farewell, little pugs

This past Monday, Kate and I had to part ways with our little Pugsly. We moved into an apartment with our friend Virginia and we couldn’t take him with us. Instead of giving him to a shelter or selling the little guy on Craigslist or something, we found a pug rescue center here in Houston called Pug Hearts. They will place him in a foster home and then adopt him out to a good family.

It was hard to let him go! As crazy as he was, we loved him. He could be really cute sometimes when he cuddled behind your legs on the couch, or snored while taking a nap. However, it was time to let him go, so Kate and I packed up his crate, blankets and toys and drove him down to the center. They boarded him overnight and told us they were going to neuter and chip him the next morning. When it was time to let him go, all we could do was hold him, cry and kiss his little head. Poor Pugs. ..he really had no idea.

Kate and I cried in silence for the rest of the way home.

bad new bears- i got sick!

So, my friend Matt and I had this deal where one of us would get sick, and then share germs so that we could both get a day off work. The plan was we would eat chicken noodle soup and watch tv all day. It was supposed to be glorious. But no, that is not how it played out.

Instead-- I have now decided that I hate getting sick when my momma isn’t here to take care of me! It started on Saturday evening while shopping at Khol’s with the ladies. My body was starting to ache and I had a slight headache. I decided it had to be because of the weather (since it snowed in Houston on Friday), and now that I am getting old (turned 24 on the first!), my joints just must start aching at 24. NOPE!

Kate made me lay down when we came home. She told me I wasn’t allowed to go to the Christmas Party of a friend of ours if I didn’t at least take a nap. She is so good to me…just like my momma sometimes :0). After about an hour, I lied to her and told her I felt much better and was ready to go to the party. WRONG!

Nearing the end of the Christmas party, I was knocked out DEAD on a love sac. I was freezing and aching from head to toe. It hurt so bad I could barely walk and Patrick, a friend of mine, had to help me put on my boots and zip up my coat. I even started to cry a little. OUCH!

When we got home, poor Kate had to go to great lengths to warm me. She desperately searched for a heat pad, and micro-waved a bag of rice that she had dumped into a pillow case. By the time she brought me the pillow case of rice, I was freaking hot and shedding clothes. This went on for the rest of the night.

On Sunday, the boys (Matt being one of them) came and gave me a blessing. I am sure I looked amazing after having such a great night. Woot! Kate went to church, but left early to come check on me. Good thing, because when she got home, I think I had died a little. She made me get up and took me promptly to a clinic to see a doctor.

When we arrived at the clinic, I was surprised to find that my temperature was 102.9 and my poor little heart rate was really elevated as it was trying to cool down my body. I mean, I felt awful, but I don’t remember ever having a fever that high! I found out I had strep throat, and they sent me home with antibiotics and a throat numbing gargle. I was out of work on Monday and stuck at home sick, alone and bored. :0(

But thank goodness for friends like Kate, who will nurse you back to health in your sickest hour. :0)

sometimes peace comes from not knowing why

WoW!!! Isn't it beautiful? The Sandias in the background and the beautiful sunset. God is truly divine.

I am sitting at work on this Tuesday afternoon. The kids have already gone home to begin their Thanksgiving break. Teachers are required to stay until regular dismissal time. While I am supposed to be working on lesson plans, my mind keeps wandering to thoughts of how much I have been through over the past couple of months, and what role the Lord has played in helping me find my way.

From getting my apartment broken into, my car accident, starting a new job and a new position, a pay cut and a breakup, I have to say that life lately has not been a regualr walk in the park. I have spent hours and shed endless amounts of tears over trying to understand the lessons God wants me to take from the trials I have been dealt. Mostly, I still do not understand; but I finally feel at peace.

I visited the temple last Thursday, and it was suddenly so clear that in spite of a lack of understanding, God is preparing me for something better. As I stay near to the Lord, and strive to live my life in compliance with God's plan, then I will be led down the right path.

I am so grateful for my family and friends who never let me doubt my worth as a woman and as a daughter of God. Most importantly, I am thankful for the men in my life who will never let me down or break my heart- My Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ.

I think they are starting to care!

After several months of struggling with my second graders, I am finally beginning to see progress…albeit small, I can still call it progress. My heart is starting to get that warm tingly feeling again. It is that same tingly feeling I felt when Jose understood how to compare fractions, or the first time Ana spoke English last year. I really miss my 4th graders from last year, and I miss the grade level all together. But now that I have my class in order and a better handle on where I would like to see them…I have hope. And a warm tingly feeling in my heart. :0)

My Top Three Warmest and Fuzziest Moments

• The tiniest and cutest girl in the entire world only knew six of her High Frequency Words when I tested her on October 30. I tested her again last week, and she knows 40!!! After speaking with her mother at Parent Teacher Conference, my little girl and her family have become more invested in her education. I was so proud of her so I gave her a Tinkerbell pencil on Friday. She was beaming.
• One of my little boys who drives me nuts because he cannot seem to get his homework done, learned how to add and subtract with regrouping. I don’t know if you remember learning this when you were a kid, but man, this concept presents itself as a major feat for many of my kids. Today I had the opportunity to work with him during tutorials and I saw the light bulb come on! He took off and completed two pages of word problems and got every single one of them right!
• Finally, in my more difficult class, I can see that the kids are finally starting to care. They WANT to do well and they WANT to learn. On Friday, I had several who did not pass their assessment, and then the most misbehaved child broke down and cried. While this was not a moment where my heart felt all warm and fuzzy, it was still a small indication that he is starting to care. I came over and had to kinda hold him for a minute and told him we were going to try harder next week. Poor thing.

Five, Four, Three, Two, One!

It has been a while since I have made a post. Here are the top five most important events in my life since July…

5. FACE and Every Good Boy Does Fine…

I started piano lessons again! My first lesson was this past Tuesday, and I was pleasantly surprised to realize how much I remembered from the lessons I took in the past. I have hand placement down, note values, and some note reading. Once upon a time, I took lessons as a little girl, but I did not continue beyond the age of 10. I also took lessons for a semester in college, but I didn’t improve very much, unfortunately. This time, I am determined to learn to play a musical instrument so I have committed myself to practicing and taking lessons. It is so nice to finally do something for me!

4. Singled Out…

Do you remember that show that used to air on MTV? I always thought someone should create a Mormon version of Singled out, so that I could be their first contestant. As a recently “singled out” girl, the idea of entering the dating world again is a bit frightening. I don’t know what else to say other than, “here we go again!”

3. Thursday and Friday Nights…

Grey’s Anatomy and Friday Night Lights! Woot! I am so excited for consistency in my life again. Yes, I do realize that one who finds consistency in the form of a television drama, lives a bit of a pathetic life. But I love my pathetic life. I can count on my two favorite shows to air once a week, to make me laugh, cry, want to fall in love…etc…etc…please don’t judge.

2. BY-Me!?

I can’t believe I am about to say this, but I am in the process of applying to BYU for grad school. I found a master’s of education program I am very excited about and am applying for 2010 admission. There are actually two programs I am considering. One is a leadership program where I would earn my credentials to be a principal, and in the other I would explore issues that affect education and educational policy. I think the leadership program would get me further in my career, but the latter is a program I can see myself being passionate about. Here is the link to the program descriptions. I am looking into the School Leadership and Education Policy and Social Foundations programs. Tell me what you think! http://education.byu.edu/edlf/masters_intro.html

1. A, aah, Apple, B, buh, Bunny..

I started my second year of teaching at the end of August with a self-contained, 4th grade Bilingual position. I had 30 students, but I was looking forward to the change and more importantly, the challenge of helping 30 children pass the reading, writing and math TAKS test this year. But that all ended when I was informed that I would be heading down to the land of the fetus babies, and would be teaching second grade. I now teach 20 second graders to read and write. I am a bit overwhelmed as I have come to realize that most of my children are reading on a kindergarten level, and have not yet mastered letter-sound correlation. We work on phonics, blending and sight words on a daily basis. As second graders, we still have not learned our first grade sight words. We have a lot of work to do this year, so please remember to keep us in your prayers. :0)
This week, I was informed again of another change. In addition to reading and language arts, I will now teach math to my homeroom as well as another second grade class. I love teaching math, so I am excited for this change. I have no idea where my students are in math, but if our math scores are anything like our reading scores, we are going to have to work incredibly hard to get to where we need to be by the end of the year.
One day soon, I know I will see the silver lining…one day soon…

My First Summer Vacation as a Maestra

Two and a half weeks into my three week vacation, and I must say it is really nice to be out of the muggy, Houston climate. I spent about a week in New Mexico with momma. It was nice because I also spent time with Monika, a friend from college, and Emily, my best friend from high school. Emily drove up and met me in Albuquerque with her two beautiful baby boys and we ate at Dion’s, one of Albuquerque’s famous pizza joints.

Here is a picture of Emily’s baby Aaron. She had him when I was a freshman in college. He is such a cutie and loved telling me about the scary “spaguitos” at the lake! I hope I don’t get eaten by “spaguitos” when I go to the reservoir this weekend!

Mom and I spent a few days out in Little Water with grandma. Mom and Ed are still rebuilding grandma’s house. They took on the project about a year ago and are almost finished. Grandma finally has running water, but still doesn’t have electricity. When it got dark, grandma lit the kerosene lamp, and I was taken back to my childhood as the scent of the burning oil filled the room. The only thing that was missing was the sound of Chii’ Fred sleeping in the next room. It is such a blessing to see grandma happy and at peace back out in Little Water. She had a rough couple of years after Chii’ passed away and the sheep were sold, but now that she has her house back she seems so content and rejuvenated.

This is grandma sitting in front of her house in the early morning.

I took a walk on the home site and took some pictures of my favorite places from when I was a child.

These are the mesas behind grandma’s house. When we were little, my sister and cousins made forts and played house. We chased lizards and went sledding on black trash bags and on an old refrigerator door during the winter. Let’s just say we were resourceful, NOT ghetto!

This is the sheep corral. Once upon a time my grandmother had many sheep and my grandpa Fred herded them and took care of them everyday. Each lambing season, grandma allowed me to choose a lamb and every year, I looked for the tiniest lamb and named it Flower.

The cracked earth is beautiful, in my opinion. It reminds me of how my grandpa was able to grow tulips for my grandma every year, in spite of the harsh desert climate.

After spending time with grandma, mom and I made our way up to Denver to visit Sheenie. It was so nice to be together again…three little ladies. We drove from Denver to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where we spent two days. Tashina scored three tickets to the Taylor Swift concert in the party zone section! Mom and I camped out in line all day just to get a good spot near the front of the line! We arrived at about 2:45 in the afternoon and waited in line until about 5:30pm. At that point, they opened the gates and herded all of the die-hards to a holding area on the horse track. There we had to stand for another hour and a half while all of the people were pushing and shoving their way to the front of the crowd! Mom, Tashina and I can be pretty feisty when provoked, so needless to say, we held our own! No one got past us!

Look at all these people!

At 7:30pm, two cops on horses came and ushered us near the stage. The rules were that no one was allowed to run, push, or pass the horses. Once we got to a certain point however, the cops bounced, and everyone took off running toward the stage! They were ruthless…pushing and shoving, just to get near the front. Don’t worry though…rez girls can be ruthless too! Tashina was able to save three spots on the fence, literally ten feet away from the stage!

Kellie Pickler came out first and sang one of my favorite songs, “My Red High Heels.” I definitely went out and bought some red high heels after she debuted years ago. :0)

Next, Taylor came out and rocked it! Tashina and I danced and sang along to her songs at the top of our lungs. Taylor puts on a really amazing show with dress changes, glittery guitars, and piano performance. Hands down, one of the top two concerts I have ever been to!

Finally, I spent a day in Colorado Springs with Yvonne and Andrew, two of my best friends from college. They are engaged to each other and are getting married next June. The best part (for me anyway) is that I get to be her maid of honor!!!!!

Here is a picture of me and my girl, Yvonne, from sophomore year. :0)

Actually, on a final note, I miss Jeff. I am going back to Houston on Monday and am really looking forward to seeing him. We are planning a day trip together somewhere on Tuesday before we have to go back to work. Yay!!

Here is the only picture we have together so far. It is from the 4th of July…I think we need to take the camera out again soon…once I get back to Houston and we spend more time together, that is!

We Can Do It!

It’s the end of an era for Tiffany and Kate. Today we signed the lease on our new apartment. We found a two bedroom two and a half bath townhome in the Heights. It’s much closer to where I work, and we are saving several hundred dollars a month. The new place is definitely not as nice as our first place, but it’s quaint, has some ghetto flair, and fits us just right. I went alone this morning to pick up the keys and waited for the Comcast guys to set up the internet. I had to say several prayers to make sure it was the right decision to move after all, and once I felt at peace, I walked to the front door. Just as I unlocked the door, I went to turn the doorknob, and the funniest thing happened…the doorknob fell right off! I stopped, kind of panicked, and then just started laughing! It was like a bad omen, yet ironic and very fitting. I said one more prayer, picked up the doorknob and walked back to the leasing office. They were very nice, had a good laugh and sent Raul, one of the maintenance men to fix the knob. He was super nice, and assured me that the complex was a good place to live and if we needed anything, to let the guys know. He spoke Spanish, and in the end, I felt at peace with the decision we made to move to the new place.

I went to IKEA, one of my favorite places, and picked up a few things for our new little home. Later in the evening, Kate brought over our drill (or as I like to call it, the screw gun), and we set up our curtains. I got to use the drill, and I felt so empowered! Who needs a man (no offense Jeff) when you can work a screw gun?! ?

I am taking little Puglsy over to the new place tomorrow to get him acquainted with his new surroundings. Hopefully he fights the urge to tag the place up. We decided to get him a baby gate so we can keep him downstairs and out of the bedrooms. He really is like having a baby sometimes, but we love him. Please pray for him that he doesn’t freak out when we move. He is a sensitive little dog and doesn’t do well with change.

It is kind of hard to believe that I have been in Houston for over a year now. We already fulfilled a lease on one apartment, and have signed a lease on a new one. It’s like we are adults, or something like that. We are fairly independent and can even use tools! Wow, being an independent woman kinda rocks!

"Ms. Etter, I told Judith I was going to miss you.."

Today, Fatima and I were walking to the bathroom, and she hugged me and said, “Ms. Etter, yo dije a Judith que le voy a extrañar.” Fatima is my little sidekick. She is one of the most precious and funny little girls I have ever met. She started this thing where she writes me notes on little pieces of paper to tell me she is finished with her work, or that she would like to pass out folders. The other day, she forgot a book at home that I had let her borrow, and she wrote me a note and she started off saying:
“Querida Tiffany…” lol! Don’t ask me why my students write me notes and like to refer to me by my first name. They would never call me Tiffany out loud, but for some reason love to write it in notes, on drawings, etc. Anyway, she proceeded to apologize for leaving the book at home and that she would be sure to bring it tomorrow. This morning as I was helping another student, she walked up to my desk and slid the book onto my desk and peered at me over her glasses. I smiled and said, “Thank you, sweetheart.” She covered her face and walked away. She is too cute.
I am going to miss that little girl as well. She makes me laugh every time she asks if she can use the bathroom when we are all in line to go, or if she can drink water as we are lining up at the fountain. Sometimes she will say funny things like, “Oh, how beautiful this day is,” or tell me how her niece calls her “Kakima.”
In truth, I am going to miss all of my little munchkins. Today was the last day of summer school, and I made all of my naughty boys hug me. I told them I would miss them and to let me know how they are doing once in awhile. Because our school is closing down, the kids are all going to different schools. I am sure I will see some of them next year, but my first fourth grade class in being displaced for the most part. It makes me sort of blue as I think about not seeing them turn into naughty middle schoolers next year.
So, as my little Fatima informed me today, “Voy a extrañar a mis estudiantes, también.”

Escuela del verano- Summer School :0)

Against my better judgment, I decided to teach summer school directly following my first year of teaching. My body, apparently did not agree with this decision in the least, and I caught strep throat the second day of school. I missed two days of work, and my illness eventually turned into a severe sinus infection. I swear I coughed up my left lung, but I am now feeling much better after a week and a half of being out of commission.
In addition to teaching summer school, I am also taking two classes at the University of St. Thomas to finish up my teaching certification and am a Corps Connection Leader (CCL) for the new Teach for America corps members. Needless to say, I am incredibly busy, so getting sick put a damper in my busy schedule.
In spite of being so tired, I am really enjoying my students this summer. I know I said it was against my better judgment to teach summer school, but I realize how nice it is to finally be able to engage my students in creative activities that have absolutely nothing to do with TAKS. We are learning as much English as we can this summer, since when they go to 5th grade, they will transition completely into English. We are doing a lot of writing, speaking, and vocabulary building.
Some highlights so far:
· Many have learned that “g” in English does not make the “h” sound, and can spell words like has, “H-A-S,” rather than, “G-A-S.”
· I taught the students how to debate an argument. They had to take a stance on whether they would rather be blind, (otherwise pronounced as bleend) or deaf (pronounced death). We split up into teams and each team had to come up with five points about why it was either better to be blind than deaf or deaf than blind. Then they took turns arguing their points and taking two minutes to come up with a rebuttal. They were very creative making points that even blind people can walk using “steeks” and dogs. They also went as far as to say it is better to hear the sounds of nature, like the songs of the birds, and the sounds of the waves, than to see the green of the grass.
· We are preparing to have a puppet show on Monday. The students were split into groups of two and I gave each group a list of 15 vocabulary words. Then they each had to choose a different animal from a set of picture cards I set out. I assigned them the task of writing a script between the two characters using the vocabulary words, making puppets, and painting the setting from their play. One of the students’ mothers works at a paper factory and brought us a huge role of poster paper for the project. The kids are using them to paint the settings.
· I have a student who came to me in February who has some physical disabilities and is developmentally delayed. She was born without thumbs, so the doctors moved her pinky finger over to function as a thumb. She also has some hearing loss and sight loss. When she first came to me, I could not understand her when she spoke, she couldn’t write, much less hold a pencil, or perform simple math skills like adding and subtracting. I have her in summer school now, and she is writing in her journal everyday in complete sentences (always completely off topic, but she is writing!), and she loves to paint! She gets up in the front of the class during journal share, and tells us what she wrote about. It is truly a miracle.

Teaching has completely taken over my life, but I love it and don’t regret the decision I made to try this profession for even a moment. I found something I love and am good at. What more could I ask for?