I am not a big fan of setting goals with the new year because I never seem to be able to accomplish the goals I set. I often ask myself why, but I am never able to come up with a good answer other than I lack the motivation and drive to complete them. I have tried setting very simple, short term goals but still have not been too successful. So what makes this year any different? I don't know that it will be but I have recently realized that I am lacking in some very basic areas of my live and what I claim to believe. So here is what I have already been pondering on the few weeks of this new year.
1. Late in 2010 I learned that I could be working on the Church's new Young Women's Personal Progress Program right along side with my own girls and receive the new jewelry. Now that both Rebecca and Savannah are in YW this would be a great opportunity for us to do some mother-daughter bonding. We can all work together on a goal or help support each other while working on individual goals. One of the requirements for the value of Virtue is to read the Book of Mormon. I was able to fine a schedule online that if followed will allow me to finish the B of M in one year. I am trying to read it everyday, like I know I should, but I am not always successful.
2. We just recently had ward conference and the theme was "Be thou an example" taken from 1 Timothy 4: 12. Since that meeting I have really been thinking about this- Am I being the example that I need to or should be? When you look at the scripture it reads, ". . . be thou an example of the believer, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Am I really a good example in all of those areas? I don't think I can answer yes. So I am going to be a better example in all of these areas. I am also going to make more of an effort to pay attention to and meditate on the things that I read in the scriptures and church magazines and what I hear from my leaders and the leaders of the church.
3. This past Sunday we had four talks on the YM/YW theme for 2011 of "We Believe". Joseph Smith was so inspired by our Heavenly Father to make a declaration of just what it is the we (Latter Day Saints) believe. This declaration has been recorded as the Articles of Faith. The specifics of this theme come directly from #13. After pondering this and reading the January 2011 New Era, I have decided that I need to work on following the admonition of Paul better. This year I am going to look harder to find things that are virtuous, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy.
So these are my current personal challenges for 2011. It is my hope that as I strive to return to the basic teachings of the gospel my life and the lives of those around me will be blessed. I want and NEED to be a better person for myself and all of those around me. I have been so blessed in my life that is it time to outwardly show my gratitude for all of my blessings.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
What's new so far in 2011?
The changes for the new year began a few weeks early for our family. Tuesday, November 30th was Joe's last day teaching History at Ira H. Hayes (a charter high school located on the Gila River Indian Reservation). While this job did not last more then a semester it was a true blessing. It was the opening in the education door that he needed and he was truly happy to be back in the education field. While teaching at this school, he was able to start working on the necessary internship hours to complete his master's degree in Education Administration. He experienced many new things and learned things while teaching and interning at this school that we feel he would not have been able to learn anywhere else. There were two major concerns with this job: 1- the location required an hour and fifteen minuet commute each way and 2- the stability of the school and the likely hood that he would soon be losing he job due to the lack of funding. It was these two concerns that cause him to continue to look for other job possibilities while teaching at this school.
Towards the end of November, a new job opportunity presented itself which he accepted. So Wednesday, December 1, 2010 Joe became an Assistant Principal of Skyview High (a charter school located in Tucson Arizona). This new job would require either a commute of about 2 1/2 hours each way or a move of the whole family. The only reasonable solution was to leave our home of just over 5 1/2 years in Surprise Arizona and move to Tucson. We decided that we would allow our children to finish out the semester at school and move over their Christmas break. So on Monday, December 27th, we packed up our home in Surprise and moved to Tucson.
So here we are today January 21, 2011 (about 4 weeks later) with a new job, a new home (in a totally unfamiliar place), a new school for the kids, and a new ward at church. Surprisingly enough with all of these changes we are doing well. Dad loves his new job! It is so nice to have him back at a job that he enjoys. He was able to transfer his interning hours to the new school and complete the necessary time so he is ready to sit for his Administrative Certification whenever. (Since he is working at a charter school the License is not a must but would be an added bonus to have. I am hopeful that he will get that done soon. What an accomplishment. Way to go sweetheart!)
The home is nice and is in what seems to be a nice neighborhood. Our neighbors have been very friendly so far. The ward at church has been very friendly as well. Everyone has been warmly welcomed and the kids are quickly making friends there. Kiley is in primary this year and ,after only being there twice, LOVES her teacher. She loves being a big kid. As of right now we don't have calling but I know that will not last of very long.
As for school, the three older kids seem to be adjusting well to moving to a new school mid year. They are each making new friends and their teachers say they are a great addition to their classes. For the first time they are not all at the same school. Rebecca and Savannah are together at a middle school (in 6th and 8th grades) while Joe attends the elementary school in 3rd grade. The girls are riding to school each morning with a neighbor and walking home together after school. Little Joe is riding the bus to and from school everyday. Lucky for him it picks him up and drops him off pretty much right outside our door.
So that is what's new so far in 2011!
Towards the end of November, a new job opportunity presented itself which he accepted. So Wednesday, December 1, 2010 Joe became an Assistant Principal of Skyview High (a charter school located in Tucson Arizona). This new job would require either a commute of about 2 1/2 hours each way or a move of the whole family. The only reasonable solution was to leave our home of just over 5 1/2 years in Surprise Arizona and move to Tucson. We decided that we would allow our children to finish out the semester at school and move over their Christmas break. So on Monday, December 27th, we packed up our home in Surprise and moved to Tucson.
So here we are today January 21, 2011 (about 4 weeks later) with a new job, a new home (in a totally unfamiliar place), a new school for the kids, and a new ward at church. Surprisingly enough with all of these changes we are doing well. Dad loves his new job! It is so nice to have him back at a job that he enjoys. He was able to transfer his interning hours to the new school and complete the necessary time so he is ready to sit for his Administrative Certification whenever. (Since he is working at a charter school the License is not a must but would be an added bonus to have. I am hopeful that he will get that done soon. What an accomplishment. Way to go sweetheart!)
The home is nice and is in what seems to be a nice neighborhood. Our neighbors have been very friendly so far. The ward at church has been very friendly as well. Everyone has been warmly welcomed and the kids are quickly making friends there. Kiley is in primary this year and ,after only being there twice, LOVES her teacher. She loves being a big kid. As of right now we don't have calling but I know that will not last of very long.
As for school, the three older kids seem to be adjusting well to moving to a new school mid year. They are each making new friends and their teachers say they are a great addition to their classes. For the first time they are not all at the same school. Rebecca and Savannah are together at a middle school (in 6th and 8th grades) while Joe attends the elementary school in 3rd grade. The girls are riding to school each morning with a neighbor and walking home together after school. Little Joe is riding the bus to and from school everyday. Lucky for him it picks him up and drops him off pretty much right outside our door.
So that is what's new so far in 2011!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Woulda, coulda, shoulda !!!!
This was taken from an e-mail my dad sent to me.
READ THIS VERY SLOWLY... IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND.
Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said , 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't, I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago We never did have lunch together.
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained.
We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.
To those our you reading this... I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you do. We have some history together.
'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!'
This is going to be my philosophy for 2011!
READ THIS VERY SLOWLY... IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND.
Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said , 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't, I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago We never did have lunch together.
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained.
We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.
To those our you reading this... I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you do. We have some history together.
'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!'
This is going to be my philosophy for 2011!
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