Well, it’s been a busy couple of weeks! Jonathan and I spoke in church on Sunday on charity. It was interesting because we discussed the topic all week, and we had the same scripture to start us off, but we still ended up with completely different talks. Kind of cool! After church, and naps, we drove up into the mountains and found a park that has a mountain creek running through it. We dreamed about having a family reunion there, playing family football and roasting marshmallows on the fire. It was a dream world, seriously. The mountains had misty clouds between the valleys, but the sun was shining and the grass was still green even though all the leaves have turned. I would love to have you all come play with us there! We also found some mountain ranches, with white fences and beautiful horses. I would love to have a mountain ranch, and if we ever have the 15 children Jonathan wants, there would be plenty of hands to help with all the work! Ha! We had so much fun, that after going home and eating brownies and visiting with friends, we decided to go back out to the mountains. So we took a tour of the alpine loop at night, which was spooky. Imagine windy roads with steep drop offs and canopies of trees lit up only by our headlights. At one point, Jonathan stopped the car and turned off the lights, and it was pitch black. We could just barely see the silhouette of the mountains because of all the stars. It was amazing.
We have gotten callings at church. We are Sunday School teachers for the 14-year olds, a class of almost all boys. It should be fun. I got my visiting teaching assignment, too, and I am so excited! My companion is Samantha, who lives right above me. She’s tons of fun, has been married just as long as we have, and she moved in just 2 weeks after us. One of the girls we get to visit is also in our building, on the 3rd floor. Her name is Christy. (Funny, huh? Samantha and Christy!) Christy is pregnant, and she just found out she’s having a baby girl. She’s awesome!
Jonathan is also getting to know people through sports, of course! He plays volleyball on Friday nights (although he’s disappointed that the team isn’t very competitive) and basketball on Tuesdays and Thursdays when he can find a game to join. He’s also having fun with the people he works with. They’ve gone out after work a couple of times, and he seems to be enjoying that. I have also been able to reconnect with old friends. Jen and I have been able to spend some time together. I’ve also made plans with an old roommate (Liz Shakespeare) and Brooke is probably coming out soon, too.
We are very excited about our new dining table! I found it on craigslist.com, and we went to pick it up on Saturday. They wanted $299 for it, but there was a scratch on the glass and a small tear in one of the seats, so Jonathan talked them down to $200. (Eric would be proud!) I attached a picture. It looks great and we really needed a table! We’ve been eating on the floor or the couches, and it just gets messy that way. Now we can invite people over for dinner, too. We also managed to get an EXTREMELY good deal on some curtains, since the blinds we had didn’t afford us any privacy. Anyone could look into our living room, so the curtains now allow us to shut out the world when we don’t want them watching! This is particularly important since we’re on the ground floor. We are also going to do some painting. The landlords said they would pay for the paint, and that we were allowed to do it, so that is going to be a project in our near future.
Work is going great, of course. I taught the student leadership class yesterday. Yes, yes, I can officially say now that I have taught a University class!!!!!! YIPEE!!!! It was so fun, and although I was really nervous about having enough material, I ended up not having enough time. My topic was “focusing on results” so I talked a lot about choosing goals that make us really stretch, but that are achievable. I had a video clip, fun stories and pictures, an obstacle course, a quote debate, and lots of discussion. It went great, and it was a huge relief!
I really feel so privileged to be here. About 5 years ago, for my Master’s class, I had to create a purpose statement for my life, one sentence that defined what I thought my life’s mission is. I spent hours and hours thinking about and working on this one sentence: “My purpose in life is to facilitate and inspire individual growth and development by being a guide, educator, example and friend to help others and myself know God, find joy, realize inherent potential and attain fulfillment.” I haven’t looked at this statement in a long time, but I found it last weekend and was amazed at how perfectly this job helps me to accomplish that purpose. Cool, huh? No wonder I love what I do so much! It is exactly who I think I am, and what I have always felt I should be doing.
This week’s goal at work is Fall Preference; we are planning 4 dances, and it is called preference because it’s a girls-ask-guys dance. One dance is Famous Couples, so we’re doing a Hollywood theme with a red carpet, paparazzi, and everything. Another dance is a Murder Mystery on the train. On Friday, Jonathan and I are going to the Halloween Dance, where there will be trick-or-treating, cookie decorating, costume contests, and more. Saturday we’re going to the Rodeo at Hee Haw Hay Farms. Dancing under the stars, pulled pork sandwiches, haunted hay rides, and a night-time corn maze. It all sounds like fun, but I’m a little stressed because we have so much left to do before next weekend!!!!
This weekend, we’re going on a retreat with BYUSA. We’ll be up in the lodges at Springhaven, enjoying campfires and s’mores and games with all my students. It’s nice because I don’t have to plan anything, I just have to show up and have fun! And I am excited that Jonathan gets to come with me, so that they can get to know him and see why I love him so much!
Well, I hope you guys are doing awesome and know how very much I love you! Have a great week!
We have gotten callings at church. We are Sunday School teachers for the 14-year olds, a class of almost all boys. It should be fun. I got my visiting teaching assignment, too, and I am so excited! My companion is Samantha, who lives right above me. She’s tons of fun, has been married just as long as we have, and she moved in just 2 weeks after us. One of the girls we get to visit is also in our building, on the 3rd floor. Her name is Christy. (Funny, huh? Samantha and Christy!) Christy is pregnant, and she just found out she’s having a baby girl. She’s awesome!
Jonathan is also getting to know people through sports, of course! He plays volleyball on Friday nights (although he’s disappointed that the team isn’t very competitive) and basketball on Tuesdays and Thursdays when he can find a game to join. He’s also having fun with the people he works with. They’ve gone out after work a couple of times, and he seems to be enjoying that. I have also been able to reconnect with old friends. Jen and I have been able to spend some time together. I’ve also made plans with an old roommate (Liz Shakespeare) and Brooke is probably coming out soon, too.
We are very excited about our new dining table! I found it on craigslist.com, and we went to pick it up on Saturday. They wanted $299 for it, but there was a scratch on the glass and a small tear in one of the seats, so Jonathan talked them down to $200. (Eric would be proud!) I attached a picture. It looks great and we really needed a table! We’ve been eating on the floor or the couches, and it just gets messy that way. Now we can invite people over for dinner, too. We also managed to get an EXTREMELY good deal on some curtains, since the blinds we had didn’t afford us any privacy. Anyone could look into our living room, so the curtains now allow us to shut out the world when we don’t want them watching! This is particularly important since we’re on the ground floor. We are also going to do some painting. The landlords said they would pay for the paint, and that we were allowed to do it, so that is going to be a project in our near future.
Work is going great, of course. I taught the student leadership class yesterday. Yes, yes, I can officially say now that I have taught a University class!!!!!! YIPEE!!!! It was so fun, and although I was really nervous about having enough material, I ended up not having enough time. My topic was “focusing on results” so I talked a lot about choosing goals that make us really stretch, but that are achievable. I had a video clip, fun stories and pictures, an obstacle course, a quote debate, and lots of discussion. It went great, and it was a huge relief!
I really feel so privileged to be here. About 5 years ago, for my Master’s class, I had to create a purpose statement for my life, one sentence that defined what I thought my life’s mission is. I spent hours and hours thinking about and working on this one sentence: “My purpose in life is to facilitate and inspire individual growth and development by being a guide, educator, example and friend to help others and myself know God, find joy, realize inherent potential and attain fulfillment.” I haven’t looked at this statement in a long time, but I found it last weekend and was amazed at how perfectly this job helps me to accomplish that purpose. Cool, huh? No wonder I love what I do so much! It is exactly who I think I am, and what I have always felt I should be doing.
This week’s goal at work is Fall Preference; we are planning 4 dances, and it is called preference because it’s a girls-ask-guys dance. One dance is Famous Couples, so we’re doing a Hollywood theme with a red carpet, paparazzi, and everything. Another dance is a Murder Mystery on the train. On Friday, Jonathan and I are going to the Halloween Dance, where there will be trick-or-treating, cookie decorating, costume contests, and more. Saturday we’re going to the Rodeo at Hee Haw Hay Farms. Dancing under the stars, pulled pork sandwiches, haunted hay rides, and a night-time corn maze. It all sounds like fun, but I’m a little stressed because we have so much left to do before next weekend!!!!
This weekend, we’re going on a retreat with BYUSA. We’ll be up in the lodges at Springhaven, enjoying campfires and s’mores and games with all my students. It’s nice because I don’t have to plan anything, I just have to show up and have fun! And I am excited that Jonathan gets to come with me, so that they can get to know him and see why I love him so much!
Well, I hope you guys are doing awesome and know how very much I love you! Have a great week!
