At the top of my list all you'll see is HOME.

Josh said something today that struck me. He said, "The older I get the less I care about gifts and surprises and the more I care about being with my family for Christmas." He is so wise.

This year is not unique to any other due to the fact that each year I get a little too caught up in getting great gifts for the people I love, and putting together my perfect Christmas list of course. Christmas starts to become who can "out-gift" who. Josh then so perfectly reminded me that the reason I love Christmas so much is because I get 2 whole weeks with my favorite people in the world.

Just as I was considering this thought a song came on my Spotify playlist called, "I'm Coming Home." One of the lyrics is, "at the top of my list all you'll see is home." Perfect.

So my countdown this year is not necessarily for Christmas morning, but for December 18th because that's the day I get to go home and be with the people I love most.

#ldsconf

This weekend was a big one for the LDS church. It was the semi-annual General Conference. Twice a year the church broadcasts a two-day event where we get to hear from our church leaders. We are privileged to hear from the 12 apostles (including 3 new apostles called) and our beloved Prophet, along with other leaders of the church. It's a time where we can re-evaluate our lives and find specific ways to improve. It seems that Conference always happens at the exact right time for me. We are urged to come with questions ready to be answered as we listen to the Lord's servants. This Conference I took that seriously and had a couple specific questions and concerns in my mind as I watched Conference. As my biggest concerns and questions seemed to be answered by the first talk given, my excitement and anticipation grew for what else the Lord would have me know.

I received personal revelation specific to me which has strengthened my testimony of this gospel. I love that we are encouraged to ask questions and seek to find answers. In the past I have felt weak because of the questions I've had about the gospel. As I have embraced those questions and found answers I have come to realize that having questions about the gospel is not only OK, but a good thing. The whole reason this gospel was restored to the earth is because a 14 year old boy had questions. He didn't suppress those questions or feel embarrassed by them. He took them seriously and found answers. I'm grateful for the example of Joseph Smith to address your questions and seek to find answers. It's when the questions go unanswered and turn into doubts that the problems arise. As our Prophet Thomas S. Monson  said this conference, "Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other."

I have a testimony of the simplicity of the gospel. If we only keep the commandments and covenants we will be blessed. Our Heavenly Father loves us and seeks to bless us, we only need to live the gospel to the best of our abilities and by the grace of Him who redeemed us we will be made perfect. All God asks is that we give our best effort and His son, even Jesus Christ, will make up the rest. I love the hope and peace that that simple gospel truth brings to me.

If you have questions go to lds.org to find answers.

Things heard in my PE classes...

I am loving my job. I mean really, really loving it. Some days are crazy and classes are tough but at the end of the day I always leave with a smile on my face because my kids are just the cutest. (No matter how difficult they make teaching a great lesson.) I've heard and said some pretty funny things so I thought I'd give you a glimpse of my day to day by sharing quotes from my students and I. Enjoy!

Kids:

"I can't run because my ____ hurts."

"My tooth is wiggly!"

"Hi Coach!!"

"Can you tie my shoe?" 

"_____ pinched my bum."

"_____ butt me in line."

"This is a great exercise!"

"This is so fun!" 

"I'm bored."

"Please tell me we aren't running today!" 

Me:

"Oh your ____ hurts? Get a drink of water then get back in!"

"Do the best that you can."

"Keep your hands to yourself."

"Put your shirt on."

"Put a bubble in your mouth!"

"Stop burping."

"Stop making farting noises."

"Of course we are running! This is PE!"

"We don't run into the wall we just run to the wall."

"Show me what good listeners you can be!"

"You guys are working so hard, I love it!"

"I love my job." 

Back to School

Welp it’s been another long time between blogs. This has been a long break. I’ll just say that I’ve been having too fun of a summer to pause for a blog. But I now am forced to pause since I’m stuck on a plane. Let’s recap our summer shall we?

Moving in to our new place, camping, energy drink pong tournament, my Grandma turning 80, best neighbors, finishing Harry Potter, driving cross country, boating, getting a job, summer camp together, Lake Powell, graduation, family reunion, super quick trip home, new family members (fish and recently born baby fish!), best friends getting married, and so so much fun.

We realized that this is probably our last summer of not having to be real adults with real jobs so we decided to take a fun summer job instead of a big money maker. :) It just so happened that we got to work together which was ever greater than imagined! We got a job working at a Summer Camp where we basically played with kids all day. Naturally Josh was the instant favorite counselor. I got to be the manager and plan all the activities which proved slightly harder than I first thought. Overall it was a great experience and we loved it!

Tomorrow we both start school! Josh starts his last semester at BYU and I start my first day at my new teaching job at Provo Peaks Elementary. Josh has a job as a Teacher's Assistant and is excited about that. I am very excited and also very nervous for my first day but am ready to meet all my students! I already met one student who said that PE was his favorite so I'm hopeful!

Goodbye Summer! You'll be greatly missed!

City Livin'

Well hello bloggers. I realized that since our city life experience is half over I'm way overdue for a blog update.

We love DC. We love using public transportation, walking, getting our groceries delivered (thanks safeway.com), downsizing to a studio apartment, and getting a taste of life after BYU.

I'm finishing up my experience at Mann Elementary School and will be starting at Wilson High this week. It's definitely a bittersweet feeling leaving Mann. I've had such a great experience there with a great Mentor and kids. I have improved and learned a lot. I was so convinced that Elementary was the level I wanted to teach but after getting a better taste of teaching at this level I'm not too convinced. I loved it but it was not without it's tough days. The amount of management and patience that is needed is ridiculous. For that reason I am feeling ready to start at Wilson. I'm sure it will be a whole different experience which makes me both nervous and excited. I hope that the learning curve doesn't hit me too hard. I'll be coaching lacrosse too which I am very excited about. Finally getting back into lax! But that also means that my days will be longer and more planning. Yay! It will all be worth it I'm sure.

Josh is enjoying his internship and is learning a lot. He comes home and informs me about the new projects he is working on along with the acronyms he is learning. I just love that I get to see him in a suit everyday. That boy can sure clean up nice! He is also busy with his class that is part of the program. He has papers and lots of reading to complete each week. He handles it all pretty well and somehow we still make time to eat out as much as we do.

And we do eat out far too much. But it's so hard when we are surrounded by so many awesome places that we feel obligated to try! We keep saying that our lives have started to revolve around food and it really isn't that bad of a way to live, except for our depleting bank account... We are also serving in the nursery at our church which is an adventure. There are no more than 5 kids every week so it's really not all bad. I am just missing my time with adults. But I get snack at church so who am I to complain?

 Recently our plans have changed for the summer after Josh found out the classes he needs aren't offered in the summer so he will have to take classes in the fall. I'll still graduate in August but Josh will finish in December. He has started applying to internships in Utah and I've started job searching as well. We are also apartment hunting which is terribly frustrating and difficult to do thousands of miles away. But, not to worry, things work out.

That's the latest and greatest!