Gratitude

There is a lot to write about, but I will try to keep it short today. Last week was Thanksgiving. Leland and I went out to my parents for the five day break we had. Mom is Mom, Dad is Dad, and Eddie is, well, Eddie. The family is fine and healthy and ready to get December going. Dad is getting ready for soccer season, which after school practices started today. He also celebrated his 57th birthday yesterday. Mom took all of last week off and is headed back to work today. Since Eddie works at Best Buy he had to go in on Black Friday. Poor guy. I hate the crowds and messiness that is Black Friday, but I do love the sales. If only those sales could be done on regular days as well. I can just imagine what it is like for the employees of stores that are inundated from 3 am to closing time with ungrateful, ignorant, bossy, dissatisfied, angry people. I can't stand the messes that are left after Black Friday. I also get a little peeved when people try to hide things so they get the deal they want. My whole philosophy, be prepared then and there. If you have to hide it then you don't need it. Someone else will find it anyway. As much as I loathe Black Friday, Leland loves it so I go. He knows I hate it too. I guess I am not the best at hiding my feelings towards it all. Usually I have fun shopping. It's my favorite things after sports and workouts, but Black Friday just grates my nerves.

This year I did not run the Turkey trot. I decided that I needed rest and sleep more than a run. Plus, I was a bit under the weather. I was really sick for the drive to EP and running a day later was not going to help matters. While I so missed the fun of the Trot, I was so very grateful for the much needed rest and sleep.

Turkey Day was amazing as usual. The food was fabulous. The only sad part, I don't have any of the leftovers. Next year Thanksgiving will be at my place just so I can have the leftovers. I am so grateful this year for so many things. My health has not been 100% this year, but I am grateful to still be alive and doing the things that I love. I am grateful for a family who supports me in all I do. I am grateful for a loving husband that puts up with all my little quirks, neuroticism, stress and stories. I am grateful for the job I have and for the challenges and opportunities it gives me so that I can progress. I am grateful for this land that I live on. There may be problems, but I there are so many great things to be grateful for, like, freedom to speak what we want, freedom to worship how we want, freedom to live anywhere we want or can afford, freedom to be who we want to be. There are so many other things to be grateful for but I just can't think nor do I have the time to write them all down.

Well, the computer screen is getting blurry and the stress of the day is catching up to me, so I better go.

Dear Thanksgiving Break,

Can you please hurry? I have never wanted you so bad and now that it is almost time you are making me wait longer. I have never begged and pleaded for anything more in my life than you right now. You give me strength, hope, even deeper feelings of gratitude, and much needed rest and relaxation. I am so very grateful for you Thanksgiving Break.

Love,

Katie

Is It Just Me. . .

Or was this the longest week ever known to man? Wednesday night I got home from the Bishop's Storehouse and was all excited because, even though I went to YM/YW, I thought the next day was Friday. Then Top Chef Just Desserts came on and I realized it was only Wednesday, dang it! I still had to muddle through Thursday AND Friday. I ended up falling asleep on the couch and staying there all night. Usually I wake up and somehow make my way to the bedroom, but that didn't happen and I was awakened by my dear, sweet husband before he left for seminary. I was hoping to wake up and it be Friday morning, but alas, it was still Thursday. Today it is finally Friday of the longest week of my life. Even the week leading up to my wedding, one of the most exciting days of my life, wasn't this long. Maybe it's because it is the first week after the time change or maybe I am just looking forward to Thanksgiving just a little too much, but who knows. The week is almost done and the weekend is getting ever so close.

The week was full of wonderful events. The senior class decided that they wanted a game associated with their homecoming dance so they organized a juniors vs. seniors game. The seniors won 25-22. You may asking yourself, "What kind of football score is that?" Let me assure you, it was not a football game, but a basketball game with a clock that was running two 20 minute halves. It was quite the game of bad basketball. It was fun to watch and I loved the spirit it brought to the school for those couple of hours.

Last night was the school's appreciation dinner for out Veterans. It was a very nice potluck with lots of entertainment. The school choir sang a couple of songs, but it was the duet by two sisters that really made the night special. The two girls sang "God Bless the USA". There was more patriotism in that room than anywhere else that night. It was nice to see the vets stand and and be honored. I thank them with all my heart for the service they have given to this great county so that we can keep the freedoms and life that we know.

Wednesday was also the YM/YW combined activity night at the Bishop's Storehouse. We were suppose to start everything at 7 pm, but the drivers got lost and couldn't find it, so we didn't start until almost 8 pm and had to leave by 8:30pm. It was still fun and the kids were able to serve. I wish we had been able to do more and have the kids do more, but the important thing was the kids were able to put a little something else before themselves for a little bit and help those who really need it. I, personally, love working in the Bishop's Storehouse. It's my favorite service project. I was very happy while I was there and the rest of my cares went away.

I have found I am happiest when I am working. I am usually very tired and can't wait until the next vacation, but I love to work. Sometimes I just need a little break to gather myself again then I am okay and ready to get back to work. Work is good for the mind, body and spirit. I am excited for the weekend and the time I will have to rest and be rejuvenated, but I still can't wait to get back to work. I don't know of you agree, but, is it just me?

Faith

I am in the midst of completing two requirements for my Personal Progress. The first one in Faith is about prayer. I was to read some scriptures about faith, do some praying, and then write in my journal of my experiences. So here it goes:

I have always had a problem with saying my prayers on a regular basis. I would get started then stop, then start again. Or I would start with twice a day at least then lower to once a day before I went to bed. I noticed this time, that I pray more than I think. I find myself stopping and thinking about what I had just thought and it was usually a prayer that I was saying for something. The more I look back on situations the more I realize that it was a prayer, albeit a little one, that helped me in that situation. I pray more than I thought I ever did. It is through our faith that we see the answers to our prayers. It is through faith that we are even able to pray, to talk to someone that we have never met physically on this earth and know that we will receive an answer. Every now and then I need a little reminder to pray and Personal Progress has been that reminder this time.

The second experience is about the Sacrament. Another goal is to read about the Sacrament, really listen to the words during the prayer and write about it. The Sacrament Prayers have been something that took me a long time to really listen to and understand. It wasn't until I was in college and found out for myself what the prayers were all about. I grew up hearing the words of the prayers every week. It was nothing new to me. It wasn't until I decided that I was going to really listen to them that they took on a whole new meaning. It was during my time of true conversion. I had recently had a knee surgery that kept me out of soccer for about eight months. During that time I was able to focus on the things that were necessary for my life at that time. It's amazing what one little injury can do and how much it can change you. That is when I started to really use the words of those prayers in my life. I had never done that before. It was a whole new thing for me. I felt different. I felt a sense of peace and happiness in hearing those words every week. I have been in a family ward now for almost a year and I realized that I stopped paying attention to the words and what the Sacrament was about and paid more attention to the kid screaming behind me, the kid running in the aisle, or the person sleeping next to me. I had lost that peaceful happiness that I once felt. After reading and remembering the feelings I once had I wanted to get back to that. I have been listening more carefully and thinking of the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for the world. I am so grateful to Him for the life He lived and the example he is. I am so grateful that because of His sacrifice I am able to repent and return to my Heavenly Father once again. Faith is a major part of this life. If we can rely on our faith we will be a happier people and a more caring, forgiving people.

Halloween and Expulsions, Fun!

Yesterday I had to "expel" my first kid. It wasn't a real expulsion but more of an opportunity to withdraw before the expulsion. When kids reach 75 DPS (our discipline system is based on points) we sit down with the parents and tell them their kid has reached 75 points, there's nothing more we can do at this point and let them know that they have the option of withdrawing from the school so there is not a black mark on their record. If the parents do not withdraw the kid by the end of the next school day then we have to go through the expulsion process and paperwork. The parents decided to withdraw the kid. I may have to expel a kid this coming week though. He is already a trouble maker and doesn't really want to be at the school so he messing up. Thursday he decided that he was going to steal a student's cell phone from the PE changing room. After school the kid went looking for his phone and after doing some investigative work of his own, found out who had stolen his phone, tracked him down and got his phone back. That's where I come in. Since the crime happened on campus I had to investigate, get the kid to confess and inform the parents. Monday we will have a discipline committee meeting in which we will decide his consequences. I don't know what the committee is going to say, but the punishment will be anything from 3 days OSS to expulsion. Good luck to the kid.

In other news, last week was Halloween. Leland and I were Minions from the movie Despicable Me. Since my computer at home is having internet problems I have to do all my writings from my work computer and I don't have my camera to download the pics. I love being married to a man that loves Halloween because he always has great costume ideas. Every year everyone who knows Leland is always excited to see what he will be next. I, on the other hand, have no creative bones in my body for Halloween. I thought about Charlie Brown characters (you know Charlie Brown and the little Red-headed girl he has a crush on) but no one would know what that was, so no go to that. We looked pretty darn cute if you ask me. If you have access to my facebook page you can check out the pics there until I get a chance to post them here. The best part of the night, we won that grand prize at the party, a 32 in LCD TV! How awesome is that! I really wanted the $150 shopping spree, but the tv works too. I have never won anything like that in my life. In fact, I told Leland he was marrying the unluckiest girl the whole world when it comes to raffles and stuff like that. Thankfully, it was all his luck that won the tv, but I was holding the winning ticket, so I consider it my win ;) The only problem we have now, we have no place to put it in our little apartment. I already had a nice tv when we got married in the living room, and there is no space in the bedroom for a big tv. We will figure it out one of these days though. Maybe Dad can place a wall mount in when he comes to visit in a couple of weeks. That's what Dads are for right? Well, it's time to get back to work. Have a wonderful time until I write again!