Memorial Day Weekend

We headed out at 6p.m to my grandparents house in Norris City, IL. We arrived alittle before 12a.m. I decided to be a nice wife and start off the trip while Dennis took a nappy nap. I ended up driving until 10. This is un heard of with me, I can't drive in the dark to save my life but I guess the coutesy car we had gave me the power to do so! You see, my ABS sensor went out in the civic so it has been hanging out at Honda for the last week while I have been driving a 2007 Accord- in which Dennis and I LOVE and will be buying once we get our house. Anyway back to the weekend.....
Saturday we had a nice BBQ in honor of Tonya's graduation. We played some catch in the backyard and picked veggies from grandpa's gigantic garden. We made our trip to walmart- a must when you come down to visit (it's the only chain store for hours!) We got some flowers to take to great grandma Ester's grave on Sunday and some gigantic 72oz waterbottles!

Sunday we spent with my family in ElDorado. We went out to lunch with my sister and her boyfriend and then headed to payless for some new flip flops- thanks mom! We then went to visit g'ma Meme at work and headed back to spend some time with the family before we headed home. Oh yeah, Dennis picked up a HUGE painted turtle on the way to my parents. He put it in on the back floor of the Accord and headed off. We did return it to his home at the end of the day.

After saying our good byes- we headed to Fairfield to grandma Ester's grave site.
I took some pretty flowers with me. I have been telling myself for 2 years now that when I go down I am going to make the 45 minute drive north to visit her gravesite, since I hadn't been there since her funeral in 2005. It was a very emotional time for me. She passed away unexpectedly from pneomonia in Jan 2005- in the midst of me living my life the way I didn't want to- in utter confusion. I didn't get to say goodbye to her- that was the hard part. This was the first time in my life that someone so close to me had passed and I didn't get to say goodbye.
Dennis encouraged me to spend a few moments alone talking with her- so I heeded the council of my husband and knelt down to chat with her. Lesson of the day- bring tissues with next time. As the tears poured out of my eyes- I felt at peace that she knew that I was living my life the way I was supposed to and forgave me for not being such a great grand daughter at the time.
As the tears dried up we headed home and arrived in St. Charles by 9:30. WOW, what a weekend. I was glad we got to make the trip.

Update

Here is a tiny update of what's going on in our lives....

I have been placed in an elementary school for next year- Kindergarten! This is what I have to fall back on if I don't get a teaching position. (pray for me)

Dennis is going back to teching- the sales thing just isn't working for him- besides he LOVES servicing houses and is starting to miss it.

We have started the treck of looking for a house- so far there are alot of cute ones we like and can afford but nothing in the ward. Hmmm?? Is this God's way of telling us he needs us somewhere else?

We are making our annual visit to my parents house this weekend for my little sisters graduation from highschool. This should be an interesting trip- I haven't seen my family since Thanksgiving and I have a new brother in law.

We got a new Bishop this past Sunday, Bishop Dana Koch.

Moving???

It's almost June and our lease is up in July. Do we stay? Do we go? Do we go ahead and try to buy a house or do we stay for a few more months and try later in the year? To much to think about....do we stay in the ward? State? Who knows what the rest of the year holds. Stay tuned to find out what we decide!

My Goals

So I came across this website, my 50 goals. I figured it would be a great idea to figure out what goals I wanted to set for myself in this life. As I created my account and got to thinking about everything I wanted to achieve, I kind of got stuck, and then all these ideas started to come to mind. Point being, I never realized how much there is to do on this earth and how little time we have to achieve our goals. It just makes me want to stop saying someday and start making it happen.

I was bit by an 8 year old so I sat on him!

Ok, so this has certainly been a week from you know where and I am not kidding! I have pushed my body to the limit and have barely gotten by on 5 hours of sleep each night and working atleast 14 hours of a day. The child that I work with, Aaron has been a pretty good kid lately. He knows my expectations and he tries to meet them and I give him props for working so hard to behave but I have had it with that little brat. I have been told that I have amazing patients. Well guess who lost their patience on Thursday? Yes, lil 'ole me who is packed full of all the patience in the world- I got abused for it too! Aaron was really getting on my nerves this week and we both finally cracked and butted heads this past Thursday. Aaron did not want to do his math work and tried telling me when it was going to be done- I don't think so little man! I usually work with him in the hall because he is doing a totally different math program. I decided to tell him I would be in the room when he was ready to work. I walked away and went back into the classroom when Aaron came running in. He ran up to me, yelled that I was a meany. I told him to get out in the hall until he was ready to return to the classroom. He ran over to the corner. I knew he was disturbing the rest of the class so I followed and started to guide him to the hall. Thats when he turned around a full force (hand print for an hour) smacked me on the arm, right there infront of everyone. So Megan and I carried him down to the office where he was restrained for 30 minutes until he cooled off. Upon which I was kicked and scratched.

After calming himself down he started bouncing off the walls (literally) and acting all cheery and happy. And then....

Something set him off at the end of the day when we were getting in line to go home. He charged at me- not kiding- and puched me with both fists. In order to keep him from hurting the other kids around him I jumped up and threw my arms around him and got him to the ground where I- this is the good part, the part that lets you get out some frustration towards this kid- put his arms together so he wouldn't hit me and sat on him until help arrived. Well in the process he bit me on the arm- so he then sat there with both arms crossed around his neck, to make sure he didn't get the chance to bit again (it sounds like I was hurting him but I wasn't)

I guess one of the other kids ran to the office on the way out the door yelling "Aaron is hurting Mrs. L, she needs help!" The secretary came down to help out and got bit in the process too.

Here's the icing on the cake...

When his mom arrived to pick him up she had this smerk on her face that I just wanted to knock off so to speak. She proceeded to say "well he never acts like this at home" That's because he gets whatever he wants. There is NO support from home what so ever.

SO here I am soaked in sweat and my adrenaline is soaring... and the principal says "Thank you for not quiting, most people would have been gone a long time ago"

I really hope she gives me a good recommendation or a good job in the district cuz this is crazy and I don't get paid enough to put up with this abuse. So there are only 14 days of school left and I am totally counting.....

In other news.... I have been placed as an Instructional Assistant at Batavia Middle School next year- that's if I don't have a teaching position by August- but I am not worried

The greatest accomplishment of my 23 years of life!

I did it! I did it! I graduated from AU this weekend! I finally got an edumacation! I did get jipt however. I was supposed to get Cum Laude (3.5) G.P.A honors recognition and they screwed up and I didn't get it!! Go figure- that's why (and many more reasons) I am not getting my masters degree from this school.

A little humor for the day!!

The Brain
In the hospital the relatives gathered in the waiting room, where their family member lay gravely ill.Finally, the doctor came in looking tired and somber."I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news," he said as he surveyed the worried faces."The only hope left for your loved one at this time is a brain transplant.It's an experimental procedure, very risky but it is the only hope.Insurance will cover the procedure, but you will have to pay for the brain yourselves."The family members sat silent as they absorbed the news. After a great length of time, someone asked, "Well, how much does a brain cost?"The doctor quickly responded, "$5,000 for a male brain, and $200 for a female brain."The moment turned awkward. Men in the room tried not to smile, avoiding eye contact with the women, but some actually smirked.A man unable to control his curiosity, blurted out the question everyone wanted to ask,"Why is the male brain so much more?"The doctor smiled at the childish innocence and explained to the entire group, "It's just standard pricing procedure. We have to mark down the price of the female brains, because they've actually been used."

Bittersweet

I sit here at the end of the day pondering, I have come to realize that life is bittersweet. I am not one who takes change lightly, to tell the truth I absolutley hate change. Word has been circulating that our Bishop is moving to accept a job in Washington. We have come to LOVE the Bates family whole heartedly like they are part of our family. The email I just received from Bishop has just confirmed the circulation rumors and I am sad to see the Bates family leave.
I have also been experiencing more change in my life. Dennis just recently switched positions with Pointe, my best friend just moved 30 minutes away, my parents and I hardly speak, I am currently in search for a job starting in the fall and I have started to grow further away from some of my friends- feeling like I can't connect with some of them. I just hate that when life finally feels good and you think this is the way it is supposed to be and get used to things, it changes. I just keep thinking, this to will come to pass and I am sure life will feel normal again or atleast I hope.
On a positive note of change, the experience at the temple this last weekend has made me grow spiritually and made me realize that I needed to start working on improving my relationship with Heavenly Father. It has also brought more peace into my life at this rather hectic time.

I Can't Get Anything Done..... Janene Wolsey

I Can't Get Anything Done by Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard

“I didn’t get anything done today,” I complained at the end of a long day as I tucked the new baby in her crib and sighed. “I feel exhausted, but the house and the kids look as messy as they did when the day started.”“What did you do today?” my husband answered.I gave him a dirty look.“I’m not trying to be funny,” he continued. “What did you do today?”“Well, I got up at five to feed, change, and rock the baby. Then there was breakfast, baths, and dishes, and then it was time to feed, change, and rock the baby again. Then there was washing, lunch, more dishes, rides to kindergarten, homework, piano lessons, and then it was time to feed, change, and rock the baby again.”“Hold it,” my husband interrupted. “It sounds as though you did quite a bit. So what’s the problem?”“I don’t know. I guess I mean I didn’t get anything important done today. You know, something besides the same old routine.”“Join the crowd,” my husband answered.We both yawned and crawled into bed. Just when we had almost dropped off to sleep, the baby cried again from her crib.“I’ll get her,” I whispered as my husband rolled over and moaned.I cradled our young daughter in my arms and walked down the hall into the den. Sitting in the overstuffed rocker, I gently enclosed the baby in the bend of my neck. Her tiny body relaxed as I quietly sang the words of her favorite song, “How I love my little Ashley, sweet and precious little Ashley. How I love my little Ashley. Honest to goodness, I do.”I felt Ashley’s warm infant body mold to mine, and after a moment she began the deep breathing of sleep. Normally I’d have hurriedly put her back to bed, but I could see the stars from the window in the night sky, and something held me there.“What did I do today?” I asked myself again. “I rocked my baby and told her I loved her.”Maybe I didn’t finish the wash, vacuum the stairs, or solve the world’s hunger problems. Maybe I didn’t write the great American novel or even scrub the sinks. But I rocked my baby and told her I loved her. And maybe, just maybe, that is the most important thing I will ever do.

Job...Job... Job.... the hunt continues

I am so tired of spending time on the computer to fill out job applications. Don't get me wrong- it's nice that you can fill out 1 application for the whole county but for petesake I am tired of doing it and I have just made a dent!! I wish someone would call for an interview that way I know this hard work of spending hours at the computer is paying off.

I just want to know that I will have a job come August. The only thing I want to do is teach and it seems almost impossible to get a job. I am starting to get worried. I guess if all else fails I can just stay at home and be a mommy- some day......