Malik is growing up

Just a quick post. I can really tell that Malik is starting to grow up. I see it mostly in his prayers. For many months now his prayers pretty much consisted of "bless everyone to be good". He is starting to get more thoughtful in his prayers, and I can tell he is listening to what we are talking about during scripture reading.

The other night he was saying his personal prayers (which I still listen to) and he said "please bless Nephi and the Lamanites that they will obey God." He still almost always blesses Jesus and Heavenly Father too. And lately he remembers every time to bless Uncle Brandt on his mission. He is more thoughtful and takes time to think about what he is saying and tries to incorporate things we have talked about that day into his prayers. It is very satisfying as a mother to hear the spiritual progress of your children. I especially like to hear Malik's because I sometimes wonder if what we say to him is getting through. Apparently something is!

He is still sick today and has had a fever for the last 24 hours. Hopefully he will start feeling better today. All my prayers revolve around Malik when he is sick so we don't have to take him to the hospital.

Two lessons learned

Sunday after church Millie and I let the dogs out to run around and get some exercise, as is the norm around the ranch, but last Sunday was... different. Around 5pm we went out to gather up the dogs and put them in the kennel for the night since Millie and I were headed to her parents' for dinner. Only one dog came back. I didn't worry too much about at the time since Buster (the Lab) has always been a good dog about not running off to where he shouldn't go, and was always good at coming back, eventually... it's usually just Bandit (the Husky/wolf) that we have to keep tabs on.

So I figured that Buster would be back when we got home from dinner.

He wasn't.

It was getting rather late and it was cold. Millie and I gave it a little more time then we went to look for him. We drove all around the neighborhood, hoping not to find his lifeless body along the road somewhere... and we didn't. We were just about to return home when I felt we should check down by the empty canal that runs between the fields behind our house. We slowly drove the dirt path that runs along the canal and the further we went the more I felt we should keep going, even though there were a number of times I wanted to just go back. Just as we were approaching the end of the drivable road up ahead on one of the old wooden bridges that crosses the canal we saw a dark brown lump. My heart sank as we drove up only to discover it was Buster. I checked for signs of death, but found none. Millie helped me load him on a blanket and put him in my car. By this time it was almost midnight (8pm in Hawaii) so I called Mary.

She was so shocked that it was Buster who had died. I think her and Jim were expecting Bandit to go any day now but they had been planning on bring Buster to Hawaii with them eventually... one thing I don't think they ever really thought through was: Buster was a 13 year old dog who had both hind knees replaced, two back surgeries and was on three different medications... Needless to say, he beat buster to the crematorium and having his ashes spread over Timp to play with Kawisaki (their cat that died) for all eternity.

I think Bandit will be close behind.

But what does all this mean to me really?... much more than just finding a dead dog. I learned two major things from all this.

1) I cared about Buster. As much as I despised cleaning and smelling his poo everyday, and getting up a little earlier to feed and water him, I still cared about him. What more, I obviously care about Bandit too. My heart has been just breaking these past few days seeing and hearing him cry and morn the loss of his "life partner" (as Mary put it). Maybe it's a little too little too late, but I've been trying to make Bandit's possible last few days on this earth a little more comfortable by spending extra time with, and actually petting, him.

2) I can still be guided by the spirit. I almost forgot what that was like... in fact, I did forget. But last Sunday, as we drove around, I really did feel guided by the spirit to find Buster... and I listened, and acted. Sometimes I forget that although I'm excommunicated, I am still a child of God. I forget that He does love me and is ever conscious of me, my situation and my needs. I can't imagine how things would be had we not found Buster that same night. We might not have ever found him... not till spring anyway, when the farmers went out to plow their fields... and by then he would have been a decomposed mess. Mary would have had to go months wondering what happened to her baby, probably holding on to a false hope, only to be crushed by the news months later. As sad as the situation was, it couldn't have happened better.

Enok Laughing

this battlestar thing....

OK, so we keep on watchig this series, and we, dad and I, keep thinking, "what are they seeing that we are missing?" :) are we just old or what? last night's episode was called Scar. now, they literally drank, tried to have casual sex, drank, girls punched girls, swore over and over again, and drank, again, all through the episode. what was the difference between this and some of the shows that Kathy used to watch that were deemed silly and inappropriate? was this episode funny? no. uplifting? no. did I learn any deep mormon concept? no. I have to say, unless you guys are really caught up with the characters, like in a soap, it just is not reaching me yet. this should get some response. :) oh, btw, dad wants to blog but can't. I will have him call Bret tonight.

Im wiser than you think

So i havent blogged in a really long time and i apologize. College makes you busy! But tonight i decided to take some time out and update you on my wonderful college girl life. Mainly about a certain something, or should i say... a certain someone since I know alot of you are worried or at least curious about me and the fact that i am in a relationship with not only a brand new convert to the church but also a marine.

I have to be honest, it sometimes worries me too. BUT... i want all of you to know that when i am worried or sad because i miss Jimmy terribly, i pray about it and i always get the most amazing comfort and feel so much peace and know that this is the right thing for me. I want you to know that i have asked Heavenly Father if i should be in this relationship. The answer is a definite yes. This i am sure. I was in a relationship with Jimmy for the most part of last year and it got more serious at the end of the summer. However, I broke it off because i was leaving for BYU, a place filled with guys who were actual mormons, a place ive never been to before, considering our ward consisted of about 3 guys my age, not that i didnt take advantage of the younger ones =) haha but anyways i decided it would probably not be the best idea to be dating a nonmember at my age, especially if i was going to BYU. Most of you know, Jimmy was not a fan of this decision. But we got through it and remained bestfriends. And then that was that, he had left for boot camp and me, i was at college.

Well even though him being away at boot camp was a great trial for me, it was the best thing in the world. Mainly because he was baptized but also because (1) my relationship with my heavenly father increased BIG time. I was completely dependent upon the Lord during this time and asked and pondered many many questions and everyday when i would say my prayers they became more and more sincere which all in all led me to get so much closer to my Heavenly Father and (2) I realized how in love i was with Jimmy. The first day i couldnt talk to him, it was awful and i thought to myself, why is it i could have went weeks without talking to boomer and be fine not but not be okay without talking for Jimmy for one day. This question led to many more and my thoughts and feelings about Jimmy truely unraveled. I realized how much i cared for him and how these feelings were actually different from boomer in every way. I really did love Jimmy. So to make a long story short, after acouple weeks, with a combination of prayer and love, I felt that i should re-enter the relationship with Jimmy and i feel it has been one of the best decisions of my life.

Now many of you probably think that i am but yet a small girl who is crazy and doesnt really know what she is doing. No offense but to those who think this, are fools. I still respect you and love you though because you are indeed my family and you should infact be concerned about me especially if i am in a situation such as this but i want you to know that i am wiser than you think. I have a strong relationship with the Lord and I am following his counsel. I will do this as long as i live. I know this relationship is good for me and I have already grown in so many ways from it and i have NEVER been happier. Jimmy motivates me to be such a better person and it makes me so happy. I know that even if things dont work out in the end that this relationship was really an essential part of my life.

On another note. I want to tell you alittle bit about Jimmy because many of you dont know him. Jimmy is the best guy i have ever met. He has an amazing sense of humor and is always making me laugh even when i dont even want to smile. He is EXTREMELY patient with me. I can be yelling at him for really no reason at all except for the fact that i have a minor temper problem and he is like Bret in this way, where he camly listens to me and doesnt get mad. He just thinks of a solution to the problem. He is also incredible with children. They love him. We actually got the chance to go babysitting together this winter break and the kids thought he was just the coolest. He was so helpful and gentle but playful and crazy at the same time. It was so fun! As you all know, that is huge to me. Hes also extremely romantic and treats me like i am a princess. He also, what tevia told me to look for in a guy, LOVES his mom. They hang out and he even goes grocery shopping with her when he can. He respects her and is always making sure he is making her happy. Those are just a few things. I can go on and on.

But the most important thing and i do know this is how he is with the church. Yes he is new to the church but his potential is clearly sky high. He is one of the most sincere people i know and he has a huge heart which is full of generosity and charity. (Hint, hes fighting for our country). He also already has a great love for this church. He has never had religion in his life and this gives him such hope and comfort. He also loves how our family is and wants his family to be the same way and wants to raise one like ours. He is SET on this and he KNOWS our family is as wonderful as we are because of the gospel. Therefore, i have a VERY good feeling that he is going to stick with the church and make it apart of him for the rest of his life.

Rest assure you, even though Jimmy is all these things and despite the fact that i am yet a young crazy girl, i do know that he has to gain a much stronger testimony and that alot of things need to happen in order for significant events (like marriage =) ) to take place. I also want to assure you that i WILL be married in the temple and will not let anything take me away from that joy. I know i am supposed to be in this relationship and personally i do have a really good feeling that its truely going somewhere =) but i will not settle for anything but the best and inless Jimmy proves that to me in terms of the church and Heavenly Father tells me to, i will not let things go further (get married).

I also know... obviously that he is a marine and that yes it is going to be hard. IT ALREADY IS! but i actually think this hardship is a good thing. For example, I can be completely focused on school because i am not caught up on some boy here. I actually love this because this is my time and i am getting this education with my own hard work. I also am learning more about myself and appreciating things that i never had before, like the people fighting for our country and their wives and families. I think that these women with their husbands gone are just as heroic. But that is another blog in itself.

Anyways, this is pretty long and i should end it. To sum it up, I am completely in love with Jimmy and really do want our relationship to work out, which is why im in it in the first place but at the same time i am still completely aware that it is up to the Lord. So no, i dont think you should really "worry" about me, because i am in fact praying about it and for jimmy daily. However, i of course would most definitely still be appreciative of prayers, support, and advice. But i will be careful. The church means everything to me and i will do everything i have to in order to keep it in my life... now and in the future. I love all of you and love my life. I have said it before and ill say it again, i really am the luckiest girl in the world... i mean my brother just last weekend took me to victorias secret and bought me a bra, i mean seriously, what other girl can say that. =) Haha until next time. Adios

Trust

Recently in a conversation with Tevia we discussed trust. People are funny in the sense that we often think we know what others are thinking. But the truth is we do not. None of us can see into the head of another person and really know and understand what they are thinking. So in a sense, even our close relationships are built upon the basic foundation of faith. When my wife tells me she loves me, I have faith that she does. When she agreed to marry me, I had faith that she really wanted to. But I don't know that. Though I have understood this concept, or at least I feel I understand it, I believe that this scares many people. This especially comes out when you are having a good debate with someone you love. Words are often exchanged and in many cases the words aren't being listened to: we are trying to read what the other person is really trying to say. This is a natural tendency, but the problem with it is exactly the fact that we can never know. Therefore we either have to trust what the other person is saying or we in reality don't trust the person at all (since we are not trusting their words and looking for deeper meanings). This isn't to say that we are wrong in some of our assumptions and readings. There certainly are times I say things that I do not really mean (either to be mean-spirited or to provide some excuse instead of relaying what I really want to say due to fear of what someone might think). But in the end we never really know what someone else feels or thinks.

In my eyes this means I have to get better at really trusting what others say. As a Wall, I certainly have my fair share of a big head - and I usually can even fool myself to believe that I know what the other person is thinking or feeling even better than that person. I think I have the ability to truly search inside myself and understand why I am feeling a certain way - but I have come to learn that not all others have this ability. They may be sad but not know why. To someone like me who thinks very logically, this seems almost impossible. But we all are different and we all have different voices in our heads. In the end I realize that I need to trust what people say and not assume I know what they really want to say. I have seen a lot of this lately as we all struggle with stressful situations. But in the end we have to trust - have faith - that the people we love are with us, or want to keep in contact with us, because they love us. If we can keep that trust, we can "hear" better what people are saying and focus less on what we think they are saying.

Flushed Away

I was able to take my wife out on a much needed, long past due, date last night. We went to Taco Time (it really is) and to the dollar theater. The entire date was under $10 bucks. (and I think that's even including gas.)

We had tried to see Flushed Away before, but other opportunities were foiled by a sold out showing. This time we bought the tickets early and had no problem getting in; in fact, the theater was fairly empty. We sat in near the middle, not too close, not too far away, since we both forgot our glasses. Just prior to the start of the trailers, a group of people sat right behind us. It seemed they had a comment for EVERYTHING and would laugh (an annoying "I'm better than you so I won't respect you by keeping my voice down" kind of laugh) and although Millie claims to not have noticed, it was driving me up the wall. So, rather than turn and beat the rudeness out of them, I decided to move closer the the screen and to the other side of the theater. Fortunately, Millie followed; although she claimed it was merely because she could see the screen because of the peoples' big heads in front of us.

The movie was great. The British humor, as found in Wallace and Grommit (not so much Monty Python), was enough to get a few good laughs out of me! The story line was good; as Millie pointed out, it was much like an episode of Alias... she's obsessed! :) The characters were fun and cute. My only qualm was the overplay of the slugs. Granted, the slugs were pretty much the funniest characters, but I think they needed to be more of a comic relief, rather than giving them such a large roll in the story line. But still, no real complaint... I may end up buying this movie.

The lesson learned from the date though was this... Although it's great to get out of the house and go on a date with Millie, I remember now why I don't like going to the movies:

Uncomfortable seating
Inconsiderate people
Social rejects
Crying babies
Annoying adults
Cold drive home

Fortunately, the good movie, and being able to spend time with my wife out on the town made for a wonderful date!

What a waste!

It's quite frustrating when you stay up late the night before a Saturday class to finish homework that you didn't have time to do during the week, only to discover that the teacher has no idea what she's talking about on the assignment, then dismisses the homework because of it.

Of course, this is her first year teaching at UVSC... but you would think she would at least look at the homework herself before grading in class with the students' participation.

Needless to say, the head of her department will be getting a visit from yours truly soon enough. My time is MUCH too valuable at this point in my life to waste it in a class where the students are teaching the teacher because we spend more time on the assignments than she does.

ps. I know Utah is strapped for educators right now, but I'd rather be in an over crowded classroom with a qualified instructor than waste my time and money for a grossly incompetent one in a small classroom setting.


AAARRRRR!!!!

lesson 2, tragedy or destiny?

for those not in RS or priesthood today, I suggest you take the time to read this lesson! wow! a powerul one that anwers many questions, including, was Kris supposed to die? and, did God make the Bridge of San Luey Ray fall down? I love the sabbath day!

O'bama

I feel so sorry for this guy. I fell for his charm and good loooks. I thought he could easily beat Hillory. I was hoping for him to be the democratic pick. now, it is out. his middle name is Hussain. he was born in Hawiia, but raised Muslim. poor guy. this is alone enough for people not to vote for him. americans are just not that open minded right now about this subject of muslims. both his fathers were muslims, but he claims that now he is a Christian. I believe him, but... what if he was just a charmer and was a muslim terrorist and is the anti-Christ? hmmmm?

New Boss: New Internet Likes

Today I found out who my new boss will be. His name is Steve Wilson and he recently came to Prudential from our main competitor Cartus (formerly Cendant - more known by its brands Century 21, Avis car rental, etc.). I still don't know what clients I will have, but it is always good to get new information. He seems nice (he sat with me about a month ago). I will miss Jimmie, but hopefully I will find a similar mentor in Mr. Wilson. I am supposed to find out about my clients and my team in the next 2 weeks. I have my predictions. We'll see how well a prognosticator I am.

The past few weeks I have also found a few things on the internet that I have found very interesting and thought I would share them with you. Here is a short list.

Google Reader: I love this new Google feature and now have RSS feeds for most of the websites I utilize, including this blog. One new site RSS that I absolutely love is from Lifehacker.com. It is an awesome site (though honestly I haven't been to the site much, I just read the stories from Google Reader) that has daily tips, suggestions and tidbits that people like me find of interest. In fact, the sites below that I will write about I discovered thanks to lifehacker.com. Love it. If you don't know what RSS is ask me about it or I can do a blog post about it soon.

Pandora.com: Jake Webb's posting reminded me of this site. This site is an internet radio site where you can create your own radio station based on a song, and artist, or combinations of each. For example, you could put in Shakira and it will base a radio station on artists with similar characteristics to Shakira. You can then let it know if you like the songs or not, which will continually make the station smarter. There are other radios like this out there, but pandora.com seems more intelligent and really is there to introduce you to NEW music; stuff you wouldn't normally hear. For example, I created a site based on Caetano Veloso, a famous Brazilian musician. I can now listen to soft, Brazilian music whenever I want to. It is fun to play with.

Geni.com: I have sent links to a few of you, and I will probably send to others of you. This is the family history site I have been waiting for the world to create: the web 2.0 version (if you believe in web 2.0). You can easily create family trees and enter data and keep tabs on where they are, contact details, etc. Mom and Tevia have already spent considerable time on the site and added tons of people. My tree already has a ton of people on it, including most of you. It is still in beta, so it has some bugs and doesn't always work, but it is awesome and addicting. Yes, those words can be associated with family history. The Church should buy this site.

Mash-up!

So, as of late I've found myself listening to more radio than usual. I think it's come about because I listen to my ipod all day at work; despite the fact that I have over 2,000 songs on there, they tend to get a little old after a while.

In reality, I only ever listen to the morning shows on my way to work and I'll listen while I'm out and about doing errands in my car. Anyway, there is a new DJ in town from back east and on his show he does something called the "mash-up." Apparently, it's nothing new, except maybe in Utah where radio is about a decade behind the rest of the world. Mash-ups are basically remixes of two songs together, but they're songs that would normally never go together. I haven't been too impressed with any that he's played so far... until today. Today was a mash-up of Shaggy's "Wasn't Me" and The Beatles "Let It Be." I'm sure if you googled it you could find and listen to it.

I recommend it!

Well, that's all I have for today... Enjoy the warmth where you are; we got up to a balmy 1 degree today!!! :)

Finding a part of myself

I hadn't really realized that this part was missing. I knew it had been stowed away for quite a few years, and I was very anxious to use it again someday, but that someday seemed so far away. I had tried once before to reinstall it into my life, but the timing was all off. Then along came the babies and excuses for keeping it well preserved, still thinking that eventually I would dig through the layers of dust and let it out again. Last night, I found it, and it still even worked pretty well. A little rusty at first, with the years of neglect compounded by the post-baby body I am trying to work back into shape.

So you may be wondering, what is it already??? Patience, I will tell you.

I have a friend who takes time for herself. I am very bad at that. I try to be everything to everyone and sometimes forget about me. Not that that is an awfully horrible thing, but it does tend to lead to one losing their own identity for a time.

So, about a year ago, maybe more, we (this friend and I) were sitting at the stake center watching our husbands play basketball. We discussed many "mom" things and then the subject of volleyball came up. She told me that she plays volleyball every Tuesday night. I thought "how lucky, must be nice". She invited me to start going, but like previously stated, I had my excuses. One that was not mentioned was the absolute terror of going, and then totally sucking since I hadn't played a "real" game of volleyball in years and years. So I stowed that information at the back of my head for later evaluation when the time was right.

At the end of 2006 she once again asked if I wanted to play. I finally said I was ready. (well for the most part). So last night was the first night. This is actually a class at Glendale Community College. I was so nervous all day thinking about going to the college and playing a game that I have loved my whole life. Was I going to suck? Was any of it going to come back to me? Was I so out of shape that I wouldn't be able to play more than one game??? Was I even going to be able to serve the ball over the net?? Would everyone be young and skinny and cool and awesome at volleyball??? All these questions rolled through my mind like marbles in an calabash gourd.

OMYLANTA!!! I had found it, that part of me that had been missing for years. The absolute love for a sport and the drive to play it to the draining of all my energy!!! All my fears, all my worries and apprehensions were thrust aside as soon as I picked up that ball and served it for the first time. Did it make it over the net? Nope. But that didn't matter; I was back on the court, surrounded by people who love this sport too. I got to play three games in two hours and it totally kicked my butt, but I loved it. I love the sore muscles I have this morning; muscles that haven't been used in ages. And I look forward to next week; to let the rush of adrenaline course through me and make my body feel young and fresh again.

grandma and grandpa

I thought I would take a moment to update you all. grandma is so happy to have learned a new thing. she loves the computer that Kathy gave her, and loves to get emails now. she is also in to Suduku. I am so proud of her, that at 79, she wants to learn and grow her mind. these little things keep her happy and interested in life, when it is too cold for an old lady to go out. if you get a chance, just send her short emails once and awhile, just keep them short and no attachments yet, or cards. she can't open them. :) she likes to hear from you, even if it is just saying how your day is and how the weather is. bernicemilan@netzero.com kathy, this means you too! she asks all the time how you like college. just tell her a sentence or two about a class you are taking.
as for grandpa, in case I didn't tell all of you, he has prostrate cancer. please keep him in your prayers. he meets with the oncologist on January 26. He is supposed to go on a cruise on Feb 2. he probably can still go.

Competition

So, Sunday night Millie and I went to her parent's house. (this is not an unusual way for us to spend a Sunday night.) We usually go over after church and dinner is always at 5pm. As poor newlyweds, it's a one garuntee we have that we will be fed well each week. But this post isn't about Sunday dinners, no, this is much more interesting than that.

Now and again we decide, as a family, on a game to play. Millie's family is almost as into games as the Wall clan... with one slight difference... competition... or lack there of in this case.

Last night Kim (dad) pulled out Acquire. The cool thing about that is he owns the original 1976 version!!! (the good one, like you all have!) Well, I don't really have to go into much detail explaining how the game is played with the Walls. The name of the game is WIN!!! Sometimes there is a side agenda which may consisit of not only winning yourself, but also making sure Bret or Jacob Wall, or Don, doesn't win. However, with the Ropers, it's a little different. It was so funny to me to watch them as each person took their turn and would literally spend 5-10 minutes discussing with the other players (their opponents) about what they should do! I, of course, was more than willing to offer advice, but it didn't take them long to realize that I really wasn't trying to help... well... not them anyway.

Well... definitely different playing styles, but quite fun in either setting! It's great to have family around!

lady in the water

we just finished this movie. I am not sure I got it. we were interrupted several times during it on Friday night, and started it where we thought we left off. maybe due to the lack of continum, ( is that the right word?) I have lost something. I think I will rewatch it tomorrow as I continue to rest my poor old back. the dogs scare me, but the monkeys were really fake and dumb looking. I like all the characters. I am missing the theme somewhere. I will give it another try, for Bret's sake, since I know he liked it.

New Member, YAY!

Hi everyone! So, I just joined your posting, blogger thing, thanks for the invitation Bret. I don't have much interesting things to say right now, but I'm excited to have joined! Everything is pretty busy, but good with Jacob and I. We both started school last week, and are taking Ethics and Values together. I'm happy to have a class with him, even more to compete who can get a better grade!

Fearless; Ella Minnow Pea

We watched Jet Li's Fearless this past weekend. I liked it, but Jet Li just doesn't have the acting ability to pull of the drama in this one. I enjoyed Jet Li in Hero and a few other movies, but besides his amazing martial arts, I think his acting is a little dry. I believe the director in Hero was able to get a little more out of him and he was surrounded by some amazing actors in that film (including Zhang Ziyi), but the director of Fearless couldn't get Li to really sell the pain of his character. So, though I enjoyed the story and movie, I wasn't touched like I have been by some of the other recent Chinese epics. Well worth a Netflix, but glad we didn't see it in the theaters.

I also just finished Ella Minnow Pea, a book which my mother suggested. I enjoyed it. It was fun, quick and entertaining. I even Wikipedia's Nollop to see if he really existed (doesn't appear he was a real person). Definitely a fun, summer read. I know it is not summer, but it is Phoenix. It's almost summer all year long.

Tevia and I have also pulled out the Mario DDR and Tevia has become quite good. She also loves the Nintendo DS and plays Brain Age and Big Brain Academy while she nurses Enok. It is fun to see her play with it so often. Nintendo seems to creep into the lives of every Wall.

Nursery 101

Okay, here are some observations and or bits of advice... We are trying to enjoy this new adventure. Also, assuming Cari can get permission from her job to take an extra week off(even if its without pay) she is being called as stake camp director 2007! Go CARI

1) moto = "more" in Japaeese; This is important since you must learn all the basic words in every child's language.

2) Gaurd the doors; This is not a lost sheep parable, if a kid escapes(and they try) you can't leave the other 99 in a mad dash down the hall.

3) Kragan! Look out for him. He is a larger boy than the rest and can devore the rest whole(it takes two teachers to bring him down)

4) Feed the animals! By far the most succesful way to calm the children is to make them fat. America's weight problem may be compouded by endless supplies of raisins, animal crackers and goldfish which seem to subdue the monsters for a time.

5) Don't let mothers/fathers who are not teacher in the room. Quote, "I dun Like you!" A angry parent who feels her kid is being disciminated agaisnt runs to get the bishop. I could have diffused the miscommunicaton with my knowledge of spanish, but chose not as it appeared to not have been the first time.

6) Never pour more than one drop of water into any cup at anytime. Even if the child looks stable, the child to his left will definatly want to prove gravity using this extra source of H20.

7) Toys are not really toys, but distractions. It takes approximatly 30 seconds for a child to become bored with a toy. This holds true unless a toy's current ownder becomes debated. The trick is to always have a new toy ready to lure away one of the previous owners every 30 seconds. Be careful not to over introduce the new toy, unless you have a duplicate.

8) Repect. For other teachers who end on time. Never before have I realized just how important it is to end all those meetings. Two hours is a long time in that room. Two hours 15 minutes is close to an eternity.

9) Crayons are jack hammers... nuff said.

10) Singing is the one sure way to pacify the mob roar. It isntantly puts kids into a trance and in a scarey way brings peace lasting about as long as the song.

enok tummy

enok on his tummy

another new tool

I have to add this new kind of vacuum type cleaner called the Shark! they have it on TV, and they have another similar product. it is like the old bissel stick pick up type cleaner you still see around in nursery. this one is electric, and it picks up everything. I bought it so I can carry it up and down the stairs now that my back is bad, so I don't have to keep asking Tom and dad to carry up the vacuum. it does not take the place of a vacuum, but for little jobs and quick cleaning, it is super! this time when we took the Christmas tree down, it was literally a breeze, only minutes, cleaning up the needles. it picks up dog hair, cereal, crumbs, etc, and is light as a feather. I love it. I should have boughten it when I first hurt my back. it works on carpets, stairs, and the kitchen floor. yep, it is my new favorit item.

bullet through security

yep, Kathy went thru security at the JFK airport with a bullet in her jeans pocket. we had gone shooting with her and her boyfriend this morning, and she had put one in her pocket and forgot it was there. she's a riot! I will miss you sweetie!

FINALLY!!! Best of 2006

Best Show: I would like to say The Office... However, I haven't seen any shows this year... In fact, TV is pretty much a thing of 2005 now. I pretty much don't even know what's on TV anymore. :(

Movie: Cars. Hands down! You know it's a special kind of movie when you tear up becuase an inanimate object (such as a car) gets "hurt."

Best Book: Freakonomics. I recommend it to all of you if you haven't already read it. Maybe it's just the fact that I easily relate to the authors because they think like me... or I think like them. As economists, nothing is ever bad or good... it just IS, and that which is, is documented and back by fact... rather than whimsical emotion or personal opinion.

Best New Tool: Netflicks. It's been a great convenience getting one Alias DVD after another without rushing to the movie store or worrying about late fees... it take Millie and I a little longer than most people to watch a series... We're just now about to start season 4.

Best Song: Beep, by Pussycat Dolls. Yeah? So? I like that song!!! I think runners up would be All American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret, and Daniel Powter - Bad Day.

Best New Food Product: Definitely Sunday dinners at my in-law's house!

Funniest Moment: I think I may have to go with Bret on his vote... that was pretty funny!... Although, there were a number of good moments in my office this year that would have EASILY made the list... however, explaining them would only ruin the humor of it all.

Best Event: Meeting and marrying my Millie Bean... I wonder is she's ever going to get around to joining this Blogger???

And I'd like to add to the list -

Best Vacation: Although you might think I would put my honeymoon as my best vacation of 2006, I'm not. And this is a difficult category, but recapping my year in vacations really does sum up my year since there were so many of them! Starting off with Rocky Point over Spring Break with the Cools and Brad... then San Blas after summer semester with Tyson... Florida (and the Disney and Bush Garden's theme parks) just before the start of Fall semester... the honeymoon to Disneyland CA... and of course Turkey Day in AZ!!! I would have to say that my trip to San Blas was the best of '06, and I can't wait to take my wife on such a trip!!! :)

I look forward to such a year this year! (including the new addition to my new little family, who should be arriving April 19th)!!!

The End of the Nondisclosure Agreement

So I am now free to speak about what I learned in that meeting a few weeks ago at work, which was nothing. There will be more organizational changes - and unfortunately my boss will no longer be my boss. He will be the Sr VP of another team. I will continue my role as Director - now a Director of Client Services. They will be combining the international and domestic departments and Directors will now be the lead on both the domestic and international aspects of the client.

Though I believe this is a good idea strategically for Prudential - and a great differentiator from our competitors - I'm not sure how I feel about it on a personal level. The reason I came to Prudential was to be in the international department. By combining, in theory, the departments it is possible that my international exposure will shrink. I'm not sure I want to spend the majority of my time worrying about buying homes, home inspections, and marketing times of real estate. We will see what happens. I do not know who my new boss is - probably won't find out for a few weeks. Also, my team will most likely be dissolved and I will be given a new portfolio of clients. I will be submitting to leadership my idea of how they should utilize my position. It is a Director of Global Client Services.

I would suggest that they give me all of the global and international-only clients. To be honest, in the new structure we don't have many people with international experience. Besides myself, there will only be one other Director from international (and though a wonderful person, she has only been in our department 6 months) and the only Sr VP (they eliminated all VPs) with any international experience is my current boss Jimmie who, once again - a fantastic leader - has only been here 6 months. Who will speak with our clients when they come in about international trends and processes? This seems to mean one of two things for me: I am either of great importance to the organization, or I am quite expendable.

I am remaining optimistic, hoping that I can get something like the position I have described above which may also give me more opportunities to travel internationally as I would have staff in other countries like England and Hong Kong. We'll see. At the same time, it will be a year of rethinking my career strategy. With the elimination of the VP level this limits my career progression at Prudential (at least in the interim) and perhaps it is time to look for other opportunities. It would seem only logical that we move back East at precisely the same time my siblings all move West along with my parents.

Today I had to do all of the ratings for my employees and determine their bonuses and raises. For the first time in a while I am excited to meet with my employees because it seems Prudential opened up their wallets a little more than usual this year. I am hoping the same goes for my bonus and raise, but with a new boss and everything I really have no idea. We'll see.

To close, did any of you see the end to the Fiesta Bowl this week with Oklahoma and Boise State? I think it was the best bowl game I have ever watched. What a great game.

Best of 2006

I'm working on it... I'm a little busy at the moment, but I'm working on it! :)

Best of 2006

Show: Battlestar Galactica, however I did like this last season of survivor, and have to add The Office and Scrubs

Movie: Well, after looking through all 796 movies released this year, I have to say I have only given one move 5 stars. Pirates of the Carribean; Dead Mans Chest . The other ones that made my list were Madea's Family Reunion, Stick It, and The Lake House. Still out for me to rate is The Prestige and The Pursuit of Happiness, which I probably won't see until they are out on DVD. I am sure that those will be good ones too.

Book: This is the least I have read in years. I guess I would have to say I really enjoyed the Daughter of the Forest Trilogy.

Tool: ?? Well can't say that I used anything fantastic this year in the tool category.

Song: I like Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" and also Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". I also like the Killers song "When we were young".

Food Product: Well, mostly I just miss peanut butter. Nothing else really flipped my switch this year as far as food goes.

Sports moment: Watching Bret Jarek and Malik watch sports together. I really think it is cute that he is teaching his boys to love sports.

Event: I have two. The first one is adding Enok to our family. He is such a joy and I really, really, really, love this kiddo. The second was our ten year anniversary trip to Mexico. That was fantastic and I am glad we were able to do it. I would recommend it to everyone!!

Guess that sums up my favs.

best of 2006

movie- I have to go find a list first to see what was out there
book - peacegiver
show - office
tool- the $9. remote I bought last year to turn off the outdoor Christmas lights without having to go outside
new food product- well, new food favorite - I am really into red pears lately
song - unwritten
sports moment - OH vs MI football game. I actually watched the whole game
funniest- playing pictionary at one of our parties with Ana DeMoura and Dan Paul, 9propeller and 'close enough' with Dan's towel rod
event- trip to Montreal

goals

by now, I usually have tons of goals in lots of areas. this year, I haven't even thought of any. but I will. so I thought it would be fun if everyone shared one goal for the year on blog. and I'd like to hear everyone else's favorites of 2006. I will do mine tomorrow.

Best of 2006

As the end of the year has crept up on us, I have seen numerous "best of" lists. I thought I'd take this time to make my best of 2006 list - and would look to see yours as well. Also, you probably have noticed I changed my blog to the New blogger so you now have to sign in via a google account (when you sign in it will show you how) to post something. I changed the colors/layout slightly for 2007 as well. And so, my list:

Best show of 2006: Battlestar Galactica. Yes, I have blogged much about this show. 2006 brought some of the greatest episodes and worst. Worst, I think, due to the fact that they had to make double the number of shows this season which led to some drawn out episodes. But still, this show rocks. A runner up award to the Office which continues its stellar writing and acting.

Best movie of 2006: Pirates: Dead Man's Chest. What else even came out this year? Hard to remember. This movie surprised me as to how good it was. In fact, I liked it more than the original which I was also surprised to like as much as I did. I think this is a testament to Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski (Director)'s talent. I also salute the performance of Tia Dalma played by Naomie Harris. She was fantastic.

Best book I read in 2006: Ender's Game. Yes, this is an old book and I have read it before. But reading it again reminded me of the genius of Uncle Orson. This is an amazing book.

Best tool that changed my life in 2006: Google. With Google Calendar in 2006 as well as new tools like Google Reader, this little, big company has helped organize my life. I use Google Calendar for my personal as well as my church (young men's) life. It seems I am a Google sycophant.

Best song of 2006: The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars. I can't really stand the lead singer and the band itself even annoys me (Emo), but this song grabbed hold of me and never let go. It is quite possible I came to love this song even more after I heard an unplugged, slow version on the radio which was fantastic. A close runner up for the Killers "When I Was Young." Others that come to mind are Gwen's "Wind it up" and Fergie's "Fergilicious" more for the campy, funny variety rather than real music. I mean who can't find a song with the lyric "I'm up at the gym, workin' on my fitness" fun?

Best new food product of 2006: Wheat Thins Sun Dried Tomato and Basil. I think these are probably terrible for you, but dang they are good. And I don't even like Wheat Thins. And I can't believe I bought something with a picture of Rachel Ray on the box.

Best sports moment of 2006: BYU winning the Las Vegas Bowl. I would like to vote Bronco Mendenhall as candidate for President in 2008. Thank you BYU for firing Gary Crowton. Thank you for getting a coach who cares more for values than trying to win. And thank you karma for giving us a great season for focusing on the important things and avoiding any rape charges in 2006. It is nice to be excited for college football again. Ironic that in a season where they only lost two games, I attended one of those losses. Runner up: Travis Pastrana's double backflip on his motorcycle in the Summer X Games. I don't even like motorcycles and watching this live this summer gave me chills. If you haven't seen it, youtube it.

Best funny moment of 2006: Jacob Wall's "your balls would explode" comment.

Best event of 2006: Birth of Enok. We welcomed our own little Third this year - and it has been nothing but a blessing.


Thank you all for your love and company this year. I look forward to a dang good 2007

Bret's Christmas 2006

Tevia's post was pretty good - and contains most of my sentiments, but I thought I would add a few things. I enjoyed the trip to Disneyland. It was a lot of driving and I admit I missed the whole wake up and rush to the presents under the tree routine, but it was nice and built some good memories. My favorite ride was Pirates of the Carribean. Captain Jack could be seen in a few places - and he looked pretty real in a couple of them. In fact, the first sighting I thought was an actual person (I didn't assume Mr Depp was spending his Christmas morning hiding in a ride at Disneyland, but perhaps the character look-alike was). There was also a really cool place where it looked like you were going into a waterfall and the head of Davey Jones was floating. It ended up being smoke with projection on it - but a very cool effect.

It was cool seeing Darth Vader, Darth Maul (who was actually very good at mimicking some of Maul's moves in the film) and Storm Troopers. I was confident they would pick Jarek, but my luck didn't rub off on him this time.

The thing that made the day for me was the fireworks and snow. We had ideal positioning (not really seating) for the show. It was spectacular. I was wondering if they would do any Christmas Carols (i.e. religious - and not just Santa Clausy) and when they put on Joy to the World and Silent Night it brought tears to my eyes to see so many people watching a sight put to the music of worship. Then afterwards the snow (soap) began and it looked very real. It was a beautiful sight set to the music of White Christmas (which, by the way, was written while he was in Phoenix, AZ - hence he was dreaming of ...). I think ideally it would have been to go on Christmas Eve and enjoy that spectacle and then go back home to wake on Christmas day. But unless you live in Southern California, that wouldn't work.

All in all a great trip and worthy of the annals of Wall (no, not anals).

My Christmas 2006

Hi all! Well, I am going to go ahead and post my Christmas experience for this year. I think, and hope, that Bret will post as well since I love to read his writing. I have more time during the day, so get to post first...

Here goes. Well, I have to say that this is one of the most memorable Christmases that I have had, and it came without presents or snow, well kind of. It was very reminiscent of the year my family got to go to Mexico for Christmas. This year we decided instead of exchanging gifts with the Webb family, we would spend the day together at the Disneyland park. It all started off on Saturday the 23rd. The Webb's traveled down here to the valley to spend the day with us. That night we all went to Macaroni Grill for dinner since we wouldn't be able to do a nice restaurant on Christmas Eve like we generally do. Dinner was great and was paid for by our family friend, Paula Sutter. Well, kind of. You see, she had given my parents two visa gift cards to use for dinner; unfortunately, the restaurant didn't accept them. This would be the model of things to come pertaining to meals for the next few days!!

Sunday we went to sacrament meeting and got to hear Jarek and Malik sing with the Primary.

We headed out to CA around 1:30. The drive there was uneventful, but very nice. I am so glad that Bret decided to drive when we got into the more heavy traffic in the LA area. I am telling you, I would not like to live in LA for any reason whatsoever. The traffic on Christmas Eve was just as bad as any other weeknight rush hour traffic. Horrible. And the CA drivers are so awful too. We made it to our hotel safe and sound and then ordered Chinese take out for dinner rather than trying to drive around to find a place to eat. While eating our Chinese food, we watched A Christmas Story as that was playing on TBS for their 24 hour marathon. It was fun laughing together watching that movie.

We woke up bright and early Monday morning in order to catch the first shuttle from our hotel to Disneyland. We decided on this method of transportation since it was 3 bucks per person to ride the shuttle all day long and then we didn't have to worry about parking at the park. Our bus driver was very merry and friendly and the ride was short. Our excitement was almost tangible. We got to the park 7 min later, and joined the throng headed for the gates. As we arrived before the park opened, we had to wait in line with the rest of the merry revelers. It seemed everyone was excited and happy and in a good mood. No crabby line cutters (at this point) and smiles were splashed across the glowing crowds who waited with anticipation for the mad rush through those magical gates.

Ahhh, Disneyland. It is amazing to me the feeling of excitement and happiness that envelopes that place. Even though I know it doesn't have the fastest, or the highest roller coasters, the happy energy there seeps into your heart and really turns your heart young and childlike again. The first order of business was to decide which area of the park we would traverse first. It was unanimous, Pirates of the Caribbean. We basically walked up to the ride the line was so short. The boys loved this ride and even Enok got to go on it. They added a few little changes to the ride to incorporate the movies. This has always been one of my favorite rides. Next we headed to the Haunted Mansion. Bret has never seen this ride as it generally is since both times he has been to Disneyland they have had it decked out in the Nightmare Before Christmas get up. Jarek really doesn't like this ride a whole lot, but put on a brave face and went anyhow. Enok got to go on this ride as well.

At this point our group split up. Quentin and Yesenia decided to go explore the park by themselves so as not to get hindered by our slow progress. This was Yesenia's first time at Disneyland and Quentin wanted to let her get on as many rides as possible since she had never been on any type of roller coaster. (granted, I know these aren't "real" roller coasters compared to what all of you are used to) Jarek decided that he wanted to go to Toon Town to ride the little roller coaster there. We didn't spend too much time there, which was fine with me as that is my least favorite part of the park. There was a line as long as any of the rides there to get a picture with Goofy and Mini. We didn't wait around for that though. They were they only characters we saw all day. Everyone else must have had the day off!!

After that we decided to head over to Tomorrow land so we could catch the Jedi Training Academy, Star Tours, and Space Mountain. We got fast passes to Space Mountain so we had time to do the other two things first. The Jedi Training thing was so fun. They have people dressed up like Jedi and they pick kids from the audience to train with them. Unfortunately Jarek didn't get picked, but like three kids around him did. The kids that got picked were "trained" and then had to face either Darth Vader or Darth Maul. It was really cute and fun. Bret actually talked to other people in the park! He saw a family with BYU paraphernalia and struck up a conversation. Their boys actually got picked to do the training.

After that we waited in line for Star Tours. Last time we went neither of the kids were tall enough to go on this ride, but this time they both were tall enough. They liked it, but Bret liked it the most. He got to go on it twice as I had the parent switcheroo pass, so we got to go on it together. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much after that ride. I loved watching Bret so excited on the ride!

Then it was time for space mountain. I was so excited since both Jarek and Malik were tall enough to ride this one too, and this would be their first roller coaster that actually counts. (the toon town didn't really count) I was worried the whole time that one of them would fall out since I still think they are so small. I waited with baited breath at the exit for them and was relieved to see they all made it safely! Neither of them looked too thrilled, but neither of them were crying either. This is a ride in the dark so I was very proud of them that they were so brave. I got to go on this one too as we had the parent switch pass again. It had been years since I had been on this ride and they had redone it from the last time I rode on it. It was cool!

We were supposed to meet up with Quentin and Yesenia for lunch, but that didn't happen! At this point the park had gotten quite packed. There were long lines for everything, food included. We ended up waiting in line for lunch for almost an hour. But the food was good, and the kids were good too. Enok didn't even get too frustrated.

The rest of the day went by quickly and around dinner time we headed back to the hotel to get dressed warm for the fireworks show that night.

I have to admit, I think the fireworks were one of my very favorite parts at Disneyland. They do three different shows throughout the park and we went to the one by Small World. We had to wait for about 45 minutes as people began congregating to the different places to assure optimal viewing. I walked around with Enok for a bit as he was tired of sitting in the stroller. It was interesting to see all the families. A lot of the little kids were cranky and crying after having been at the park all day. The parents had determined looks on their faces and I could just imagine them thinking, "we made it this long, there is no way we are leaving before the fireworks no matter how cranky the kids are". I laughed to myself thinking that this is supposed to be the Happiest place on earth, and here are crying babies and grumpy parents. But now I know why they all toughed it out. Wow!!! I have never in all my life seen a fireworks display like the one they did that night. It was absolutely amazing. These fireworks were huge and they had beautiful Christmas music along with them. Malik wasn't able to stay awake for them, but Jarek and Enok loved them. After the fireworks, they shot this snow-like substance out over the crowd and the whole effect was just very moving and beautiful. It was so worth the wait and the press of the crowd against us on every side. We eventually made it back to the hotel with happiness and memories indelibly impressed on our minds and hearts.

When we got home from CA, the boys were so surprised and happy that Santa came to our house. Oh, I have to add this little tid-bit. Before we left, Jarek put out cookies, milk and celery for Santa and Rudolph. He left a little note by the plate that read "Jarek said, These are yourse. P.S. We're at Californa, But leve the gifts here." It was very cute. And when we got home, Malik was worried that Santa didn't eat all of the cookies and that Rudolph only took a bite of celery. (we used celery since I didn't have any carrots) So I explained that Santa has to go to a lot of houses and if he ate all the cookies he might get a tummy ache. So he sat there thoughtfully and then said "Well, can I eat the rest of the celery?" It was all wilted and gross looking so I said no.
Then, when he, Malik, saw the presents, he started squealing and grabbed his present and hugged it. They were both amazed that Santa came.

I am glad we went to Disneyland even though it was the most crowded I have ever seen it in my life. The crowds were nothing compared to the fun we had as a family and the memories that were created.

Christmas 2006

Here in Ny it was a very nice Christmas. we had fun watching a few episodes of Battlestar on Christmas eve, then we did our spiritual part on what dad called a more 'adult' level. It was nice and then we did some singing and unfortunately, we were not so good at that. during the Gloria part of Angels we have heard on high, we tried to harmonize and Daisy looked at us and ran up the stairs. :) we didn't go downstairs to see what santa brought until 9am. we are getting in the habit of staying up late now that Kathy is home. there were more presents under the tree than we expected. we had some hints of what we were getting. I knew we were getting 2 games, but one we don't know how to play yet and the other was disney scene it, which we have. dad got his kareoke machine that he wanted, and it came in handy that evening when he and Kevin Prettyman sat and sang for hours. the girls chimed in for awhile. it was adorable when they sang "summer lovin" from Grease. I got a music stereo to play music on in my bedroom, and it has nice sound to it. Tom's stocking impressed him the most, and Kathy got spoiled rotten by Jimmy. we had a nice salmon and tilapia dinner with a great salad, and then the Prettymans, Ricks, Jimmy, and Dinho joined us for dessert later. some of my favorite gifts were the jewelry Tevia made me, the calendars she made us, and the cd Bret made me. I haven't listened to it yet, but I will tomorrow. we will spend some time on Thursday or Friday figuring out how to play eurorails. tomorrow dad and I will be in the city all day for April Sikora's wedding. I am tired today, as Kathy and I were up until 2am, and I feel a cold coming on. so we napped and watched more battlestar and Tom was the only one who had to work. no snow yet. lots of fun pictures with lots of Christmas cards this year, and I believe more lights out and decorations out this year. Kathy and I are already getting excited for the possibility of all being here next year!

In the service of others

I am starting to understand just how much work it would be to be a leader in the Relief Society. And I don't envy them one bit. Let me start at the beginning.

Fact:I am a person who is very self sufficient, and really have a hard time asking for help or allowing people to help me much. Even when I was down on bed rest with Enok, I was very leery and annoyed that others wanted to bring in dinner or take my kids etc... Now granted, I have a very helpful husband and my children are not holy terrors that make me crazy night and day. So I know I have a very good life in those areas. I don't feel like I needed to impose on others.

Fact: I have struggled my whole adult life with my visit teaching. I don't particularly like having to cut time out of my day for people to come visit me when I really don't feel like I need that "social" aspect of the church. It seems far better to just give a VT to someone else than having them waste time and effort on me. I also have not been a very good VT, for the same reason I just gave. I feel like I am just imposing on others when I think their lives are just as crazy and hectic as my own.

Fact: This week I have started to come to a realization that there is indeed a reason for this program.

Earlier in the week I had one of my sisters call me. When she left a message, she didn't really say what was going on and I just figured that she wanted to talk to me about something in primary as she is in primary and I am one of the counselors. I had two phone messages that day, one being from mom wall, the other from this sister. In my mind I thought, hmm, I would much rather talk to mom since I enjoy chatting with her, than call this sister right away. I tried dialing the number to mom's, but kept hanging up. I think I tried it like three times. So instead I dialed this sister. I was so glad that I did. She had just had a doctor's appointment and found out that the baby she was carrying was no longer alive. She had to go in to the doctor on Thursday to get a D&C to clean her out. She wanted to let me know as we had just been talking about baby showers and baby things in general. I immediately asked if there was anything I could do. I told her I would bring her dinner in on Thursday since I figured she wouldn't be up to fixing anything. Then I told her I would contact our RS president. I wasn't sure what I was doing since I have never really been in a situation like this. So I let the RS president know what was going on and figured that my end of the deal was done, you know, hand it off to the compassionate service leader.

Later that night I got a call from the RS president. She had called and talked to this sister and told me that this sister requested some additional babysitting for Friday since her mother-in-law couldn't make it to help her watch the kids. (now I am not sure what is all involved in the whole D&C thing, or how much it puts you out of commission, so I was surprised that she needed more help with child care) Anyhow, The RS president was going to be gone all night and requested that I find some sitters to help out. Oh my goodness. I never realized how hard it is to find help. Granted, it is the last weekend before Christmas and everyone has a ton of things to do. I started to understand how much work goes into arranging service for others. I ended up calling about 7 sisters in the ward, and left messages. In the end I am going to be taking the kids for half the day and another sister is taking them the other half.

Okay, now for what I have learned. As I was driving home from this sisters house tonight after dropping off the dinner, I almost started crying. I am not really sure why. My heart felt full, and I felt a deep sadness as well as love. I know that sounds strange. The sadness came from the fact that her husband is going to be home tomorrow, and still she wants someone to watch her kids because he won't do it. I felt sadness that she is going through this difficult time and doesn't really have a lot of support from her husband as he wanted her to terminate the pregnancy in the first place. I felt sadness that it was so hard to find willing people to help out. I felt love because, although it is kind of an imposition to have to watch the kids tomorrow, I know that it is the right thing to do, and means even more because I would much rather spend my day with Bret (who took the day off to spend with us) and my kids. It is a sacrifice. I don't really have to make many sacrifices in my life so this was an opportunity for me to do so. I struggled with it and tried hard to rationalize getting out of doing it. In the end, I couldn't. I knew I needed to, and I felt even stronger about it after leaving her apartment this evening. Ultimately, this will be a good place for her three boys to be. I am one of the few women in the ward who has boys. This ward is a mostly girl ward. I have toys and distractions aplenty to entertain 6 small boys.

I have a great respect for the RS presidency. They are in charge of all the sisters and helping out everyone. I have such a small stewardship I cannot complain. I feel that this experience has been good for me. My testimony of Visit Teaching has grown, which is quite a feat as I have been struggling with this for a long time. I hope that in the future, I will be more readily willing to help out when the need arises. I have been given so much. I have such a blessed life. I need to do more for others so that the Lord knows I am grateful for what he has given me.

3 Walls at BYU!

Congrats to Tom!!!!!!

Paintball and the amazing dunker

I haven't posted much lately. I will use my usual excuse for the past few months: work. I will not focus on work, but it is obvious I have worked more hours and stressed more about work in the past 3 months than I have for years. I am hoping the new year will bring a new light and load. Many things are still up in the air and I think I will learn more this week.

But besides work taking up so much time and energy, the past two weeks have been fun. Last Saturday we took the young men out into the desert to play paintball. This was my first time playing paintball and I was looking forward to it. We had a lot of fun. It is amazing how much adrenaline such a simple game can create and how much fun it can be. I'm not sure why we like shooting things so much, but I loved it. I actually did very well. We played multiple games and I only got hit three times all day. In one game I actually took out 75% of the other team by myself. The young men loved it (though mom mentioned afterwards that this activity has been outlawed by the church). I'm sure we will go again as long as we don't hear otherwise from the bishop.

This last Thursday I was able to go to the temple with the young men to assist with baptisms for the dead. It was a great evening and it was so fun to see all the young men in the temple. The funny story of the night was I ended up baptizing first. We were there at the same time of another stake (not sure why they scheduled two groups). I started the baptisms and after about half of the young men had gone the other stake asked if they could have one of their men do the baptisms. The temple worker (imagine the stereotypical old guy) looked over and said - "no, this guys doing a fantastic job. I see no reason to switch." After a couple more young men and seeing that the rest of the young men were not from our ward I asked if the other guy could come in (as a couple of the young men were actually his sons). The temple worker once again said no and that it would take too much time to switch. At this point I actually just walked out and had the other guy come in. Maybe the temple worker was mad, but I didn't want to take away the guy's chance to have a great opportunity with his boys just because I'm an amazing dunker.

Christmas is coming up. I am excited. Can't wait for a few days off.

Snow

I don't think "let" is the right word. The weather outside is rather frightful, but we've got places to go, we don't have a fireplace to be delightful, so no, we're not "letting" it snow. It's pretty much just coming down anyway.

According to the Weather Channel website, we've only gotten about 1.75 inches of accumulated snow over the past two days. I would love for them to come look at my parking lot and tell me that's only 1.75 inches. Seriously, what measuring system are they using? Personally, I would guess we've gotten more like 5 to 6 inches. Not that Provo isn't coping with it alright, they're plowing every street but our's, like usual. And people are fishtailing and going 10 miles an hour on major roads, like usual. Jacob is trying his best to scare the crap out of me every time he makes a turn of any kind, like usual. And I'm enjoying the snow until the second I need to go out in it, like usual. That second will come in about 40 minutes, so I'm procrastinating getting ready for church as long as possible. That's not usual, despite what Jacob may say. :-) Just to prove him wrong, I'm going to go get ready now. I hope everyone else has a warmer and dryer Sunday!

Sentimental Cyber Christmas

I don't think there is anything wrong with Karen's desire to have a Sentimental Cyber Christmas... I don't think I ever really had a good idea of what Christmas could be growing up so before this year, I'm not entirely sure I would have understood how you feel. However, before I go on, I don't want everyone to think that childhood Christmases were completely void of magic or the spirit, because, we did almost always wrap gifts for "toys for tots" with the fire department, and would usually do 12 days of Christmas for (surprisingly) a more needy family than our own, and of course there was always the infamous (that means more than famous) freezing your rear off singing Christmas carols... I guess I really can't complain about Christmases past since I can see now a valuable lesson my parents and family worked so hard to teach: serve others, and be grateful for what you have because there is always someone in more need than you.

However, the Christmas spirit I speak of now is that of family. Perhaps I just missed it in my selfish youth, but it seemed that Christmas was always a time for focusing on other people's families and needs (and again, not that there is anything wrong with that), but that mindset sure made not coming home, or spending the holidays with anyone for that matter, a much easier thing... especially on the mission since they were spent in the service of others... just like home! :) But now, with my new in-laws, I've been experiencing the fun of family and togetherness. Kim, my father-in-law, truly is a kid at heart and the family traditions he and his wife established long before my wife was born live strong even today. Every Sunday before Christmas in the month of December we get together for Dinner and light another candle under the rotating Nativity and read the Christmas story in the Bible. Last Sunday it was mine and Millie's turn to read. Then after reading we play a game (a different one each week) to determine how simple ($1-$2 usually funny gag type gifts) are exchanged and traded, similar to the white elephant games.

There are yet many other things to come that are part of the Roper family Christmas traditions and already, it is difficult for me to imagine having to spend a Christmas now with out them in it! So, grandma Wall, be thou sentimental, it's perfectly ok to want to be together and remember Christ and read from the precious records He has provided for us during this sacred season... BUT, if you find yourself pining too much and a bit too lonely, do as I learned in my youth, find someone who needs your service, and serve them. :)

electronically together at Christmas

HI, I know I am being just an old sentmental grandmother and mother, but I will miss you guys that are far away this year. I am hoping Bret sets up the video cam. then I am hoping we find a night or time that Jacob and Cari can be online while we are online with Bret and Tev's home, and we can possibly, just possibly, try to be open-minded now, sing a song read a scripture, and say a prayer together and see the boys open some of their gifts or at least have them show us some of their gifts or have them just smile at me.... something....
when do you AZ Walls leave for CA?
pretend I am senile and humor me...
it will be fun and it will make memories.

The ultrasound and girl names

I actually wanted to take a quick sec to tell about the ultrasound. I wasn't too impressed with the tech we had as she didn't explain some things very well. I don't know if she just assumed we alredy knew everything that was going on (perhaps because Millie was dressed in her scrubs as she had just came straight from clinicals) or maybe she thought this was not our first child... whatever it was, I say "meh" to her.

Anyway... it was kind of funny because I didn't realize I did this but Millie told me when we were leaving... as the tech was about to show us the flavor or our bun, she explained (pointing it out on the screen) here is a leg, and here is another leg, so you're looking at it as if it's sitting on a glass table and you're under looking up... and right here are the three folds of the labia (at this moment I'll have you know that going through my mind was "wait a second... boys don't have labias!) then she said, so, you're looking at a little girl... just then (and this is what I didn't realize but Millie pointed out to me after we left) I slipped out "dang." Millie says she thinks the tech heard me too, although I didn't think it came out vocally at all... oh well.

Needless to say I really am happy to become a daddy and looking forward to raising a little girl... despite what might have slipped out during the ultrasound. :)

So, we are taking gril names at this time for consideration. Millie really likes the name Jane. I think it's fine... for a middle name. A bit too plain and sturdy for a first name though... I like the name Aila (or the spelling Aayla)... Aila Jane Webb. Needless to say, It'll have to get Millies approval too.

teaching at RCK

I already got a call today to sub on monday at RCK. this should be interesting. it is a TA position in special ed. maybe I'll see some kids I know....

black slip

girls, I ended up with a black half slip that is not mine. anyone? anyone?

boy or girl?

Well, for those of you who are in suspense to know the gender of the baby, I should let you know that we were supposed to have found out last Tuesday, however, the ultrasound tech called in sick, so we rescheduled for this coming Monday (the 4th). We'll let you all know as soon as we know, so start thinking of good names too!... sorry Bret, I still don't think Millie would consider Thrace. :)

Turkeys and Leftovers

Well, it has been a while since I have had time to sit down and write something. The last few weeks have been so busy. Work has been crazy and then I took a week off for Thanksgiving. That week was fantastic. It started Friday after work on November 17th when we went up to Show Low for Brandt's farewell. We stayed at Quentin's place which was very nice. Warm with very tall kitchen cabinets. Honestly I don't think Jacob Wall could even reach the cabinets. Saturday morning we went to the Snowflake temple to see Brandt get his endowments. That was great. Sunday was his farewell. Brandt gave a fantastic talk - one of the best I have heard in a long time. It was good to see him as a man.

Saturday night I actually went to Wal-Mart for my brother to see if I could get him a Wii. I wasn't able to get him a Wii, but I was able to get him 3 controllers for my effort. It was weird waiting in a long line of nerds in a Wal-Mart in a small town, but it was a good memory. Since Jake did not get his Wii up in Utah either he left Utah early and came down with Cari and Kathy to AZ. It was fun seeing them when we got back to Phoenix. My parents and Tommy arrived on Tuesday and Jake Webb and Milli arrived on Thursday.

That week, besides being a great relief being away from work, was one of the most fun weeks in years. I loved being with everyone; just talking, playing some basketball, hiking camelback, etc. The weather was perfect. It was nice to be around family that you know cares for you and have fun.

Sunday we blessed Enok in church. Tevia's parents, Brandt, and Jim and Tammy's family came down as well. It was great blessing him with family support. Afterwards everyone had to leave. In fact, Jacob, Cari, and Kathy left right after the sacrament and had our kids and others in tears as we had to say goodbye. It was so touching to see our kids so emotional about saying goodbye to family. The only part that would have been better is when mom and pops and Tommy had their flight canceled they stayed at the airport for hours. They should have just come back to enjoy each other's company just a little longer.

After our wonderful week it was back to work. American Express, my new client, was in this week and we had training all week. I hardly got to even see my family. Monday night I got back late from a dinner. Wednesday night we went to a Phoenix Suns game (very fun - with great seats on the lower level!). It was great to see some old friends from some of the overseas offices and meet some new people. It made me want to work in one of the other offices so bad. So, though a very busy week with little time at home, it was a good one.

I did have something odd happen today at work. I was invited to a meeting in the afternoon for all directors. Upon entering the meeting we were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement that we would not discuss anything that took place in the meeting. Having signed it, I can not comment at this time (as this blog is actually public), but I will let you know in a couple of weeks. It was the first time I have been asked to sign something like that, so it was a little odd.

This weekend I am looking forward to some rest (though I played ball at 5:30 AM this morning and will again tomorrow) and time with the fam. Great to see everyone and come back soon. The hummingbirds miss you.

blessings

sorry Tom, I won't brag about you, but I have to say that we are just blessed so generously in this family. truly.

Summer 2007

Ok, sorry to post again so soon. I know we kicked around ideas for next year, but I am going to throw out a different thing again. I was thinking that we bag San Diego until 2008. Jake and Cari probably wouldn't be able to go anyhow. We are now mostly planning on heading out to NY in the summer since my kids haven't been out there for awhile, and if we wait till Christmas to go out, that will be almost two years since they will have been out there. Far too long to not get to see their grandparents at their house. :)

So, if this is the plan, do we want to do a trip within a trip? You know like the beach (dare we try cape cod again?) Or maybe Jersey again. (since last time it wasn't all that great for me...) I don't know if we want to go all the way down to Virginia though. Those are a few ideas. I know we want to take our two older boys to NYC. We feel like they are old enough now to go down to the city and have that experience. Bret still has his two weeks of Paternal leave so we would have a solid two weeks to hang out. (If mom wants to house us for that long). Now that I know how much work it is to have people over for that amount of time I am shocked that she still likes us to come out. I will be extra better at pitching in!!

And we are for sure planning on coming there for Christmas since the last time we were there for Christmas was in 2003!! I can't believe it was that long ago, but it was. How sad. Malik was only like a year and a half old, well, almost two.

But back to the summer. If there is anyone that really wants to still do San Diego this year, speak up. We can't do all three (SD, NY summer, NY Christmas) but we can swing two of them.

About the timing, I was thinking end of June first part of July that way we could spend the 4th together. The end of July won't work for us though cuz it is my mom's 50th B-day and we are going to Mexico with them at the end of July. August could possibly work, but it would be really hard, especially if we are coming right off a trip from Mexico, but I know we had talked about Jarek maybe being baptized out there. Anyhow, we can figure all that out if we decide that we are going to go there in the summer.

k. let me know what all ya'll think.

tevs

Words of advice from one who learns the hard way.

Tidbits of advice:

#1 - Do not move into a large house upon getting married... you most likely will be overwhelmed with all the space after living in a small box of a room during your single years and won't have enough stuff to fill it up anyway.

#2 - Do not move into a house that has previously been (and is currently) decorated by someone else... especially if that person has VERY tacky taste!

#3 - Do not move into a house upon getting married where you will be the "care takers" of two old dogs that should have died years ago but for some reason beyond be keep hanging on to life, two cats that are in just as poor if not worse condition, and a horse that no one can ride because it was never broken... Who the heck is stupid/rich enough to pay to care for a large living lawn decoration?... i.e. a horse. Yes... I asked Mary (the owner) about this one... Lucky (the horse) was purchased as a lawn decoration.

#4 - Water leaking in your house from random walls is bad... especially if you find the source to be from the back yard... really not good... but since everything is frozen solid now... no more leaks! YAY!!!... at least till it thaws.

#5 - Do not have animals that live outside that must be cared for if you live in an area where temperatures get in the negatives which make even the simplest tasks such as watering your animals a royal pain.

#6 - Do not have animals.

#7 - Do not attempt to work full time, take care of a farm with animals, go to school full time, and be a newlywed... something WILL get neglected.

#8 - Do not have animals.

#9 - Eat. Your body WILL start doing weird things if you don't... (I'm still working on this... I promise I'll get better... someday).

#10 - No matter what... it COULD be worse... so be thankful it's not! Dispite the number of things that fill my life with chaos I have to admit, I'm so thankful to have a foundation to fall back on: My family, my in-laws, my extended family (including all of you), my friends, my beutiful wife and child to be, and probably most importantly my testimony.

Thanksgiving, My Version

Hi! I guess since I am the one with the most time on my hands these days I am the first one that is going to get to post. I am not going to make this long since I know Bret wants to post about Thanksgiving as well.

First off, I have to say that after this week I am very very tempted to buy the wii. I know, don't everyone faint all at once at this revelation. Even though I didn't play it one time, I think that it is a far better system to have than the game cube or the DS's. I was really impressed with the amount of movement involved with so many of the games. Am I going to get it for Christmas? Probably not. Maybe for my birthday!!! :)

Second. I was so amazed at how much I enjoyed having my house overrun with guests. In general I stress out a whole lot at the prospect of "hosting" a houseful. This gathering gave me a small glimpse into how mom might feel when we all come out and overrun her house. I learned a few things. #1: It is good to prepare a month or so in advance so as not to feel overwhelmed when the time is upon you. This is a little insight into the scriptural verse that says "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear. " I have a deeper understanding of that verse now! #2: Having family around gives everyone an opportunity to love each other and learn from each other in ways you can't get by email or phone calls alone. I have a deeper appreciation for each of you and continue to count myself lucky to be a part of this family. Do we all have things we need to work on? Certainly, but ultimately, we love each other and overlook or accept any strange quirks each of us may have. #3: It is awfully quiet and lonely when everyone leaves. I never realized how quiet it is around here without so many people occupying the space in our home. I miss all of you!!!
#4: My kids are continually learning the value of having close relationships with their family. Thank you so much for giving so much love and time to my kids. All three of them have benefited from your love and example. I am grateful to all of you for making them feel so loved. It makes me happy to know that they are sad when you all leave. I know they love you all so much and it helps them to look even more forward to the time we see you all again.

All in all I had a fantastic week. My only regret is that I didn't do a better job on the pictures. No, I am not fishing for compliments. I feel I didn't choose a good time and I didn't prepare very well. Next year, and this is a Bret's very good idea, we should really take pictures at the beginning of our time together that way it will be done and out of the way early and we can spend the last hours together without having to stress about how pretty we look on the last day!!!!

Thank you all for sharing your Thanksgiving in our home. I love you all and can't wait to see all of you again. Thank you for all your help and for not complaining about stuff!!

we have Wii

Tom showed great constraiint waiting untiil today to go piick iit up. he iis a good boy, never shops on sunday. he already has pulled a muscle boxiing and piitchiing. iit iis better than I thought, because this niintendo actually giives the kiids exerciise.

Happy Feet

Word to the wise... unless you're and animal rights activist or a member of PETA... don't waste your money and time on this political movie!!!

Where to begin?...

I don't even know where to begin...

I know it's been a while since I logged on, read, or wrote anything on this blog. Marriage has a way of filling up any and all "spare" time. I'm not sure I'm doing this right... in fact, I'll be willing to bet I'm not... but I'm still learning. This whole marriage thing is newer to me than I thought it would be.

It seems I have SO many "things" that "have" to be done in life... everyday. I have lists for work, house repairs, cleaning, school, bills, etc... even the lists go on and on and on! I feel bad because Millie mentioned the other day that I never just relax and spend time with her... which for the most part is kind of true. The thing is, we do spend time together, pretty much every second we get... but the seconds are few and far between. With our two work and school schedules, we're already not much more than ships that pass in the night. It makes me sad. So I try to include her in all the other pressing matters that fill my life just to spend SOME time with her. For example, raking leaves in our yard, going shopping, and cleaning the house. Unfortunately these are not some of her favorite things like brown paper packages tied up with strings.

But seriously, it's like I know what to do... I just can't catch up, get control and DO it. For the most part, I think all of you by now know of our situation... but none of you know all of it... and that's why I'm writing this blog.

I wanted to share some good news and some, well, life news.

First the good news! Millie FINALLY got in to see a doctor the other day (Tuesday Nov. 14) and I went with her. We actually got to hear the baby's heart! Yes, for those of you who didn't already know, or didn't figure it out, Millie is expecting. We found out a lot at the appointment. 1) She is 18 weeks along. 2) Her due date is April 19th... exactly one month before MY birthday! 3) In just TWO weeks we will go in to find out the baby's gender! YAY!!! Millie and I are so excited... it has been more than a roller coaster of emotions with all that has been going on these past few months, and now, you should be able to imagine to some degree why that is. But this is not all. There is one more aspect of all this that has consumed my (and now is affecting Millie's) life.

Obviously there were things that happened prior to the wedding that has expedited getting Millie and I in our current situation. Just before we found out Millie was pregnant I had gone in to see my bishop. It was my first week in a new ward with a new bishop. He was unavailable to meet with me and that week and the following two weeks I was out of town. Just prior to getting an appointment to actually meet with him I discovered that Millie was pregnant. So, my first meeting with my new bishop was to tell him I was getting married and that my girlfriend/fiancée was pregnant. He ended the conversation at that and said I have to meet with the stake. A stake level disciplinary counsel was set and just two weeks (maybe three... everything these past few months is a blur) prior to the wedding I was excommunicated.

Millie and I still have the goal to be sealed. Hearing our baby's heartbeat on Tuesday made me so excited and proud... yet at the same time a feeling of urgency (not that there wasn't one before, but it hit me again) came over me. I need to, and am working on, getting back to the church and the temple, not only for myself, but for my family as well. I had a dream the other night that Millie died and I was SO devastated, for several obvious reasons, but the most heart wrenching of all was that I would not have her after this life... our marriage had ended.

I've never doubted my testimony or the veracity of the church nor the leaders that are called to direct it. I know Christ is still my savior and the only way back to eternal life with my family.

I can't help but think that much of my stress and lack of control in my life right now is due in part to the absolute loss of guidance and direction from the Holy Ghost. I find I must constantly be praying and asking for help and inspiration now, whereas before in my life (although I failed to notice it at times) inspiration would just come on it's own. I'd like to say I didn't see myself as one who took the gospel for granted... but then, if that were true, I don't think I would be in the situation I am now in. I can say this though, I see a blessing in this. I am no longer afforded the destructive luxury of coasting through life (and now marriage) as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I must now actively, and constantly, be pushing forward with noticeable effort to have the spirit in my life each day, and seek the guidance I need to be the head of my family. I will miss out on many opportunities in the near future to bless my wife and child with the priesthood, but hope each one serves as a painful yet loving and everlasting reminder of the importance to ALWAYS live worthy of it now, and when it is restored to me.

I don't know how to wrap this up... I've written a number of different conclusions, none of which fit. So I will leave it at this. Life is busy, but we're moving forward. I love you all and I'm excited to see you all for Thanksgiving! I know I personally have so much to be thankful for this holiday season!!!

What I've Learned in the Past Week

Wow, the last week or two have passed so quickly. I'm sure this week will as well. It is mostly due to work as I have been so busy I spend every spare second working on my billing project/issue. But hopefully that will let up here in the next month. A few things besides work have happened lately - and this is what I've learned.

This week was election week. I voted at the new church up the street. Arizona had 19 propositions on the election ballot. From the propositions that passed, this is my perception of Arizonans:

- they hate Mexicans. Yes, they do. All three propositions related to immigration (not directly - just slaps in the face) passed. One was changing our state constitution to make English the official language. Another was to prohibit illegals from taking any state-funded classes. I didn't vote for either of them. It amazes me as I speak with people how hateful and upset people are about the whole immigration issue. I would bet it hardly affects 90% of the people, but you would think that the Mexicans cause all problems in Arizona.
- they love gays. This is perhaps a bit of a stretch to make this perception, but there was a proposition to add a phrase to our constitution that marriage is between one man and one woman. It failed by a landslide. I voted for it. I saw one of the political signs for the proposition today. It had been changed with graffiti. Instead of "protect" marriage it was changed to "embrace" marriage. The part between one man and one woman had "wo" crossed out of the woman and the two wedding rings in the corner had arrows added to them to symbolize two "men" symbols together. Creative. Who knew there were gay, political gangs out there.
- they love animals. PETA put a proposition to change our constitution to make it unlawful to tie up pigs and cows in areas where they can not turn around or sit down. It passed by a landslide. I think that is crazy. Why would you put something like that in your constitution? I voted against it.
- they hate smokers. There were two propositions on about smoking (actually three, but the third was retarded - though it passed). One was sponsored by the American Lung Association and Cancer Society and banned all smoking in public places. It passed by a large margin. The other was sponsored by RJ Reynolds to confuse voters. It failed. I voted for the one that passed.
- they love bureaucracy. They passed at least two propositions that created large, bureaucratic committees to control money for education. I voted against both of these.
- they really wanted to raise the minimum wage. One proposition was to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to around $6.80. Something like a 35% increase. It passed with no problem. I voted against it - not because I am against raising the minimum wage - but 35% in one shot? Our fast food joints are going to struggle come 2007. AZ would not, however, raise the salaries of their legislators.

It was fun to go through this season's elections. It was obvious, on a national level, that people hate Bush. Poor guy. He even annoys me - though I never really liked him (voted for him mostly because I can't stand Kerry). I noticed most ads here didn't even tell you what party the candidate was from. But now the Democrats have control of the House and Senate. And probably the white house come two years. It will be an interesting presidential race. I'd vote for Rudy and Mitt, but I'm not sure they can beat Hillary or the black senator whose name currently escapes me. All I can say is please don't let Hillary win!!!

Enok Smiles

Enok is funny and makes us laugh.

wicked

we finally had our chance to go see the play on Broadway. I have to admit, just walking down Times Square and seeing all the people and the light is much of the thrill. maybe if they just had this play in a high school auditorium, it would not have the same affect on me. there were several people in the cast who were 'famous'. the lead role of the wicked witch was played by someone from SNL, so those of you who watch that might know her. we didn't. Ana Gasteyer. she was okay. the one who stole the show was the girl who played Glinda! wow! she was funny and a better singer and just sparkled, dress, wand, and personality! the story doesn't follow the book exactly, but I liked it better. it was easier to understand all the politics, and the ending was different. the funny blond who plays in Scrooged with Bill Murray and is that funny fairy ghost was Madame Morrible,. she was okay. the guy who played Oz had a lot of flair and pizzaz. we ate at Olive Garden on Times Square, and I just marvel at the homeless going through the garbage, standing next to the lady with a full length fur coat. the theater itself was not the most glamorous, and people came dressed much more casually than I expected. we had upper mezzanine seats, but in the middle and we could see fine. (we brought binoculars also). it was worth seeing. it made me want to read the book again. I am astounded that years after the origional OZ, someone could write a story with an entirely new perspective and it could catch on like this. the play starts with the question, "our we born wicked, or is it forced upon us?" the play is acceptable for 8 and above. there are no sexual scenes at all, one kissing scene. It was really fun! I wanted more flying. the monkeys flew only once. if you guys decided to come this summer, try and fit it in. we'll babysit!

Missing School

I have to admit I am a little jealous of mom that she gets to be up at a school as much as she does. Today I went to take some papers into Mrs. Miles that I had graded and I planned it so I could be in there when Jarek was there for project. Oh how I miss being in the classroom helping out. I did feel good though as Mrs. Miles said "this is Mrs. Wall. Who knows her"? and more than half the class raised their hands and said "ooo,ooo, I know her!!!" And they waved and some came up and hugged me. And Malik was so cute too. He went right over to Jarek and hugged him and told him he was the best brother.

I know it is a silly thing to feel happy about, but it made me feel so good that so many of the kids knew me and were glad about it. :)

I miss being able to be up there, but I am glad that the teachers want me to help out still. It is nice to feel needed and appreciated!

special ed

Well, I had the opportunity yesterday to assist in a self-contained classroom. what a great experience. it looks like I will have to tell more later. we are on our way to Wicked! fun!