progress

Progress. I’ve been thinking for a couple of weeks now about how I am going to approach this new year. I am sitting at my desk at work after dismissing the children to go home, looking at two paintings I have on my desk of Barack Obama. I remember during the election, one of his slogans was “Progress.” This single word is simple, yet holds incredible power for me at the moment.

Personally: My life has gone through some incredible challenges and changes over the past few months. Some have been very painful, but as I have experienced, through my faith in my Heavenly Father and Savior, I have progressed.

My testimony has been ever strengthened as I have come to rely more fully on my Father in Heaven. My sister escorted me through the temple in November, further grounding me and moving me forward in my faith in the gospel.

I feel my confidence returning and my heart healing after a rather difficult breakup. I know of my great worth and that I deserve to be treated with respect. I am happy to report that I am dating again. :0) Like I said, progress.

I have made and have so far been successful at keeping several goals this year- working out, attending the temple twice a month on my own, writing in my journal and paying off debt. Yay!

Professionally: I am happy with my students and am finding joy in coming to work each day to teach them and challenge them to be better readers. I feel inspired by my students and am in awe at the progress we have made as a class. We just got through with middle of the year testing and I have no more students reading on a kindergarten level. I have one student who is my absolute pride and joy. This tiny little girl has learned to read in a matter of weeks, and continues to amaze me each day as she challenges herself to be the best reader she can. I can only imagine the immeasurable love that her Father in Heaven has for her.

Spiritually: I have never felt so close to my Heavenly Father in my entire life. I love that He blesses me and helps me to be faithful. I love that because of Him, I am able to find joy and strength to accomplish the tasks He sets before me.

I am grateful for my family. We have progressed over the past year as well. Tashina is soon to be married to an incredible man, and my family has worked to prepare themselves to be temple ready. My family has been restored, and my heart is filled with love and gratitude for the faith my family has shown as we have worked to better ourselves.

I have never been more aware of the love my Heavenly Father has for me and for my divine potential as His daughter. As this year continues, I only hope to continue progressing, not only for myself, but for those I encounter, especially my students and family.

Happy New Year!

Christmas on the Costa...Costa Rica, that is!

One of the perks of being a teacher is the great vacation time! I am allotted two weeks of vacation for Christmas, and this year I was able to spend nine, warm and sunny days with my family in Costa Rica.
On the first night, dad, Cin, Devon and I had the chance to visit my host family from my study abroad program. I lived with David, Ana, little Mara Jose and Diego (not pictured) for a semester my junior year of college. They were wonderful to me and were excited to have me back in their home.
Dad rented a car and we drove to Mt. Arenal, one of seven active volcanoes in Costa Rica. Unfortunately, Tashina is not in this family photo. She arrived a day late due to an incident with her passport, later resulting in my father yelling, “that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!” over the phone once we realized she had missed her flight. Don’t worry, we all missed her, especially Michael.

We enjoyed an easy hike along the base of Arenal with our tour guide, Jason. He referred to us as “my friend,” as he pointed out interesting plants in the rain forest. Later, we stopped at a site along a river, just as dusk was setting. We were able to see lava spewing from the top of the volcano. My camera was not able to capture the lava, but I must say, it is one of the most beautiful things of nature I have ever seen.
The next day we drove back to San Jose to pick up Tashina from the airport before we drove down to the Caribbean Coast. Michael was so excited to see her and was probably somewhat relieved to have here there as it was his first time spending a period of time with our family. He’s a real trooper!

We spent the remainder of our vacation in Puerto Viejo…
playing on the beachteaching Devon to surfenjoying the scenery snorkeling on Christmas Eve Celebratng Daddy's 52nd!






hiking in the rain forest along the coast on Christmas Day
and my personal favorite, hunting for teeny, tiny shells!

Feliz Navidad!