Help make a miracle happen

It all started when I was elected vice president of my elementary education cohort. I was more than willing to take on the role, although I was a little uncertain about working with the girl who had been elected as president.

We had our first presidency meeting and my concerns were validated. She wanted to support the members of our cohort by recognizing individuals with weekly spotlights and awards.
I didn't. That was too much work for what I imagined we'd get in return.

I wanted to keep things simple. I accepted the nomination thinking our role was mainly to act as liaison between students and faculty meaning that I would have the chance to debate an item or two. She accepted the nomination thinking that she would have a chance to love and care for each individual on a deeper level.

Don't get me wrong, I've got a lot of love for a lot of people, but I'm also a no-nonsense kind of girl. I don't like frivolity. I would rather spend my time concentrating on my school work or talking to my classmates than filling out award slips and making cute things to give away.

Without having to talk it out, we compromised. She cut back on the "things" we were going to do and I supported her in the "things" we kept.

We spent a lot of time together in those first few weeks. She called weekly meetings. Although a little annoyed, I am quite an obedient person. I attended my meetings and bit my tongue and her wild suggestions.

I don't know exactly when things changed. All I know is that this forced relationship blossomed into one of the most beautiful friendships I have ever experienced.

Jodilyn and I are closer than I normally allow myself to get to someone. She knows my deepest darkest fears (I rarely let anyone know that because I more comfortable working the confident/strong persona...I don't want anyone to think I'm insecure or incapable in any way). I can confide in her and I trust her judgment and value her advice. She shares with me her frustrations. I tell her when she's being ridiculous and that she should let it go. She tells me when to feel more rather than trying to push the experience away.

We also laugh a lot together.

When Jodilyn welcomed me in, I became a part of her family. I was a regular in her home and at her family functions.

Jodilyn has two sets of children: her own and her husband's. Although with as much love as she has, you would never know the difference. I was invited to attend birthday parties of her children. When she and her husband were sealed in the Temple, I volunteered to babysit the grandkids so that everyone else could attend. It was then that I first met her husband's children: Andrea, Toby, and Brynn and their families. My admiration for them was immediate. I've been fortunate to have subsequent interactions with them both in St. George as well as in their homes in Utah County.

Toby is a mother of four children. She is one of the most loving mothers I have ever been able to witness. She is self-sacrificing, a noble exemplar, a patient teacher, and a loving wife. She also has Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Toby was diagnosed with MS at 21. She was a new wife and a young mother. The diagnosis didn't stop her from living. As difficult as it may have been, she is true to her family, true to her faith, and true to her life. She now has four children, her oldest just graduated from kindergarten.

Her own diagnosis hasn't been the only medical trial she has been forced to endure. Two of her children have significant health issues, her son, Chandler, has had 16 surgeries in his short life.

She says on her blog, "I had given up on those dreams [of having a healthy future and growing old with my amazing husband] and I figured I would just make the most of what time I did have."

One of the ways in which she has attempted to make the most of the time she has is to research options for treatment. She placed herself on waiting lists for surgeons in other countries who were performing procedures that were alleviating major symptoms of MS. Of course, these waiting lists are very long and the cost for the procedures are thousands of dollars (plus travel expenses).

Just recently, she received word that a surgeon in Costa Rica would be able to fit her into his schedule for Liberation treatment on June 24.

This is exciting news!

Yet it does come with a financial burden that Toby's young and growing family is not quite prepared to bear. I'm sharing this, because they need our help. Toby's siblings have set up a paypal account (and a Wells Fargo account) to collect donations. Please donate if you can and link to her blog to help spread the word.

Toby already has made a beautiful impact on this world. I can imagine the marvelous things she'll be able to do with increased energy and time here on earth.

Graduation is fast approaching

I consider myself tech savvy...most of the time. I purchased a student license for Adobe Design Premium and have used several of the included programs, but for some reason, I was intimidated by Photoshop. Well, today I found myself with the overwhelming desire to create my own graduation announcement. I had to face my fears. I jumped right in. A special thanks goes out to all the wonderful internet people who made this project possible. I went to Google with all my questions and found the answers on a slew of Photoshop tutorial posts. (I was greatful that I wasn't the only who needed assistance for even the small manipulations.)
I'm impressed with the final project, especially knowing it was my first. My friend, Jodi, gave me the perfect statement of validation. "If your career as a teacher fails you could go into digital artwork." Oh, yeah, and thanks, Jodi, again for taking such a great picture. It sums me right up.

I'll teach you something

Today I taught my very first clarinet lesson. It was delightful. I taught Jodilyn's daughter a few things. She learned very quickly and should be ready for a recital by week's end. I don't know how much credit I should give myself, because I think most of the credit goes to her. She's ridiculously smart and was very excited to learn. Teaching someone something is really easy when they're as excited as she was. I'll be showing her a few more things tomorrow.
Speaking of lessons, I will be starting guitar lessons on Friday. I took a beginning guitar class years ago and absolutely loved it. I've been wanting to improve my skills ever since, but I kind of got stuck and then my playing decreased until it stopped. My short term goal for my guitar skills is to learn well enough to use the guitar frequently in my classroom. I graduate in the spring and want to spend part of my summer making up silly songs to teach my class curriculum. I also plan to use songwriting frequently for class assignments. I will teach my students about meter and have them write lyrics for a pre-written melody based on this meter. I will use songwriting for review or to introduce a new topic. The guitar will be much more practical than a piano. Although, I've already invested in a keyboard for similar reasons.
My long term goal will be to learn the guitar well enough to create more complex/creative music so that I can live my dream of being a singer/songwriter. I have a great desire to write music and to perform. I don't want to perform for sell-out crowds, but I'd love to be able to sing a song mid-lesson at church, during a visiting teaching lesson, or to perform for family or friends whenever. I'd play/sing for anyone who would listen. (This is all part of my plan to continue to become less and less shy.)

I am grateful

I expressed some bitterness today, and my sister said that she wished I would use that energy for something else. I am going to expend some energy listing just a sampling of the things that I am grateful for today.

I am grateful for my friend, Jodilyn. She was on my mind all day since it is (or was since I'm burning the midnight oil) her birthday. I was privileged to get to know her when she was elected president and I was elected vice president of our Elementary Education cohort. I'll admit it. At first I thought she was being ridiculous with all the crazy things she wanted to do for our cohort. Who has time for all that? I sure didn't. Fortunately, we began to balance each other out. I soon learned that she wasn't being ridiculous; she is just so darn compassionate and enthusiastic about serving others. I began turning to her with school related questions and requests for assistance. Soon, we began sharing our lives with one another and became the best of friends. There is much joy and love in my heart every time we do something together. She is a treasured friend and confidant. I am grateful for Jodilyn.

I am grateful for my family. I called the house looking for some love and found my sister and mom available and willing to go for a Sunday evening drive. We picked up my sister's friend and began our adventure. Time spent with my family lately has been amazing. Since my little sister got home from her mission, we've randomly (not scheduled) spent evenings together. It is the most fun I've had in a long time. Being with my family makes me incredibly happy. I am grateful for my family.

I am grateful for this beautiful world. For our Sunday afternoon drive, we went to Snow Canyon State Park. We went on a (Sunday-appropriate) short hike and admired the beautiful world that God has created. It was so very peaceful and absolutely beautiful. I took a lot of pictures (for a gift I'm working on for Jodi's birthday). Taking the photographs made me appreciate more the beauty of that which surrounded me. I could have gone through countless rolls, because everywhere I turned I noticed more and more beauty. I am grateful for the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the earth.

I am grateful that I solved the mystery of the missing debit card. I have been looking for my debit card all week long. (I didn't realize how few places take checks these days.) I picked up a few papers that were on my bed side table and saw what I thought was my debit card fall to the ground. I searched the floor and only found a cool sticker of the earth from space. I figured that was the blue I had seen fall to the ground. I crawled back up on my bed, and there was my debit card resting on the bed frame. I am grateful that mystery has been solved.

I am grateful for callings at church. I got sustained today as a Sunday School teacher. I am so tickled since this is a dream calling of mine. Hopefully, I'll teach next Sunday. There is another teacher, so I won't get to teach every week. Nonetheless, I am excited. I am grateful for opportunities to serve at church.

I could go on forever. I am so very blessed.

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu

Today was my last day of Practicum at George Washington Academy.
Three of my classmates and I were assigned the two fifth grade classes there. Today, the four of us taught the entire day. We had to go out strong. We split the classes into groups and rotated them through spelling games. Mine was a team spelling game involving a Scrabble board and tiles.
I also taught an amazing lesson about the Underground Railroad. The students went on an adventure outside doing numerous team-building activities.
For PE, the students voted on their two favorite activities that we had done this semester, and so we played Front of the Boat/Back of the Boat and Reverse Charades.
My favorite part of the day came at the end. My Practicum class always ends their Wednesdays with Show and Tell. We decided to combine the two classes and have the college students do their own Show and Tell. Jodilyn drew an amazing picture on the white board (since her Photo Story of her artwork wouldn't play). Jana read two of her favorite poems. Ashley, who had a hard time coming up with something despite being ridiculously amazing, stood up and let the students ask her 10 questions. They wasted most of them by asking things like, "Do you want to be a teacher?" and "Do you like pickles?"
My Show and Tell was sharing my love for singing--especially karaoke. I busted out my karaoke machine and sang "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick. I encouraged the students to sway their arms and join with me on the chorus. They loved the karaoke thing so much that they requested an encore. As a class, we sang the sappy Celine Dion hit, "My Heart Will Go On." The students took turns with the microphone while the rest busted their chops singing this song with so much passion. I wish I could post pictures or a video--but posting pictures of other people's children without their permission is CREEPY.
It was such an amazing day. I was definitely tired at day's end, but it was well worth it.
To my dyad partner and the neighboring dyad: Thanks for a rockin' Practicum experience. I had so much fun every week.
To all the fifth graders at George Washington Academy: I had such a wonderful time in your classroom. You are all amazing kids. I got tickled every Tuesday night thinking about going to your class the next day. I was sad to leave. I hope we cross paths again in the future.

Late Night Adventure

Jodilyn, my dear friend, has her kids this week. They are here for Spring Break. I surprised them last night when I showed up at their house with ice cream and cones after 10pm. Their mother, Jodilyn, surprised them by suggesting we all go on a walk to the park. We had intended to go stargazing since it was a New Moon, but we didn't realize this new park would be so well lit. Instead we spent quite a bit of time running timed trials of obstacle courses on the play equipment. It was AMAZING! We didn't leave the park until midnight.
We wandered off into the distance trying to find a dark area, but the lights of the park and the street lamps were just too bright. Hopefully, Jodilyn won't pansy-out and we really will go camping Monday night. Those kids need something to brag about when they go back to school. Sleeping under the stars would be a great story to tell. Jodi, are you tough enough for this adventure?