Simplicity

I'm thankful for how simply kids think. Today I was meeting with one of my reading groups and we were about to start a new book called "The Mystery of the Missing Berries." I asked the kids if they've ever lost anything. One student said he'd lost his sandals once. The follow up question I asked was what they did to help solve the mystery or find what they had lost. All the answers in the past have been "looked all over for it," "asked my mom for help," etc. Until today. I asked the question and without any hesitation, the little boy who lost his sandals goes "I prayed. I prayed and then looked and found them!"

Yes, this is Utah. I had to look down and laugh to myself because it was such a simple answer, but what an example! In my "old age," I so often forget to think that simply. If I misplace something, I think as hard as I can all the places it could be, retrace my steps, and get so frustrated. The first thing I should do is drop to my knees in prayer. I was taught a lesson today by a little 8 year old boy. So next time you lose something, what are you going to do to solve your mystery??

Crocheting

I'm thankful for the ability to crochet. I'm thankful for two hands that allow me to crochet.
I picked up the hobby when I was 15. My mom was stake RS pres and for their big annual RS workshop, they had a humanitarian day. One of the services was for people to crochet leper bandages. A sweet lady in our ward taught my mom and I how to crochet to make one. Wow, it was an experience!
After I finished my 4-foot long leper bandage, I decided to try scarves. I've made some of those and then for some reason decided to try blankets! I made one for each of my sisters for their weddings. Then I made one for myself as well. My brother was still young at the time and I made him one that was different color crayons.
When I was home for Thanksgiving this week, I saw the crayon blanket and was reminded of how much I love crocheting. It is a hobby I have dropped the past couple years of my life, although I do still have 2 big balls of yarn at the foot of my bed waiting for me to pick up and finish my niece's baby blanket (yes, the one who is almost 2 :)).

Happy Thanksgiving

Students

I'm thankful for my students. We had a Thanksgiving lesson today and read "The Secret of Giving Thanks." We talked about things they are thankful for and then they made thank you cards. I had construction paper cut and Thanksgiving stickers for them to use. By the end of the day, I had a stack of cards on my desk. Even though a few of them were BYU vs. Utah bashing (yes, even in 2nd grade it's pretty bad...let's just say BYU better win this weekend!), they were so sweet to think of me to write letters to and the letters were mostly very sweet and thoughtful. These kids bring such joy to my life. What can I say...I'm a lucky girl!

2009

As the year 2009 comes to a close, I thought I'd share my 3 "themes." I actually had chosen a word in January to focus on. That was patience. Maybe I'll work on that next year. :) This year is summed up in three words:


This is a frame I "cricuted" (yes, cricuted is a verb in my vocabulary) my theme words onto. It hangs next to my bed so every morning when I wake up I am reminded of these 3 important things and every night when I go to bed I also remember them. These will obviously be theme words throughout my entire life, but I have loved the choices I've made to focus specifically on these in 2009. It really has been an amazing year. And with the holidays coming up, lots more time will be spent focusing on them! Life is good. :)

It all started...

...with a friendly roommate reunion at Texas Roadhouse. The girls made me feel bad enough about not knowing what's been going on in my life the past year and convinced me that they needed ME to blog about what's going on in my life. I can be a really bad emailer and so I guess this is a way for them to all know what's going on every second of every day (or maybe once a month or something :) ). So thank you Deb, Jeni, and Kristin for getting me to start this. My mom will be grateful!


(This was taken at the last reunion...a loooooong time ago)