Summer is Over

Today is the last day of summer vacation and I will be spending it getting things finished up in my classroom, of course. This has been a beautiful summer with perfect weather, except for the cooler June which got summer off to a slow start. I wish we had a few more weeks. Hopefully it won't be too hot for the classroom and we can have a wonderful autumn.

I have been doing some reading in "The Book of Mormon Made Easier" by David Ridges. I don't really have comprehension problems, but his commentaries help me remember the events that have happened to get the scriptures to the point of each chapter. And the bolding of words and concepts helps me center my thoughts on what is important. I remember one time Josh saying that he sometimes struggled with comprehending or understanding exactly what was important in each chapter. I think this book would be a great help to others who have the same problem. It takes three books in the series to get through the entire Book of Mormon, but it really does help with deeper understanding. I have recognized the great mission of the Sons of Mosiah with their missionary efforts and what they went through during those 14 years. My eyes have really been opened and I can't wait for the morning to read another chapter. One chapter at a time helps me concentrate with all the helps Bro. Ridges gives.



For my family outside of Utah, or inside for that matter, this Sunday will be a very different Sunday for many of us. I don't ever recall a Sunday when we are excused from attending Sacrament Meeting. In fact, there will be no Sacrament Meeting or Sunday School, or any other meeting of the traditional block schedule. Instead, we are meeting for the dedication of the Oqquirah Temple (Just how do you spell that word?) The new temple in South Jordan. With our stake center closed for remodeling, the two Castle Dale wards are attending meetings in the Orangeville Wardhouse and the 8th North building, so we have three wards in each building. The dedication sessions are at 9:00 am in both buildings, and another one at 3:00 in our building. This will enable families to attend a session and have baby-sitters available. You need a current temple recommend or a special recommend for the temple dedication only. Anyone 8 or older is invited to attending after getting the required recommend. Doors to the building will be locked at 8:30. With three wards in our building I am assuming it will be very crowded, so we will be there bright and early with our white hankies. I only remember being to the dedication of the Winter Quarters Temple, or was it the Nauvoo Temple? But it was in the afternoon and we still had sacrament meeting. We didn't skip the meetings for the dedication of the Draper Temple so this is a little bit different. Should make for a very nice Sunday afternoon.

Hope you all have a great day!

Happy Anniversary to Us

Yesterday was the 32 anniversary of our wedding day. I chose not to post anything yesterday because I wanted to spend as much time with my husband as I could, which really wasn't much until just after 5:00 pm when we both got off work. We had a great dinner in the wonderful city of Price. We had two new eating establishments to choose to visit. Amazingly, both had waiting lines. Wingers finally won out because the line was shorter. The food was very good and we enjoyed out time together. The noise level was a bit high, but after 32 years we don't have much to say to each other. What I mean is, we read each others thoughts and we can communicate with just a look. So we ate, tried to yell at each other (not really), and enjoyed our time together. After dinner we took the obligatory trip to Walmart. Time to stock up on frozen dinners for lunchtime, picked up a few more school supplies, some other odd-n-ends, and came home by 9:00.

I am so blessed with such a great husband and father to my children. He has honestly been my best friends for 32 years. He is the one I choose to spend my social time with, my down-time, the "I want to be alone" time. Since we are empty-nesters we have lots of time together, but never enough. He helps me in my classroom, and does everything around the house. I love him with all my heart. These years have been very trying at times, but with his support they have been wonderful years. It hasn't been trying because of our relationship, just with life in general. For some reason we always seem to be put through a test of endurance. I wonder who thought that up? And why did we agree to being tested? Beats the heck out of me! I am just glad I have my wonderful husband beside me to help me through the test. Can't say I'm passing the test, but at least I have someone there to help me with the answers.

I love you, sweetie!

Just Rambling

I've been up since 5:00 am this morning, went to help Garth at Alco at 6:00, got back at 8:00 and now it is almost 9:00. I need to get going on the "real" things for the day.

Here are a few things running around in my head:
1. What is wrong with my camera? I took pictures at the Labrum family reunion that ended up just big white squares. What was wrong? And then, I took pictures of Lexi, Kayden, and Koy at the swimming pool and they are just big black squares. What is happening? I guess I need to dig out the manual and do some trouble shooting. Maybe trouble "shooting" will bring big colorful squares.

2. I thought I was going to get my house dejunked this summer but I guess not. Why can't I get up the energy to do a little bit each day when I get home from school?

3. Maybe I need to get home from school earlier. But now I had tried to add an hour of exercise down at Scott's, so that makes it even more difficult to get someone done at home. Getting up an hour earlier isn't an option because I am already up at 4:30 on school days.

4. My schedule will be changing some because Garth won't be going to work until 6:00 unless it is a snow day. At least we will be able to read our scriptures together. But what about the other stuff I do in the early mornings? When will I get my hour of handwork done? I still like to do that so I get something accomplished. How do I fit it all in within 24 hours? It isn't that I am constantly on the go, just that I take longer to get little things done than most people.

5. I need to finish up my classroom today. No matter what I do it still looks junked up. What do I do with the junk in the cubbies? I don't use it all the time, but want it available when I do need it. Why do I value having "stuff" around?

6. We got most of the boxes out of the storage unit and into our new shed. Lexie sure loved playing "beauty shop" in the shed this weekend. It is a great playhouse. Hopefully it won't get too full of junk. By the way, Barrett wins the prize for the least amount of boxes left at Mom and Dad's. He only has one box of personal old valuables. Nancy wins the prize for the most. I won't say how many HALF boxes there are. I am sure she will be able to throw most of them away. Do you really still need your planning book from your mission? There are some valuables from everyone, but they sure do need to be gone through. We don't mind storing them now that we don't have to pay someone else for it, but I bet we can get rid of some so I can bring my old stuff out of the basement and into to the shed......., no, the garbage as well.

7. I lost two pounds the past two weeks, but gained it back this weekend. I just had to finish up the candied popcorn, couldn't throw it away. Back to Scott's for more exercise, drinking more water, and counting the calories. But I am feeling better than I have in years. Breathing is good as long as I have that medicine. I will taper down to 5mg starting next week to see how it goes.

8. We ordered new glasses and contacts this past week. My contacts have come down so far in price from years ago! I as so surprised! I used to pay about $400 a pair for the gas permiables. This year is only $130. I couldn't believe it!

9. I need to sign my contract and get it over to the district office by Friday.

10. I need to get going!

Where did the summer go?

It is early Saturday morning and I finally gave up on sleeping. I'm just doing some computer cleaning-up activities, wondering where the summer went. June was busy with Dad in the hospitals (yes, plural), Nancy and Tyler here for a few days, then off to Missouri, a day with grandkids in SLC, then just trying to get things done around the house and yard. Garth was busy building a large shed in the area that once was our garden spot. I had to move all the stuff out of my classroom at the end of May, then back into the classroom in July, so getting things back into working order has been time consuming. Now it feels like autumn is in the air, the morning air is quite cool and brisk, but I love it. The days aren't so hot you can't stand it, and dark comes before 9:00 pm. I do believe summer is winding down.

This past week I spent three days in my classroom assessing my students. Some people think I am a bit crazy doing this before school starts, but I enjoy it. I remember back several years ago when we were first asked to do formal reading assessments for each student. It takes time to sit with each child, listen to their reading, assess what their strengths and weaknesses are, learn exactly where their reading level is, and do all the other things necessary for teaching them at the level that is beneficial to them. Since it takes time for each student, that means time away from the group of students, leaving them to work on their own, or just do activities that they can on their own. I didn't like listening to one student and leaving the rest of the class on their own. For one thing, it isn't a good use of their time. Students are in school to learn, not just keep busy for three-five days while the teacher spends one-on-one time with each student. We could ask for a substitute for the class to keep them organized and busy, but that is just more work for me to get ready for the substitute, and then one day usually wasn't enough, so a substitute could stretch into more days, which isn't for the good of the kids. Not a wise exchange for 15-20 minutes of un-interrupted time with the teacher, in my opinion. So I decided a few years ago that I would schedule 30 minutes of time for each child before school started and have all my attention given to each student during that time. I love it. I get a few minutes to talk with each child about their activities during the summer, get to know them just a little bit better, actually associate a name with a face so I can identify them on the first day of school. I listen to them read, watch them as they try to spell difficult words, and learn so much about their reading and word knowledge. It is fun to watch them decide if there is a silent e at the end of the word, or if they are so confident on all the spellings of such big words, even though they are way off! It is great to see how they attach words in their reading without worrying if another student is attacking their neighbor back in the classroom! I got 17 out of 25 students assessed, so I feel really good about that. One mother told me her son was so excited to come to school to spend time with his teacher all my himself. He was as excited as the first day of school. That really makes me feel great, that perhaps the students are a little bit more at ease and excited to come to school. They are a cute bunch of kids and I am looking forward to this next year.

Yesterday we drove to SLC for eye exams and then picked up Tammy's kids to bring them here for the weekend. It was so good to hear kids laughing in the yard again. They couldn't wait to get on the trampoline, ride the "4-riders", play in the sand, and just be kids. Lexi thought she needed a crib for her baby dolls, so Grandpa got out some scrape wood from the shed, along with his saw, and built her two little cradles, just the right size for our old dolls. She was in heaven, and now we have two cradles, one for her and one for Morgan, to put the babies to sleep in. We played with play-dough, ate waffles, drank pink milk, and said our prayers. Then played musical beds all night. Right now Koy is on the hide-a-bed, Lexi stayed on the love seat, Kayden is in his third bed along with Garth in the extra bedroom, and I am sitting here listening to them all snore. What fun! Today we will work on cleaning out the storage unit and arranging things into the shed, if Lexi will allow us to move around in her play house. (She has swept it all out and loves to be in there.) I am sure we will keep busy on the tramp, riding the John Deere tractor up and down the drive-way, shooting the bad guys hiding in the trees, and just being kids. We look forward to days when more of our grandchildren can be close enough to spend more time at Grandpa and Grandma's house each summer.

Next week we have our first faculty meeting, our anniversary, and then, summer will be gone. Kind of sad, but a good start to a new school year.

Another Thought

Strange, I know. Two posts on the same morning, but my mind is working overtime. Don't forget that tonight is the high point of the Perseids meteor shower, the best of the year. If you want to see lots of shooting points of light stay up late or wake up early. (Unless you are Garth and are always up early.) It will peak around 12:00 midnight but you will see meteors before and after until the sun comes up. I understand you need to look in the northeastern sky just above the horizon to see the full start, but I am sure the shooting stars will be all over the sky. You can find lots about them on astronomy websites. The moon will be coming up just before dawn and it might be difficult to see the meteros after that. Anyway, just a few thing to see.

Also, Chantel....I need your recipe for the wonderful chicken tacos we are while in Missouri. Please send it to me so I can make some of those mouth-watering bites. Thanks so much!

Another Day, Another Way

As I get ready for the school year to begin, I again see that people do things so differently. Who is to say which way is best? Isn't it just that we choose what works for us? I constantly hear people telling me, "You spend too much time at school" or other similar comments. Isn't it my own business how I want to spend my time? I know that it takes me longer to get things done. I allow myself to get distracted by little things. I can't file away papers without looking through each one. I can't help but stop and read everything. I jump from one task to another all the time, sometimes not really accomplishing what I set out to do. I know this is how I am, and I accommodate for it. I'm not one who can just jump in and get it done quickly. At most things, anyway. That is just who I am.

So it made me think about a post I read from a blogger who I don't know at all, but I read her blog daily. She is from Smithfield and has a wonderful, uplifting blog. She accomplishes so much during the day that I get tired just reading what she has done and still wants to do. She is amazing. I used to think I would like to meet her in person, but now I think not. (Really, I would!) There really can't be anyone that organized. She is always seeing the bright side of everything. And then I realized that perhaps that is just what she is trying to see, looking for good and not dwelling on the dark side of everything. I need to be more like that. But she really is human. Sometimes I can read the discouragement in some of her posts, her desires for her children, the trials she mentions but doesn't go into details for the world to see. She has her ups and downs, but chooses to look up. Anyway, one post she had from last month expressed my same feelings about whose way is right and whose is wrong. I will attempt to tell it here, then you can check it out yourself. Beware, though, she might hook you, too!

Sophia has a tendency to go to extremes in everything she does. That is, overboard for my standards, but that is the way she is. She is a perfectionist and over-achiever and it works for her. I wish I could be more like that. I don't mean it in a negative way, just trying to explain her so I can understand. She is truly wonderful! She loves to produce parties and enjoys the planning down to the last detail. Her table settings are beautiful (pictures on blog) and her menus are out-of-this-world. She goes so far as to set the table the night before a big dinner party so she can see what needs to be added. She leaves no detail to the last minute.

In July she was part of the planning for her ward's swimming party. They combine activities with a neighboring ward, taking turns hosting the party and being in charge of the details. This year was not her wards turn to be host, so her duty was to help the other planner with whatever needed to be done. She did the advertising for her ward, assigned out the food for their share, and needed to help with the set-up and clean-up. She had a difficult time stepping back and allowing the other person to do their thing. She said she had nightmares for three days worrying that everyone would be waiting for her to arrive with everything. So on the day of the activity she was all prepared to be there bright and early to make sure everything was in order. As she said, "I felt helpless and out of control."

Things were not done as she would have done them. But she learned that it really didn't matter. There was only one butter knife and two steak knives to cut the sub-sandwiches for 350 people. (She would have had them already cut.) No one noticed there were no table coverings or center pieces or welcome banners. No one was there bright and early to get things set-up. The lady from the other ward who was in charge was just very laid back about everything. The problems that came up in the end, she laughed about, solved the problems and went on. It wasn't all strict, prepared ahead of time, and fancy pants. In the end, Sophia realized that the final results and object of the activity was the same: everyone had a good time, enjoyed good food, visited with friends and new people. She said that the next day people probably didn't remember what the tables looked like, or what the menu was, but they will remember that they had a good time.

Yes, we may do things different, with different styles, methods, and points of importance, but if it works for us, why do we let the opinions of others bother us? And why do they think their way is the best way? It shouldn't matter to anyone if I spend time at school. And I shouldn't care if someone else doesn't. Do what works for you. Please don't condemn me if I don't do things that way you would do. Accept me for being me. I don't want to hear, "If I did.....I would do....." or "I think you should do........" Yes, I value your opinion and want suggestions many times, but as an "add-on" to my thoughts, not instead of my ideas. As I learned in a writing class many years ago, suggestions are like gifts, you should kindly take it, then you can decide if you want to act on it, put it on the shelf for later, or throw it away. But it is my decision what to do with it.

I suggest that you read Sophia for a few days if you want to be enlightened on looking on the bright side and seeing how much one person can accomplish in a day. She is an amazing person. The entry from above was posted on July 16, called Share Our Similarities, Celebrate Our Differences.

Just a suggestion.

Things to do Today

I think summer is almost over. The air is very crisp and cool this morning, but I sure like it. Since some people think that teachers don't do anything during the summer, I thought I would make a list of things I need to do today.

1. Hair cut at 9:00. (It takes a lot to keep short hair under control.)
2. Work at school. Get desks out to see what I have. (New desks with lift up tops. No more students playing inside desks when they should be listening.)
3. Get everything ready to start pre-testing tomorrow.
4. Make contact with someone to see if we are ready to really sign those contracts or if we are holding back. (I have heard rumors and want to know.)
5. Get to the pharmacy.
6. Go to Alco to pick up a few things.
7. Make phone call to Dr. Walkers office.
8. Check in on my dad.
9. Get some laundry going. (I'll have to wait until Garth can carry it downstairs. I am too short to lift the hamper down the stairs.)
10. Get temple altar cloths to Mrs. Bean to take to the temple this week.
11. Get my exercise in at Pro-Rehab.
12. Everything else that usually gets done each day.

That should just about do it for today. I am sure there are other things but that is the low-down from here. Hope you all have a great day.
(Happy birthday to my sister yesterday!)

My Grandchildren

I love this picture of some of my grandchildren at the Living Planet Aquarium. Now that Nancy's family is moving back to Utah it will be a little bit easier to get all six of the grandchildren together at one time. It was next to impossible when two families lived out of state. It is possible that in a few years Barrett's family will return to the state and then we will all once again be within the same borders. In the meantime, we enjoy the grandchildren when we can see them.

Today Garth and I went to the county fair parade all by ourselves. We did get a few Bit-O-Honey bite-sized candy bars to chew on, and it was fun to watch Daphne, Navi, Brogan, and Marcus race for candy. Now we are going to work on the end of the shed so we can begin cleaning out the storage unit and save that money each month. Hopefully, it will be a productive day.

Experiences

Lately I have have been thinking about the experiences we have had over the past 32 years of our marriage. We have all had ups and down, which are just a part of life. Some days it seems like everything would be easier to just throw in the towel and made major decisions that would change our lives. Sometimes we are dealt a hand that is difficult to bear. But most of the time, we have realized the the blessings come after the trials. And that isn't always easy to see while the trials are there. You just have to keep going.
There have been many times when we wondered if our prayers are being heard at all, when we felt that something wasn't right. You know, those times when you aren't getting what you want or feel you want or deserve at the time. We have looked at those times and wondered just what we needed to do to "deserve" or be blessed with our desires. Our desires were righteous desires, and we just didn't understand what was keeping us from getting some kind of answer. Any answer at all. It was at times like that we would have a "husband/wife" council and look at our lives. We would find one area where we would put more effort into living the gospel better. I remember one time during our early marriage we knew we could be better at paying our tithing. We really worked that on and have been faithful tithe payers since then. We have noticed many blessings coming from that commitment. Another time it was reading the scriptures so we started getting the kids up earlier and read the scriptures every morning. It helped to make the days go better, not perfect but better. And I think our children had better teenage years because of it.
The past week I have needed to take a look at myself again, and see what I can do to make some major changes or adjustments in my life. Since Garth and I aren't home in the mornings together (he leaves for work at 4:00 am) I need to read my scriptures better by myself.
I have the set of books "Your Study of The Book of Mormon Made Easier" by David J. Ridges, which is very good at explaining word by word what each scripture means. I don't have any problem with comprehending what the verses mean, but I enjoy the added details that are included.
I was reading in Alma 8-9, the story where Alma meets Amulek, which is a well-known man in his community. Alma was told to go back to the city that had treated him so badly, and he was told to "Rejoice". He had been rejected, spit upon, and thrown out of the city, and the angel told him to Rejoice! The angel's message was that no matter what circumstances or people do to you in a negative way, what really counts is how you stand with God. Alma had been faithful, so he had reason to rejoice.
The verse that always stands out as Alma and Amulek teach is Alma 9:13. "Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord." How many times do we feel that our answers aren't coming? That is when we need to re-evaluate our lives and see what we can do to live a bit better. Even if we think our lives are in tune with the gospel teachings, there is usually somewhere we can improve. Pray more often by yourself, family or couple prayer. Pay tithing. A true fast. Home and visiting teaching. Scripture reading. Helping someone else. Making it a point to do it and report back to the Lord in prayer helps us see what we are doing to improve ourselves. It is our own evaluation so we might be like Alma and be told that we have reason to rejoice even with all the negative things that are happening around us, or the prayers we feel aren't being answered.
My challenge to you is to find one thing, one area, where you can put forth a little more effort, not to perfection but just a little bit more. Work on that one thing for as long as you need, informing the Lord what you are doing and why you are doing it. Look for the blessings that come as you work on this one little thing. It will soon bring big blessings in your life.

Summer Fun

We have experienced some fun days with our grandchildren this summer. It started with Tyler and Nancy coming for a few days. We had fun playing at our house, then we went to SLC, picked up the Gale kids and spent a day together. We went to the aquarium and rode on the carosel at the mall. Then we went to the new temple.

We flew to Missouri for 6 days with Barrett, Chantel, and the kids. It was so great to have time to visit with them. We went to Penguin Park and had fun, even though we were sweating. I thought it felt really good, just a little wet. Grandpa and Grandma got the chance to take Max and Morgan to Chuck E. Cheese one night and we had a ball. We watched the mushroom growing on the front lawn, and looked for fireflies. We are so glad to have the chance to visit with them. Now, before everyone lets me know I have spelled "Mushroom" the wrong way, I know it! But it is a pain to go back to the slide show page, fix it, then repost it here. So live with my spelling, please. (asked politely)

Chantel and the kids were able to come to Utah and we met up for a visit to the aquarium with the Gales and Aunt Nicky. They were so excited and all in different places at the same time. With the dark lighting it was hard to get pictures of them all together. But here is an overview of their excitement. After the aquarium we ate a quick lunch at Murray Park, then we all headed our separate directions. It has been a good summer for us.