Mother's Day

It is Mother's Day and I have not yet written about my mom on my gratitude blog. Not sure HOW that happened...sorry, Mom. :)
I am grateful for my mom for SO many reasons. Here are the top ten (in no particular order).
1. My mom is funny. She really is. She can always make me laugh. I think she denies that she's dramatic, but let's be honest. She is. And I love her for it. :) This is her "not being dramatic" at one of Kristen's bridal showers. :)

2. My mom likes crafty, decor, girl, etc. things like I do. This is us at "Good Things, Utah" last summer.

3. My mom is a huge support. In high school when both Mel and I were on the high school volleyball teams, she was there at every game--both JV and Varsity. So many hours spent on those wonderful high school bleachers without ANY complaints. And dinner was always ready for us after our games! (Or Chick-fil-a was on the way home. :) )

4. My mom is great with kids. She has come into my classroom 2 out of the 3 years I've taught and read my students a book and brought them treats. She is SO fun to watch with them. And my students fall in love with her by the end too.

5. My mom ADORES her grandkids. (And they adore her, too.) She is ALWAYS finding things for them at the store and visits them as often as she can. I try to remind her that whenever I have kids, she better treat them just as good. ;)


6. My mom is SO friendly. She says she's shy but that's not true. She has the ability to become best buds with anyone she meets in just a few minutes. it's a trait I admire and hope to develop throughout my life. She also has a kind heart for people who are different. She graduated with a degree in Special Education and has worked with many, many children with learning disabilities. She just has a way with any type of person she meets!! Here she is with her aunt, my great-aunt Norma. Aunt Norma was a little different and mom always knew what to say and how to treat her as she was--a daughter of God!

7. My mom loves to travel. She and my dad made it a point to take us on a family vacation every year. We got to see so many different places growing up. I didn't realize how abnormal it was until I started talking about all these places I'd been a people thought I was crazy. The east coasters had never been very far west and very few west coasters had been very far east. I got to see a whole lot of the continental US and even spend 2 weeks in Europe. Traveling is just the best!
In North Carolina:

In Florida: (Did I mention she's always prepared? She made sure everyone had a poncho in case it rained!!)

8. My mom loves pictures. However, she doesn't love pictures of herself. (I wonder where I get it from...) But she always documents our family events for us to remember in the future. Then she gets them all printed at Costco and they sit in envelopes on her desk. :)
**It was a struggle finding this many pictures...I'll leave this one blank!

9. My mom is an amazing example to me. She has always been a wonderful leader in the church and I've been amazed at all she can do in just 24 hours each day! Here is the two of us outside the Draper Temple.

10. My mom is my mom!! Mother in every definition of the word: humble, patient, loving, selfless, compassionate, generous, amazing, wonderful, fabulous, beautiful, forgiving, and I just love her! Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Being a Teacher...

...is hard work. But overall, it is something I am very grateful for! I am reminded constantly of the love I feel and learn to have from children. They are so full of love. Just a small example--I have one girl who can tell when I am getting frustrated with some students. Whenever I look over at her, she'll give me a HUGE smile and show me this:

It has picked up with the whole class and now whenever we give class responses with our fingers and the third choice is correct, I see a whole class of "I love you" signs. I can't help but smile.
This week was teacher appreciation week. I always love this week because not only am I reminded that people DO recognize the work I do, but I also am reminded how much I love what I do. (Also the fact that it's May, the sun is out, and we are winding down...) On Tuesday we had "Bring your teacher an apple" day. I was bombarded with apples and apple "things."

Thursday was "Bring your teacher a flower" day. Again, I was amazed at all the beautiful flowers I received!! (Even the weeds after dance festival practice outside...hey, it's the thought that counts, right??)

I am grateful for my job and the chance I have to teach these 25 boys and girls every day.
They remind me of the simple things in life. And make me laugh every day, too. :)

**Quotes of the week:
Middle of our CRTs (end of the year test) boy raises his hand. I go over and ask what he needs. "What if I was the only kid who showed up for school tomorrow? That'd be weird." "Yes, that would be weird. Answer the question now, please."
Class is all coming back to the kiva. I have a bruise that was bugging me on my shin so I went to look at it and right away a pleasant little boy goes "Whoa! That's a white leg!!" "Thanks, (name), thanks."
Working on Mother's Day project. Boy drops cup full of markers. Markers fly everywhere. Instead of getting upset or embarrassed, he just goes "Happy Markers Day!" (Maybe that was one where you just had to be there.)
Doing Morning Meeting on Friday. We go around the room and all finish the same sentence "When I grow up, I...". I get to a girl and go "Good morning, (name)." "Good morning, Miss Sucher. When I grow up, I want to be an ictheologist." "A what?" "An ictheologist." "What do they do?" "They study fish." "Oh, cool."
Next girl. "Good morning, (name)." "Good morning, Miss Sucher. When I grow up, I want to be just like you!"

New Nephews

I am grateful for new nephews. (And old ones too!) My sister, Kristen, had a healthy baby boy on Wednesday. His name is Xander and although I'm partial, I think he's pretty cute. I can't wait to get down there in a little bit and meet him for myself!!
I'm sure Adeline is just the greatest big sister. She has such a huge heart and LOVES babies! I'm excited for the future sister-brother relationship they will have.
Can't you tell she just loves him so much??
I am so grateful for healthy babies. What a miracle that is!!

Spring Break

Today marks the start of my week of Spring Break. I love my job, don't get me wrong. I love my students. I love my co-workers. I love my school. But something about today just makes me happy. I woke up the happiest I've been in a long time! I think it has something to do with the amount I've been spiritually fed this past weekend with General Conference (every talk was written just for me...you may think they were for you, but you're wrong ;) ).
It may have something to do with the fact that I got to have pillow talk with my old roommate, Ash, last night and have pancakes with her this morning. Or it may have something to do with the fact that there is no snow on the ground (for the next few hours at least...).
(No, Utah does not look like this right now--but I can pretend.)
But it's probably the fact that I am listening to this song over and over again:

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed this song this week during Conference and I was reminded how much I love it. What an amazing message it teaches. Enjoy!!

Service Olympics

I'm grateful for service. A couple weeks ago, we had a Service Olympics at my school. Each class competed against each other by bringing in coins to donate to kids in Haiti, collecting recycling, and reading the most books/pages during our read-a-thon that Friday. It was fun to see the kids get excited each day, although my class didn't get SUPER into it.

This past week, we had a big assembly to give the check to the Red Cross with all the money we earned. As a school, we earned over $1,500. It was pretty exciting. We watched a slideshow one of the teachers had put together with pictures of what happened in Haiti to explain to the kids where their money was going and why it was needed. I was touched. Then they presented the "Gold, Silver, and Bronze" medals to the classes with the most money donated, the most recycling, and the most books/minutes read. Those classes got prizes from some local sponsors. My class didn't win anything, but it was still fun to watch. :)

I was on afternoon recess duty later that day and was talking to some of my students. One of my girls asked me when we were going to get our prize for giving money. I said that we didn't win, so we wouldn't get anything. She said, "But I donated money! When do I get my prize for that??" We then had a little chat about how we were serving and when we serve, we don't expect anything in return. We were helping those kids in Haiti who need so much and knowing that we helped should be enough. She wasn't convinced.

It made me think...How often do we serve those around us expecting something in return? Or even if we don't expect anything in return, how often do we serve others around us for the recognition? I'm sure all of you who are reading never do those things and are compassionate people on your own. I know it is something I need to work on. Service for the pure love of the people I'm serving and of my Savior, Jesus Christ. It's so easy to get wrapped up in my own little world and forget there are others around who are in such need. So I challenge myself (and you if you'd like) to drop a few minutes of your day into serving others. And serving for the pure love of serving.

I'm grateful for all the people who serve me each day. My parents and family for loving and supporting me, even when I call and gripe about stupid things.
My friends for sticking by me no matter how long it's been since we've talked (too many people to put pictures for...sorry).

My students for making me laugh.
My coworkers for keeping me sane during busy days/weeks/months/years. :)
And especially my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for loving me perfectly, even when I'm so not perfect.

For the Beauty of the Earth...

I'm grateful for the beauties of the earth. Even though I am completely sick of the winter and snow here in Utah, it really is a beautiful sight.

I love springtime when all the blossoms come out on the trees. Washington DC is the place to be in the spring. BEAUTY at its finest!

I love the tulips that are all over Temple Square during April General Conference time.

I love the summertime flowers and green grass and full trees. The sunsets in Arizona are to DIE for.

I love the color changing and falling leaves in the fall time.

I was reminded of all of these things as I enjoyed the flowers Tyler sent me at school for Valentine's Day. He is the sweetest. And the flowers are my favorites.


I am grateful for the beauties God has blessed us with here on the earth!

Happy Birthday, Dad

I feel like most of my posts lately have been birthday posts. I guess that just goes to show that some of the things I'm most grateful for are the people in my life!

Today is my dad's birthday and let me just say how grateful I am for him.
My dad is one of the hardest working people I know. He taught me and continues to teach me the value of working hard and having a good work ethic.
My dad is one of the kindest people I know. He NEVER says anything mean about anyone else. He is always looking for the positive in every situation. This is such a good example to me as I can sometimes not be a complete optimist.
My dad is one of the humblest people I know. He never takes the credit for anything good he does. He always gives the credit to the Lord. This has taught me that I truly need to remember that the Lord is in charge and I am nothing without Him. He has also taught me through word and example the importance of the Gospel in his life.
My dad is one of the most loving people I know. He LOVES being a Grandpa and getting to spend time with his grandkids. (I mean, look at these kids--who WOULDN'T love being with them??) They love playing with him, too.

My dad is one of the (no, he is THE) most frugal person I know. But you know what? That's great! He loves finding a good deal and because of all the money he's saved, we've been able to do some great things with the family. One of them was going to see Wicked with his girls a couple years ago. Yes, my dad also appreciates good shows. :)
My dad can fix anything. He can build anything. He can cook anything. All-in-all, he's just a well-rounded person! For all of these reasons and more, I am so grateful for my dad and love him so much! Happy Birthday, Dad!!