Happy snowMEN!!

I LOVE these Happy snowMEN.

They are my favorite guys!

Obviously Daddy is a little jealous and doesn't know what to think.

Anyway...

About a week before we went up to see Cortney while she had her baby, we took daddy to the Dr. because he had a sore throat. We needed him well before he got to hold the baby. 

Results:

He had a virus that would go away in a few days.

Since he had it for a couple of days already he was not contagious. 

We informed the Dr. why we were taking the trip and he asked if we were both caught up on our tetanus/whooping cough boosters, so that we could hold the brand new baby.

Uh...Well Doran just had a tetanus a few years ago but I didn't know when the last booster I had.

He told Daddy to bar the door until he checked my records.

Come to find out...I needed a booster shot for HIS visit!!

I think that might be the last time that I go to the Dr. with Doran. He walked out of there unscathed and void of any needle holes.

I, on the other hand, received a very unflattering band-aid to cover my wound and then a sore arm for a few days as well.

August 22, 2017

But we were good to go to hold the new baby!

Dear Bed

We had our first writing assignment in English and for the past two lessons we worked on a

Love Letter to something. 

We were to make it fun and creative.

I'm not a writer but I enjoyed writing about one of my favorite things...

MY BED

Dear Bed,

            “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”*…from the top of your headboard way down to your footboard. Your headboard has served us well over the years. I hope that you liked the facelift we gave you a few years ago with that deep rich tan. You do look more dashing than ever. Your cupboards and drawers have faithfully held our clothes and books for many years. You have also reminded us when it is time to purge our old clothes when you jam your drawers or start spitting out excess clothing from the cupboards. However, I wish you would dust yourself, but because you have been such a great provider, I will continue to dust you when the need arises or at least when the Halloween “spider webs” are out of season.

I appreciate how nonjudgmental you are. You don’t care when I come to bed with my hairy legs, messy hair and no makeup on my face. You don’t care if my jammies are old, torn or very unflattering. No matter how heavy I get, you never seem to groan under my weight, for which I am grateful. I know you won’t go and gossip to your friends on my unkempt and ever aging appearance.

When I am sick, tired, or lazy, you have always been there for me. We have been through many happy, excited and even long, lonely, and night-sweat nights together. You have wrapped your Malden Mills Polar Fleece sheets around me when I needed it most. Even when I toss and turn all night, you refuse to give up on me. You will always accept me with open, cozy sheets. I love how you cuddle with me when my alarm goes off but we need to set some better rules about snuggling past the snooze button.

You have helped me grieve by letting me cry into your mattress and our buddy, the pillow. We have rejoiced together with our family, when we would all gather on you and have bedtime stories or watch a movie together. We have also rejoiced over our employment, when we have had advancements, awards, or pay increases; and just plain old everyday accomplishments. You have comforted me when I’ve had nightmares and let me relax during wonderful dreams.

There have been times where you have helped me from overeating by letting me be too comfortable to get up and eat a midnight snack. However; on those rare occasions, ok many occasions, that I have brought food to bed with me, you didn’t complain, even when I dropped crumbs all over you.

You are the first thing I think of when bedtime rolls around (and even WAY before then). On those occasions when I travel, I constantly think of you and how you must be missing me, as I miss you. I can’t wait until I get back so you can hold me in your memory foam mattress. Believe me, you are always on my mind.

So, after all these years, I am forever grateful for your service and sacrifice on my behalf and on behalf of my whole family, because we have all shared your comfort. I hope to keep you around even as we both get old and ratty together.

Love your biggest fan,

Jody

*Reference: How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806 - 1861

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

There have been so many things happen this year that I don't even know where to start and hopefully I WILL slip in some posts here and there. But for now I want to start with the most recent thing on my mind.

Yesterday at church, April gave a lesson on "learning". She then asked us to think about what we have learned from others or what we have learned in general. The things that came to mind were:

• I have learned I am in charge of my own choices.
• I can learn from someones example and use it as a guide or a deterrent.
• We all have different gifts and it's ok if we don't know it all or can do it all.
• We need to do the best of what we can do.
• With hard work, I can learn and do more than I thought I could.

For years I have thought that I was uneducated and was unable to learn because I definitely have trouble retaining thing that I DO learn. I am thankful that I heeded the prompting to take the Pathway Classes that started in January. For some people the first two semesters were a breeze. (Semester 1: "Life Skills" and "Book of Mormon - First part"; Semester 2: Dreaded "Math" and "Book of Mormon - Second Part") For me, they were stressful and a lot of work and dedication on my part, and love, kindness and patience from Doran. He has been such a trooper and supporter during this learning season. At the end of those two semesters I was able to get straight A's except one 88% and on 96%. Those scores really bothered me because I guess I am a perfectionist and wanted straight A's on ALL my assignments and quizzes. One bonus for these semesters is that most of the quizzes, you had two chances, which I took advantage of several times.

I loved the "Life Skills" class and how it teaches you how to become a hard working, honest student. I LOVED to Book of Mormon classes. I was able to not only read the whole Book of Mormon but I was also able to STUDY it along with using the Book of Mormon Student Manual. That manual is awesome! I never took seminary or institute so these past several months I thoroughly enjoyed the experience! Math...well we won't even discussed that stressful, heart wrenching, tear jerking experience.

We have had seven weeks off for the summer and now the third semester just began on Saturday. This semester we will be studying "English, Basic Writing" and "Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel". I still want to figure out to keep studying the Book of Mormon without it getting pushed to the side. As far as English...this scares me a little bit as well. Along with our classes, the third semester students are also required to be mentors for those taking Pathway L, which are students that are learning English. We will meet with them via video chat once a week to help them practice. There are guidelines that we need to follow and always be positive and upbeat and help them learn. I hope I can be a help to my partner instead of hindrance.

And so it begins...