Well, November proved to be a rough month. I ended up getting really sick, but after a trip to the Emergency room, several visits to the medical clinic and a much needed trip home to Arizona, I got better. I had to take basically the entire month off of work, but being sick and having that time for myself gave me a lot of opportunity to reflect. I look back on the experiences that I had that month, and I wouldn't change them for anything. The things that I learned are irreplaceable. I experienced trials that truly taught me something, and I have grown immensely from that rough month. :)
Well, the doctor banned me from work and school for the remainder of the month (On about November 6th) so as soon as I felt up to it, I scooted home for about a ten day visit. It was excellent. I got to spend some time in Flagstaff, and see Courtney, Jana and some other friends there. Then I went home to Glendale, and it was so wonderful to see my family for an extended Thanksgiving visit!
After some fun, and healing in Flagstaff, I headed down to Glendale! :) YAY for seeing family for Thanksgiving!
Then it was back to Spanish Fork for about three more weeks of student teaching! :) Being done with student teaching was a bitter sweet experience. I love those third graders so much, and being in that classroom was a such a great experience. I loved my cooperating teacher, Elise Clifford, and over the course of the semester, we became good friends!
The coolest thing about the end of student teaching was that so many blessings came to me. It was definitely the sunshine after the storm. November had been a trying month, and as I relied on my Heavenly Father, I truly saw the purpose behind the trials I faced and He blessed me greatly. Because I had to miss so many days of student teaching during my illness, it was a question as to whether or not the school would let me graduate. Many emails went back and forth between the College of education, my university supervisor and myself. Eventually, the student teaching coordinator from NAU evaluated my performance throughout the semester, and said that I could still graduate, and successfully complete my student teaching. I was so grateful for this blessing in my life. Despite the hospital bills and missing work and school, things worked out, and it was apparent that I have a loving Heavenly Father.
So, I finished my student teaching... all done with school!! :) Originally, since I am living in Spanish Fork, I was not going to get to go down to Arizona for my college graduation. However, I have the most amazing best friend, and she pulled some strings and talked to her amazing Uncle Mike. Mike decided that for our graduation presents, he would pay for me to do a quick turn around to Flagstaff. So, the morning of December 16, 2011, I got on a plane in Salt Lake City around 8 in the morning, and I was in Flagstaff for my graduation by 1pm.
After a quick trip, it was back to Spanish Fork for just a few short weeks before I got to come home for Christmas again!
I was also in charge of my ward Christmas program. That ended up being a great experience. I used the Christmas program that my family uses every year of Christmas eve.
Then, it was home for Christmas!! :)
After a fast, but fun visit home for Christmas, I headed back to Spanish fork! When I got back, I started substitute teaching for the Provo and Alpine school districts. It proved to be a rewarding experience and I learned a lot from the short time that I did it.
Spencer came to visit for a weekend in January, and it turned into a crazy weekend because my Arizona friends ended up surprising me with an EXTRA visitor.
Shortly after I got back to Utah, they changed the ward boundaries of the singles' wards in Spanish Fork. This boundary change is something that I have been truly blessed by. Because of the change, I have met so many amazing people who have blessed my life in such a short time. Ever since the split, I feel like my life has been full of great experiences and tons of fun! I am excited to continue to cultivate the relationships I have begun to develop!
The fun really began after I held a pretty awesome party at my house! I invited a lot of people from the ward, and a lot of people ended up coming. It was such a great time and I loved getting to know people better through playing games and enjoying each other's company!
Bradley and I met in August, shortly after I moved to Spanish fork and shortly after he got home from his mission. He was my home teacher for a while, but recently changed home teaching companions and isn't any more. However, he and I have gotten to be really great friends, and he is someone that I appreciate having in my life almost every day.
Wesley is so much fun, and was one of my first new friends when the split happened. He and I are constantly joking and I have so much fun when I am with him. When the wards first changed, he invited me to come play soccer with a group of his friends and now I play every Thursday night with them. I am not very good, but I have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know people better and to try something new!
Aaron has been such a blessing in my life. He always makes sure that I get included and invited to things. I love having him as a friend because he is a great one!
Jenny is so much fun to be around! She and I have become pretty good friends, and it's so much fun to have a girl around to do things with! People around us always call us "the Jennys," and more recently they have deemed us number 1 and number 2, but we are going to try and rid people of the use of numbers when referring to us! haha.
Mandi is simply AMAZING!! She and I met at soccer the first time and she was so incredibly friendly to me that night. She came right up and introduced herself and helped me to feel welcomed. More recently she and I have had a chance to talk one on one, and she is one amazing girl. She has a great resolve to do what is right and you can see her testimony through the way she treats others. It is really neat because she might actually be coming down to Arizona with me soon!
John... Well, I met John while working at Sears, and he is one funny kid. He is extremely animated and always had people laughing.
Kelsey!! I love this girl. She always has a smile on her face and is super sweet. I love having her around. I met her the first time while playing soccer on a Thursday night, but then I found out that she is in my ward, and I was so excited because she is simply amazing!
Nate is someone that I met through the Bradfords (Wesley and Jenny), and I don't know him very well, but what I do know about him is that he is suuuuuper funny and so welcoming. He is such a nice person, and you can often find him interacting with random strangers and making conversation. :)
Shortly after the party, I had my last day at Sears because I got a new job!! I also stopped being a substitute, and I now work at American Leadership Academy. I am a Title I paraprofessional and a special education aid. I am really enjoying it, and I hopefully will have a shoe in for a job in my own classroom there in the fall!
The weekend after the party was super fun as well! There was an institute dance, and before that I dyed Bradley's hair. That was super fun!
Then, the Arizona people and myself took a little trip up to BYU-I to see Erica and Jon. Erica asked Emily and I if we would come up to go wedding dress shopping with her so we did!
It seems that I am living weekend to weekend, and I kid of am. haha. All of the big things happen on the weekend. Granted, during the week, there is always FHE, institute and soccer, and those things keep me going throughout the week for sure, but each weekend seems to bring a new adventure!!
The next weekend was QUITE an adventure. My dad ended up driving up to Utah to see Bruce. On the way here he flipped his car. He walked away just fine, and luckily the car ended up getting pretty much fully repaired as well. Blessings!! :) It was a crazy weekend for sure, but it was nice to have my dad around!
After the flipping car debacle, my dad ended up staying for about a week. It was kind of neat to have him around. I was running all over the place, as always, but it was nice to come home at night and talk to him until way too late! I miss being around my family, and so it was nice to have the comfort of having my dad around.
Now onto more adventures!
You've already heard about Bradley... so Max! He is a fairly new friend, as this was the first time I had met him. He came with Randi and Natalie to this activity, and is a pretty cool kid. I don't know him very well yet, but he is in my ward so hopefully I will have the opportunity to get to know him a little better as time goes on!
Natalie is such a great girl! She is Randi's best friend, and I had heard a lot about her from Randi. We had met a few time prior to this, but this was the first time that she and I had done anything together and it was so much fun! Since, we have hung out a few more times, and I have learned that she is such a sweet girl. She is great to be around, and I look forward to hanging out with her again!! :)
Cole!!! He is my new home teacher since Bradley isn't anymore. He and I became friends because of smelling cologne samples that this kid Chuck brought to FHE one night. That happened, and it was like we were instant friends. He definitely has become a person that I confide in greatly, and is someone I feel like I can be completely myself around. His friendship is one that I appreciate greatly.
Shauna is one great girl! She and I were visiting teaching companions for a little bit, and unfortunately we got switched after only getting to visit our girls once! I love how sweet she is, and how fun she is to be around. I remember once at ward prayer when she talked about how she just wanted to get to know everyone in the ward and be their friend. She has got such a sweet admonition, and such a loving spirit!
After the Provo Beach Resort, I went for a day in Salt Lake with the Bradfords and a few others! We went to the temple in the morning. Jenny and I went to do baptisms while the rest went into a session.
Then, we all headed to the Hogle Zoo!
On Saturday morning, we had the adult session for our stake conference. It was so great. I think it is such a blessing to be in an all singles' stake because the talks were directed toward our specific age group and people in our specific walk of life. It feels like such a huge blessing to have leaders specifically assigned to speak to young single adults. Their talks were inspirational, and helped me to develop goals that I would like to pursue. Sunday session proved to be the same way. I remember specifically one of the speakers talking about how when we are asked what we are pursuing, we should never say "I don't know." We should explain what we ARE doing. This is something that really struck home with me because I feel that Heavenly Father does want us to think about what we ARE doing. I think if we accentuate those positive and productive things in our lives, it will motivate us to do more.
On Saint Patrick's Day, my relief society had a trip up to Salt Lake planned to celebrate the Relief Society's birthday! We went to see the Joseph Smith movie and then we went to the temple. I hadn't realized that they had changed the Joseph Smith movie. It isn't the same as when I was a youth. Some parts were added, some were taken out and the narration is different. It is still just as spiritually uplifting, but it made me a little bit sad when it wasn't the same. That movie has so many good feelings and memories from my youth attached to it that it felt sad that it was different. The new parts however were awesome because they incorporated a lot of today, and how we can apply the history of the church into our lives. I really liked that!
Then, later that night, the Arizona people had a green party!! :) :)
Wow... after about four months of catching up, I think I have gotten up to date on this thing!!
This last week, I have really grown to enjoy my job and the kids that I work with. In particular, I teach a math class to these two girls and I have found ways to make long division the most fun you have ever seen it be. I love seeing them smile when I do something silly, and I love seeing the light bulb go off when I know they get it! On Thursday, we spent their entire class period playing a game and dancing to the long division song. I have seen the progress in them every day, not only in their academics, but also in their attitude about learning. Teaching can be such a blessing some times because you get to serve other every day. You have the opportunity to love others in a way that no one else gets to love them. The relationship that a teacher has with their students I have learned is such a special one. It is full of so much hope and understanding. I have come to realize that every child really does have a star within. Through teaching these kids, my testimony of the Lord's love for His children has grown so much. He really does love us as individuals and He really does know our individual needs.
Throughout this last week, I have also had the time to reflect upon other blessings that I have been granted. I have recently realized the blessing that online social networking can be as it has helped me to connect better with my extended family. We have never really been close, but after writing a message to all of them on facebook, it seems that we are going to work together to try and change that. Family is such an important part of life, and I don't know why I ever let myself go this long without doing anything about the situation with my extended family. However, all I can do from this point is move forward and be better from now on. :) I am excited for the blessings that they will be in my life!
Other than that, the last week has been pretty great! It was average throughout the week, FHE, institute and soccer. After institute on Wednesday Jenny and I went country dancing which is super fun! I really enjoy it!
This weekend has been a relaxing one and I have been grateful for that! I did get to spend time with my good friend, Tawna as we went to the color festival! I went with her last year as well, and so it was fun to do it again with the same person! It was a lot more crowded this time though and really hot! We still had fun though!
Tawna and I at the color festival with her friends McKayla and Sasha.
And on that note, I think this record breaking blog entry is finished! It's not all inclusive because there are some things that I definitely missed, but you get the jist of my life to this point! I do my best to keep you all updated over the phone anyway, but this way you can see it in pictures! :) I will do my best to be better about staying on top of this for all of you Arizonians that I miss so much! I hope you are all doing well!!
Loves and hugs,
Jenny :)
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