Saturday, September 24, 2011

In Loving Memory

Today was James Brown's funeral. It was very nice. We learned a lot about his life. It was interesting to hear about his childhood. It was his mother who encouraged his testimony. He came from very humble beginnings. If you read his "What I know," you will realize he truly lived what he believed.





Sunday, September 18, 2011

James Brown

James Brown died this week. He was such a giant of a man. He was an amazing example for everyone. I will always be grateful for what he did for our family. He not only gave all our children their patriarchal blessing, he also married three of them to their spouses. He had a terrific sense of humor. His understanding of the gospel was what I would like to emulate. I believe he had an awesome reunion with those that passed on before him.

He will be missed.


Monday will be the start of the 4th week of school. Last week was just a blur to me. The principal asked me to take a 1-2 combo. The class started on Tues. The students weren't assigned to me until Friday after school. That only gave the five teachers involved one day to rearrange, yet we still had to teach on Monday. Therefore, there has been a lot of moving and confusion during after school hours. First, I had to give most of my second grade supplies to the new 2nd grade teacher. (Papers that had already been torn out of consumables and copies of assignments had to all be recounted. ) I'm still missing things. I already had student pictures and work on my boards. So I had to redo my boards. To make things even harder Thursday was Back to School. Somehow I made it through the week. I have been happy to have a weekend to correct papers and hopefully do some planning. I enjoyed my combo last year. I'm sure I will enjoy this class this year once I get all my supplies and books. All the teachers just wished the district people incharge would look at the numbers during the summer rather than waiting for school to start. All of us had already gotten attached to the students we had. I gave up 25. I only kept 5. Here's hoping for a good year.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

In Memory of 911

Last Wednesday Michael and Alyana came to visit. Really they came for a vacation. They were busy. They went to Disneyland, the beach, an Angel's game, and the USC - Uof U game. They both graduated from the U of U and they love the Angels. We did get to see them a little bit on Saturday morning when we went to Ruby's in Whittier for breakfast. It was nice to get to know them a little better.


Do you think they wanted the U of U to win? It was a close game, but the U still lost.
This is a small garden of flags. The flags represent the different people who lost their lives on 911.



Today is the 10th anniversary of the 911 attack. The news the last few days has shown lots of picture from that dreadful day. I just remember how numb I felt. Since I was teaching, I wasn't able to watch the event unfold. It would not have been wise for me to have the TV on in my classroom. However, during recess and lunch it was on in the teacher's room. I just couldn't believe it was happening. One thing that stands out for me was the airplane traffic above our house. There wasn't any for many weeks. It was almost spooky. We have grown accustom to seeing the planes. Also, Tim was on his mission. We didn't receive any communication from him for almost 3 weeks because the planes were not carrying the mail. I think this was about the time that the missionaries were able to begin to email their families. Watching the memorials that have been going on this weekend helps me realize what a wonderful country we live in. I'm sure the terrorist were hoping this would pull our country apart. However, I think it has brought us closer and made us more patriotic. I know the USA still has many problems, but I love this country. I love the freedoms that we have here.

I know the next few pictures are kind of dark, however, I wanted to take part in some of the services that were happening this weekend. Rose Hills had a rememberance going on. Wayne and I actually got to touch a smalll piece of the Twin Tower wreckage. In the background is a wall of names. The names of people who lost their lives that day.








Inside the chapel at Rose Hills names were being read. Then a bell was chimed. It was a little humbling to hear the names.
God Bless America!!!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Labor Day - The End of Summer

As Labor Day approaches I get mixed emotions. It is sad to see summer end, then it is exciting for school to start. This year has been a little confusing for me since I have already had four days of school. I think that is a first in my teaching career. This year has also been different for Wayne and me because we have just the two of us here to celebrate.


We decided we would go to Ruby's for breakfast. The 60 freeway hardly had anyone on it and we had showers. This is unusual.


We were able to get right in. The help asked where the rest of the family was.

It tasted as good as it looks.


Wayne always goes for the big breakfast. That means he usually won't let us get anything else for the rest of the day. He has had his one meal for the day.

After breakfast we walked down to the Wedge. There has been a big storm down by New Zealand which caused really big waves to come to the Wedge this week. The waves even crashed into the parking lot so berms were pushed up to prevent any more flooding.

The really big waves have passed, but I was able to catch a few that look pretty dangerous. The kids out in the water were just picked up and smashed to the ground. I think I have outgrown the need to be smashed. The waves were still fun to watch.

I thought this was a really good shot.


We continued our walk to the ferry and then over to Balboa Island. The cloud cover kept the walk very pleasant.
This sailboat caught my eye. It just looked so big. It was moving at a pretty fast pace.


We ended the day by going to the movies. We saw "The Help." It is an excellent movie. It helped me realize how far this country has come in the way we treats people. Now that Labor Day is almost over, I have to face reality and get serious about school. I have a sweet class. I have many different learning levels to work with which will make it a hard year. Having thirty students is also going to keep me busy. I hope all my grandchildren that are in school will try their best. I want them to have a good year.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Janay and Michael

Wayne and I have been home from our vacation for just over two weeks. It has been a busy two weeks. My first day back brought a phone call about a sister in our ward that had passed away. Anna Smith was 93. Mimi and I arrived at the Smith home while she was still at the house. We did our best to console the family and let them know we were there to help. As the funeral approached we had the privilege to dress Anna in her temple clothes. Her son was the only member of the church. A week after Anna passed away, our dear friend Rick Westbrook died of cancer. Wayne and I had visited him on Sunday in the hospital and he was able to talk to us. On Thursday we had made another visit to him in his home. Shortly after we left their home he passed away. His funeral was yesterday. I believe over 500 people attended. The service was very spiritual. Our ward asked Hacienda 2nd ward to help us with the food. We fed over 200. The Westbrook family is truly an amazing family. They appear very composed. I believe they have been blessed and comforted with the knowledge that they will see him again.


After the funeral Wayne and I went to Janay and Michael Petty's wedding reception. It was very lovely. All of Lily Ann and David Peeler's children and grandchildren were there except for Andrew Hatch. He had to be at school.


Janay and Michael are a very cute couple.
The reception was in the Peeler's backyard.



Janay sang a love song to her new husband.

Lily Ann and Christian had a dance together. He truly is tall. I can see why he plays basketball in college. It was fun to see all the Peeler family. It was a very enjoyable evening.