Rules, Rules, Rules

It is now the end of the 2nd week of my job teaching 6th grade ESL. I am really liking my job and getting to know the students one by one, some more then others because of their 'outstanding' behavior and neediness. After many days of craziness and gathering ideas, opinions, and curriculum, I realized that I needed to give my students a more structured environment. My hour with the students was sinking into an arguing match over doing homework or learning new concepts with a mean comment thrown in here or there among the students. One of my girls was so frustrated with the class that she didn't want to be in there anymore. I didn't blame her. I thought back on my experience student teaching in DC where the students suffered from a lack of structure. They didn't have the self-discipline or skills to be able to work independently, take notes or complete assignments. We had to go step-by-step with them and give them very structured lessons and instructions. Only then did we have success with them.

This principle of structure made me think of having rules or set boundaries in our lives. Why should we have them? I know I often ask. Why can't I just do it the way I want to? The beauty of this life is that we really don't have to do anything if we don't want to. We have the agency or ability to choose whatever we want to. Of course, with this agency comes unavoidable consequences, good and bad. Following Godly commandments results in promised blessings and visa versa.

I think of a quote I heard once relating to a violin's strings. Some may say the strings are tied down, restricted from their full potential. But if you loosened them they wouldn't produce any sound at all. It is only when they are tied down and tightened that they are able to produce beautiful music. It is the same with us in our lives. Actually, I think it is nice to have someone tell me what to do! Rules, commandments, structure or whatever you want to call it is what allows us to reach our full potential. They also keep us safe along our journey.

I gave my students some struture during our hour together and they thrived! Of course I met with some resistance but they loved the more positive atmosphere I had set in the room. (My bribing them with positive reinforcing tickets I call 'Wow's' and a drawing for prizes every week helped a bit too..) But I'm optimistic that this structure will help everyone and will allow us to get some things done! So the next time I'm feeling like I'm 'tied down' and am frustrated from the happenings of life.. I'll just have to remember this simple parable of the violin string.

Utah excursion, continued

I realized that I failed to tell the tale of our last stop in Utah! We stayed in Logan for the week after Lina and Jordan's wedding with Kurtis' mom's family. Here's a list of the fun things we did:

1. Hiked to White Pine lake with various rounds of 'The ants go marching' (English and Spanish versions), and 'I hate hiking,' (from William and Paola's brother). Needless to say, it was beautiful.

2. Getting to hold baby Lucia! Chauncey and Paola welcomed their new little girl Paola Lucia Tucker on August 12th. She's adorable!!! Congratulations you guys. Pao, I hope I look as good as you did in the hospital when I have a baby!

3. Watching the olympics. This is all we did every night!

4. Playing around, I mean working, on Grandpa Hansen's farm. Kurtis even let me use the chainsaw!

5. Spending time with family. It was great to see cousins, aunts and uncles, grandma and grandpas during our time in Utah. We're so blessed to have the support we do from our family. We love and miss you all!

Oh yeah, I found this great book at Grandpa Hansen's house. I studied it immensely. ;)

Free entertainment!

Last Sunday Kurtis and I found these sparklers in our garage. We had lots of fun with them. I guess you could say that it was our FHE activity. Haha!

Style points

We went to a garage sale yesterday and came home with almost $100 worth of stuff. It really was a bargain! Here's what we bought:

-3 lawn chairs

-2 nativity scenes (which were really all I wanted)

a couch and a loveseat
-some shoepolish (actually, she threw this in free)

-a grill

I saw the couches and was skeptical about them. However, they were in great condition with no pet hair! Our other couches are covered in cat hair even after numerous vaccuming attempts. Kurtis won't sit on them. The couches have a lovely print. I'm sure if I grew up in the 60s they would rock! I'd like to pay tribute to those couches which are now in the basement replacing the sleeping bag fort we made to watch TV, and the couches upstairs. They aren't quite the style I'm going for (I say as I long for my house to be a page out of the Pottery Barn magazine I just got in the mail) Someday maybe... :)

New job, new house, new haircut, new internet!

Pictures in no particular order...

*New curtains we finally hung once Kurtis got his drill.. thanks Christy!

*My shoes, they were organized at one point..

*A bookshelf in our bedroom

*Our address :)

I know you've all been dying to see our house and I apologize that you're going to have to wait some more. The truth is, I'm ashamed that I haven't gotten things in order yet and I can't take pictures of my mess! I have some teasers here for you though.. some candids of around the house or your viewing pleasure. :) It was also time to tame the long, stringy, mousy hair that is on my head so I got a haircut! We also got our internet connection hooked up yesterday. YAY! Lastly, starting tomorrow I am the new ESOL teacher at Kellogg Middle School. It's the same school I was at last year. I had many people rooting for me and pleading for a job for me. I am truly humbled by that. I'm going to be teaching 6th grade kids who are learning English as a 2nd (often 3rd-4th) language. I'll be in some regular classrooms (including science!) and reading classes. I'm really excited to be staying at my school and working with more wonderful people.

This is another lesson in faith and patience the Lord has taught me. The Lord works in mysterious ways but we've got to be patient enough to receive the blessing. Today's lesson in Relief Society reminded me of this. It was on Elder Utchdorf's April 2008 conference talk 'A matter of a few degrees' and King Saul from the Bible was mentioned. He asked the prophet Samuel to offer a sacrifice for his armies to defeat their enemies. Saul waited 7 days for the prophet to arrive but listened to his advisors and the desires of his own heart and performed the sacrifice himself, something he was not authorized to do. When Samuel arrived the next day he had to tell Saul, "Thou has done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded theel for now would the Lord have established thy kindgom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue." (1 Samuel 13:13-14) I know I think I have waited long enough for an answer to a prayer, for some special blessing I think I deserve, etc. but the Lord is reminding me to wait just another day to receive his choicest blessings. I hope I can have more humility to trust in the Lord and not lean unto my own understanding.