Thursday, July 2, 2009
“Home” is knowing your way around
I am away from “home” as I write this. I am at my sister’s house in Southern Utah surrounded by red rock and looking over a magnificient view of the valley. I’m very comfortable in my sister’s home. I know where everything is and how she likes things done. I came to help her out for about a week because she just had surgery. I spent 14 hours at the hospital yesterday; first in the waiting area and later in Camille’s hospital room.
Being in the hospital brought back many memories of all the days and even weeks I spent at Phoenix Children’s Hospital with BJ during the years of his illness. We never left him alone there for more than the 30 minutes it might take me to shower or go get something to eat. If I needed a longer break, someone would come and spell me. I even slept in his room in a chair that was supposed to turn into a comfortable bed (it wasn’t). I became very familiar with the hospital during those times. I knew the best floor to find a shower room available, the back stairs down to the cafeteria, where the treats were that I was free to go and get for my son, which floor had what kinds of patients and I was well known among the nurses and staff. I often had people bring me veggies that I would steam in the microwave and managed to create delicious and aromatic meals. We had a stack of movies and games and spent hours together, when BJ was up to it. Other times I would read. BJ’s engaging personality had a stream of visitors and staff members in his room most of the time. Being there for extended periods strangely evolved into a feeling of “family.” It even became our “home away from home.” I knew my way around the hospital only too well.
Other places over the years have been our “home away from home.” When our children were young we used to go camping at a family reunion for nearly a week each summer. The tents were set up, cooking and eating places created and sleeping bags were unrolled. I even went so far as to create an enclosed stall out of PVC pipes and shower curtains for our porta-potty. We had it down to a routine. We knew how it worked and nestled into our temporary “home.”
A delightful “home” was created in a small cabin on a cruise ship when Jim and I discovered the Mexican Rivera for eight days. Our belongings were unpacked, meal schedules memorized and it wasn’t long before we had a routine going. For eight glorious days we knew our way around that ship; it was ‘home.”
Visiting family, traveling, even being diplaced for unexpected emergencies, it is human nature to nest, to figure out how things work wherever we are and to settle in. This is why I titled my blog, “Home is knowing your way around.” Once we are close enough to a situation or a location to know our way around, we become more at ease and start to “feel at home.” There is much truth in the familiar sayings, “Home is where the heart is,” or “Home is where you hang your hat.” I think any place where we feel welcomed, comfortable and can learn our way around begins to feel like “home.”
This brings me to my final thought: I hope and pray that when the time comes that I really go home, to that Father who created me, that somehow I will have done enough. My motives are pure, but there is so much that I never seem to get to … I only hope that whatever I have managed to accomplish, it will be sufficient to have the Savior, in His mercy, take me in His open arms and say, “Welcome Home.” And I pray also, that I will know my way around well enough to know that I have finally come home.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Gift of Time
Today is my only sister’s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAMILLE!! It is also my grandson’s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELIAS!! They are decades apart but it has made me think about how birthdays come and birthdays go. What have we done with all the days in between our own birthdays?
Sunday is the birthday of one of my dear friends (Margaret) but they are going out of town this weekend. So today, one of Margaret’s daughters has set up a schedule of birthday visits unbeknownst to her. Brittany privately emailed all of her mom’s friends who live in the area and asked them to sign up for 30 minute blocks throughout the entire day to stop by and visit Margaret to celebrate her birthday. I’m curious to find out how Brittany made plans to keep her mom home as Margaret works outside of the home. (I’m guessing she made some sort of prearrangement with her mom’s boss) and the friends start coming first thing in the morning so Margaret will be up and ready for the day but she’s never going to make it to work. :)
Margaret and I are both busy moms and grandmas. We seldom find time to just visit anymore. Usually, a quick exchange at church and an occasional phone call have to suffice. However, when one or the other of us is really needed, we are there. When BJ had leukemia, Margaret made sure to stop by as often as she could and when he passed away, she was there helping non-stop, giving comfort, cleaning, even taking cherished pictures the day of the funeral. When her 2-year-old grandson died unexpectedly, we went right over to her house to be with them and offer comfort. We have also been to temple weddings of each others’ children, been over to hear mission calls read and attended Eagle Courts of Honor. We are the kind of friends who know we love each other even when we never seem to be able to get together during a normal week or even month (or two or three).
Today, I am going to have 30 minutes of my friend’s undivided attention. We can catch up on each other’s lives, share memories, tell funny grandchildren stories, laugh, hug, cry… whatever. I have decided that what Brittany has given her mother is the gift of time. Could there possibly be a better gift? And one that can be shared with so many?
I recall reading a book by Linda Eyre when I was a young mom and one year her husband gave her “Wednesdays for a year” for her birthday. He was able to arrange his schedule to be home on Wednesdays and he took full charge of the children and the house all day Wednesday. She was free to write, soak in the tub, leave the house and go visiting, to the movies, to the library, to the temple, whatever her heart desired. It was a remarkable, restorative gift.
I’m thinking Heavenly Father has also given us the gift of time. When we left his presence in the pre-existence, we were given an allotted amount of time to fulfill our earthly mission. We don’t always know exactly what that mission is (as I am sure we have many “missions” and they grow and change as our life and our service does the same) and we certainly don’t know how much time He has given us, but it is a splendid gift. Sadly, I have too many regrets on how I have squandered my time on unimportant things, usually justifying it as needed “downtime.” And we do all need some downtime, but after having recently taken Stephen R. Covey’s course on “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” I’ve been reflecting on how I use my time more than usual. I see the need for some course corrections, to be sure. I also try not to be too hard on myself as that can be counterproductive. However, the simplest change here and there, over time, can achieve the grandest results. We are taught “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little, giving us consolation by holding forth that which is to come, confirming our hope!”
My hope for myself and all those reading this is that we can make even a few productive changes that will allow us to make better use of and thus have far better results with that most precious gift, the gift of time.
Friday, June 12, 2009
I Want to Dance with a Boy!!
I've been meaning to write this up for some time... I finally did and I think you will enjoy it:
Our precious and precocious granddaughter, Taylor (Kaci’s daughter), is a constant source of many funny and delightful experiences and comments. At the tender age of 3 (she turned 4 in April) she attended her first “Ball”… it was the “Colonial Ball” held at my school in February of this year. She even wore her “princess dress.”
On the way to the dance, Taylor made it very clear to us that it was her wish to “dance with a boy.” We told her she could dance with grandpa but no, she wanted to “dance with a boy.” Her mind was made up.
Taylor’s eyes lit up with excitement as we entered the school’s multipurpose room that had been transformed for the night. She was impatient about getting her dance so I found a very fine young man, about 14 years old (we are a K-12 campus) and asked him if he would dance with my granddaughter. He was so sweet. He smiled, squatted down to her level, spoke to her for a moment, took her hand and escorted her to the dance floor. Holding both of her hands, they swayed back and forth in some fashion of a two step and then he turned her around a couple of times. Before the song was over, she walked away and came over to where Jim and I were sitting, “Grandma, I need a smaller boy.”
I found one of my students, a very handsome 7-year-old named William. I introduced him to Taylor, informing him that this was my granddaughter and she wanted to dance. He said, “Ok,” and they were off to the dance floor. Taylor smiled from ear to ear as she danced with her “prince.”
She made many friends that night and had a marvelous time. When the Hokey Pokey began, she watched from the sidelines with us. It looked like too much fun to just stand there so she simply joined the others, squeezed into an available spot and began to copy the actions of the other dancers.
Taylor may be young, but she is fearless, determined, bright and she intends to get what she’s after. She knew exactly what she wanted before she ever entered the dance. When what I offered her was not what she wanted, she clearly made it known what she needed, “a smaller boy.” She’s no wall-flower and I pray her attitude never changes.
There is much we can all learn from Taylor: Know what you want and have a clear mission statement about it: “I want to dance with a boy.” Don’t quit until you get what you want, even if it means making adjustments (“a smaller boy”). Don’t stand on the sidelines of life, walk right over to where the action is … and dance!
Our precious and precocious granddaughter, Taylor (Kaci’s daughter), is a constant source of many funny and delightful experiences and comments. At the tender age of 3 (she turned 4 in April) she attended her first “Ball”… it was the “Colonial Ball” held at my school in February of this year. She even wore her “princess dress.”
On the way to the dance, Taylor made it very clear to us that it was her wish to “dance with a boy.” We told her she could dance with grandpa but no, she wanted to “dance with a boy.” Her mind was made up.
Taylor’s eyes lit up with excitement as we entered the school’s multipurpose room that had been transformed for the night. She was impatient about getting her dance so I found a very fine young man, about 14 years old (we are a K-12 campus) and asked him if he would dance with my granddaughter. He was so sweet. He smiled, squatted down to her level, spoke to her for a moment, took her hand and escorted her to the dance floor. Holding both of her hands, they swayed back and forth in some fashion of a two step and then he turned her around a couple of times. Before the song was over, she walked away and came over to where Jim and I were sitting, “Grandma, I need a smaller boy.”
I found one of my students, a very handsome 7-year-old named William. I introduced him to Taylor, informing him that this was my granddaughter and she wanted to dance. He said, “Ok,” and they were off to the dance floor. Taylor smiled from ear to ear as she danced with her “prince.”
She made many friends that night and had a marvelous time. When the Hokey Pokey began, she watched from the sidelines with us. It looked like too much fun to just stand there so she simply joined the others, squeezed into an available spot and began to copy the actions of the other dancers.
Taylor may be young, but she is fearless, determined, bright and she intends to get what she’s after. She knew exactly what she wanted before she ever entered the dance. When what I offered her was not what she wanted, she clearly made it known what she needed, “a smaller boy.” She’s no wall-flower and I pray her attitude never changes.
There is much we can all learn from Taylor: Know what you want and have a clear mission statement about it: “I want to dance with a boy.” Don’t quit until you get what you want, even if it means making adjustments (“a smaller boy”). Don’t stand on the sidelines of life, walk right over to where the action is … and dance!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Power of Showing Up
My husband, Jim, and I are a couple of “show-uppers.” We show up to just about everything and anything we are invited to, are expected to be to and even lots of places where no one thought we would be there. Life happens, of course. Sometimes we are double-booked, out of town, ill or a few times, just plain forget. Nevertheless, generally speaking, we show up. So do a lot of other people. I can’t help but notice a pattern, however. It seems in any given circle, it is pretty much the same people that show up.
The same teachers show up at afterschool events or meetings, the same people show up at ward temple day, welfare assignments, service projects, Eagle projects and Courts of Honor, convert baptisms and wedding receptions, particularly those that are really too far away (but the “show-uppers” will come anyway). They show up at kids’ performances (often when they are not even related), graduation parties, baby and bridal showers and more.
We are also “stay late and help clean-uppers.” Oh yeah, I married into a large bunch of stay late and help out folks. If we are at a wedding reception of someone we don’t even know that well and we happen to get there as it is ending, I can guarantee that the Abneys are not going home until the last table has been stripped of its cloth and decorations, the last chair has been stacked and the floor swept, if not mopped.
Am I bragging? No… just making an observation. It takes a big chunk out of your life to be a “show-upper.” Yet, I know from experience, that when we have an event, a talk to give or any other number of things that may involve others and we look out to see “so-and-so” and we KNEW they would be there… because they always “show up” and we knew we could count on them, there is something so sweet that washes over us. Everyone has fun, gets the work done, cheers the drama student or band member, finishes the Eagle project, does the temple work, supports the new church member, the new grad, the new bride or the new mom or whatever the event may be. Everyone is also enriched, either for having given or received. Everyone becomes closer, bonds of family and friends are strengthened. In this there is real, tangible power… something that adds to your own framework and rounds out the empty spots, fills in the gaps, brings out the smiles and creates value, love and blessings. Yep, I have a lot of gratitude for those who “show-up” and I’m proud to be counted among them because the blessings are a two-way street. It’s impossible to bless the lives of someone else without blessing your own life. You just have to “show-up.”
Thursday, May 14, 2009
I laid down on a bed of nails
I guess you really can do anything... given the right reasons and/or the right circumstances. (I'll explain this more as we go along). I'm so tired that I think I'll be asleep for the night by 7:30 tonight. Slowly, we are making our way to the end of the school year and at my school we still have 10 actual days of school left (we come back after Memorial Day). What a journey this first year of teaching full-time has been, particularly at my age (58).
I've loved all the years of substitute teaching and now I have really enjoyed teaching full-time this year as well. I think I was truly supposed to be the teacher for some of these kids. I hope I have been able to give to them what they needed, as they certainly have given me what I've needed. Case in point: every morning I read to the children about someone remarkable and we talk about them and the traits that made that person so amazing so they can learn to model them. The last two days we have been reading about Albert Schweitzer. Anyway, when I finish reading, we discuss it a bit and write some traits and ideas on the board and the kids settle down to write a journal entry about it and then illustrate it. It's amazing what young children can come up with. So, this morning I was at my desk when all of a sudden one of my little 7-year-old boys quietly got out of his seat, walked up to my desk, stood right next to me, leaned his head on my shoulder until our heads were touching, gave me a little squeeze and then slipped back into his seat without saying a word. Yep, that's why I teach.
I've tried to make every day memorable for them. Tuesday was National Limerick Day so we learned about them and tried our hand at writing a couple of them. Yesterday we went to the Science Center and the Planetarium. Today is (in case you were wondering, and why wouldn't you be????) National Dance Like a Chicken Day, so we had a reading comprehension on dancing like a chicken and then I put on a CD with the music, and the whole class did the Chicken Dance. Sat. is the anniversary of the day that Root Beer was invented so tomorrow we are having root beer floats. And so it goes, there is always something to celebrate ~ I see to it. I live my own life trying to celebrate each day. Some days I'm more successful than others.
Back to the Bed of Nails... if you didn't read the title, bet I caught you by surprise!! At the Science Center yesterday, there was a "Bed of Nails" ~ 1,000 of them to be exact, all sharp, but all PERFECTLY lined up. The theory is that if you have all these nails to support and distribute your weight, it doesn't hurt. This is true. I have PLENTY of weight to support and I laid down on it twice and it didn't hurt. Every nail was exactly where it was supposed to be; none of them were trying to be in the limelight and stick up higher or be all insecure and be lower than they should be. Each nail did its part. I found it interesting. Lots of analogies there... every member of a family, a ward, a class, etc. etc. fulfilling their part and being there to support each other. Pretty cool. So, if you've read this far, I guess you deserve proof. So, here it is:
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*You gotta' love that stupid sign that says "300-pound weight limit" right under me ~ but I didn't need to worry ~ I'm not there yet!!!!!!!!!
Kind of makes me want to head off to bed now. Nighty night!! Enjoy!
Kind of makes me want to head off to bed now. Nighty night!! Enjoy!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Woo … woo … woo … woo … (to the tune of "The Twilight Zone"
You are OUT THERE... more than you think!!!!!
My writer friends and I frequently talk about the need to create an "online presence." I'm guessing that IF YOU ARE READING THIS, you are already present… more than you know.
Have you ever “Googled” your own name? You should. You might be surprised. You are "out there" more than you realize. Perhaps, even, more than you want to be. I have a charming friend, Mary, who is fond of posting photos online… so when I googled my name and THEN CLICKED ON "IMAGES" rather than just search, you can imagine I wasn’t overly thrilled to find a picture of myself at a recent baby shower we attended (for Deirdra Coppel) "sniffing" poopy baby diapers ~ it wasn’t real poop, of course; just blended chocolate in a baby diaper and we were supposed to identify which candy bar it came from. (Just kidding, Mary ~ it's totally fine that you posted it).
I found myself listed in lots of places, even my own blog, and also blogs I have commented on. I also tried "Googling" various writer friends: Marsha Ward, Kerry Blair and Janette Rallison, among others, using the "IMAGES" button each time. It’s pretty fun. You have to wade through people who are not even closely related as well. But you are in there… I mean, OUT there. You should try it. Be sure to try clicking on "IMAGES" as well as just doing a search. You can also try putting in the names of your ancestors and clicking in "IMAGES" ~ you might link up to something useful.
Now, if you happen to share a famous name, like my friend, Cindy Williams, you can pretty much guess that every image will be of Cindy Williams, the TV star. So, I added Arizona to the end of Cindy’s name and that’s when I got a picture of her. However, I couldn't help but wonder when it was that she got into body building? You should SEE the body builder who shares her name!!! YIKES!!
I put in my kids’ names, etc. and lots of images came up, especially with all the blogging everyone does these days. So, it’s great to be visible, but it bears a warning of some caution. Be careful what (and who) you post about and how many personal details you include; because once you hit the SEND button… it’s pretty much a done deal. And well… cyberspace has no secrets.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Kids Wall Art ~ TOO FUN!!! A MUST SEE!!
Art can capture a moment, a feeling, a delight or a help you hold onto a memory.
Our daughter-in-law is such a remarkable artist!!
I just wanted to give all of my very savvy friends a head’s up. Matt’s wife, Amy Abney, is a fabulous artist. If you have never seen the lifelike rendition she painted for us of BJ you need to come over and see it if you are in town. You would swear he is looking right into your eyes.
Amy can basically paint anything, but her first love is children’s art and she now has a website up and running. If you are looking for whimsical, visually stimulating artwork for your kids’ rooms, I have the solution!! Even if you aren’t in the market for anything right now you should take a look because you will ENJOY looking and you never know when someone might say they are looking for something like that and then you can come to their rescue and tell them where to go (in a nice way, of course)… send them to the site:
http://www.kids-wall-art.com/ Be sure to click on the different links and scroll down to see samples of what she paints. I’m rather partial to her alien line. Cute, cute, cute. Enjoy!! Love to all!!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Communication at the Speed of Light
We are busy people… probably TOO busy. Yet, I haven’t a clue what I could possibly leave out since there are so many things that I feel like I should do, that I seldom find time to do. So, whenever we have lessons at chruch on gratitude and people raise their hands with all of the obvious answers of being grateful for love, family, gospel, prophets, temples, freedom, and so on, I say a hardy, “Amen.” And then I raise my hand and tell everyone that I am grateful modern electronic technology. That’s the absolute truth. I do it every time. I LOVE email, blogs, cell phones, voicemail, online photo albums, FACEBOOK, Classmates.com and the like. I’ve even learned how to text.
The thing that I love best about all of the above is that I can use them completely on my own terms and my own timetable. I read my email (and reply) when it suits me. The same applies for voicemail or checking out my FACEBOOK pages. And while I was sleeping, or teaching or traveling or whatever… someone left me a message or a link or some information that I need or want and when I get to where and/or when I want to look at it or listen to it, I am free to do so, even if it is in the middle of the night!
When our son, BJ, was so ill with leukemia, there were well over a hundred people who wanted to know how he was doing. Blogs did not yet exist as that would have been the best, I think. But I used email to stay in touch with everyone, even people in my own family, neighborhood and ward. It made it so that I did not have to repeat all the details over and over (which I could have never endured) and everyone knew what was happening, how they could help, what prayers were needed, etc. The support that poured in and enveloped us like a comfortable quilt carried us through the most difficult days of our lives. I wrote everything out once (which became my only journal of those times) and I clicked on all of the addresses and “poof” people all over the country (and even a couple out of the country) were thinking of us and our sweet BJ. I cannot tell you how much their reply emails helped us on several different levels.
From Classmates.com I reconnected with a few of my dearest friends in high school… and thirty years after our glory days, we met up in Hawaii for eight days of heaven on earth. We all remain in touch today and wish for matching schedules that would allow us to go to Hawaii again!
I’ve hooked up with former classmates, ward members and friends from the past through FACEBOOK and find it useful in keeping up with all of them (including family members). I also think part of the spirit of Elijah is being fulfilled as connection after connection occurs all over the world. ~ "Malachi 4: 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD; 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers..." It’s a wonderful thing.
So, yes, I’m grateful for electronic technology. However, it can’t take the place of the personal touch. Just yesterday I went visiting teaching and gave my sister a card that read on the cover, “In this fast-paced, busy world, when you need friend, just pick up the phone and call me…”
Inside it said: “And leave a message after the beep.”
Saturday, March 14, 2009
BOOK REVIEW: A Mighty Heart by Mariane Pearl
I finished A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life And Death Of My Husband, Danny Pearl
by Mariane Pearl the other day. In some ways it reminds me of Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Both take place mostly in Pakistan and both are so powerful that you reflect on them for days and even weeks to come. Both have some rough language but it was nearly transparent to me as the heart-wrenching frustrations in each story resulting in such words were so overwhelming that I hardly noticed the harsh and sometimes foul words, normally foreign to me. (And in both cases, I listened to the book on CD driving to and from work over the course of a couple of weeks. I still consider them books that I "read").
I remember when this occurred as the world held it's breath for five long weeks, sending up prayers in many languages for Danny's safe return. He was a reporter and the South Asia Bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. Danny put himself in harm's way to shed some light to the side of the news that might bring about world understanding. Instead, in this instance, it brought a type of horror that proved to be both universal and yet painfully personal for his wife, Mariane, who was pregnant with their first child, a son.
On January 23, 2002, on his way to what he thought was an interview at a village restaurant in Karachi, Pearl was kidnapped by the militant group, "The National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty." This group claimed Danny (of Jewish heritage and an American) was a CIA agent. Before he left for the interview, he told Mariane that he might be late for dinner. He never returned.
Mariane's riveting account of realizing her husband was missing and working to help the authorities piece it all together, leading up to Danny's eventual and brutal murder will leave you forever changed. Mariane is also an award-winning journalist and shares a very detailed step-by-step account of what took place. Surprisingly, interwoven throughout every page of the book, is a love story so intimate, intense and tender that you'll find often yourself smiling and feeling very privileged to "know" these remarkable people, including those surrounding Mariane during this difficult time ... each with their own "mighty heart."
The book on CD is read by Mariane. You really need to concentrate to understand her as she was born of an Afro-Chinese-Cuban mother and Dutch-Jewish father in France. She is a practicing Buddist. Mariane was raised in Paris and has a very unique accent. It's a good thing that you have to listen so carefully as you want to catch every detail and no one else would ever be able to tell the story as she does. It's a story I shall not soon forget. It makes you grateful and also sad but leaves you in awe of the courage of so many of our brothers and sisters half-way around the world, especially Mariane, whose heart is every bit as mighty as her husband's.
Monday, March 9, 2009
The Missionary Puzzle
Saturday night I spoke in the adult session of Stake Conference. If you already heard me speak this might not interest you or then again, maybe it might because I included a couple things I MEANT to say but since I didn't look at my paper that much, I forgot and wish I hadn't but I can't "go there" ~ just need to feel that how I said it was what was needed overall). I had ten minutes and used it all up. IF I wasn't so busy (ANWA writers conference all that day, etc.) AND IF I wasn't such a procrastinator and had actually practiced it a time or two before stake conference, I would have been able to actually give it the way I wanted but whatever... I'd love your feedback anyway.
So, here’s a VERY condensed version of my talk:
I teach 2nd grade and my students love to do puzzles. It’s more fun to do them with someone and as each person places their piece in the correct spot and a picture unfolds, it can be very gratifying.
When I was told the topic was “Missionary Work” because they had heard great things about me, I was quite surprised and wondered if I had ever really been very successful as a missionary. Then the Lord showed me my kids doing puzzles and that I’m a piece of the puzzle. Just like the kids, you might not see the results with those early pieces… but as each one adds their piece to the table it’s easy to see that more than one person has a piece to offer. And even more importantly, sometimes it’s almost impossible to fit a particular piece in until some of the surrounding pieces are in place.
Missionary work is a puzzle. [I then went on to tell about Sun Wei’s visit from China and taking her to church, the visitor’s center, home teaching, and how she used her pocket translator to read the Ensign, etc.]. As part of her “American Experience” I was allowed to “expose” her to our religion, and so I “exposed” her! She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay with us and enjoy “typical American life” because she "liked it very much." I think it was the spirit that she was feeling.
[I also told about experiences I had when I was a “Stake Missionary” WAY BACK WHEN. I had a sister companion in the ward. Our calling was to the less active sisters ~ there were 11 of them in our ward and they became our visiting teaching beat – YES, 11 sisters].
As we got to know these sisters I came to realize that they were the hidden treasures of the ward. They were wonderful and talented women. We began to lay down our puzzle pieces.
One sister loved old Westerns so out of the blue I suggested a slumber party. The three of us spent the night at her house, stayed up watching old Westerns, eating junk food and had a wonderful time. We kidnapped her for breakfast on her birthday, gave her a “year supply” box for a gift. (Turned out to be 12 bags of black jelly beans, her favorite, each bag labeled by month). She got a kick out of that.
We “heart-attacked” the front yard of another sister on her birthday and hid in the bushes to see her surprise until the automatic sprinklers turned on! So much fun!!
[I spoke of other experiences with other women and some neighbors - too detailed to share here].
Little by little, as we added our puzzle pieces and got to know these sisters it became easier to see where another piece might fit. And for many of these sisters we may never know if their puzzle is yet complete. But the important thing is that we put our piece on the table.
It’s sad when wards divide and you think you will have the same amount of contact with the ward members as before (especially when no one even moved) but more often than not we get busy with our new ward and new callings and except for a quick hello at stake functions, don’t see each other very much.
But today, I see one of those sisters as our ward leaves the building and hers enters. Was I the reason she chose to return to church activity? No, but I was a piece of the puzzle. Many other people added their puzzle pieces over the years.
Another sister whose teenage son we taught told us firmly this was his passion and she would not be participating, so we just became friends instead. Later her younger son also joined and both served missions, adding their puzzle pieces. She is now a baptized member with a temple recommend. She was surrounded by wonderful neighbors who also added their puzzle pieces long after the ward divided.
One day we had a knock on the door. “Hi. I’m Jesse. Do you remember me? I used to live across the street. I’m 23 now and have moved back to AZ. I always remembered your family and how it felt to be in your home and I joined the church a year ago.”
And so the puzzles go… In closing, I’d like to suggest some puzzle pieces that you don’t want to overlook: Have fun; make friends; follow the spirit and sometimes, you have to try another way to fit the piece into the puzzle. Just don’t be the piece that’s missing! Bring your piece to the table of missionary work and see a beautiful life come together… now… or sometime in the future.
I put down my puzzle pieces and forever changed and enriched my life. Got a puzzle piece? Wanna’ play?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Lemon Tart Book Contest
Hey, if you have never read any books by Josi Kilpack, you are missing out!! Anne Bradshaw is holding a contest for Josi's newest release, Lemon Tart, on her blog, "Not Entirely British." If you hurry, you can be in the contest too. But if you miss the deadline, go buy the book!! You won't be disappointed.
Josi is charming and a delightful person. She writes extremely well. I still think about her book, Sheep's Clothing, which I read nearly two years ago. When a book has that kind of impact, you know the author is exceptional.
So, Lemon Tart is the first book in Josi’s new Sadie Hoffmiller culinary mystery series. It is a murder mystery, featuring a cooking afectionado-turned-amateur detective, Sadie. I can't wait to read it.
Don't you just LOVE the cover????
Follow this link to Anne's website for the details:
http://annebradshaw.blogspot.com/2009/02/contest-for-signed-copy-of-lemon-tart.html
~ yeah, I'm sure there is some cool way to make this link super short, but I don't know how
to do it inside of a blog post. I can do it on the sides of my blog, but not in the blog itself.
I only know enough of this stuff to be dangerous. But I think you should check it out!!!
Enjoy!
Josi is charming and a delightful person. She writes extremely well. I still think about her book, Sheep's Clothing, which I read nearly two years ago. When a book has that kind of impact, you know the author is exceptional.
So, Lemon Tart is the first book in Josi’s new Sadie Hoffmiller culinary mystery series. It is a murder mystery, featuring a cooking afectionado-turned-amateur detective, Sadie. I can't wait to read it.
Don't you just LOVE the cover????
Follow this link to Anne's website for the details:
http://annebradshaw.blogspot.com/2009/02/contest-for-signed-copy-of-lemon-tart.html
~ yeah, I'm sure there is some cool way to make this link super short, but I don't know how
to do it inside of a blog post. I can do it on the sides of my blog, but not in the blog itself.
I only know enough of this stuff to be dangerous. But I think you should check it out!!!
Enjoy!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
So much fun... and then she was gone!! (Sun, Wei)
I've been meaning to write a follow up to Sun Wei's visit but have been so busy. But having her here was such fun. After staying here for ten days, Sun Wei and her students went on to L.A., Boston, and N.Y. and then returned to China. She said she didn't even want to visit those cities and would rather stay with us and enjoy "typical American Life" as she "liked it very much."
Before she left, she attended all 3 hours of church with us and we took her to the visitor's center where she saw the Christus and the words were in Chinese for her and I called ahead and reserved a theater where they showed "The Restoration" in Chinese with (English subtitles). Afterwards I gave her a Chinese Book of Mormon.
She was familiar with the Christian religion as her grandmother reads the Bible and has told her stories from it. As far as the LDS church goes, probably not much will happen now that she's back in her country but at least I exposed her to the gospel. And from her comments throughout the time she spent with us there is no doubt she felt the spirit. Sun Wei is so adorable (27 years old). She and all of her students are only children and she loved all the family things we did. I think the reason she wanted to stay was because she felt the spirit in our home.
Over half of the students who came with her were also placed in LDS homes. It was great experience. A few weeks ago we had the missionaries over for dinner. I told them all about Sun Wei (whom they had met while she was here as they frequent our house). Then Jim said he told about all I had done in his High Council meeting the night before because they were discussing missionary work. One of the high councilmen, who used to be our bishop, said, "When I was a bishop, Stephanie Abney was the best missionary we ever had." I look at my life now and wonder where that woman went. Guess I need to work on that!!!
I'm grateful that the Lord knows what different experiences we need and that the world is not really so big after all. When all is said and done, we are all His children and there is only room for love, understanding and respect.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Culture Charm
Some of you may know that we have been hosting a teacher from China in our home this week. She teaches at a high school in Beijing. Her name is Sun, Wei and she is 27 years old, about the age of our daugher, Kaci.
We really had no idea what to expect. She and nine of her students are here for 10 days visiting our school, Eagle’s Aerie, in Gilbert, AZ, a K-12 Charter School. Each of the students is being hosted by a family from the school except for one who is staying with friends of a family from the school. They are all extremely polite and sweet, eager to participate in typical American high school life.
It has been so delightful to have Sun, Wei stay here with us. She is very charming and her English is extremely good. We have not had any trouble communicating. A few times we each had to try a few other ways to explain something but in the end we understood each other. She teaches Chinese. At first I thought that was odd and then I instantly remembered all the English classes I have taken in high school and college and it made perfect sense.
Sun, Wei chose an American name to go by, Karen, but I enjoy using her Chinese name. She arrived Sunday night, visited briefly with us and being very tired from her journey, went to bed early. She has been riding to and from school with me and spends her day either with her students or visiting other classes and answering numerous questions from our students. Since Monday was a holiday, a field trip to the Science Museum and the Diamondback Stadium was planned for the Chinese stude
nts. I picked her up afterwards and she attended her first “family picnic” at the park. Some of our family members got together for fun and ham sandwiches and all that goes with it. Sun, Wei got sandwiched out that day as she also ate her first peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I packed for her field trip and then ham sandwiches at the picnic. She and all of her students are “only” children, as is the current custom of China because the government is concerned about their large population. She seems to enjoy seeing photos of and hearing about our large family. We have had lots of laughs while she has been here. Yesterday was the “All-School Hike” up South Mountain at Fat Man’s Pass. We also went to a “Teacher’s Party” at our local Barnes and Noble yesterday after school. I won 3 prizes, including a globe of the world, by being the first to answer questions about children’s literature. Sun, Wei won one of the free raffle prizes and when we got home, she told Jim, “I didn’t have to answer any questions for my prize. I’m lucky.” Afterwards we went to Ocean Blue and tasted almost every flavor of frozen yogurt they offer. She had never tasted any before. She graciously treated me to a cup of yogurt once we decided on our favorites.
Tuesday night we stopped at “Moki’s Hawaiian Grill” for dinner and she seemed to like the food and last night we picked up take-out at “Panda’s Express”. She laughed when she told me how one of our students asked one of her students if they ate at “Panda’s.” The Chinese student misunderstood the question to be: “Do you eat Pandas?” He answered, rather alarmed, “No! We do not eat Pandas. They are protected.”
Tonight I will fix a typical American meal and she will have several more opportunities to eat what we eat while she is here and she will also cook for us one night. There are several things I have thought would be fun to do with her here but she is still struggling with jet lag and we were told not to do things that were very different from our normal routine so they can experience life in America.
Last night when we got home, Jim was already home and the door was locked. She went to open the door, found it locked and looked a little surprised at me so I couldn’t resist and as I unlocked the door, I said, “Jim is scared.” She got my joke and laughed. In fact, we have made several jokes together and have understood them well. After dinner we watched “American Idol.” Sun, Wei was familiar with it and enjoyed watching it with us. She has been very respectful of us, our home, our belongings and has been the perfect guest. She has bowed her head with us when we have prayed over our food. The first time I prayed over a meal, she looked at me and said, “You are thankful.”
Tonight we will attend a benefit concert at our school, put on by staff and students but the star of the concert is Mr. Gary Gjersted, one of our music teachers, who is also blind. When I asked her if she noticed one of our teachers was blind, she said she had. I went on to say that he plays the piano beautifully to which she responded thoughtfully, “Oh, yes, God is fair. He takes his sight but gives him the piano.”
We have found, which I think is always the case with people meeting for the first time (no matter where they are from), that we are more alike than we are different. I thought of several things to call this blog entry from “Culture Shock” to “Cultures Collide” but none of those would have been accurate. Yes, I think “Culture Charm” is the best title. I know she has enjoyed her stay thus far; she is always taking pictures and we have enjoyed her. We have become good friends and how charming is that? Very!!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
A Thanksgiving Perspective
I hope you are all having a great Thanksgiving Day. There is so much to be thankful for, even in these difficult times. I’ve seen countless people step up to help those who have been hard hit by the financial downslide our country is experiencing and it touches my heart. In my own life the Lord has so richly blessed me with a wonderful heritage, a loving husband and sweet, dear children and grandchildren and His eternal plan of happiness. There are the blessings of friends, a great ward and a close and comfortable neighborhood. My husband and I both have good and meaningful jobs. The list goes on and on so I thought I would share a couple of things that have happened lately that I am grateful for.
Last Sunday our RS president gave a wonderful lesson and shared some Thanksgiving traditions in their family. One was a featherless (magnetic) turkey that hung on their fridge and the colorful (magnetic) feathers that they added as each one expressed something they were thankful for. Then she put the turkey up on the white board and said the sisters could come up and say something they were thankful for and she would add a feather to the turkey. We got many of the typical (albeit marvelous) blessings that people say about family, friends, home, church, etc. and I threw in my gratitude for the electronic advancements of the computer and Internet which allows me to keep in touch instantly with dear friends and family members via email and blogs.
Then a sweet sister came up. I have known and loved her mother for nearly 30 years (quite the mentor ~ fabulous scripturian with such insight) and this daughter has been the source of considerable heartache for her over the years although I never knew any details. Then one day, about a year ago, the daughter started coming to church with her mom and even coming when her mom (who is getting on in years) couldn’t make it. She has the same clear understanding of the scriptures as her mother and I always enjoy her comments. I’ve tried to speak to her each week and tell her how nice it is to see her. I've noticed several others always greet her. She stood at the front of the room and in tears said how thankful she was for forgiveness and the atonement allowing someone like her to come back to church after 25 years and feel so welcome. That pretty much says it all… what greater gift could we have gotten from our Father, than the opportunity to come back into His presence even if we have gotten off the path from time to time. I’m also thankful for this sweet blessing.
The other thing that I keep remembering is the gift of “perspective.” I was going to use this experience for its own blog but I think it goes here quite nicely. It is so easy to see why only the Lord can judge because only He has the proper and complete perspective of what is REALLY going on in someone’s life. Case in point: I went to the Desert Rose RWA writer’s conference a couple of Saturdays ago and in the second break-out group I was in I could hear this very annoying tapping coming from the row behind me, off to the left. I quickly glanced over my shoulder and spotted the woman tapping. When I saw the source of the noise, my feelings about it changed instantly. In fact, as the class went on and I heard the tapping, it made me smile and brought me such a peaceful, comforting feeling. There were two women on the front row, directly in front of her (but she was several rows behind them) and when they tried to turn around to see the source of this annoying tapping, they could not see her at all. I watched them as they whispered back and forth to each other, wondering how anyone could be so rude and they were so distracted by it that I doubt if they got much out of the session.
Why did the tapping cease to bother me? Because when I looked over my shoulder I saw that the woman was blind and she had a brail slate and stylus and was taking notes. That tiny revelation changed my feelings about the noise instantly. I was very thankful that I was able to see her and I truly found the sound of this sweet blind daughter of God taking notes along with the rest of us to be very touching.
I think perspective is a blessing that we should remember throughout our lives. We have no idea why someone does what they do, what brought them to that point or what their life experiences have been giving them their particular perspective and motivation so how can we ever completely understand their actions? What we can do, is completely love them as the Lord loves us. So, I leave you my dear friends with the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless Us, Every One!”
AND HE DOES!!!!!
Last Sunday our RS president gave a wonderful lesson and shared some Thanksgiving traditions in their family. One was a featherless (magnetic) turkey that hung on their fridge and the colorful (magnetic) feathers that they added as each one expressed something they were thankful for. Then she put the turkey up on the white board and said the sisters could come up and say something they were thankful for and she would add a feather to the turkey. We got many of the typical (albeit marvelous) blessings that people say about family, friends, home, church, etc. and I threw in my gratitude for the electronic advancements of the computer and Internet which allows me to keep in touch instantly with dear friends and family members via email and blogs.
Then a sweet sister came up. I have known and loved her mother for nearly 30 years (quite the mentor ~ fabulous scripturian with such insight) and this daughter has been the source of considerable heartache for her over the years although I never knew any details. Then one day, about a year ago, the daughter started coming to church with her mom and even coming when her mom (who is getting on in years) couldn’t make it. She has the same clear understanding of the scriptures as her mother and I always enjoy her comments. I’ve tried to speak to her each week and tell her how nice it is to see her. I've noticed several others always greet her. She stood at the front of the room and in tears said how thankful she was for forgiveness and the atonement allowing someone like her to come back to church after 25 years and feel so welcome. That pretty much says it all… what greater gift could we have gotten from our Father, than the opportunity to come back into His presence even if we have gotten off the path from time to time. I’m also thankful for this sweet blessing.
The other thing that I keep remembering is the gift of “perspective.” I was going to use this experience for its own blog but I think it goes here quite nicely. It is so easy to see why only the Lord can judge because only He has the proper and complete perspective of what is REALLY going on in someone’s life. Case in point: I went to the Desert Rose RWA writer’s conference a couple of Saturdays ago and in the second break-out group I was in I could hear this very annoying tapping coming from the row behind me, off to the left. I quickly glanced over my shoulder and spotted the woman tapping. When I saw the source of the noise, my feelings about it changed instantly. In fact, as the class went on and I heard the tapping, it made me smile and brought me such a peaceful, comforting feeling. There were two women on the front row, directly in front of her (but she was several rows behind them) and when they tried to turn around to see the source of this annoying tapping, they could not see her at all. I watched them as they whispered back and forth to each other, wondering how anyone could be so rude and they were so distracted by it that I doubt if they got much out of the session.
Why did the tapping cease to bother me? Because when I looked over my shoulder I saw that the woman was blind and she had a brail slate and stylus and was taking notes. That tiny revelation changed my feelings about the noise instantly. I was very thankful that I was able to see her and I truly found the sound of this sweet blind daughter of God taking notes along with the rest of us to be very touching.
I think perspective is a blessing that we should remember throughout our lives. We have no idea why someone does what they do, what brought them to that point or what their life experiences have been giving them their particular perspective and motivation so how can we ever completely understand their actions? What we can do, is completely love them as the Lord loves us. So, I leave you my dear friends with the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless Us, Every One!”
AND HE DOES!!!!!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Eight Years and Still Growing
Growing Pains ~ interesting concept. Growth is inevitable, but not always easy. I looked in the scriptures and the people grew in strength and wisdom as well as in iniquity… kind of depended where their heart was.
I have a wonderful reminder of the constancy, hope and joy of growth on my kitchen table. Last Saturday was the eight anniversary of the passing of our sweet BJ from this life to the next. The tables at his funeral luncheon had little potted flowers on them and one of my dear friends, Kathy Thompson, took some home and planted them. Like me, Kathy doesn’t have much luck in growing plants, but these little flowers have continued to flourish. She calls them “BJ’s flowers.” They were planted in November and blossom each year in time for her to bring me a bouquet of them on November 8th. It’s a tradition I have cherished and appreciated.
Loving all kinds of flowers, but knowing only the names of a few, I had no idea the name of this flower. Last night we had our ANWA (writer's group) chapter meeting at my home and Ceil commented on the beautiful “Black-eyed Susans” I had on my table. Oh, wow, now I know… so this morning I looked them up on the Internet and sure enough, that is exactly what my little plant looks like.
Here’s the interesting part (and it’s pretty cool ~ just a reminder that Heavenly Father knows his children and does the most amazing things to show it) ~ these plants are supposed to bloom from June to August each year and yet BJ’s flowers bloom in November (of course, here in Arizona, November can still be rather warm). Then, the research nut that I am, I kept looking and you won’t believe what I found out about the ‘healing” properties of BJ’s flowers:
The Black-Eyed Susan helps to bring painful memories to light allowing inner healing to begin. In “flower essence therapy” this flower assists individuals in shedding deep burdens that are weighing them down emotionally.
Well, this is about all I can share right now as I have to leave for school soon ~ but I hope you can get the gist of all I wanted to share in how his plant continues to bloom each year and how a dear friend thought of doing that for us and what a sweet reminder it is of a very special young man who has changed our lives forever.
Have a blessed day!!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Desperately Seeking Heaven
Well, I’m STILL sick and I’ve been resting all week during Fall Break because I have to be well to go back to teaching on Monday… so, hopefully, by the end of the week, I will be better.
As a result of my “lounging around” I have been watching a little too much TV. I should be reading, I know, but TV is just easier. And I think there is always something to learn in every moment of our lives, even watching TV ~ yep, and I’m here to share with you my observations.
You know me, this might be a little lengthy as I set this up, but I hope you take the time to read it, because it really made me think on this “desperately seeking heaven” idea quite a bit.
I got hooked last Spring on “Eli Stone.” (It actually started midseason). I was over at my daughter’s house holding my then new little grandson so she could get something done and she said, “Mom, you would really love this new show. I’ve been tapping it. Why don’t you watch it while you hold Steven?” I protested that I didn’t want to get involved with another show and that it probably wasn’t that good anyway. She handed me the baby and turned the first episode of “Eli Stone.” When it was over, I sat there and watched the next two episodes.
She was right. I LOVED it. “Eli Stone” is sharp, funny, well-written and well-acted. I never miss an episode. Well, it started up again this week and I watched the season premiere and was not disappointed. It was fabulous. If you are unaware of this show, the premise is a San Francisco lawyer has a brain aneurysm and it causes him to have “visions” (of the heavenly kind) but the
y are so random and goofy ~ they are often like little mini-musicals that can range from solo performances by George Michael to elaborate production numbers by the entire cast ~ you would have to watch it to see what I mean. He gets messages that are important to him or his loved ones or even total strangers like when he predicted an earthquake and fought to get some people evacuated ahead of time. And during that vision, the song playing was “I Felt the Earth Move Under My Feet.” Getting anyone to believe him is his biggest challenge because they say he is hallucinating from the aneurysm (despite a pretty good track record) and in this week's episode his boss was in a building that collapsed. Eli knew he was trapped in the stairwell but rescuers were looking elsewhere saying he would have taken the elevator and must be on the main floor. Eli even tried to get a court order to force them to look there (they wouldn’t because they said that area was unstable and the boss wouldn’t be there anyway). I won’t spoil it in case you get to see it sometime but all’s well that end’s well.
But it got me thinking that the world is desperately seeking heaven. I mean, just look at all the TV shows and movies over the years that pertain to some heavenly connection: Touched by an Angel, Highway to Heaven, Joan of Arcadia, Heaven Can Wait, Just Like Heaven, Angels in the Outfield, Unlikely Angel, For Heaven’s Sake, The Preacher’s Wife (& The Bishop’s Wife), It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol (& all its variations), and the list could go on and on.
Why? I think a lot of our brothers and sisters are seeking some confirmation that God is in His heaven and all is well with the world. Sadly, some don’t know where to find such comfort. Maybe we can share what we know with people who are desperately seeking heaven. I do believe that by the choices we make and the service we give, it is possible to have heaven on earth.
I want to thank all those in my life who have been there for me and I hope I’ve been able to be there for someone else when they needed that reassurance that Heavenly Father is in charge of this world and that He loves us and no one needs to feel desperate. (But I do hope they keep making those kinds of movies and TV shows because they are some of my favorites).
And I think you might want to check out "Eli Stone" ~ love it, love it.
As a result of my “lounging around” I have been watching a little too much TV. I should be reading, I know, but TV is just easier. And I think there is always something to learn in every moment of our lives, even watching TV ~ yep, and I’m here to share with you my observations.
You know me, this might be a little lengthy as I set this up, but I hope you take the time to read it, because it really made me think on this “desperately seeking heaven” idea quite a bit.
I got hooked last Spring on “Eli Stone.” (It actually started midseason). I was over at my daughter’s house holding my then new little grandson so she could get something done and she said, “Mom, you would really love this new show. I’ve been tapping it. Why don’t you watch it while you hold Steven?” I protested that I didn’t want to get involved with another show and that it probably wasn’t that good anyway. She handed me the baby and turned the first episode of “Eli Stone.” When it was over, I sat there and watched the next two episodes.
She was right. I LOVED it. “Eli Stone” is sharp, funny, well-written and well-acted. I never miss an episode. Well, it started up again this week and I watched the season premiere and was not disappointed. It was fabulous. If you are unaware of this show, the premise is a San Francisco lawyer has a brain aneurysm and it causes him to have “visions” (of the heavenly kind) but the
y are so random and goofy ~ they are often like little mini-musicals that can range from solo performances by George Michael to elaborate production numbers by the entire cast ~ you would have to watch it to see what I mean. He gets messages that are important to him or his loved ones or even total strangers like when he predicted an earthquake and fought to get some people evacuated ahead of time. And during that vision, the song playing was “I Felt the Earth Move Under My Feet.” Getting anyone to believe him is his biggest challenge because they say he is hallucinating from the aneurysm (despite a pretty good track record) and in this week's episode his boss was in a building that collapsed. Eli knew he was trapped in the stairwell but rescuers were looking elsewhere saying he would have taken the elevator and must be on the main floor. Eli even tried to get a court order to force them to look there (they wouldn’t because they said that area was unstable and the boss wouldn’t be there anyway). I won’t spoil it in case you get to see it sometime but all’s well that end’s well.But it got me thinking that the world is desperately seeking heaven. I mean, just look at all the TV shows and movies over the years that pertain to some heavenly connection: Touched by an Angel, Highway to Heaven, Joan of Arcadia, Heaven Can Wait, Just Like Heaven, Angels in the Outfield, Unlikely Angel, For Heaven’s Sake, The Preacher’s Wife (& The Bishop’s Wife), It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol (& all its variations), and the list could go on and on.
Why? I think a lot of our brothers and sisters are seeking some confirmation that God is in His heaven and all is well with the world. Sadly, some don’t know where to find such comfort. Maybe we can share what we know with people who are desperately seeking heaven. I do believe that by the choices we make and the service we give, it is possible to have heaven on earth.
I want to thank all those in my life who have been there for me and I hope I’ve been able to be there for someone else when they needed that reassurance that Heavenly Father is in charge of this world and that He loves us and no one needs to feel desperate. (But I do hope they keep making those kinds of movies and TV shows because they are some of my favorites).
And I think you might want to check out "Eli Stone" ~ love it, love it.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Young @ Heart
Well, I'm home sick today and feeling pretty terrible (running a fever and chills, swollen glands, coughing, the whole bit). I toyed with the idea of writing a blog today but I'm just not up but I did want to recommend a WONDERFUL DVD that you all should rent (in fact, I think you should BUY it). It's an independent film that I saw months ago at a premiere and then it never really opened. I've been waiting for it to come out on DVD and it did a couple of weeks ago.
It's called "Young @ Heart" and is a delightful documentary of a senior citizen chorus (average age is around 80) that sings ROCK MUSIC and it is just plain fun. It shows them rehearsing and interviews them, etc. and shows several music videos in the making. I thought I would pee my pants when they were all in their wheelchairs cruising down the hospital corridor singing, "I want to be sedated." This gro
up is TRULY young at heart. It will touch you in ways you never expected. I kept telling my husband about it and he was acting like it couldn't be that great. But when it came out and I bought it and brought it home, he LOVED it. I must warn you, in case it would bother you: one word from one line of lyrics said that word that starts with a "b" for a female dog ~ once ~ otherwise it is clean as a whistle and when they get a standing ovation from a group of prisoners, it brings tears to your eyes.This sweet little chorus brightens the day for many and this DVD will brighten yours as well. I'm feeling so icky that I'm done ~ headed back to bed.
Take care. Love to all.
Blessings,
Stephanie
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Great Stuff to Check Out!!
Hi all ~
In a rush, as usual, these days. But wanted to make mention of a couple of things and head you in the direction for some fun and interesting stuff ~ at least, it was to me ~ ~ ~
Today (9-24-08) is NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY ~ Bet you didn't even know ... and here's a great website that explains everything you ever wanted to know about punctuation! When you get to the site, you'll see a menu of various punctuation marks. Click on any one to find out what it is, and how to use it properly: http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/playtimerap.html ~ actually, you never know when it might come in handy ~ better bookmark it!! (P.S. added on Thursday ~ So many people went there on Wed. that it overloaded the site's bandwith and temporarially shut it down ~ try back later). Here's another good site: http://www.surfnetkids.com/punctuation.htm
YOU WILL LOVE THIS!!!!! Well, I did and I think you will ~ today I went to a blog recommended on a friend's blog (something I do for "fun" and "curiosity" every now and then and I find some of the coolest things). So, my next-door neighbor, Leigh, has a lot of cooking blogs and homemaking blogs listed and one caught my eye today ~ "Not Quite June Cleaver" ~ I went there and it was GREAT ~ fun lady with lots of great recipes and homemaking ideas and her entry today featured the video clip of a couple dancing at their wedding ~ you may have seen it, but it was the first I had seen it and it was darling ~ so, if you get there after she has added addtional posts, be sure to scroll down to the one titled: "Wedded Bliss" and watch the short clip. Cute, cute, cute and then browse around because she has a TON of great stuff there. http://notquitejunecleaver.com/
By the way, I sent out an email this morning, but for those who don't get my emails, I wanted everyone to know how grateful and proud I am of Jordin Sparks for standing up for chastity ~ I have loved Jordin Sparks (sweet Glendale, ARIZONA gal) since she first sang on American Idol and was so happy she won, but she really is high on my list with her stance on wearing a promise ring that she would not have sex before marriage. In order to watch this clip from "Hannity & Colmes" you have to ENDURE the obnoxious British MC making his own political commentary but that part only lasts seconds and then it goes on to the interview with Jordin. Below is the link to a YouTube video of Jordin on FOX News' Hannity and Colmes show. She talks about the comments she made in favor of chastity before marriage at the Video Music Awards on Sunday which have created a massive buzz around her. Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OS4QfqdFk4
Meridian (online) Magazine article as well:
http://www.ldsmag.com/ideas/080924sparks.html
Also, this Friday is Johnny Appleseed's birthday ~ we have been studying him all week at school and today we sampled 5 different varieties of apples as part of our lesson (I threw in some simple fraction lessons as well) and it was such fun. The kids LOVED it. Just do a search on "Johnny Appleseed" and you can find a bunch of stuff you can use for your family - your kids will love learning about him and tasting apples - so why not "celebrate" his birthday on Friday. Make an apple pie or something.
OK, I've got stuff to do so that's all for now.
Love and Blessings,
Stephanie
Thursday, September 18, 2008
My Brain is Full
You know how sometimes your stomach is just as "full" as it can be? That's how my brain has been feeling lately. It is just plain OVERLOADED ... too much going on, too much reading for preparing for class, too many Internet searches for just the right worksheet for school, too much thinking, if that's even possible and this, from someone who LOVES to think, study, read and learn.
So, a couple of random things (are we surprised I would be random?? ~ nope). This is Constitution Week and I hope you are all aware of it and doing things with your family to remember what a treasure this country is to us and at what a cost to the founders we enjoy it today. If you live locally and read this before Saturday evening, there is a very cool Constitution Fair that starts at 6 PM at Highland High School ~ fun for the whole family: http://www.constitutionweekusa.com/
Anyway, I'm disturbed by all the stress I see my little 7 year old students having over their school work. I want them to love learning and they are just plain stressing over the littlest thing. I gave an unannounced spelling pre-test on a list I passed out on Monday and I had 3 meltdowns... despite the fact that I said it wasn't for a grade, that it wasn't going home and that it was only for ME to see how they were doing so I would know which words we needed to go over. Good grief. I can't say much because that would be inappropriate to mention if any school parent tracks down what I ever have to say on the web, so I'll just say I could not believe how upset a few of them got.
The other thing that has been going on is that Mandy (in Nevada) is about to do battle with some school officials over what they have done to the math program in Clark County because the district was scoring poorly in math. So, "they" wrote a new, very ridiculous, math program with problems that resemble the ones found on the annual test. Well, if the problems she read to me over the phone are indicative of what is found on the test, NO WONDER they are scoring poorly, because they are the most confusing math questions you would ever imagine. When a mom (Mandy) who aced College Algebra is unable to help her son with his 3rd grade math, something is wrong. This "teaching to the test" nonsense is ruining the real education of our future generations. OK, I better not go there or I'll be up all night.
So, where does any of this lead? Probably not to a good night's sleep, which I could really use about now. But perhaps to a delightful new "hero" I found just two days ago when looking for something in reference to my classroom. I happened across his material and read and read it. I picked up his book at the library today (although I haven't had two minutes to even look at it yet) but you will LOVE the title: Discipline without Stress, Punishments or Rewards by Dr. Marvin Marshall. (The subtitle is "How Teachers and Parents Promote Responsibility & Learning"). It teaches how internal motivation is far more powerful and effective in changing behavior than punishments or rewards. I can't wait to read it and implement it. But even more than that, I loved what he had to say about testing and grades. What do you think?
Here's the website about the book: www.disciplinewithoutstress.com ~ check out the sample chapters, especially Collaboration for Quality Learning ~ WOW, does that ever make sense ~ instead of this we are creating "competetion" and that promotes cheating and kids asking questions like: "Is it going to be on the test?" ~ they no longer want to learn for the sake of learning, but only care about what they are going to be tested on (sounds like some districts we know of, hmmm). It's really fascinating. Also, I think you'd really love going to HIS website and watching a minute and a half video of one of his presentations ~ http://www.marvinmarshall.com/ ~ I can't stop thinking of his perspective and how much sense it makes in nearly all aspects of life.
Well, I need to get to bed. But this is the stuff that has been rattling around in my brain lately. See how it does in yours!! Take care!
Blessings,
Stephanie
Monday, September 8, 2008
BOOK REVIEW: The Santa Letters
The Santa Letters by Stacy Anderson
~ NO, it’s NOT too early to review a Christmas book!!! ~
I’m a sucker for Christmas stories. I collect them, in all their varieties. I have an entire bookcase and DVD case full of Christmas stories and movies. Some are individual stories and others are compilations of Christmas stories, either store-bought or homemade with precious holiday tales that have been copied over and over again. I also collect nativities. I’m kind of a Christmas junkie, so I was pretty pleased to discover a new Christmas book this year. It’s called The Santa Letters by Stacy Gooch Anderson and it’s destined to become a Christmas classic, possibly a best-seller.
Having been raised by a remarkable woman of great service and joy who loved everything about Christmas I don’t think anything could take away the happiness of the season for me. As a child, every inch of our home was decorated, including the bathrooms. Christmas music is played at my house from November 1st until the New Year. Even though my precious mother passed away one week before Christmas ten years ago, I have not lost my love of the season when we celebrate the best gift we could ever receive, the birth of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ.
Christmas movies are playing most of the time during the holidays at the Abney home and my children love to tease me about my “B” movies because many well-intended Christmas movies are made on a shoestring budget and lack some of the glamour and finesse of Hollywood, but they still find a home in my heart, year after year. I can be very forgiving when it comes to a good Christmas story. And although I found some things that took me away from the story in this first novel of journalist Stacy Anderson, by the time I finished reading it, I could hardly remember what they were… except for the fact that I’m such a goofball note taker that I even take notes when I read. And since I have so many good things to say about this story, let’s just get this part over with: I found it to be frequently melodramatic, particularly the foreshadowing in the first chapter. Some of the dialogue seemed very contrived; as if Stacy was trying too hard. And the image of this line especially took me right out of the story: “… as tears streamed down her face, making zebra stripes out of her mascara.” (Sorry, Stacy, because I think you are charming and wonderful, but that was just plain odd for me). Some other things distracted me, but as I said, by the time I closed the book, they no longer mattered.
This book is not just for the Christian audience ~ it’s for those that believe ~ altruistic people everywhere will enjoy it. It’s a story to help everyone remember how blessed they truly are and the importance of family and being there for each other, especially when sorrow visits your doorstep.
For Emma, tragedy occurs on Christmas Eve when her husband is hit and killed by a drunken driver, leaving Emma to pick up the pieces and raise her four children alone. However, she soon realizes she isn’t really alone as grandparents and neighbors pitch in. Even the loving help of others can’t fill the hole in her heart. It’s nearly Christmas again and Emma has neither the Christmas spirit nor the funds to give her children the holiday they deserve … and then twelve days before Christmas, letters and packages begin to appear on her doorstep. Each letter is lovingly crafted by a sweet long-winded (something I know plenty about) Santa and day by day he leads Emma and her children on a journey of self-discovery that you will not soon forget.
I didn’t interview Stacy for this book tour stop but I have read many emails from her and spoken to her on the phone and she is one of the sweetest people you would ever want to talk to. She is coming to Mesa for book signings in November and we can’t wait and I will have all the details about her schedule when she is in town on this blog so be sure to check back often.
DayStar Media (they do religious programming for cable and network TV) contacted Stacy and invited her to fly to Tennessee for a talk show featuring her new book. And here’s something totally awesome ~ Stacy sent a copy to the First Lady, Laura Bush, and recently received a lovely thank you letter from the White House on official stationary with the Presidential Seal signed personally by Laura Bush thanking Stacy for her sweet words of support and for sending her a signed copy of The Santa Letters which has now become one of Mrs. Bush’s Christmas favorites! How cool is that? You go, girl!!! This is such an amazing ride for a deserving new author. I wish her the best of everything.
You can purchase The Santa Letters here:
http://deseretbook.com/store/search?search=the+santa+letters&x=14&y=6
Visit Stacy's blog here: http://www.stayinalivewithstacy.blogspot.com/
or her website:http://www.thesantaletters.org/
Enjoy!!!
~ NO, it’s NOT too early to review a Christmas book!!! ~
I’m a sucker for Christmas stories. I collect them, in all their varieties. I have an entire bookcase and DVD case full of Christmas stories and movies. Some are individual stories and others are compilations of Christmas stories, either store-bought or homemade with precious holiday tales that have been copied over and over again. I also collect nativities. I’m kind of a Christmas junkie, so I was pretty pleased to discover a new Christmas book this year. It’s called The Santa Letters by Stacy Gooch Anderson and it’s destined to become a Christmas classic, possibly a best-seller.
Having been raised by a remarkable woman of great service and joy who loved everything about Christmas I don’t think anything could take away the happiness of the season for me. As a child, every inch of our home was decorated, including the bathrooms. Christmas music is played at my house from November 1st until the New Year. Even though my precious mother passed away one week before Christmas ten years ago, I have not lost my love of the season when we celebrate the best gift we could ever receive, the birth of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ.
Christmas movies are playing most of the time during the holidays at the Abney home and my children love to tease me about my “B” movies because many well-intended Christmas movies are made on a shoestring budget and lack some of the glamour and finesse of Hollywood, but they still find a home in my heart, year after year. I can be very forgiving when it comes to a good Christmas story. And although I found some things that took me away from the story in this first novel of journalist Stacy Anderson, by the time I finished reading it, I could hardly remember what they were… except for the fact that I’m such a goofball note taker that I even take notes when I read. And since I have so many good things to say about this story, let’s just get this part over with: I found it to be frequently melodramatic, particularly the foreshadowing in the first chapter. Some of the dialogue seemed very contrived; as if Stacy was trying too hard. And the image of this line especially took me right out of the story: “… as tears streamed down her face, making zebra stripes out of her mascara.” (Sorry, Stacy, because I think you are charming and wonderful, but that was just plain odd for me). Some other things distracted me, but as I said, by the time I closed the book, they no longer mattered.
This book is not just for the Christian audience ~ it’s for those that believe ~ altruistic people everywhere will enjoy it. It’s a story to help everyone remember how blessed they truly are and the importance of family and being there for each other, especially when sorrow visits your doorstep.
For Emma, tragedy occurs on Christmas Eve when her husband is hit and killed by a drunken driver, leaving Emma to pick up the pieces and raise her four children alone. However, she soon realizes she isn’t really alone as grandparents and neighbors pitch in. Even the loving help of others can’t fill the hole in her heart. It’s nearly Christmas again and Emma has neither the Christmas spirit nor the funds to give her children the holiday they deserve … and then twelve days before Christmas, letters and packages begin to appear on her doorstep. Each letter is lovingly crafted by a sweet long-winded (something I know plenty about) Santa and day by day he leads Emma and her children on a journey of self-discovery that you will not soon forget.
I didn’t interview Stacy for this book tour stop but I have read many emails from her and spoken to her on the phone and she is one of the sweetest people you would ever want to talk to. She is coming to Mesa for book signings in November and we can’t wait and I will have all the details about her schedule when she is in town on this blog so be sure to check back often.
DayStar Media (they do religious programming for cable and network TV) contacted Stacy and invited her to fly to Tennessee for a talk show featuring her new book. And here’s something totally awesome ~ Stacy sent a copy to the First Lady, Laura Bush, and recently received a lovely thank you letter from the White House on official stationary with the Presidential Seal signed personally by Laura Bush thanking Stacy for her sweet words of support and for sending her a signed copy of The Santa Letters which has now become one of Mrs. Bush’s Christmas favorites! How cool is that? You go, girl!!! This is such an amazing ride for a deserving new author. I wish her the best of everything.
You can purchase The Santa Letters here:
http://deseretbook.com/store/search?search=the+santa+letters&x=14&y=6
Visit Stacy's blog here: http://www.stayinalivewithstacy.blogspot.com/
or her website:http://www.thesantaletters.org/
Enjoy!!!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
In My Heart Forever
This is a tender time to be blogging ~ tomorrow would have been BJ's 24th birthday and I know he would have grown up to be such a fine man. I miss him all the time. Some times are harder than others... but I had the sweetest experience that I would like to share. If you've read anything anywhere that I've posted lately: on this blog, ANWA's blog or via email, then you know I'm teaching full-time this year (after many years of substitute teaching). I'm 57 years old and a little nuts to boot. But I do love it. The kids are great and they crack me up... not that there haven't been a few "moments" when I wondered why I wanted to do this. But, mostly, it's been truly gratifying... but also, OVERWHELMING as I have such varied abilities in my class of 6, 7, 8 and even a 9 year old. I've tried so many approaches to reach all of them from where they are at so we can build on it and keep on going. Some things have worked out well and others, well... not so much.
Seems no matter how hard I've tried (and no matter how many HOURS I've spent preparing, or how much $$$$ I've spent) I have felt frustrated that I just am not getting there yet... so on Sunday, I asked Jim for a priesthood blessing. He gave me one after church and although he was the only other person in the room and the only one with his hands on my head as he pronounced the blessing, he continually said, "WE bless you... and WE bless you..." (with this and that...). I felt like someone else was there but no one was physically. When he was done (and the blessing was very sweet and helpful - but I'm still trying to figure a lot of stuff out), anyway, I asked him about saying "we" throughout the blessing" and he simply said, "None of it was my own words, Stephanie... I just said what the Lord told me to." And then I realized, that it was BJ who was helping him give me the blessing and I asked him what he thought. Jim agreed; it must have been BJ. I felt even more comforted by the blessing and Monday was quite good... but I'm still figuring things out.
At any rate, we usually have a family party on BJ's birthday and even get a cake that says, "Happy Heavenly Birthday" or something like that... however, tomorrow night is the 50's dance at school and I guess that's where we are headed and Saturday is our ward talent show... maybe Sunday we can do something special for his birthday.
So, tomorrow, I'll think of BJ but I'll be at school most of his birthday. I thought I would share a little cinquain poem I wrote a year before BJ passed away and then I'll head to bed. Take care.
Children
A gift from God
Grace our lives for a time
Remain in our hearts forever
Precious
Stephanie Abney ~ © 1999
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Jaci Turns 5 and Starts School on the Same Day!!
Yesterday was our granddaughter Jaci's 5th birthday and also her first day at school in Henderson, Nevada. She is the very delightful daughter of our daughter, Mandy and son-in-law, Jason Leavitt. Her older brother, Eli is nine.
Jaci is such a "girlie girl" and so adorable. So, for her birthday, Mandy took her to Libby Lu's in the Mall and here are the pictures and captions Mandy sent to document it:
This store is sooooo cute! It is every little girls' dream come true. Basically it is a beauty salon for little girls. The first thing they do is let them dress up. Jaci chose this sparkle dress.
Next they take them to a little stool with a heart shaped mirror. Then they get to choose eyeshadow and lip gloss. Pink for Jaci! Next, a manicure is in order followed by the child's choice of hair style:
Next they take them to a little stool with a heart shaped mirror. Then they get to choose eyeshadow and lip gloss. Pink for Jaci! Next, a manicure is in order followed by the child's choice of hair style:
Jaci chose the "Royal."
The accessory Jaci chose was the Diva hair piece while Eli supported the whole thing. What a good brother.
They followed it up with a trip to Dairy Queen!! Jaci's words: "This was the best b-day ever." (which she says every b-day) It was a fun little pamper session. Happy Birthday Jaci!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
I'm Still Alive
Hey, friends and family ~ I'm still alive!! But SWAMPED... love teaching these little guys, but tired and I never get to laze around writing or reading blogs much these last couple of weeks ~ I think I only watched about 45 minutes TOTAL (over several days) of the Olympics!! Oh well. So, if you happen to be kind enough to be checking now and then to see if I wrote anything... nah. But I did put up a post on the ANWA Founder and Friends blog (since it was my turn) and it's one you may be familiar with if you know me well: "Recipe for Disaster." People tell me they never tire of hearing/reading that story so if you want to see it again OR if you have never heard it, head on over there and take a look. I'll get my schedule down one of these days and start paying more attention to my blog and all the other ones I used to frequent. Catch ya' later ~ got school stuff to do... bye!!
HERE'S THE LINK: http://anwafounder.blogspot.com/2008/08/recipe-for-disaster.html
HERE'S THE LINK: http://anwafounder.blogspot.com/2008/08/recipe-for-disaster.html
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Meet Your Teacher Night
Well, everyone ~
I have been so busy, especially the last two weeks, getting ready for school to start that I have missed blogging about a ton of stuff. But I'll have to try to play catch up later. For now, I'm just going to make a few changes to the blog I just wrote for my writer's group blog, ANWA Founder and Friends... I keep trying to get off to bed, but then I thought it would be great to just copy and paste, fix whatever won't make sense to those who don't know any of my writer friends and such in order to get something on my blog. So.... here it is:
My feet hurt. I’m exhausted, but it’s that good, satisfying exhausted feeling. It’s my turn to blog (for my writer's group) and it’s getting pretty late so I figured I’d tell you some sweet moments I had with my first official “Meet Your Teacher” ~ well, certainly I’ve GONE to plenty of them, but this is the first time that I was the teacher and the students and parents came to meet me, in the rain no less. It was awesome. I’m pretty much in heaven; tired heaven, but heaven.
In case you are not aware, I am teaching full time this year after 13 years of substitute teaching (including 10-11 years at the school I’m now at). I’m at Eagle’s Aerie School (K-12) in Gilbert, AZ and Lorna Hale (who is also the general president of ANWA ~ American Night Writer's Association ~ I'm the vice-president) is the Assistant Director (and as such, she pretty much runs the show ~ there is a Director, Tim Peak, and a board and all... but Tim and Lorna’s husband, Rob, are pretty busy with the L.E.A.D.S. center and that’s another blog all on it’s own), so Lorna hired me and Lorna has done the most training these last two weeks (although her hubby, Rob, did some and Tim has given us some excellent information) and here I go again… running off at the mouth (or the keyboard keys) and not telling you about the school or my evening. However, I should mention, that Lorna is a dream to work with because she is so supportive and follows through on everything she says she will do ~ she’s been there every night until after midnight for days now just getting ready for the new school year.
The focus at Eagle’s Aerie is on citizenship, leadership, patriotism and excellence. They embrace what is known as a “Thomas Jefferson Education” (you should get the book: A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century by Oliver Van DeMille). You will be enthralled with the principles. They use a “mentoring” program for the upper grades (7-12) – those students are referred to as the “American Leadership School.” (And another ANWA member, Kaleen Polakoff, teaches the upper grades). Eagle’s Aerie has a rural feel to it and maintains a barn with horses, goats, chickens and other animals as well as garden patches. Working with the animals is part of the curriculum for all grade levels. It’s pretty cool. It’s not uncommon to open the door and have to wait for a mother hen and her chicks to walk past before you can continue on outside. This school also sets aside “reading days” and “writing days” every Monday (switching between the two subjects) and their reading and writing scores have shot through the roof (in the top 5% for the entire state of Arizona). The school also has a brief “opening” and “closing” ceremony each day where the pledge for the flag is done, patriotic and character building songs are sung, announcements given, etc. American Leadership Scholars take turns leading these ceremonies and gain leadership training and so much more.
Anyway, now that I’ve thoroughly impressed you with all of that when I said I was tired and it is late, I’ll confess I just copied and pasted that (NO, not plagiarized) it from the answers I gave to a question in my EDU class that I took this summer (with a few little added tidbits). So, on to tonight… Every day after training and staff meetings for the last two weeks, we have been given time to work on our rooms ~ the room I inherited was in pretty bad shape ~ but with lots of help from the school maintenance staff and my husband, Jim, we whipped it into shape.
A couple of days ago I was in the office when a cute little boy was standing there waiting for his mom. I spoke to him and found out he was new to the school and would be in the second grade and I told him I was the second grade teacher. So, tonight after his mom filled out the forms in my room, she said that he told her he really hoped I would be his teacher because he met me in the office and I was so nice. Sweet. (Maybe he missed the fact that I am the ONLY 2nd grade teacher). Then, one of the moms walked in, took one look at me and said, “Oh it’s you!!! I’m so thrilled.” And she gave me a big hug (she remembered me from substitute teaching). She was bringing in her daughter this year. And then, a cute little girl that met me earlier in the evening and then went to some other places on campus brought her mother back to my room because she “wanted to say good-bye” to me.
Everyone there is so marvelous… very much a servant leadership situation… which is awesome. I was running behind getting my room set up because I was starting from scratch and they had to paint it, etc. My husband was very helpful, coming out two nights to paint a bookcase apple red for me and to help out otherwise. And then tonight, it was getting close and I still hadn’t had a chance to set up the desks and they were all bunched together at one side of the room. In walks Lorna (just 30 minutes before she had to be meeting parents), and Angel (she teaches horsemanship and riding) and then, Cody (Tim Peak’s son who works on the grounds during the summer and after school) and with all of us, and a brainstorm from Cody ~ we got it all to fit beautifully and then, I was ready.
Towards the end, it started to pour and I still had a couple of families show up. Once it was over, that sweet Cody (whom I remember well from years ago and throughout the years when I would substitute for whatever class he was in). He's a great young man and I enjoyed him then as a little boy and I have loved getting to know him all over again. He is so friendly and helpful. We had to park our cars out on the field to free up parking space for the parents. When it was time to go home, Cody came in my room with an umbrella and said, “Come on; let’s get your car off that field.” He handed me the umbrella and walked me to my car. I drove it to my classroom door, went in my room, gathered up my things, turned off the A/C and the lights, locked the door and slid in behind the wheel of my car, thinking, “When you come to the end of a perfect day…”
More later ~ I actually have a combined class of 18 children, ages six, seven, and eight … makes me feel like “Little House on the Prairie” ~ but the school offers individualized education ~ whatever that child needs, is what that child gets so it doesn’t really matter which class they are in.
Good night ~ I’m going to bed!
I have been so busy, especially the last two weeks, getting ready for school to start that I have missed blogging about a ton of stuff. But I'll have to try to play catch up later. For now, I'm just going to make a few changes to the blog I just wrote for my writer's group blog, ANWA Founder and Friends... I keep trying to get off to bed, but then I thought it would be great to just copy and paste, fix whatever won't make sense to those who don't know any of my writer friends and such in order to get something on my blog. So.... here it is:
My feet hurt. I’m exhausted, but it’s that good, satisfying exhausted feeling. It’s my turn to blog (for my writer's group) and it’s getting pretty late so I figured I’d tell you some sweet moments I had with my first official “Meet Your Teacher” ~ well, certainly I’ve GONE to plenty of them, but this is the first time that I was the teacher and the students and parents came to meet me, in the rain no less. It was awesome. I’m pretty much in heaven; tired heaven, but heaven.
In case you are not aware, I am teaching full time this year after 13 years of substitute teaching (including 10-11 years at the school I’m now at). I’m at Eagle’s Aerie School (K-12) in Gilbert, AZ and Lorna Hale (who is also the general president of ANWA ~ American Night Writer's Association ~ I'm the vice-president) is the Assistant Director (and as such, she pretty much runs the show ~ there is a Director, Tim Peak, and a board and all... but Tim and Lorna’s husband, Rob, are pretty busy with the L.E.A.D.S. center and that’s another blog all on it’s own), so Lorna hired me and Lorna has done the most training these last two weeks (although her hubby, Rob, did some and Tim has given us some excellent information) and here I go again… running off at the mouth (or the keyboard keys) and not telling you about the school or my evening. However, I should mention, that Lorna is a dream to work with because she is so supportive and follows through on everything she says she will do ~ she’s been there every night until after midnight for days now just getting ready for the new school year.
The focus at Eagle’s Aerie is on citizenship, leadership, patriotism and excellence. They embrace what is known as a “Thomas Jefferson Education” (you should get the book: A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century by Oliver Van DeMille). You will be enthralled with the principles. They use a “mentoring” program for the upper grades (7-12) – those students are referred to as the “American Leadership School.” (And another ANWA member, Kaleen Polakoff, teaches the upper grades). Eagle’s Aerie has a rural feel to it and maintains a barn with horses, goats, chickens and other animals as well as garden patches. Working with the animals is part of the curriculum for all grade levels. It’s pretty cool. It’s not uncommon to open the door and have to wait for a mother hen and her chicks to walk past before you can continue on outside. This school also sets aside “reading days” and “writing days” every Monday (switching between the two subjects) and their reading and writing scores have shot through the roof (in the top 5% for the entire state of Arizona). The school also has a brief “opening” and “closing” ceremony each day where the pledge for the flag is done, patriotic and character building songs are sung, announcements given, etc. American Leadership Scholars take turns leading these ceremonies and gain leadership training and so much more.
Anyway, now that I’ve thoroughly impressed you with all of that when I said I was tired and it is late, I’ll confess I just copied and pasted that (NO, not plagiarized) it from the answers I gave to a question in my EDU class that I took this summer (with a few little added tidbits). So, on to tonight… Every day after training and staff meetings for the last two weeks, we have been given time to work on our rooms ~ the room I inherited was in pretty bad shape ~ but with lots of help from the school maintenance staff and my husband, Jim, we whipped it into shape.
A couple of days ago I was in the office when a cute little boy was standing there waiting for his mom. I spoke to him and found out he was new to the school and would be in the second grade and I told him I was the second grade teacher. So, tonight after his mom filled out the forms in my room, she said that he told her he really hoped I would be his teacher because he met me in the office and I was so nice. Sweet. (Maybe he missed the fact that I am the ONLY 2nd grade teacher). Then, one of the moms walked in, took one look at me and said, “Oh it’s you!!! I’m so thrilled.” And she gave me a big hug (she remembered me from substitute teaching). She was bringing in her daughter this year. And then, a cute little girl that met me earlier in the evening and then went to some other places on campus brought her mother back to my room because she “wanted to say good-bye” to me.
Everyone there is so marvelous… very much a servant leadership situation… which is awesome. I was running behind getting my room set up because I was starting from scratch and they had to paint it, etc. My husband was very helpful, coming out two nights to paint a bookcase apple red for me and to help out otherwise. And then tonight, it was getting close and I still hadn’t had a chance to set up the desks and they were all bunched together at one side of the room. In walks Lorna (just 30 minutes before she had to be meeting parents), and Angel (she teaches horsemanship and riding) and then, Cody (Tim Peak’s son who works on the grounds during the summer and after school) and with all of us, and a brainstorm from Cody ~ we got it all to fit beautifully and then, I was ready.
Towards the end, it started to pour and I still had a couple of families show up. Once it was over, that sweet Cody (whom I remember well from years ago and throughout the years when I would substitute for whatever class he was in). He's a great young man and I enjoyed him then as a little boy and I have loved getting to know him all over again. He is so friendly and helpful. We had to park our cars out on the field to free up parking space for the parents. When it was time to go home, Cody came in my room with an umbrella and said, “Come on; let’s get your car off that field.” He handed me the umbrella and walked me to my car. I drove it to my classroom door, went in my room, gathered up my things, turned off the A/C and the lights, locked the door and slid in behind the wheel of my car, thinking, “When you come to the end of a perfect day…”
More later ~ I actually have a combined class of 18 children, ages six, seven, and eight … makes me feel like “Little House on the Prairie” ~ but the school offers individualized education ~ whatever that child needs, is what that child gets so it doesn’t really matter which class they are in.
Good night ~ I’m going to bed!
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