thanksgiving abc's...

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone.  It was great having Ryan home from college for the week and having all of us together again.  We had Thanksgiving at my parent's house.  They came down from Salt Lake and it was fun to gather and be together again.  Since they started their mission in September, even though they aren't that far away, our family gatherings haven't come as often and I find I miss them.  I miss my siblings that aren't in the state, especially at the holidays, Cora and Jeff, Seth and Anna, Lucy and Taylor and all of your kids, you were definitely missed!!  I stole these pictures from my sister Shelly.  She is so great at taking pictures at family events, and even though I hate being photographed, I am grateful for the fun pictures she manages to get which make great memories.

The past few years I have always taken a minute and listed what I am grateful for.  Even though I am a few days late, I wanted to take some time and make my list.  A friend of mine took each letter of the alphabet and found something she was grateful for that started with that letter.  As I am now a preschool teacher, I felt that was appropriate.  :)

A...autumn
B...bubble baths, books, blogging
C...Cassidy, chocolate, Christmas
D... daffodils, Disneyland
E...every day
F...family, faith, freedom
G...giggles, games
H...holidays, health
I...ice cream
J...Josh
K..Kelly, kids, kisses
L...laughter
M...Mark, music, missionaries
N...nature, naps
O...ocean
P...prayer, parents, preschool
Q...quiet moments
R...Ryan, rain
S...Savior, seasons, sisters
T...time
U...umbrella's
V...vacations, vacuums
W...washing machines,weekends
X... eXaltation
Y...yarn
Z...zoo (which is my family when we are all together)

where did november go?

I just realized it's been several weeks since I posted.  I have no idea where this month has gone.  Adjusting to working 20 + hours a week has thrown me for some loops, I must admit.  I am still trying to figure out how to merge teaching, mommying and church responsibilities all while staying sane.  Ok, it's been a long while since I've been sane but that is beside the point.

I find I am really good at compartmentalizing.  The first couple weeks were rough.  I couldn't seem to figure out how to be a mom and a preschool teacher at the same time.  I forgot to pick up Mark one day at school, and nearly missed Cassie's dance class.  One day I actually had to wrestle with the laundry room door to gain access and realized it was feeling neglected.  Sometimes dinners have been done on the run, but I'm getting better.  One day last week, I came home on time with a smile on my face, made dinner, cleaned the house, remembered all my carpools and even did a couple loads of laundry.  Kelly asked how my day went and I announced that it was great!  I wore all my hats that day and juggled all the balls I had up in the air, and didn't drop a one!

One thing that has surprised me is how much better I am at managing my time.  Some days the busier I get, the more that gets done.  I do enjoy having Tuesdays and Thursdays off to have some quiet time while the kids are gone and catch up on things around the house. I do love teaching these 45 little munchkins that rotate  into my classroom every day though. They make me feel young as I sit on the floor with them and read stories, sing songs and try to teach them something.  Of course getting my body off of the floor is a little more time consuming that it was 15 years ago.  :)

Life is good and I feel blessed.  Ryan is home this week for the holiday so it's fun to have everyone around the dinner table again.  Cassie finished her volleyball season (pictures coming) and did a fantastic job.  Josh and Cass managed to get incredible grades their first term and Mark and I had a few less battles over homework.  All in all November has been good.

I am looking forward to the Christmas season, it's my favorite time of the year and always passes much too quickly.  It seems especially important this year as it will be the last holiday our family will be all together for the foreseeable future.

I think I have rambled on enough for one post.  It is nearly 2:30 in the morning but this cough and cold I have acquired recently doesn't cooperate very well with sleep.  We will have to work on that.  Thanks for making it through this long post and hopefully I can be better at writing this next month.

who woulda thought...

If you would have asked me 12 years ago, if I ever thought I’d be teaching preschool again, I would have laughed at you.  Life has a funny way of making you change your mind about things doesn’t it?  When Ryan, Josh and Cassidy were little, I enjoyed teaching preschool in my home.  After five years of doing it, I thought I had moved on in a different direction with my kids and my life.  Now things have come full circle and yesterday I completed my first day of teaching preschool yet again.

I am teaching at a preschool just over a mile from my house on MWF while the kids are at school.  It came about so quickly and out of the blue that I still have to shake my head about it.  I have spent the last week and a half in a whirlwind trying to get organized and ready.  My sister Lucy in Indiana, shipped all my old preschool stuff that I gave her when I was through teaching, and my other sister Rachael had quite a bit of things she has collected over the years.  Organizing all of that, plus getting new things together has kept me running.  

This preschool is in a beautiful old building that has been recently remodeled.  Most of the classrooms were painted a generic tan, and when I saw the classroom that was to be mine I knew that had to change.  I didn’t want to wait on their time table to paint it for me so I volunteered my family to help.  Saturday, Kelly, Josh, Cassidy and I spent over ten hours, painting, organizing and decorating this room.  It is so cute, I need to take pictures. 

I had to laugh that my first day was Halloween, the kids were crazy as to be expected, which means it can only get better right?  I am amazed how things have fallen in to place and even more so, of how excited this endeavor has made me and how much fun I had yesterday.  Who indeed would have thought?