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!

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…