December Miracles Cont'd

Well, I haven't been keeping track every day since the sixth, but we have certainly seen a lot of prayers be answered and we have had some thoroughly enjoyable moments together. So, here are some of the miracles-in no particular order.

I am grateful for our family, friends, and neighbors who take care of us and who help us with their time and talents.

We are alive and well. (D-school had a school shooting threat this week and Shawn is finally recovered from intense pain from both his knee and a freak bout with costochondritis last week.)

It has been one year and ten days since we began to journey down the path of building our family through adoption. Our testimonies have been strengthened, our faith is fortified, and we are temporally ready.

I had cannolis from Caffe Palermo shipped to our home for Shawn's birthday. They were divine and the Cannoli King is now my friend. (Go ahead, look him up in New York City)

Shawn was born. That is certainly a miracle for me!

Shawn and I took some time last night to do some shopping and celebrate his birthday. We ate at the Melting Pot-that rocked my world.

The best miracle of all is that it is Christmas-when we celebrate miracles because they are normal and they happen and a couple thousand years ago-the greatest miracle happened.

We hope you have a very miraculous and merry week!

December Miracles

We've decided to keep track of the miracles we find every day. So here's the list.
December 1: Our little prelit Christmas tree has a section that does not light up. We don't have time to go get a real tree-besides the fact that Shawn can't help me. So...we began decorating it anyways and I thought, "It would just be miraculous if these lights would work." Shawn adjusted the tree and all of a sudden the lights came on! Miracle for day one!


December 2: I'm a reader. I read. When I get busy I forget to read. I picked up a book and read. It takes me away and I come back to reality rejuvinated. That's a miracle!


December 3: In the education profession, November/December is considered the "Blahs". The students have no desire to be at school, and the teachers don't really either. Everybody is in the same old ebb and flow and are anticipating Christmas Break. I am determined to try to not be in the blahs. I love my job and the students (when they aren't stinky-but they have been exceptionally stinky lately). So, I have been praying to find joy and be more loving. For some reason, Wednesday was the day. I laughed with the kids, we had great lessons and discussions, and the day was great! I needed that miracle.

December 4: Shawn doesn't have to wear the stupid brace at night! I have my personal heater back in my bed! Love him! Thank you doctor! Thank you!

December 5: Our little town has its advantages and some glaring disadvantages. One being that we are 50 minutes from any other real community with gas stations. We were all packed and ready to go to my dad's house on Friday night and we just needed to get gas and be on our way. Well, when the gas station closes, it takes 30 minutes for the pumps to reset. We were after the time for the resetting to have already taken place and we were panicked. Miraculously, the worker at the store came out while we were waiting and said that she had to reset something inside but that they would come on in five minutes. They did. We left. We are lucky.

December 6: Saturday was full of miracles! In the morning we had our annual cousin Christmas party where my sisters and I take the nieces and nephews and do something fun. This year my sister wanted to do gingerbread houses. She has been stressing all week about them, but on Saturday morning, they were SOOO fun! The kids had a blast. The houses are so cute and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Then we had the opportunity to go to a sealing. Our good friends were sealed to their adopted baby! I am a sucker for adoption successes! Adoption is a miracle!

More miracles to come!

Wait

"No"

A little boy at the end of a day knelt by his bed to say a prayer

And Father up in Heaven heard the prayer he prayed

And listened to each work with greatest care

The boy said, "Please bless that tomorrow I won't have to take a bath,

And bless that they will cancel school for snow."

And God had the power to protect him and never let him grow

But He said, "No."

A young man was holding tightly to the hand of a girl who had to say goodbye

And as she walked away he had to whisper a prayer

As he fought every tear that filled his eyes

He whispered,

"Please can you make her turn around and change her mind?

It's the deepest hurt that I have ever known."

And God had the power to protect him and never let him grow

But He said, "No."

And there are yesses that our father can hardly wait to give

And they are packed in every crevice of the lives we live

Sometimes God will pour down miracles and amazing twists of fate

And other times He chooses just to whisper, "Wait."

How many times have I prayed for blue skies

So no one has to cancel the game

And I feel so abandoned when the sky gets dark

Never knowing all the ones who prayed for rain

And usually the story's even trickier than that

With solutions that only God could know

But if you ask Him if he's ever overlooked you

Or ceased to love you so

He'll say, "No."

-Cherie Call

This song is my personal theme song right now. We have been elated for the past several weeks with the feeling that our baby would be coming soon-but there was an immediate change-when I think that God whispered, "Wait." We've cried and ached and cried some more.

Why would we assume that there would be a baby coming? No reason. I suppose it's our belief in miracles. Why the sudden change? I don't know that either-perhaps someone changed his/her mind. Whatever it is though, it's okay.

Perhaps I am the one praying for "blue skies" when there is a mother praying for rain. When both of our prayers can be answered, our paths will cross, and we can share our love for that sweet spirit that will bless both of our lives. It is hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that her very difficult sacrifice will be our blessing and our miracle. I ache for her and pray that she will have peace and support as she makes such a difficult decision.

In the meantime, we've decided to look for the "yesses" and the miracles that are in our life right now. One day our baby will come.

When it is time.

When it is right.

Bless those birth parents!

Close to My Heart...

My emotions have been incredibly close to the surface this week. On Sunday we lost our cousin, on Monday one of our student's fathers attempted suicide, the Tooele Transcript photographed our nursery-which I was mortified about, on Tuesday we prepared for an extensive surgery, on Wednesday we thankfully endured a less-than-extensive surgery, Thursday we dealt with a lot of pain and frustration and I wasn't quite sure how to help, Friday I felt guilty for going back to work, and tomorrow we have a funeral. Coupled with all of the hard things, on Monday I took a group of wonderful kids to the U to see an awesome play for FREE, on Tuesday our colleague had beautiful twins, on Wednesday Shawn had an amazing surgery and the blizzard wasn't so much a factor after 30 minutes of driving, Thursday the power went out but thankfully turned back on and we were both able to sleep for a few hours in the morning and my friend told me that she has a hot date with her hubby tonight, on Friday the majority of our students were gone on a field trip and I was able to teach fundamentals and make some of the students' day, and tomorrow I get to spend three hours driving with my dad and partaking of his wisdom, love and concern for us on the way to attend a funeral where we will celebrate the life of an amazing man.

Apart from the rambling-here is the link to the Tooele Transcript article. Let's just say that I want to prepare for a baby like we know its coming-because it will one day-and it helps me feel like we are working toward a goal and acting in faith for that miracle. I haven't wanted anyone to know for fear that I would be looked at like the girl who buys her prom dress in anticipation for a date and everyone knows it, but she doesn't get asked. Please don't criticize me for preparing...you weren't supposed to know!

Yay!

It is National Adoption Month!

Let's celebrate how much we love adoption!

We've had the opportunity to be interviewed and photographed for an article about adoption in the Tooele Transcript. I will give you the link when we know more!

I wish we were doing the following on Saturday:

"Walk With Me"

5k to celebrate adoption

Liberty Park

November 8th

Register by 9:30

*It won't be so much fun if I have to push Shawn in a wheelchair-we'll avoid that*

Please talk to everyone you know about adoption. It is miraculous and powerful!

Good News

Shawn's surgery was a success!

The doctor was happy to find that there wasn't as much damage to the ligaments as he has expected. He was able to easily repair the LCL and meniscus and send us on our way. Shawn has been in some pain but he has a painkiller in him and a desire to have a Pirates of the Carribean marathon. I will indulge him!

Called Home

My heart is heavy today because we just found out that our cousin passed away this morning from an arduous battle with cancer. I ache for his wife and children who will miss him tremendously. So many people will miss him. He was a big Samoan teddy bear. His culture was always so fascinating to me and his complete ability to love and welcome people is something that astounds me. Today, as I have thought about his life, I feel very lucky that I got to be related to him. I am lucky to know his children who carry on pieces of his culture and his warm personality.
My heart is also light today. I am so happy that he has been released from the heavy suffering that he has been enduring the past several weeks. The reunion with family and loved ones on the other side today was probably spectacular. I'm sure my mom was there. His spirit will continue to live without the mortal restriction of his imperfect body, he will continue to look over his family and he will wait for them to join him, and one day in the future, his spirit and body will be reunited in a perfect form. Can you imagine that sweet reunion with his wife and children?

I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of our Heavenly Father's plan. We have existed a long time before this life and will continue to exist and progress after this life with our families. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, lived a life that we are to emulate and died so that we will live again.

Things I LOVE...

Fall Nights. Going on dates with my husband. A particular Fall night... while on a date with my husband... attending the temple and basking in two hours of much needed peace.

Peace. Strength. Love. Knowledge. Grace. Love. Gratitude. Joy. Love.

Cute bulletin boards created by my sister. Good friends. Writers. (Have I ever mentioned that I love to read?) My students. My students who recognize that I am human and I need them to be good so I don't fall apart, they then sense that and are AMAZINGLY well-behaved.

Terrific. Radiant. Humble.

It is official...

After a tumultuous day one of unsurety on Thursday, we found answers on a direct Friday. The orthopedic doctor told me that I had completely torn my lcl (lateral cruciate ligament) which is on the outside of my knee, meniscus, and a possible partial tear of my acl. He suggested surgery and we are going to have it done in November. I wanted to get it done sooner, but between his surgical schedule and my teaching/coaching schedule, we decided that Nov. would be the best time. This is my first tear/breakage of any sort. On one hand this is a monumental occasion that I kind of want to celebrate. But on the other hand, this is by far the scariest thing I have done since dressing up as the Red Power Ranger for Halloween. I still get the heebie-Jeebies from that. I know that everything will be okay and that I will be able to regain the use of my knee again. The hardest part about this whole ordeal is that I will not be able to play any sport for 7-8 months. Thank goodness we didn't buy those ski passes. It is weird to think about, but I am glad that this happened. My knee had been bothering me for awhile, but my regular doctor said that I just needed to ice it and take some ibuprofen before engaging in any athletic activity. That advice was taken and put into practice but I was in constant pain. At least with this surgery, I will hopefully have the pain gone. I am so grateful for Sara and how she is helping me so much with even the tiniest, most mundane tasks that I am quickly realizing that I cannot quickly do or even do at all right now.

What a Day!

I am sitting here blogging while Shawn is playing NCAA football on his playstation. You see, it isn't what we are doing that is interesting but how. I am sitting on the loveseat with both legs dangling casually over the edge and typing on the laptop. Shawn, however, is sprawled out on the sofa with his right knee carefully supported by a pillow. He is on many milligrams of ibuprofen while I am drug-free (Happy Red Ribbon Week!). For the first time all day, his knee is out of a brace and I will shortly be putting ice on it.

We have spent the entire day driving around the Salt Lake Valley going to doctors visits and getting tests done. Shawn may have torn is LCL. Results tomorrow!

Scammed

A few months ago we had the great opportunity to put our profile on www.parentprofiles.com. We were happy to take advantage of the opportunity, but with it came a caution to be aware of adoption scams that are more prevalent if our information is on the internet. You see, some people prey on adoptive couples for money and some prey on them for emotional reasons. We have been warned and have heard stories about other people but we never thought it would be us.
Tuesday morning we woke up to a contact through our PP profile from a gentleman who said that his wife died in childbirth on October 1st and he was looking to place the baby because he wanted to focus on his six other children and his profession. We thought it was kind of strange that he would use flippant language to explain his desire to place his baby but we thought we would respond anyways. The return email was written with a completely different syntax, told us that "the God of the universe has chosen you to be his parents" and insisted on our personal phone numbers. We did not feel peaceful about this at all so we decided to write back without offering our phone number. We knew that pictures can often be traced so we asked for photos. In the meantime we spent a few hours trying to check out the email address, names and adoption scam forums. In the forums-nothing was said that connected to our emails. There was a lot written, however, about adoption offers from Cameroon by an overseas agency and cautions against communicating with them.
Once again the person responded and seemed a little more loving towards the baby and the situation but claimed that he didn't have any experience with babies, so it was so hard to take care of his baby. That seemed weird if he had six previous children. Something in us made us very skeptical but something else was in the back of our mind telling us to be careful about throwing away a potential opportunity.
In our research, we found that the baby name was a famous french person's name. We noticed that the sentence structure of the emails was off-as if the author wasn't an English speaker. (The birthdate was backwards like would be done in French) I prayed that we would be able to find something to help us know for sure that this was a scam or that it wasn't a scam.
We received photos of a beautiful black baby. I wasn't sure how to trace the photos other than doing a basic google image search and we found nothing. I came back to the email later and once again prayed that I would be able to find something that would be a clue to the scam or reality of the situation. I clicked on one of the pictures and my macbook at school made the image very large. Enlarged, I saw that the hazardous waste (is that what they are?) container was written in French. The person standing over the baby was holding a wooden measuring tool to measure the baby's height (I don't think they use those anymore), the thermometer was old-school, the diaper was taped-not like an american diaper, and the baby's head was elongated like it had come through the birth canal and probably not c-section like I would assume would happen if the mother's life was in danger. I enlarged the next picture and could see the name on the baby's wristband. It was not Jean Gael, but something like Miko. The baby was wearing a sweater, not a normal hospital issue onesie. Hmmmm.
We contacted our caseworker who directed us to contact Parent Profiles and found that these emails were coming from overseas and the information used in the emails had been tried on other couples in March 2007.
Phew! We were lucky. We were lucky that we felt uneasy from the start about this and that people, like our caseworker, knew where to send us to get help. We were lucky that we were guided to find things that would help us question the validity of the emails and pictures. I am grateful for the things that I learned on my mission that helped us to question the make-up of the emails. Mostly, I am grateful that we were protected from what could've been a very emotional and hurtful experience.

Verification

So... I just left a comment on someone's blog and was reminded about my feelings concerning the secret code test we are required to pass before leaving a comment. That test gives me anxiety. For some reason, I fail that test about 50% of the time. Perhaps you aren't receiving comments from me because I struggle to get through! Oh Buddy :)

My Life's Dream...

So, the other day my sister-in-law told me that I needed to blog more. I have thought about it but I haven't felt like I had anything to say. Well, the past few days have changed all of that. On Friday, my ninth graders were taking a college survey. As they were pulling their hair out about all of the different options available to them, one of them piped up and said, "My life's dream is to live in a dorm". I couldn't help but go "What?" He said, "No really... my life's dream is to live in a dorm with a mini-fridge, and I want to fill it with string cheese!" I downright guffawed. Too bad he was serious and felt that he needed to defend himself.
We moved on and the next period provided another enlightening experience. Two of my senior girls were talking about a former boyfriend that the one had given up. The other thought that he was ugly and should have never been considered. They vehemently debated the importance of looks vs. personality for a few moments until someone made a comment about the internet as a tool for dating. One of the girls stopped her side of the debate and said, "The internet is for psychos... and freaks who want to get kidnapped!" Well, I guffawed again, and let's just say, that debate ended for the period.
In Shawn's classes, he has had some equally stimulating conversations concerning Sparta and Rome. After explaining how Sparta was a military society and how the military ruled every bit of life, he noticed that there was a volleyball inside a four-legged stool. He asked his volleyball player, whom the ball belonged to, how the ball got there. She matter-of-factly stated, "The ball was overtaken by Sparta." A week later, in fact the same day as my funny anectdotes occured, Shawn was explaining the precarious situation that Brutus, counselor of Julius Caesar, was in in regards to protecting his friend or protecting his country. He asked the class if there was someone that was a "Brutus" in today's society. One of his students raised his hand and answered,"Hillary Clinton." The class erupted in laughter as well as Shawn.

Besides the tidbits of humor that have been going on in our classes, we have been busy with intense volleyball games, car smashes, taco soup days, and Red Ribbon Week. (If you would like to experience fear, try handing sledghammers to adolescents whose brains are not fully developed and to teachers who have been holding in the anger for a little too long, and let them go wild on a car. It's a rush.)(Oh...I don't mean to be naive... but when did my little eighth and ninth graders start smoking? They are too young to be killing themselves-I actually pulled them aside and told them that- I probably stepped over my bounds. Happy Red Ribbon Week!)

There you go Gina. You asked for it!

I Heart Adoption

I just want to give a huge shout out to Mrs. R (therhouse.blogspot.com) for coming all the way out here to give a presentation on adoption. Our students had nothing but really positive things to say about the presentation and I know (as per a few conversations) that Mrs. R brought up some issues that our students had never thought about.

Thank you for being such an amazing adoption advocate!

I'm Letting Go...

I'm letting go of my fear of people's thoughts and opinions concerning me.

I can't take the worry anymore and I really can't change what they think of me -positive or negative. I'm letting go of the selfishness that leads to such contemplations. Why has it taken this long?

I'm letting go of things that don't inspire, uplift, and edify me.

It is so easy to allow for mediocrity. It is so easy to not fight against the junk that the adversary is throwing at us to destroy our families, our standards, and our happiness. It is so easy to be apathetic when the world is teaching us that darkness is just easier to gather than holding on to the light of things that are just, good, and true.

I'm holding on to my love of Heavenly Father and my faith in Jesus Christ.

I'm holding on to the hope that comes through faith in those who love me more than I will ever know and the knowledge that they, undoubtedly, know everything about me and about what is to come. I'm letting go of the doubt and holding on to the promise that if I do what I have been asked to do, He will take care of the desires that are so dear to my heart. I'm holding on to the very real knowledge that I can change-I can be better-more loving-more kind-more compassionate-more pure-because Christ has made it so.

I'm holding on to my marriage- my best friend, my companion, my example, my love, my husband.

Too many marriages are falling apart and I am committed to not let that happen. I'm holding on to better communication and more positive encouragement and support. I'm holding on to compromise and fireworks. I'm holding on to the achiness I feel when we are only apart for a night- I love him so much.

I'm holding on to love.

I want the excess space that has just opened up (by letting go) to be filled with more love and service for people in my circle of influence. I want to be more compassionate to those whose opinion I once feared-to love those who I too often criticize. I'm holding on to showing more love and working harder at maintaining relationships with my family. I'm holding on to being the kind of person who others can feel safe and loved around.

I'm letting go so that I can open my life more fully to the things that are worth holding on to.

School Days...

Well, summer is officially over. The last week we spent Monday-Wednesday preparing our classrooms and lesson plans, and on Thursday school began. Even though I have been doing this for a couple of years, I still get nervous on the first day. I wasn't sure how I would feel but I am rejuvenated seeing how the students have matured and are ready for this new change. We have very capable teachers on our staff so we will be a nicely functioning group. Our principal is a great example for the students and she is present- she is always in our classrooms, in the hall, etc. Knowing that, the students behave much better than they would normally.
During the summer I asked to be released from my responsibility as cheerleading advisor and asked to be the student council advisor. I have been stressed about how I would be able to be a mom (since we have no idea when that will happen) and take care of my school responsibilities. As much as I enjoy the whole idea of cheerleading building school spirit, I struggle with the fight of keeping the program growing with girls who have a desire to be the representatives that they need to be. I am sad to let the program go, but I can see how it is a good decision for us and our family that we will hopefully become.
I love being the student council advisor and it won't take so much time outside of school. I have great SBOs with great ideas and I think that they will be really great at building school spirit as they are super examples and well liked by the student body. I am excited for this new year. I feel that everything is falling into place-I hope that it is because we will be parents soon, but maybe it is because of the church responsibility that I have just accepted. We will see. God will take care of us- we have seen how He already has and have faith that He always will.

Delaware

Who knew such a tiny state would be so important to this Utah girl? We had the opportunity to visit with Shawn's family during the first week of August. We started off in Bethany where Grandma and Grandpa rented a beach house. We were able to spend time with all of Shawn's mom's family. It was so nice to be together and to get to know his aunts and grandparents better.

We had perfect weather at the beach and we swam and played all day long. We also took grandpa on a pontoon boat ride on the Little Assawoman bay. He drove for half of the trip and had a constant smile on his face. It was so nice to see him happy.


This picture is the whole crew. We had so much fun together!












Shawn took me to the Rehoboth boardwalk where he spent many summers playing boardwalk games, eating boardwalk fries, and funnel cake. His favorite game is the horse racey game (he likes it so much that I already knew all about it before we ever went to Delaware) and -let's just say -we blew a few dollars in that little space!
When we left the beach house, we were able to go and visit some aunts, uncles and cousins on Shawn's dad's side. We went out for Maryland Blue Crabs with Shawn's other grandparents. I hope they have crab in heaven. I sure love it! We had a good long discussion about Shawn's geneology and hopefully we can find more of his ancestors as we take advantage of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I also saw some of Shawn's baby pictures for the first time. Boy he was cute-still is-but he was really cute as a baby.
The last day of our trip we visited our great grandma who has recently moved to a masonic home in Pennsylvania. She is 99 years old and you would never guess it! She showed us all of the neat features of her new home and she seems very happy. She is an amazing woman who has experienced so much in her life but still is very optimistic and full of faith. We will go back to Delaware in May for her 100th birthday-can't wait!

Thanks to everyone for such a great vacation!

Summer Sleepover

Oh...I wish I had the pictures! While I was in high school I did annual tea parties and sleepovers with my nieces and nephews. We had a great time! Since we've gotten married, we have been taking school or teaching school during the summer. We decided we didn't want to let another summer pass without our party, so we had a sleepover. We started off with some take-n-bake pizza, we projected Penelope on the side of the house (a true theater experience;) and ate candy until we were sick. We all slept on the floor at my brother's house-slept? I don't know that we all slept that well-but we had a wonderful time laughing and giggling. In the morning we woke up to a yummy breakfast and then went home. I cherish the times when I can be a kid with my nieces and nephews- except when I get them in trouble for some misbehavior that I started. Shawn just rolls his eyes and shakes his head, but, secretly, I think he likes that about me!

Denver

I have been super slacking as a blogger but I will try and redeem myself! We spent ten days in Denver with Shawn's parents over the 4th of July holiday (see -16 post). It was so nice to be with his parents and just have those moments to listen to their wisdom and advice- as well as play with them!

Shawn and I went to the Air Force Academy and Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. There is a beautiful chapel on post with stained glass windows that cast their beautiful colors inside the room. We were also able to see some of the academy students march by us- we were hoping that one of our seniors from last year would pass us but it was impossible to pick her out because they all look the same. Hopefully she could feel our support from the sidelines :)



I am trying to learn how to golf, but I am finding that the bigger challenge is to learn to be patient and love to golf. I don't know if I can do it. We golfed at a par 3 which was much better than our par 9 million on base, but I'm not sure that the fire has been sparked within. I will give it another shot before I completely cast it off.





We, of course, went to a Rockies game and had a wonderful time. Shawn's parents bought season tickets and have some super sweet seats. Shawn was in heaven! Shawn also went to a game just with his dad and I got to go shopping with his mom. It was lovely.

We had a great time in Denver. Thanks Mom and Dad!

We are on Adoption.com!

We have listed our adoption profile on a site called parentprofiles.com that is affiliated with adoption.com. If you want to visit our profile, go to www.parentprofiles.com and type in our ID# which is 22974.

-16 Years

The last week or so we have been in Colorado visiting Shawn's parents. It is always fun to go to Colorado because Shawn is very happy when he is home and his inner child comes out. I have been surprised this time by my inner child who has come out like a crazy monster. For example, I have a gold medal in my favorite Wii game--the shooting one--on Wii Play. Yes, that means that I have been spending my free time shooting balloons, pop cans, targets, etc. I take some sneaky pride in breaking my father-in-law's records on the Wii but have really only been successful in that one game...he he he.

We then went to Waterworld, a water park, and I could not stop smiling and laughing. Shawn and I rode down a particular slide in a two man tube three times in a row and we just giggled and screamed the whole way down. I was having a fabulous time and I was with my very best friend-who wouldn't love that? The point is, I laughed like I was ten. No barriers. No guarded emotional outlet. Nothing holding me back...pure fun. I LOVED IT! (I think that is why we repeated the ride so many times!!! )

To top it all off, we went to see fireworks. We were actually sitting in the parking lot of a Coldstone Creamery, and being the ice cream connoisseur that I am, my mother-in-law bought us ice cream and we watched a 30 minute display of fireworks. Can life get any better than watching fireworks while sharing an ice cream with my hubby? I have let my inner child release havoc on my life the past few days and I have had a wonderful time! I wish I could be ten again!

The Shining...er...The Shiner

So...we play on a community softball team. I was nervous because I haven't played softball outside of PE but I do love the sport. I am certainly the handicap but I sure am trying hard. On Monday, Shawn and I were warming up when the ball bounced off my glove and hit my cheekbone. This is probably one of my proudest moments...my "trophy for bravery" if you will. I am not proud that I can't catch...just proud that I got hurt trying something new!

The Great Debaters

I loved it! I LOVED it!

HOORAY!!!!!!!

Today was my last teacher day! I love the students and I love giving so much time to them and their activities but our little three month separation will be good for all of us. I am really excited to get lesson plans in order for next year and I have some fabulous ideas that I hope will be fabulous in reality.

We officially finished the play last week and it turned out to be a HUGE success. Our students are SO talented and great. I learned how to create the illusion of aging with theater make-up and how to apply a bald cap. Who knew these skills would EVER come in handy? (I really mean EVER!) Our school has a very rich tradition of athletics and band (our band took 1A State for the 23rd year in a row) but there isn't much for anyone else to be involved in. When we came to this school last year, Shawn told the principal he would be willing to help with the theater program and she chuckled then informed us that we were the theater program. So, here we are. We don't have the first clue about all of this but the students are AMAZING, and they are SO thankful that we have set up the program again. We had them all over for cast party last night and I relished in listening to them laughing hysterically over silly games and the little things that would spark lines from entire scenes in the play.

Graduation made me cry a little, but I get so excited for our students and the exciting things in their futures. I loved high school, but I CHERISH my memories from college. College was the best time of my life and I would go back in a heart beat if we could eat and have a house while I went. The speeches rejuvenated my desire to be a better teacher and to create ways to better prepare my students for college. A new year will be refreshing!

The Diary of Anne Frank

So...I love Anne Frank.

I love my eighth graders right now who like to make comments about how things seem to them.

I love my eighth graders reading The Diary of Anne Frank (the play).

We finished reading the play last class period and then today we did some activities to help us think about what we read. I also read some excerpts from her actual diary to them and we talked about the similarities and differences between the play and her diary.

They love her, connect with her, and want to read her book. (Can I just tell you how gratifying it is to me that they want to continue learning about her and read her story?)

I love the power and influence her life...her very short life...has on my 13-14 year-olds.

They cannot believe that she died.

I also read a few excerpts from Miep Gies' book about the moment when Otto Frank returned to Holland, then, when a few months later, he received the letter that told him his daughters were dead, and then when she decided to give the diary that she had been saving for Anne to Anne's father.

Let's just say that I have never read Miep's experiences and I LOST IT while reading to my students.

I am so grateful for Anne Frank's story, her insights, and the courage of her father to publish her innermost thoughts.

ALL THE WORLD IS A STAGE!!!!

Yes...I realize that the title is screaming a quote at you. We are feeling consumed. Rehearsals are ending late every day and our spare time is spent planning, pondering, creating, buying, etc. any little aspect of the spring production.

As with everything else we do here, the kids make it all worth it. (They better...they are the only reason we put so much time into this!)

The set isn't so much put up yet but it will be next Monday. We are cutting it a little closer than we wanted but things should be okay...we hope.


And, yes, the stage is in the gym making for incredible sound! We like to create added entertainment to the theater experience. My favorite aspect of the stage is the lighting that is controlled through the breaker box. When the principal fifteen years ago decided a theater program was a waste of time, he had all of the wires cut to the dimmer switches. When lights fade...oh wait...they don't...ever.

Daddy's Girl

Ever since I have been small I have loved being with my dad. Perhaps it started when I was little and he would take us into town on Saturday mornings to run errands and get a treat. If he worked on cars, I liked to hold the lamp and find tools for him. If he was building something, I tried to help him find the screws and hold the washers in place, and he made me feel useful because my fingers were smaller than his and I could reach into tricky spaces. He has always had skills that I admired and I always kind of wanted to learn them from him but I never did. For some reason I didn't want to be too much of a girly girl, even though I totally am.
My dad didn't really teach me his skills because I hardly stuck around to learn. He would sometimes get impatient with me or with his project and that was my cue to leave. (Along with basic skills, my vocabulary was stocked with four letter words!) I still find huge satisfaction doing projects with him. In fact, a couple of months ago I even helped him install speakers in his jeep and I felt so proud.

Well, now I am the "technical director" of our spring production. I am basically just making sure the kids don't chop off a finger with a saw, but I have also been trying to get involved and help them build stuff (except that I have NO desire to even touch a saw). The other day they were putting together a small staircase and I thought I would pick up a power tool and help them along. Bad idea! I couldn't, for the life of me, control the cordless drill. I have even used drills before! The kids shook their heads and gently took the tool away from me. I decided then and there that I am okay with the inability to build a staircase! I guess I should have stuck around my dad a little longer and just embraced a new vocabulary. (I'm all about vocabulary...right? I AM an English teacher.)

We Are Approved...

This past week we received the news that we are now certified to become adoptive parents. The approval process itself was an ordeal as we faced a family emergency with our caseworker, a cancelled approval meeting, a message that said that we could not be approved until May, another message that said that we could be approved with a letter from the State Board of Education, us calling everyone and their dog trying to get that letter, finally getting that letter, and then, on Wednesday, us finally getting the approval pending a background check that clears in late Apr/early May. Needless to say Shawn and I are very excited about this news. In fact, we want baby shopping this week in search of a crib, a travel system (car seat/stroller/hand warmer/phone all in one easy fold up package), and even some outfits and home decor. We also were able to watch conference with our family and hang out with our friends.

Happy Easter!

Last week was our Spring Break and we had the opportunity to go to Moab for a few days with my dad. We went to Arches National Park and hiked to Delicate Arch. It was amazingly perfect weather and it was so neat to see the beautiful miracles of nature!

We attended the 42nd Annual Easter Jeep Safari where my dad's new jeep took her "maiden voyage". I went to Moab every year for ten years before I went on my mission and it was so fun to share this tradition with Shawn. I think I love to go so much because my dad's eyes light up and he is in the mecca of things that are "cool" to him. I personally love to be out in nature and see the incredible landscape. This was a fun adventure to experience this year with my husband and my step mom who are both new to "jeeping" and Moab.

One of our dear friends offered to take our picture for our adoption collage, profile, and this blog. Here are some of them.

I am trying to act nonchalante about the fact that I am falling off of the fence!

These would be our oh so matching Lady Mustangs sweatshirts!

I am grateful for friends!

"Devil Books"

My husband affectionately calls any book that I pick up to read a "Devil Book". In the beginning, it made sense. I had started reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and it was a page-turner. (Vampires, werewolves, etc. all fall under my "scary" category and are therefore appropriately linked to the Devil who is also "scary") However, in the past few weeks, that title has been given to a series of other books. Perhaps it is due to my intensity. I have a hard time starting a book and then picking at it here and there. I would rather devour the book, even if it meant rereading for full comprehension, thus resulting in a lack of attention towards my husband. I have read five books in the past five weeks and I am embarrassed to say that I have loved every minute of it. I am not ashamed of reading (I am an English teacher :), but I feel extremely guilty for not using my time more wisely doing something else. Emily Dickinson once wrote "There is no frigate like a book to take you lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry." I heartily agree with her. I have needed to escape reality or internally combust and, thanks to a few books, I am here, happier, and hopefully more sane. Yes...reading is therapeutic. I had forgotten that fact as a college student.
I am on this young adult lit kick and have read a couple of books by Eva Ibbotsen and a couple by Shannon Hale. The book that I just finished reading was not the best book of the several that I have just read, but it was one of those that made me laugh out loud. It was Austenland by Shannon Hale and it had all of these funny references to Jane Austen stories, characters, and actors who have portrayed Austen characters. Bless Jane Austen's guts for creating such wonderful stories that girls fantacize about, English students analyze in their critical methods courses, and authors allude to or just outright reference. I love it!

Oh YEAH!!!!

So, today, I got up at a resonable time. I got ready for work, ate breakfast, and picked up my stuff to head out the door for work. I saw that I had two voicemails on my phone and deliberated whether or not to listen to them at home or at work. (Work is two minutes away.) I decided to listen to them on my way to work. As I am walking out the door (the door was actually open) I heard the sweet voice of our secretary telling me that our school district has shut down all of the schools for a snow day. YIPPEEEEEE!!! I HAVE NEVER HAD A SNOW DAY!!!! I'VE ALWAYS WANTED A SNOW DAY!!!! Too bad Shawn is in Richfield for the 1A State Tournament for girls' basketball, we would totally go outside and play. (We REALLY love the snow.) Happy Valentines Day to me! I am going to read books and watch movies all day!

Sports Junkies

My first hockey game...go Avs! (Christmas 2006)

BYU Baseball Spring 2007

Phillies Baseball at...

Citizens Bank Park, PA this summer.

Denver University Hockey vs. Sacred Heart over Christmas break

Let's just say that if it has anything to do with a sport, Shawn digs it! Baseball is his weakness though. His goal is to visit every major league baseball park in the U.S. (as well as every state). Here we come!

Adoption Gives Me Hope

We are getting into the intense paperwork required for approval at LDSFS and it has been a week full of a roller coaster of emotion. We have so much to do and I wish that I could just call in sick to work and finish it all in two days, but some things require time. What first seemed like torture, has become an opportunity to really ponder. I am so grateful for adoption! I am grateful for people who have a testimony of adoption.
Before we found out that we were sterile, we had a very difficult two years. Every month we dreamed, longed, and ached, and those feelings intensified with time. When the doctor gave us the news, we were stunned. I was so upset that I cried and cried for days. I was mourning the death of a dream that was so much a part of me, I never considered my life or my role as a mother as anything different. My concept of motherhood only included me bearing our biological children with Shawn's beautiful dark eyes and my stunningly peaked lips. Although I still sometimes mourn the loss of the opportunity to bear biological children, I have a different dream, a different concept of motherhood, and I am so excited. I am not so worried about our children looking like us, as I am for the opportunity to be their mom. I don't dream of positive pregnancy tests or maternity clothes anymore, I dream of phone calls and pray for birth parents who, I know, are making such difficult decisions. Adoption was never the path through which I ever imagined I would become a mother, but now that I know it is my path, I am ecstatic. Adoption gives me hope!

What do we do in our spare time???

To be honest, we don't have a lot of spare time. We are crazy busy but we really love the kids and they make the craziness manageable.

I am the cheerleading advisor. Yes, poms need to be fluffed. (They even come with instructions on the best way to fluff! Who knew??) I don't actually have a picture right now with my current squad-that is a drama I will discuss in some future post.

These guys are cute enough to be my current squad. We taught a pee-wee cheerleading clinic and they performed during Homecoming Week. I was terrified to teach dances and cheers to 5-11 year-olds but I REALLY loved it. Their energy was contagious! So, so fun.
My cute husband was giving some setting instruction during a volleyball game. He is the assistant coach for the 2007 volleyball team...
the 2007 Girls' Track head coach...
and the assistant 07-08 girls' basketball coach.
Our nights are full of athletic events, especially because Shawn's coaching responsibilities change with each season. Once again, the kids make it worth it!

What we do:

Here I am trying to convince a student that her grade is not really as bad as she thinks it is (She is actually one of the top students in my World History Class). In addition to the World History class, I also teach American Government, U.S. History (For 11th and 8th Grade students), and Geography. If that was not enough, I also teach a 7th-grade English class and a theatre class. I literally hop, skip, and jump to the next subject matter during the day.

What we do!

I am an English Teacher. Although it may look like I am falling asleep here, I am actually reading with my students. It is probably something fabulous like "Flowers for Algernon." My Eighth graders really loved the story and, in turn, I really love them!
Besides 8th grade, I also teach 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade English as well as a beginning French class.

Welcome

This is our first attempt at a blog so do not mock us. This blog is to help everyone keep in touch with us better and hopefully keep you updated on our lives.
We love you.