just ordinary men, but they are GREAT men and I am grateful for the humble service they do to forward God's work on the earth.

On a side note, the hardest thing to do is to not do something I want to do. In this I am referring to wanting to apply to be in the family cast of the Nauvoo Pageant again, but I feel that is not what I am to do. I AM, however, to audition to be in the core cast of the pageant. That is a bigger deal, but there is a good chance I won't be selected and I wouldn't be in the pageant at all. Even though it is difficult to accept, I have to trust that God has something better planned for me and that is all I can do. For now, though, I am doing all I can to prepare for the audition in January and trusting that it will all work for my good, whatever happens.