Gratitude

The message of church today was gratitude. Of course, I've been thinking about this for some time now, but it was a great meeting. One speaker mentioned having a gratitude journal and also having gratitude prayers where nothing is asked for, just praying for thanks and pausing after each thing. I'm not so good at the Journal thing. At times, I'm better than other times. I've done a prayer of gratitude and that has been an amazing thing. I would suggest it to anyone. I'm going to try to post one thing I'm grateful for each day on my blog. We'll see how it goes.

It's so hard to know where to start, since I am grateful for so many things. Today, I am grateful for music. I sang in the choir today for Sacrament Mtg. at church. We sang "For the Beauty of the Earth". It was so beautiful! I didn't play the piano or organ today in church, but I'm grateful for that talent. It truly has been a blessing in my life. I enjoyed singing today.

I do the music for Primary, too, at church (which is for the children). We were playing name that tune and tic tac toe with songs they already know. We threw in a couple of Christmas songs. I was going over the words of one of the songs and the last line says "And the Christ that baby fair". One child yelled out, "baby bear?" We all just had to laugh. I'm grateful to work with the children at church and to be able to sing with them.

I'm also grateful for Christmas music at this time of year! It lifts my heart and brings joy to my soul!

I'm grateful for much more than this, but this is my one thing for today - music!

I do have to leave with one story that a sister shared in her talk today about Gratitude. I'm still laughing about it. This sister mentioned that she had been watching a tv preacher one Sunday morning and he told of this story. Now this is very much paraphrased, so don't quote me on it, and the preacher is very well known, I guess, but I wasn't familiar with his name. Here it goes:

There was an older lady that lived on the outskirts of town and only had one grumpy man as a neighbor. He didn't believe in God. One day, she was praying out loud thanking the Lord for all her blessings. The grumpy old neighbor heard and listened from behind the trees. Another day, he went to the store and bought her some groceries and put them on her doorstep. She once again prayed aloud and thanked God for the groceries that were on her doorstep. The old, grumpy man jumped from behind the trees and said, "Ha! It wasn't God that gave you those groceries. It was me! There is no God!" She continued her prayer out loud and said, "Thank you, God, for the groceries and for making the devil pay for them."

I hope this story made you laugh as it did me. Think about your blessings. I'm sure as you start thinking, you'll think of more and more things that you are grateful for, as I have.

Spice things up!

I'd like to decorate my bedroom. I'm thinking of getting a new duvet cover and sheets, etc.

This is a possibility. What do you think?
I want red in my room and probably brown, but I'm not sure if I want it as an accent color or main color. If you have any ideas, shoot them my way!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I sure did! I'm so grateful for family!

I also brave the crowds yesterday to go shopping. I've never done it before! It wasn't too bad and there were some great sales.

Important things in life! It's the little things . . .and the people!

Today, I had a little bit of reflection during my teaching and some insights! I've been so busy with teaching classes, being team leader, having a student teacher, etc, etc. I've been trying to multi-task and make the most of my time. None of these things are bad, per se, but I took a moment to step back today and "see" what was going on.

I took the time to ask my students questions about their life and what's going on while they were writing in their journals. I took a moment to really notice what they are improving on. I have some working so hard on different aspects of school life. I took some notes, wrote down some compliments to share with the rest of the class, and try to take more time to really "see" where they need some encouragement.

We had a class mtg today. It's a little harsh in that . . . if they talk, they have to leave the room. I'm creating a class environment where everyone has a voice and will be listened to, if they choose to share. We've had several practice rounds where I stopped them every time someone did something where I would have asked them to leave. Today was the real thing. They did awesome!!! No one had to leave. This is saying a lot for my class this year.

We sit in a circle and they can only talk if they have the microphone and Mr. Elephant (a small stuffed animal). I'm working really hard to also follow these rules myself. I asked them the question "What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?" They have to respond in a complete sentence. They did so well, that I decided to get a little more serious. I asked them, "What makes you sad at school?" We talked about not using individuals names and that it had to be something at school. I almost started crying. I actually teared up a bit. They each had a chance to share if they wanted and everyone ended up sharing. They said things such as, "It makes me sad when people call me names." or "It makes me sad when I am pushed." or "It makes me sad when I feel left out and my friends don't want to play with me." It was the coolest thing because there wasn't anyone there that didn't have something that they were sad about. They each had a voice.

I do these once a week. I also share complements during this time, both complements that I write about them and also ones that they write about each other. It's so much fun to see their little faces light up when their name is called and someone notices something about them or even when they were the one that wrote it and it is shared.

It's all about being loved and using the power within us to make someone else feel good. It's about the people. Life sure gets busy, but everyone just wants a voice, someone who will listen and someone to talk to.

Next class meeting, I'm going to have them share what makes them happy and then what can they do to make someone else in our class feel good and have a great day. I'm excited to hear their answers and see their faces.

In over my head or just being stretched?

I've been given some opportunities and have been getting more and more involved in teaching outside of my classroom. Between taking a class, having a student teacher, being collaboration team leader, and these new opportunities, I just might be in over my head.

This last summer, I facilitated a couple of math classes for the district. It was a little out of my comfort zone, but ended up being a great experience. I also didn't mind my paycheck at the end of the summer. It's kind of gotten something started. You really have to be careful WHO you know! My roommate is over 5th and 6th grade math training in the district. Because of it, now I am now team teaching a math class with her. It's about base ten. I've been having "ah ha" moments in class just like the teachers taking the class. I enjoy teaching teachers, but feel a little out of my element. When I'm in my element, watch out. I become quite the talker and have no problem getting my thoughts and opinions out there and contributing. My student teacher is currently teaching math, but I can't wait to get back in there next week and delve into math with my students.

I was also recently asked to be a presenter at a literacy institute this summer. I'm not sure where they got my name from. They said I was "recommended". Anyhow, I decided to do it. It is very involved for the rest of the school year in preparation for the institute in June. Since I was finishing one class I was taking, and teaching another class, . . .why not fill in with something else. Haha! Yesterday I went to the first training. It was very interesting! I love going to trainings and learning how to be a better teacher. I don't know that I'm quite ready to present all of this, though, to other teachers.

My student teacher has been here the last 2 weeks in my class. I've gotten over having someone watching me all the time. It doesn't phase me anymore to have an aide or parents or my student teacher in my classroom, which I suppose is a good thing. This last 2 weeks, however, my kids have been sooo crazy!!! Between Halloween after effects and snow and rain, they are sure challenging me. It's tough to have someone in your classroom when that's going on. On Thursday, I felt like I was being pulled a million directions at once and my kids were challenging my management skills. I "felt like pulling my hair out". It was so nice yesterday to be out of the classroom, learning and relearning great things to help me in my teaching, and take a personal day in the afternoon. Whew! I just hope my student teacher is learning good things from me. She's here for another week and then not back until January. She'll be here for 10 weeks and for some of that, she will take over the whole classroom. In some ways, that could be nice, and in other ways, . . . I think I just might go stir crazy!

This year is challenging me in so many different ways, but am I in over my head . . . or . . just being stretched? Only time will tell. Isn't life exciting?!?

A Funny!

I was talking the other day to my dad on the phone. He said something that made me laugh and smile . . . and is still making me smile. I thought I would share.

"How's your love life? . . . . just checking to see if my prayers are being answered."

Isn't he the best? My parents never ask me about my love life. They are very supportive and wait for me to tell them. So, my Dad's question took me by surprise . . . and it's still making me smile.

Scrumptious Dinner!

I thought I would share my dinner I made tonight. It was sooooo good!!
I made apple pork chops in a pan on the stove.

This picture does not do it justice! Too bad there isn't a smell feature.
I cut up the pork chops to fit it all into the pumpkin.


I wrapped it all up in tin foil.

I had a fireside to go to, so I put in on 300˚ for a couple of hours.
(Side note - The fireside was for all the Temple workers at Mt. Timp.
Elder L. Tom Perry and his wife spoke.)

I came back, took it out, put it on plates, and Voila!
Here was the result! Yum!!
Sunday dinner!