Just thought I'd better let you know the final results on Dave's tournament this weekend. He ended up getting 3rd place in the A level competition. This was out of 3 people, mind you! NO, just kidding, I couldn't resist! I think there were about 10 others playing at this level. So, he did well for being out of the racquetball "loop" for a while. He has high hopes of doing much better, but I was pretty impressed with how well he did at this point!! Hey, I'm impressed that they can hit that round, bouncy thing with the racket! And they do it over and over. A hard concept for my ability level!! Anyway-- congrats to him!
I (for those wondering) survived taking the kids down to watch. Tanna did great - strapped in her stroller! The boys loved telling everyone that Dave was their dad. They were proud and told anyone who they forced to listen. We only made it to one game, however. Dave thought it was a little distracting. Hmmm...., imagine that!! That was fine with me. I'm a much better cheerleader from home. :-)
In other news....today the power went out for the whole afternoon at school. Fun, fun, fun!! But with the light from our one window we made do and survived. Unfortunately, the snowstorm caused our main road to be closed for a period of time. This delayed the buses and meant that we got to keep the bus students after school. Anyway it was a LONG day, but the kids did pretty well considering the circumstances. They finally sent our aide in to stay with the remainder of my class. They were concerned the roads would get worse and wanted me to get home while the road was open again. We (Scottie and I) made it home safely, but it was a slow drive home.
Here's to a less exciting tomorrow!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sad news!
Tonight I turned on the nine o'clock news to find out about tonight's snowstorm. I was instead very surprised and saddened to learn that our dear prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley had passed away. I guess we all just expected him to live for many more years. He had just spoken at the Capital ceremony just 3 weeks ago and, although he appeared tired, he still looked good. I was glad to hear that he was surrounded by his loving family when he died and even more grateful that he was once again reunited with his sorely missed wife.
My overwhelming thought was at the timing of his death. We talked about the creation today in both sacrament meeting and in Primary. We were reminded that on the seventh day our Father in Heaven rested after His work was completed. I couldn't help but relate that to President Hinckley. What an immense amount of work he has accomplished and now, on the seventh day, he can look over his work and see that it was good and finally rest.
I am grateful to know that we have a prophet in our dispensation. Although President Hinckley will be very missed, what a blessing it is to know that the work will go forward. The church is true and we have lost an incredible man and prophet. But the work will go on!
My overwhelming thought was at the timing of his death. We talked about the creation today in both sacrament meeting and in Primary. We were reminded that on the seventh day our Father in Heaven rested after His work was completed. I couldn't help but relate that to President Hinckley. What an immense amount of work he has accomplished and now, on the seventh day, he can look over his work and see that it was good and finally rest.
I am grateful to know that we have a prophet in our dispensation. Although President Hinckley will be very missed, what a blessing it is to know that the work will go forward. The church is true and we have lost an incredible man and prophet. But the work will go on!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Tidbits
Tonight as we were returning from dropping Scottie off at Scouts, Mason and I were talking. I went to give him a kiss as we were getting out of the van. I teased him as if I were going to kiss him on the lips, but got his cheek in the end. He said, "Mom, I'm glad you didn't get my lips." I laughed. He went on to tell me about our neighbor who watched him one day. He told me that the mom had kissed her oldest son on the lips when he was going to school. He then asked, "Mom that's 'dating', huh?!" It took me a minute until I realized that to him dating is synonymous with kissing on the lips! I got a good laugh out of that one! I guess I'll need to resolve that confusion by the time he reaches age 16!
As long as I'm on the subject of cute word "slip-ups", I had a funny one at school the other day. I have a little girl in my class who's family moved here when she was a baby from Mexico. Even so she had never spoken English until she started Kindergarten. So, even now she has difficulties with the language at times, although she does VERY well! She was telling my about a sore in her mouth. She proceeded to describe it and tell me it was on her tail. It took me a minute to realize that she was talking about her tongue, not tail! :-)
I was listening to some students in Scottie's class talk the other day (We combine 1st and 2nd grades for some subjects). They were talking about a fellow student their class. The one girl said to a boy (who was blessed with a nice tan complexion), "My sister says that you're black." He laughed. She continued, "I told her you're not black. Ryan's black. You're not!" (Ryan is Vietnamese, mind you!!) This was inspiration for a Martin Luther King Jr. lesson that day! I did laugh though! They do live in a very small town in Utah and are very sheltered!!
One more from a few years ago. I was drilling the class on the four seasons. One very excited student raised his hand and said, "Oh, I know! Cinnamon!" Obviously, I work wonders in that classroom - seasons / seasonings -- does it really matter anyway?!! :-)
In other news: Dave just returned from his first night in a racquetball tournament. I guess he did pretty well. He was disappointed to have lost his game in the Open competition (highest level of competition in my understanding of it all). He felt good about how things went, but was disappointed to not have gone farther. He did, however, win his game as an A player (next level down). Yeah! So that means more play tomorrow. We'll see how it goes! He sure loves it. Tomorrow night I'll take the kids to go watch. Wish me luck with the youngest Shanks child. She should be lots of fun to chase through the gym!!
Until next time...
As long as I'm on the subject of cute word "slip-ups", I had a funny one at school the other day. I have a little girl in my class who's family moved here when she was a baby from Mexico. Even so she had never spoken English until she started Kindergarten. So, even now she has difficulties with the language at times, although she does VERY well! She was telling my about a sore in her mouth. She proceeded to describe it and tell me it was on her tail. It took me a minute to realize that she was talking about her tongue, not tail! :-)
I was listening to some students in Scottie's class talk the other day (We combine 1st and 2nd grades for some subjects). They were talking about a fellow student their class. The one girl said to a boy (who was blessed with a nice tan complexion), "My sister says that you're black." He laughed. She continued, "I told her you're not black. Ryan's black. You're not!" (Ryan is Vietnamese, mind you!!) This was inspiration for a Martin Luther King Jr. lesson that day! I did laugh though! They do live in a very small town in Utah and are very sheltered!!
One more from a few years ago. I was drilling the class on the four seasons. One very excited student raised his hand and said, "Oh, I know! Cinnamon!" Obviously, I work wonders in that classroom - seasons / seasonings -- does it really matter anyway?!! :-)
In other news: Dave just returned from his first night in a racquetball tournament. I guess he did pretty well. He was disappointed to have lost his game in the Open competition (highest level of competition in my understanding of it all). He felt good about how things went, but was disappointed to not have gone farther. He did, however, win his game as an A player (next level down). Yeah! So that means more play tomorrow. We'll see how it goes! He sure loves it. Tomorrow night I'll take the kids to go watch. Wish me luck with the youngest Shanks child. She should be lots of fun to chase through the gym!!
Until next time...
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sunday Random Thoughts
I got to go to a farewell for Leslie Bishop and her husband today. I taught with Leslie (4th grade teacher) up until this year. She was the one who hosted my Utah wedding reception and acted as my second mother. Anyway, she retired and she and her husband are now off to the Atlanta North Georgia mission. Five other teachers from my school were there and it was fun to go to church as a faculty. (I know, only in Utah!!) Anyway, it was so fun to actually listen, uninterrupted to a whole sacrament meeting. I love my kids, but it was nice to really enjoy the spirit, uninterrupted, again. The talks were great and I thought I'd record a couple of the comments that struck me.
Leslie's talk was on service and it was excellent. I wish I would have taken notes because my memory is just not very reliable! One thing I do remember was a comment she made about covenants. She said that all we need to do to break a covenant is to do nothing. Wow, that hit me. It doesn't need to be a big, terrible sin, just doing nothing is all it takes. It was just a reminder to me to make a more proactive approach to my life and the gospel. It's easy to sit back and let it all happen, but the gospel requires DOing. On the talk radio station this morning a woman talked about how just saying prayers for others to help them through the hard times is a huge service. We may not be in a position to do more, but we can let them know we are thinking about them and praying for them. Sometimes, that's all people need -- people on their side, cheering them on.
Clyn (Leslie's husband) got up and pointed out his tie. It was the tie their oldest son had received for his mission and worn. He returned and then passed the tie down to their next son. He, too, wore it on his mission. The third son was called to Brazil and ended up wearing the tie for his farewell. (They could see that the tie wouldn't survive many more missions!). Anyway, the tradition continued and each son thereafter wore the tie for his farewell. After the last son they put the tie in a shadow box on the wall for display. Well, today they removed the tie from the display and Clyn wore it for his farewell. He was misty-eyed as he related the story --as were we all! He said the tie would go back to the wall and be saved for future grandsons. I thought this was a neat tradition.
Well, I returned to grumpy children at home and prepared the rest of the family for our meetings. Our sacrament meeting was great and I have learned to be a pretty good distracted listener. One woman who spoke today talked about her upbringing in a devoutly Catholic home. She went every Sunday, attended the mid-week religion classes and was a member of the choir, etc. She related how although she had been so involved in the Catholic church, she had never gotten to know her Heavenly Father until she was introduced and later baptized into the LDS church. She talked about how the Spirit is the difference. We have the ability to learn through the Spirit. I remember as a missionary that fact being emphasized over and over. We were not the teachers, the Spirit was and we had to do all we could to make sure we invited Him into our lessons. Anyway, it was a good reminder of what we take for granted so often. It reminded me that in Primary I need to do the very same thing-use the Spirit to teach the lessons. It's easy to rely on yourself and forget to do that!
Well, on a less spiritual note, I have to share my Primary stories for the week. Apparently 6 and 7 year olds don't phase me anymore because I never share their funny stories. But these 9/10 year olds are fascinating me! :-) Remember Mason Myatt? Well, today we were looking at a map of Lehi's family's journey to America. He asked about it and then said, "But Columbus hadn't even discovered America yet, had he?" I have to admit I have never even thought about that before and I had to think quick to explain it to him. I am definitely tested on my gospel knowledge with these guys. They asked me if the Incas were the Nephites and Lamanites. Gee whiz, I'm in my VERY LOW 30s and I NEVER think of these types of questions. We had a Primary training meeting tonight and we filled in a survey. On the question of whether or not we feel qualified to teach our Primary class I had to give myself a low score. Give me 4 year olds and my gospel knowledge cup runneth over. But give me this class and I am scrambling to keep one step ahead of their amazing questions!
Well, to close I'll be grateful for fun movies that remind my children of the scriptures. We rented "Evan Almighty" this weekend and Scottie and Mason love it! They pulled out their Noah's Ark play set (that they never play with) and had a ball. Scottie has been walking around the house for two days with my bathrobe on being Noah. He even has a huge walking stick as his staff. He tied a jump rope from his dresser to the top of the bunk bed to slide the animals up (on hangers) to get them in the "ark" before the flood came. I'm glad there is wholesome media out there that my kids can relive. I have to admit that I have a new appreciation for Noah after they put it into a modern-day perspective. I felt for him and his wife!!
Well, it's a good thing tomorrows a holiday. I'm robbing my beauty sleep again! Until I have time to acquire more random thoughts...boa noite!
Leslie's talk was on service and it was excellent. I wish I would have taken notes because my memory is just not very reliable! One thing I do remember was a comment she made about covenants. She said that all we need to do to break a covenant is to do nothing. Wow, that hit me. It doesn't need to be a big, terrible sin, just doing nothing is all it takes. It was just a reminder to me to make a more proactive approach to my life and the gospel. It's easy to sit back and let it all happen, but the gospel requires DOing. On the talk radio station this morning a woman talked about how just saying prayers for others to help them through the hard times is a huge service. We may not be in a position to do more, but we can let them know we are thinking about them and praying for them. Sometimes, that's all people need -- people on their side, cheering them on.
Clyn (Leslie's husband) got up and pointed out his tie. It was the tie their oldest son had received for his mission and worn. He returned and then passed the tie down to their next son. He, too, wore it on his mission. The third son was called to Brazil and ended up wearing the tie for his farewell. (They could see that the tie wouldn't survive many more missions!). Anyway, the tradition continued and each son thereafter wore the tie for his farewell. After the last son they put the tie in a shadow box on the wall for display. Well, today they removed the tie from the display and Clyn wore it for his farewell. He was misty-eyed as he related the story --as were we all! He said the tie would go back to the wall and be saved for future grandsons. I thought this was a neat tradition.
Well, I returned to grumpy children at home and prepared the rest of the family for our meetings. Our sacrament meeting was great and I have learned to be a pretty good distracted listener. One woman who spoke today talked about her upbringing in a devoutly Catholic home. She went every Sunday, attended the mid-week religion classes and was a member of the choir, etc. She related how although she had been so involved in the Catholic church, she had never gotten to know her Heavenly Father until she was introduced and later baptized into the LDS church. She talked about how the Spirit is the difference. We have the ability to learn through the Spirit. I remember as a missionary that fact being emphasized over and over. We were not the teachers, the Spirit was and we had to do all we could to make sure we invited Him into our lessons. Anyway, it was a good reminder of what we take for granted so often. It reminded me that in Primary I need to do the very same thing-use the Spirit to teach the lessons. It's easy to rely on yourself and forget to do that!
Well, on a less spiritual note, I have to share my Primary stories for the week. Apparently 6 and 7 year olds don't phase me anymore because I never share their funny stories. But these 9/10 year olds are fascinating me! :-) Remember Mason Myatt? Well, today we were looking at a map of Lehi's family's journey to America. He asked about it and then said, "But Columbus hadn't even discovered America yet, had he?" I have to admit I have never even thought about that before and I had to think quick to explain it to him. I am definitely tested on my gospel knowledge with these guys. They asked me if the Incas were the Nephites and Lamanites. Gee whiz, I'm in my VERY LOW 30s and I NEVER think of these types of questions. We had a Primary training meeting tonight and we filled in a survey. On the question of whether or not we feel qualified to teach our Primary class I had to give myself a low score. Give me 4 year olds and my gospel knowledge cup runneth over. But give me this class and I am scrambling to keep one step ahead of their amazing questions!
Well, to close I'll be grateful for fun movies that remind my children of the scriptures. We rented "Evan Almighty" this weekend and Scottie and Mason love it! They pulled out their Noah's Ark play set (that they never play with) and had a ball. Scottie has been walking around the house for two days with my bathrobe on being Noah. He even has a huge walking stick as his staff. He tied a jump rope from his dresser to the top of the bunk bed to slide the animals up (on hangers) to get them in the "ark" before the flood came. I'm glad there is wholesome media out there that my kids can relive. I have to admit that I have a new appreciation for Noah after they put it into a modern-day perspective. I felt for him and his wife!!
Well, it's a good thing tomorrows a holiday. I'm robbing my beauty sleep again! Until I have time to acquire more random thoughts...boa noite!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
What a Handful!
Last night I was having a TGIF night. It had been a long and busy week and I was ready for the weekend. Well, when I got home, Dave was ready to turn the kids over. It had been a long day and he had some rackets to string. So needless to say, he happily turned the kids over to me and locked himself in the basement. Well, I hurried around to make dinner and catch-up on some overdue dishes, etc. After dinner (spaghetti) it was necessary to send the kids straight to the tub. We LOVE spaghetti, but it can be messy -- at least for the youngest two! So, after getting everyone into their PJs, we headed down to start a movie. (Yeah, my boys love High School Musical 2 too!) Well, I delayed a bit on getting up to cleaning up after the dinner dishes and putting the food away. No big deal, except for the fact that Tanna had been a little too quiet for more than a minute!! After talking myself into leaving the comfy recliner, knowing whatever she was up to couldn't be good, I headed upstairs. Let's just say you know it's a good one (mess) when you don't even stop at the scene of the crime. I just turned right around and ran for the camera. I figured that this one needed to be on the record book. Tanna had climbed the chair onto the table and created her own version of abstract spaghetti art. There was spaghetti sauce and noodles spread all over the table and her. She had topped it off by dumping the remaining water in the glasses all over too! (Thank goodness we had water tonight!!) So, needless to say -- after a few pictures-- we headed back to the bathtub and I'm still working on getting the spaghetti sauce out of her pajamas!! It turned out to be a big clean-up job and I'm learning to head that mother's intuition a little faster next time!
Today, we found our School House Rock DVD broken in half. Hmmm....I thought girls were easier than boys!! So far that whole perfect princess philosophy has gone right out the window!! So, as a heads up -- if you ever come for a visit, please understand that keeping up with Tanna is a full time job and it is very difficult to stay a step ahead of her. If we do manage to get a handle on things, she's sure to undo that as soon as possible! So, enjoy our lived in home and understand that we're making memories here!
Today, we found our School House Rock DVD broken in half. Hmmm....I thought girls were easier than boys!! So far that whole perfect princess philosophy has gone right out the window!! So, as a heads up -- if you ever come for a visit, please understand that keeping up with Tanna is a full time job and it is very difficult to stay a step ahead of her. If we do manage to get a handle on things, she's sure to undo that as soon as possible! So, enjoy our lived in home and understand that we're making memories here!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sunday Insights!
Tonight while Mason was saying his prayer, he said, "...And bless that Jesus won't die, because he's so nice!" Well after the prayer was over, Scottie told Mason that he already did die! Mason checked with me to see if Scottie was telling the truth and I told him it was true. But, that He had resurrected and now would never die again. Mason was so relieved and happy. It was fun to see the affect this had on his 3 year old mind. Even though he's heard us talk about it before, tonight it actually meant something to him. Sometimes it's nice to watch those "Wow!" moments and realize that it really is an amazing miracle!
I realize I take a lot of things in the Gospel for granted. I have a little girl in my primary class of 9/10 year olds who recently moved here from New York after her family was baptized into the church. They are such a cute family and I forget how exciting the gospel is. Today we were talking about Lehi and his family's departure into the wilderness. She was not familiar with the story and it was so fun watching her "soak" it all up! Her face actually lit up! She answered some questions and got Lehi and Nephi mixed up a bit, but I was amazed at how many details she remembered. Another boy, Mason Myatt, took notes through the lesson and gathered up all the papers I used in teaching, so that he could go home and teach Family Home Evening tomorrow night. Wow, so much different than I had expected!! So, although I was sad to leave the CTR 5s, who had such an excitement for learning the stories each week, I have been pleasantly surprised to have that same excitement in this older class.
Well, one more thought for this Sunday night. Tanna is watching "Baby Signing Time?" as I type this. It's an incredible program that teaches sign language creatively through music. It turns out it was all started to fill a need. It's founder Rachel de Azevedo Coleman (daughter of Lex de Azevedo)began learning sign language when she discovered her daughter was profoundly deaf at 14 months of age. Her next daughter was born prematurely with spina bifida and cerebral palsy. Rachel ended up taking her incredible music talent, along with her sister Emilie, to develop a TV show and numerous DVDs to teach the world sign language. She hoped not only to help other families in her situation, but to break the language barrier for her own daughters with other children. So often we don't understand why we are given certain trials in our lives. I'm sure many tears were shed by Rachel and her family, but she took a trial and ended up using her talents to make a huge difference for so many others. I'm sure she never would have dreamed the direction her life has taken. It's kind of like the analogy of being clay in the Potter's hands. We don't always see the big picture, but thankfully our Father in Heaven has the end in mind and helps mold and shape us into the person He knows we can become.
So, all in all, it was a good day. It's nice to have Sundays to renew and reflect. I'm off to start another adventure of a week. Hopefully, I'll keep this perspective and remember what's important in all the hubbub of daily life!
I realize I take a lot of things in the Gospel for granted. I have a little girl in my primary class of 9/10 year olds who recently moved here from New York after her family was baptized into the church. They are such a cute family and I forget how exciting the gospel is. Today we were talking about Lehi and his family's departure into the wilderness. She was not familiar with the story and it was so fun watching her "soak" it all up! Her face actually lit up! She answered some questions and got Lehi and Nephi mixed up a bit, but I was amazed at how many details she remembered. Another boy, Mason Myatt, took notes through the lesson and gathered up all the papers I used in teaching, so that he could go home and teach Family Home Evening tomorrow night. Wow, so much different than I had expected!! So, although I was sad to leave the CTR 5s, who had such an excitement for learning the stories each week, I have been pleasantly surprised to have that same excitement in this older class.
Well, one more thought for this Sunday night. Tanna is watching "Baby Signing Time?" as I type this. It's an incredible program that teaches sign language creatively through music. It turns out it was all started to fill a need. It's founder Rachel de Azevedo Coleman (daughter of Lex de Azevedo)began learning sign language when she discovered her daughter was profoundly deaf at 14 months of age. Her next daughter was born prematurely with spina bifida and cerebral palsy. Rachel ended up taking her incredible music talent, along with her sister Emilie, to develop a TV show and numerous DVDs to teach the world sign language. She hoped not only to help other families in her situation, but to break the language barrier for her own daughters with other children. So often we don't understand why we are given certain trials in our lives. I'm sure many tears were shed by Rachel and her family, but she took a trial and ended up using her talents to make a huge difference for so many others. I'm sure she never would have dreamed the direction her life has taken. It's kind of like the analogy of being clay in the Potter's hands. We don't always see the big picture, but thankfully our Father in Heaven has the end in mind and helps mold and shape us into the person He knows we can become.
So, all in all, it was a good day. It's nice to have Sundays to renew and reflect. I'm off to start another adventure of a week. Hopefully, I'll keep this perspective and remember what's important in all the hubbub of daily life!
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