Christmas in Utah

We went to PF Chang's our first night in Salt Lake. The trip up here was eventful. We stood in line for 3 hours at the airport and missed our flight. But we did manage to get here in time for dinner at my favorite restaurant with most of my favorite people. Bill had to work and my mom was not feeling well.

Monte, Daevius, & Stephanie.

Ben was SO good at the restaurant

My parents, Reed and Diane Jensen

Xavey and myself.

Anna and Monte.

Derek and Diane.

Brenda, and Xavey.

The food was great. The company was better.

Random Gratitude

Here are just a few of the things I'm grateful for tonight - this list is long but certainly not exhaustive.

Yesterday we attended our ward Christmas party. It was a breakfast and service project and was more fun than it sounds like even though I was having an RA day. The food was good, the decorations were sweet, and I looked around and realized anew how much I really like those people.

After the ward party AnnaMae and I went shopping at Michael's - serious fun! I bought a bunch of stuff I needed to finish up my Christmas presents. We scurried home by way of the grocery store and got ready for Monte's annual YMs presidency Christmas party. I love those get-togethers. The faces have changed over the years Monte has served as Young Men's President but the laughter and fun has not. The best part is that Fatima has found a new home (don't ask).

I woke up this morning and didn't hurt.

I sat in Sacrament meeting at church watching the young men and their leaders providing that sacred service. Every Sunday I'm struck by what a sweet feeling it is to watch the white shirted warriors reverently offer each person there a chance to renew, repent and reflect.

Monte has built a fire in the fireplace and we are spending the evening watching sappy Christmas movies. There is good food leftover from the party so I don't have to cook. I have a job to go to tomorrow that I love (most days), and I have a vehicle to drive to said employment. We are all set to go to Utah after Christmas to see our children and grandchildren and my husband and mother-in-law (bless them) decorated the house and set up the tree.

Life is still good.

Baby Steps

I taught kindergarten today. Today is the first day of teaching for me since the MEA weekend (that's Minnesota Education Association) where teachers are supposed to have sharpened their skills. So we spend 3 days evaluating ourselves and a making plans on how to be a better teacher. I fretted. In addition we had a new student coming with particularly high needs. I got so stressed out I gave myself bad dreams for 2 days. So, today while I was singing and dancing with the kindergartners I realized just how much progress we have made in only 14 days of school (they go every other day). On the first day of school I had one who dropped to the floor of the bus and steadfastly pretended to be asleep. He not only refused to get off the bus he refused to even open his eyes or acknowledge anyone. This behavior persisted until 10:30. In the meantime, another student kept pulling the stuffing out of his pullups and eating it. Today, Mr. Sleepyhead walked off the bus and spent the first hour of the day in his mainstream classroom. True, he didn't participate much and spent some of that time rocking with his eyes closed but he maintained an upright position and no one had to "help" him move up and down the hall. Mr. Chewy is not longer wearing pull ups at all, he didn't pull the threads out of his sweater and eat them, and he took my hand and danced with me during circle time. All of my students can count to 5 by rote and with 1 to 1 correspondence, and they all recognize and write their own names. I know it doesn't seem like much but it's progress and it gives me joy to see it.

Pockets

Okay, I had no intention of blogging tonight because I have about eleventy other things I ought to be doing but I just have to share my deep thoughts (ha ha). I follow a blog titled "A Dress a Day." Yesterday's entry was about pockets and it got me thinking. They say you can tell a lot about a person by what they . . . have in their closet, throw away, drive . .. I propose you can tell a lot about a person by what they have in their pockets at the end of the day. Today, when I got home from work I had a pretty typical assortment of items in my pocket. There was my I-touch in one pocket and my cell phone in the other, 2 quarters, car keys, a ring of picture cues I use for non-verbal prompts, an Alleve tablet, and a stray wad of brown paper towel, the kind used in school towel dispensers. Now I don't walk around for long with that much stuff in my pockets but they tend to collect things all day long. We had conferences last night so I wore a pair of dress slacks that didn't have any pockets and was nearly crazy by the end of the day from picking stuff up and laying it down somewhere and then spending 10 minutes searching for it because I didn't have a pocket to put it in! Today I taught in the Kindergarten room. At various times during the day today one might have found in my pockets the following items: a "chewie" to keep David (not his name) from eating non-food things like string he pulled from his sweater, a dry erase marker for writing lessons, ball point pen for data collection (now where was that clipboard?), flash drive for ALL that info I just think I can't live without. What I didn't have today was the ever present keychain with keys to the 3 classrooms I have been working in this year so far. Those I left on the table in the basement when I relaxed by the fire with my hubby on Monday. This meant that all 3 of those classrooms had to stay back locked and every time we left them we got locked out and had to go get someone to let us in - What a pain! Ah well, tomorrow is another day.

A New School Year

One week before school started this year I was placed on the SLIP team at school (School Learning Improvement Plan). The team is charged with reviewing the learning goals made by the school community last year, reviewing progress toward those goals, and creating new goals to present to the staff at school so that they can make their plans for how they will meet those goals. I felt a little clueless but the school needed to have a special education representative on the team. ANYwhoo, in the process I discovered that the lead special ed teacher at our school, the person who had been the sped representative on the SLIP, had accepted another position in the district and would be leaving Madison. Two days later the principal at Madison called me and offered me her position. I stressed out for about 24 hours and then accepted the position. What if means for me is that I will be teaching Kindergarten Centerbase class on Monday, Wednesday, and every other Friday and will be the "Elementary Contact" teacher for the special ed team at Madison on the other days. I was pretty intimidated. It is a very long story, but the last time I had a job that put me in a position of authority it turned out poorly for me so I was REALLY nervous. On the other hand, I reasoned that this is a staff I have worked successfully with for the past 4 years and it would be a great opportunity to develop some new skills. It is also something that will look good on my resume. Since Anoka-Hennepin School District will be closing 7 elementary schools and 1 middle school at the end of this year there is a high likelihood that I will be looking for a job.

So far, I think I made a great choice. I'm really loving my job this year. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed teaching kindergarten. I have 4 students with significant needs but we have a lot of fun. They have made progress already! In the other position, I seem to be doing scheduling and paperwork all day and it is kind of fun. I'm still covering the caseload for the EBD teacher because we haven't filled that position yet but the up side of that is that these kids are familiar to me. Life is good.

The Last Huzzah of Summer

Derek came to pick up the kids on August 20th so we went to the Renaissance Festival on the 21st. We all had a blast. It was a beautiful day.
Daevius made a wand.

We met lots of mythical creatures.

The kids went to church with me the following day for one more visit, and they went home on Monday=(

Let's get caught up.

September is nearly over and I am just getting around to recording some of what this summer was like. The phrase that keeps running through my mind is "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A little melodramatic, I suppose, but it seems to fit. We had a wonderful time. Having Xavey and Daevius with us gave us an opportunity to get to know them in a way that isn't possible in the brief visits we have had up to this point. I discovered that I am not as patient as I thought I was, but the kids got to do many, many fun things. I had them attend Adventures Plus (a school age day care program) while I taught summer school.
I actually about broke even on it financially, but the kids made friends and had 2 field trips a week. They went to 2 water parks, the Elm Creek Park Reserve playground, the Minnesota Zoo, Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America, a Lynx game, Brunswick Bowling, Maple Grove pool, Stillwater Boat tour, Cinema Grill, and Circus Juventas.

4th of July - We had our annual 4th of July party. Monte paid the Xavey and Daevius a dollar a bucket for picking up pine cones so that the kids could run around barefoot getting wet and playing.

It was a wonderful day. The weather was just warm enough to make it worth putting out the wading pool and the slip and slide for the kids.

We put up the awnings and cooked some brats and hamburgers. Everyone brought something. As usual the food was great and the company was better.

As for it being "the worst of times". One of my favorite men, Monte's brother Bill, passed away in

August. I have probably spoken before (but not often enough) about how much I admire the men in Monte's family. Let me say that Bill was the epitome of what it means to be a loving father and worthy priesthood holder. Bill was the most welcoming and generous person. When Monte and I got married I suddenly had a big brother. Someone who was ALWAYS available if someone in the family needed something. I miss him a lot! My son, Bill and his wife and baby drove to Minnesota for the funeral. While they were here we visited Elm Creek Park.

Summer 2009

Okay, despite the novelty of journaling electronically and (wonder of wonders) having someone interested in reading it, I have fallen into old habits.  I have kept a journal since I was eleven years old but have a tendency to write faithfully for several months and then forget about it for several months, sometimes years.  I always think I have a lot to say.  I enjoy expressing myself in writing so why am I so scatterbrained about it?  I don’t have the answer other than to say that I am only consistent about things I have actually made into habit.  Ah well, the following is a summary of my very busy summer so far:

Trip to Texas 

At the end of May, we attended a wedding in Texas.  Monte’s brother and his wife (Scott and Sue), who live in Flower Mound, Texas invited us to attend the wedding celebrations for their daughter, Megan, and her fiancé’ 

Marc.  These people really know how to throw a party.  It was SO much fun.  We shopped and played for a day, there was a shower for Megan at her mother’s sister’s house.  The couple was sealed in the Dallas temple after which we had a wonderful lunch and went back to the hotel for a short rest.  That evening the reception was held at the clubhouse of the golf course near (almost beside) Scott & Sue’s home.  The clubhouse was very nice and the decorations were great.  The thing I liked the most was that the families of both bride and groom had compiled some family pictures and memorabilia for several generations and organized these cherished mementos on tables.  The message was clear – this marriage is forever.  During that trip, Monte and I celebrated our 16^th wedding anniversary.  It seemed like a perfect way to celebrate.

End of the year at Madison and Riverview

I was able to conclude my time at Riverview Elementary with a minimum of stress.  There is always a flurry of work with students being identified for services late in the year, some students invariably move in at that time of the year, particularly in my field.  As the stress of finishing one grade and moving into the uncertainty of summer begins to show on the students, those who have minimal coping skills generally act out and often parents go looking for a “new” environment to give the student a new start.  Hence, EBD students are a little more likely than the average to switch schools at the end of the year.  We were lucky this year.  Any of the students who added at the last minute did so by the end of May so we had time to write plans for them. June 11^th was the last day for student and the 12^th was a work day.

Grandkids

 Arrival/Derek, Stan and Anna’s visit

            June 14^th my daughter Anna and her friend Stan came to visit.  Their plan was to fly into Minneapolis, visit for a few days (Stan has friends in Minnesota) and then drive home with Derek.  My son in law, Derek, and two grandchildren, Xavey and Daevius, arrived about 3 AM the following morning.  We had a great time playing on Monday the 15^th despite the fact that I tried to find a city park that did not actually exist.  We had lunch and did find the Saint Anthony Falls.  We scurried home, made dinner, and then went to Monte’s softball game.  They kicked “fanny” so it was really fun to watch.  Then, Tuesday morning, Derek, Anna, and Stan left and Xavey and Daevius and I unpacked their stuff and began to get to know one another.

Setting up for Summer school

On Wednesday, June 17^th I was required to be at Oxbow Elementary to set up for summer school.  Xavey and Daevius came along and were bored senseless.  They watched a movie on my little DVD player, played on the playground and ate their lunches all before 11 AM.  I met the two ladies who would be my assistants in summer school and was very impressed at how professional and hard working these women are.  In subsequent weeks, I have come to be very grateful for these women.  We are having a wonderful summer even though the students I’ve been assigned to are more severely handicapped than I usually work with.  (More about that later)  When I had to go back on Thursday to finish setting up for the summer I discovered that the Adventures Plus summer program opened that day so I dropped the kids off there.  They had a great day and I got a LOT more done.

Visit to Bakken Museum

            On Friday, June 18^th we went to the Bakken Museum with my sister-in-law, Beth, and her twins, Wyatt and Willa.  It was a great trip.  The museum is housed in the former home of the inventor of the first cardiac pacemaker and co-founder of Medtronics.  The home is amazing with a collection of electricity based exhibits.  We had lunch by lake Calhoun and went back up to the museum to be sure we hadn’t missed anything.  Daevius was most impressed with the “brain wave” machine; any kind of “video” game being his first love.

A Quick Check In

My afternoon school is a science and math specialty school. What this means is that the students all make regular walking field trips to the Coon Rapids dam. They also have Junior Master Gardner lessons and a variety of other enrichment programs. Anyway, today as I was finishing up my fifth grade reading group I said to Tim "We'll have to finish this on Monday"
Tim (not his name) said "My class will be at the dam on Monday"
I said "Well dang!"
Tim "No the dam!"
Hmm, Sometimes I wonder if I'm getting through.

As a post script, this student just finished taking his District progress assessments and his scores jumped by more than 20 points! Hooray. I know student progress is a collaborative effort but I feel pretty good about that and REALLY proud of Tim.

I love my job, again

In the past several weeks my job has given me fits. I have had multiple deadlines and a particularly volatile student reaching crisis status. This student is now permanently in my room instead of in the mainstream classroom. This means LOTS of extra work for me but here is what I've discovered. I really love being able to sort out the tangle of needs and feelings and environmental factors that all come together to be expressed in these behaviors. Today my little friend only needed one "break" during the morning. He worked steadily and was able to invite a friend to lunch with him. He smiled and it did my heart good.

Officially Spring

Okay, it's officially spring. Monte has cleared off all the leaves. For some reason our trees don't drop them until the green buds come in in the spring. He tilled the garden, and cleared out the flower beds. We planted 3 rows of peas, 2 rows of spinach, some basil, cilantro, parsley, marjoram, thyme, yellow squash, and zucchini and some onion sets. The chives are already about 4 inches high, the rhubarb is producing, the apple trees are budding, and there are teeny tiny purple buds on the lilac bushes! We managed to have 2 "tiffs" while working together in the garden. My husband's comment - "planting makes you cranky" The blue herons have been spotted down by the water and the geese are already settled in as well. I haven't seen a frog yet, but it won't be long. I have seen mosquitos. God's in His heaven and all's right with the world. Happy Spring to all!

A Day in The Life of . . .

I rolled out of bed at 5:05 this morning and tripped over the cat who had already spent the past hour sleeping draped across my legs. The cat always heads straight for her food dish (whether it needs attention or not) I follow her so that she will know I have checked on the state of her nutritional supply. If the bottom of the dish is showing it requires replenishment and she will not stop tripping me until I take care of that. I filled her dish of course. Then I stumbled into the bathroom to take care of all the grooming stuff we all do - shower, hair, makeup, dress for work. By 5:30 I unlocked the door & turned off the alarm so my Seminary kids could get in without setting it off; loaded a few dishes into the dishwasher, washed the countertops, and ran downstairs to get ready for Seminary. Since I fell asleep last night without doing it I had to choose hymns for my lesson and load the video we used today. I sat and reviewed my lesson until 6:10 when my class finally showed up. We sang and prayed and read Hebrews 11 and talked about faith and promises. The video depicted a young man who was a recent convert faced with the choice of whether to work on Sunday or not. Hebrew 11 promises that the lord will always reward those who have faith even in the face of choices as hard as those Abraham, Moses, and David had to make. The main character in the story chose to reject a job that his family needed him to have. They did not understand. The story was unresolved as far as his job was concerned - he didn't get a job. He did, however, know in his heart that he had made the right choice. He bore testimony of the blessings he was receiving in simple terms of building a relationship with the Savior. A much greater blessing than a job.
Next, I took my meds, prayed with my hubby, and spent a few minutes putting together my stuff for the day ahead - namely computer, paperwork, and lesson plans. I had to iron my clothes before I left the house this morning because I realized when I looked in the mirror that they looked a little like I was wearing a used grocery bag. Got on the road by 7:35 but since the drive to work takes about 45 minutes on a good day I was 5 minutes late today. That's okay, at least I didn't have any early morning meetings this morning. By 8:25 I was already deep in conversation with another teacher about a student who has been having a particularly difficult time.
At 8:50 my students started trickling in for their check-in. Jeff always waits in the office for me (names are all changed) because he gets into too much trouble if he is in line with his class. He came in this morning and informed me that there are way too many days left of school before summer break and couldn't we please cut out some of those. Before I could respond to that Paul, and David came in from the bus. Paul wanted to be allowed to go line up with his class and could he PLEASE just be given another chance. So I gave Paul a pass. David, on the other hand had tried to run away from his classroom no less than 5 times on Monday so he and I needed to have a conference. He has a helper who comes in to keep track of him but the helper has been someone different every day now for 3 days because we haven't been able to hire a permanent person yet so I needed to introduce him to today's "helper" and review the plan for the day so it would go better than yesterday. Bob and Don came in next. They just got their charts and went on their merry way. David and his helper were still debating about where to go next. Jill and Anna came in with their helper to have their faces washed, teeth brushed, and hair combed. By 9:10 my room was blessedly empty and basically quiet (I'm across the hall from the gym - how quiet could it be)
9:20 Today I taught social skills with a group of first and second graders. I walked around to each of their classrooms and picked them up and took them to my little classroom. We talked about "What bugs you about school?" and "What can you do about it?" David and his helper attended this lesson. All was well David stayed for the next lesson as well.
9:40 Picked up 4 kids for a reading lesson. One of them needs to work on math instead. We read about Polly the parrot and learned about number arrays as a means to counting in one to one correspondence. David did well and earned a play break.
10:10 I dismissed 3 kids to go back to their classrooms. David did not want to end his play break but after some serious putzing did. I picked up the next group of kids and David went back to his classroom. By 10:15 David was back kicking and flailing. We got him settled into an activity and I attempted to teach the next group how to read. I have to say that Anna did pretty well considering that David spent 15 out of our 30 minutes together being seriously oppositional. But, eventually he settled down, David finished an "apology of action" and we made a deal that he could go back to his classroom . . . if.
10:40 I had a conference with David's case manager. By the time I got back to my room at 11:00 David was in the principal's office having been "escorted" there after kicking his teacher and running down the hallway trying to get away from his helper. (Gusty sigh . . .) The decision was made at that point that David would spend the rest of the day in my room and his case manager's room after I leave the building.
11:10 My fifth grade math students came in for their lesson (fractions oh joy!) I really enjoyed their lesson. David was given some spelling to work on but he jumped up and grabbed a book off the shelf spending the next 30 minutes looking at that instead of doing the spelling. As the fifth graders were leaving the school social worker came in to invite David to his lunchtime friendship group. I was sorry to have to tell her that David was not ready to come to this group until he had finished his work. David finished the assigned work in 10 minutes... hmmm. Then he went off to his friendship group with his lunch. He seemed to do well during the group and worked quietly when he came back to me while I answered numerous e-mails and tried to work on an IEP. The paraprofessional (i.e. helper) came back for David at 12:20 and I packed up and managed to get out the door by 12:30. Since my lunch started at 12:10 this wasn't really good news. I ate potato chips and diet soda in my car on the way to my other school, arriving at just in time to have a meeting with the special ed team and the tech people regarding accommodations for special ed students while taking the MAP tests this week and next.
1:30 5th grade reading
2:15 4th grade writing
2:45 5th grade writing
3:15 5th grade social skills - We played "What would you do" I taught this lesson in the classroom to the whole class. Everyone recorded something that someone else had done that really bugs them, wadded the paper up and threw it into the middle of the circle, and then we all picked up a new one. Then we opened the papers up and took turns reading the "problems" and talking about it. My student, Adam, is autistic so many of the "problems" that came up were things he does that he is not aware are offending (really bugging) his classmates. We had a chance to answer the 3 big questions for choosing a course of action. One, is it a big deal? Two, can I handle it on my own? Who can I go to for help?
3:35 Dismissal. I checked in with my 4th graders. All was well.
3:45 I wrote 2 PLEPS (Present levels of progress) for students I teach, and worked on an IEP that is due on Friday. Then I started this blog entry. When the custodian poked his head in to clean the room I looked up and realized it was 5:30.
I packed up all my gear and headed for home, stopping on the way at the gym for a quick torment session, and arrived at home shortly before 7:00 PM
Then I had dinner (seriously hungry after having potato chips and pop for lunch), cleaned up the kitchen, studied my seminary lessons and finally finished up this blog entry. It is 20 minutes to 9 and I am SO ready to put on my jammies and veg in front of the tv until I fall asleep but I still need to see if I can get that IEP a little further on its way. I probably should have been doing that instead of writing this but I have to believe this could be more important in the big picture. Now I have a record of an average day in the life of... Jan, grandma, Ms. O - whatever.

Too long

Okay, it's been way too long since my last blog and here is the reason. I have my little notebook that I write my thoughts in hoping to find the ultimate thing to blog about and it never surfaces. Then I find myself looking at a 4 week old blog thinking "It looks like I fell off the face of the earth" and so I just dive in and write something.. Well here's a synopsis of my life since March 28.

April 2 & 3 - I was sick as a dog. A belated gift from my grandson.. Thanks Ben! I promptly shared it with Monte. He still hasn't shaken it off. I'm perfectly healthy now though :p

April 4 - General Conference: We watched it at home on the satellite and had some company to watch with us. The Sorrels joined us. It was so much fun to have them at our house. Devin and Dillon are always entertaining. My prayers are with Mahna this weekend after her surgery.

April 9 & 10 - 2 days off work for Easter. We had the Welkers at our house for Easter. What a great time we had! They are like family to us, we hope they feel the same way. I made petit fours and Easter egg braid (bread) but I'm too lazy to post the pictures right now. The big surprise is that I made bread and it turned out! The Easter bunny brought me a basket full of chocolate, but I shared it with him so we are even.

April 14, 15, 21, & 22. We had MCA testing at both schools. I spent all day testing with basically no prep time. I had a substitute to teach my lessons for the first and second graders while I was testing 4th graders.

April 17th I had Kindergarten transition meetings (very short) and was completely stoked to have the rest of the half day to work on the multiple IEPs I am in the process of trying to write. It didn't happen. I stressed out major including losing sleep and you all know that I just never have insomnia. Spring has sprung and along with that comes the rush of last minute kids being identified for special ed services, teachers reaching their limits as we are faced with high stakes testing, and last preparation for summer. Along with that the kids and teachers alike always begin to be just a little more high strung as a long break from school approaches. Teachers have multiple deadlines and planning to do along with anticipation of the break. Kids often get anxious about the uncertainty of having a change in their routine. We tend to think about summer break as being wonderfully free but the reality is that it can actually be a stressful thing for kids. Especially if things are strained at home for any reason.

ALSO, I talked myself into working summer school again.

So, boring as it is, if this blog is simply my journal I've done my duty by it.

Ben's Visit

This is little Ben Oelkers. He kindly brought his parents to Minnesota to visit us. We had a great time. Ben's mom and dad, Bill and Stephanie, are pretty fun people to be around. We had a party for which they worked hard preparing food and making the house nice. Monte's family came for the party. As we were planning it I realized that the last time most of these people had seen Bill was right after his mission. They hadn't met Stephanie or Ben. On Saturday, Grandma got to babysit. We went to church on Sunday and had a barbeque (none of the pictures of that turned out - Grandma is technologically challenged.)

Paperwork

It is time to turn in the paperwork on kids who need to have special ed services during the summer. It is a process that ought to be simple but, somehow, never is. Everytime I think I've got it right I find out there is something I forgot, did wrong, or has been changed. I can feel the gray hair popping out all over my head!

Staffing News!

*One note - if you are not interested in the "whole magilla" the big news is in the second paragraph. I documented for documentation sake.
It's spring. For a relatively new teacher that always means the "staffing stress" comes on. Every spring public schools look at what children will be attending school for the following year and how many teachers will be needed to teach said children, taking into account (of course) budget issues. I have now taught school for 5 years. My first year of teaching I taught an all day, every day, Kindergarten class in the Minneapolis School District. That was the 3rd year of a 3 year budget cut plan in which that district had to reduce their budget by 90 million dollars! My little school closed at the end of that year so I needed to move on. Knowing that the district had teachers who had taught for more than 10 years in that district who did not have positions for the following year I did my job searching primarily in other districts. I was lucky, I was hired in the Anoka-Hennepin district for the following year but the position was a split. I worked half time at Madison Elementary and half time at Morris Bye Elementary. At the end of the year when the "staffing stress" came up I was dropped from both positions because I had been working on a "provisional" license. I was still finishing the schooling required for the EBD certification. Madison hired me back but Morris Bye found someone who was not on a provisional license. The next year I worked at Madison and Evergreen. Evergreen's numbers dropped at the end of the year so my position at Evergreen was eliminated which meant that both positions were gone because they were offered as a package. Madison hired me back the next year and Riverview picked up the other half time piece. THEN (joy of joys) Madison and Riverview both had a position for me for this year. This has been the first year since I got my teaching license that I haven't been job hunting from March to August. I have completely enjoyed repeating a year in the same two schools, especially since in the Anoka-Hennepin district being offered a contract for a 4th year of teaching gives me tenure. That means that even if there aren't enough special needs kids at one of my schools to warrant my position the district is reqired to find me a placement (which I have to accept or go job hunting again). BUT it means job security.

Here's the news. For the past 4 years I have worked at one school in the morning and then driven to another school for the afternoon. I've had to juggle 2 sets of staff and 2 caseloads. My caseload at each place is smaller, but it can easily become more like 2 full time jobs if I am not really careful. Yesterday, the principal at Madison (remember, my old stand by that has always hired me back) came into my room and started talking about staffing for next year. I thought "Oh boy, here it comes" What she was trying to tell me was that the numbers of EBD kids at Madison has increased this year enough to warrant a full time position at Madison for next year and would I like to take it? Woo Hoo Just think of it. No hauling myself out of the building in the middle of kid crises, no juggling 2 separate conference schedules. I'll know the kids on my caseload before summer break so I can begin next year with a plan!!! Parents will be able to find me when they need to discuss something. This may sound like a possible negative but believe me it is not. When a parent tries to get ahold of a case manager and that case manager seems unavailable the problem escalates exponentially out of sheer frustration. Okay, there will be a couple of things I'll miss. First, the sped teacher at Riverview (there is only one besides myself) is wonderful and really great to work with. I'll miss her a lot. Second, I'll have to turn in this nifty laptop computer that all "transient" teachers get. Oh poop. Ah well, I'm sure I'll cope. Hee Hee. One school, one position! Hooray hooray.

Spring Break!

It's Thursday already of my spring break! I can't even believe it. I haven't done anything exciting. I cleaned out the pantry, did some paperwork and have spent the past 2 days sitting at my sewing machine. I'm making a new temple dress. I went shopping this afternoon just to get out of the house. I wandered around JoAnn Fabric until the trance set in. I can't believe how many projects I can decide to start in one tour of a fabric/craft store. (I went for thread) It was terrible/wonderful. So, of course, I had to run to the cake store because wandering around JoAnns reminded me that Easter is rolling up fast and I want to make . . . You get the picture. But I'm back at my sewing machine. I think I'll finish one thing before I start a new one - don't you think that's a good idea? You know what I noticed? It was downright warm today. I had to take off my coat. I'm told, however that we have another snowstorm coming. It was fun while it lasted though.

The Party's Over

Well, the Saint Francis "Branch" has folded up it's traveling tent again for the year. We had fun. We attended Sacrament meeting in our stocking feet (some of us that is) because people are so completely polite about preserving our floors. I'm ready to stop preparing a lesson EVERY day of the week, but I'm really going to miss having these people come to our home. I guess we'll just have to find an excuse to invite them all over again. We held our own "linger longer" yesterday and shared some really tasty food and even better company. The kids got excited and played just like they do at the chapel (I was glad to see it. It means they are comfortable). We took some pictures but I'm going to clear it with some people before I post them here. I'm a little hypersensitive about people's right to privacy.

When the cat's away . . .

Okay, I know I've said this before but I'm going to repeat it. I'm a child. Most adults know when to eat without being told, go to bed when they are tired, finish their homework. Even many children know how to do this. Monte is out of town until Wednesday and I'm REALLY tired today. Since I just finished a 3 day weekend I can't claim I'm overworked. The reality is that I got so excited that no one was around to tell me to go to bed that I stayed up sewing until my shoulders and back were stiff and my thumb will not move. I forgot to eat dinner last night until I came upstairs and found the sandwich I made for lunch still sitting on the counter. Not that missing a meal or two will hurt me but you'd think anyone with my obvious love of food would have remembered to take a dinner break. It could have something to do with the diet Mountain Dew I drank while I was sewing. Because I spent most of yesterday closeted in my sewing room, I also didn't do the lesson planning I should have done for today so I've been "flying by the seat of my pants" today. Something that works briefly but won't work for a second day in a row. My new pajamas aren't quite finished yet, though ... Maybe I could sew just a little longer. I don't have to cook dinner tonight either - there's still that sandwich. I can't wait to get home!

St. Francis "Branch"

It's happening again. The northernmost members of the Anoka Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are hereby invited to attend Sacrament meeting and Gospel Essentials class at our home! This probably seems like an odd invitation and I'm here to tell you that it wasn't that Monte and I took it upon ourselves to have services at home so we wouldn't have to drive into Anoka. This is something that our bishop decided last February might be a good experiment. It was fairly successful so we have been asked to do this again. It was great fun last year. We moved the furniture in the basement and set up about 20 chairs, Monte built a fire in the wood burning stove, and we set up music and all the other props. We called on the members who attended to contribute with prayers, testimonies, talks, and of course the appropriate ordinances performed.

We are all ready to do it again (well, I wouldn't say ALL ready) but I get to teach the Gospel Essentials class (I think that's what Monte called it - I get confused because I keep hearing it referred to Principles, Essentials, Basics ...) Whatever, I get to do it and I'm excited about that too. I don't exactly remember from last year whether the week we started was also conference week but that is what is happening at my house. I will work from 8 am to approximately 8 PM 4 days in the next week. Add to that that the middle schools are holding meetings to "transition" 5th grade special ed students to 6th grade which is middle school here, and this all means late nights, LOTS of paperwork, and some stressfull (even tearful) meetings. Middle school is as hard on the parents as it is on the kids. On Tuesday I went to bed grumping at my poor husband about how I'm NEVER going to be able to make our house presentable. By Thursday I had come to the conclusion that the Lord planned it this way. We'll do what we can and the rest is up to Him. This way I HAVE to prioritize and make it about His message not my pride. The best part about the whole thing is that a Sacrament meeting in the intimate setting of a person's home strengthens those feelings of love and welcome. That is what is the most important part of it to me. The Gospel is about people not places. I'm grateful we have a home that can accommodate such an experience and I pray everyone will feel welcome and loved. See you there!

Check in/Check up

Just a quick check in for anyone wondering if I've dropped off the face of the earth. Rumors of my untimely demise are greatly exaggerated. I had a rough weekend. By Thursday at 3:30 arthritis in my foot hurt so bad I couldn't put any weight on it and driving a manual transmission vehicle home was an adventure in torment but I made it. Friday I took the day off work and spent it in bed, contacting doctors and feeling sorry for myself. Saturday was a little better. Monte presented me with a big stick to lean on so I could get around the house a little bit. I've always wanted my very own wizard's staff. I'm keeping it - I can think of LOTS of uses for a big stick (a variety of quotes come to mind). We collaborated on the laundry. Monte did the hauling and I did the folding. I couldn't make it to church on Sunday - just couldn't walk that far and this makes the second Sunday in a row that RA has kept me from going to church. I hate that - I REALLY don't like to give myself an out; it is too easy for me to start making excuses and in the end I feel worse after missing a Sunday, but I really was in no shape. Monday I spent milking it a little because I didn't have to work anyway and I was happy for the extra day to baby myself. Clint and Serena came and cheered me up- bringing some really stellar cookies. The upside is that I have further proof from this that my husband is a gem. He cooks! He even cleaned and brought me stuff - and built a fire in the fireplace. What a lucky woman I am!! I'm pain free today - WooHoo! I'm still going to the doctor on Friday.

Favorite People and Unsung Heroes

Awhile ago I blogged about mothers and I left a few people out. I need to talk just a little about one of the great blessings in my life. I am blessed with several mothers. The lady in the picture is my father's wife, Diane. Technically she is my "step-mom" and I always refer to her as Diane instead of Mom. This is to avoid confusion not because I don't consider her my mom - she is. A mom is someone who takes care of you, rejoices with you, worries about you, knows when you are hurting, forgives you when you are obnoxious, and most of all teaches you. These are all things Diane has done for me. Diane is a "kindred heart" for me because we share many common interests. She taught me to sew and to love it. She loves to read, like I do, and we often share favorite authors. Diane is the one who makes sure I get family history info and pictures. Think about what a great blessing it is for me to know that my children live within a 30 minute drive of 2 grandmothers and one grandfather who would do just about anything for them if they were in need of help. We are all a pretty independent lot and sometimes don't call or see each other for months at a time but my dad and mom in Bountiful are always understanding. If you are reading this, Diane, thanks, and I love you.

I titled this blog favorite people and unsung heroes, so I'm not finished yet with people who should be recognized and frequently aren't - mothers-in-law. Like step-parents, mothers-in-law get a raw deal. I've been blessed with 2 genuine precious gems. I'll begin with Monte's mother, my current mother in law. Anna Mae has the sweetest, most generous heart of anyone I know. She is the matriarch of a family of headstrong, opinionated, amazing people. One thing that will never be in short supply at an Oelkers family gathering and that is different points of view. Anna Mae binds it all together. It takes confidence and competence to be a part of the Oelkers family. Maybe some of that came from Monte's dad but I have to say that Anna Mae has taught these people to know their own value and to share it with others. Anna's my mom, too. But best of all I consider her my friend. I could hope as much for my daughter and son-in-law.

Last in the "mom" lineup I'll recognize my first mother-in-law. I was 18 when I married my first husband and I was probably a real pain as a daughter-in-law. I cringe when I remember what a moody, anti-social little turd I could be. Wanza was REALLY patient with me, even when we moved in with her for 5 months! Wanza was always close by. She was the kind of person I could feel comfortable asking for advice and she gave it straight from the hip without any judgement. She taught me to love flowers because she had a beautiful garden in a postage stamp sized lot. Wanza passed away a few years ago. I hadn't seen her or spoken to her for years but I still think about her sometimes. She is missed.

I Resolve

I dislike the cliche' of setting New Year's resolutions so I vowed several years ago not to do it again. This doesn't mean that I don't believe in self examination and setting goals. I just believe that it shouldn't happen once a year and then be forgotten by February. So here I am with a perfectly legitimate recognition that there some things about my behavior that need work and it happens that these realizations were brought on by the introspection that comes from the closing of an old year and the beginning of a new one (the definition of a New Years' resolution, I believe). I've been taking inventory for the past several days and listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and I've come to the conclusion that the Lord has been telling what I need to do for weeks through my sweet hubby. As I thought about it Monte, who seldom criticizes me (basically because I respond poorly to it), has been giving me the same sage advice with increasing frequency: "Smile"

Today I resolve to smile more.

Okay, to quote John Bytheway "Oh my pitiful goal!" What kind of a goal is it to simply smile? Well, setting measurable and obtainable goals for other people is what I do for a living and I'd like to discuss just what might be entailed in seeing that I smile instead of frown.

Objective 1: In order to get a sincere smile on my face more often I am going to have to pay closer attention to my health. I excuse the scowl on my face by recognizing that my body hurts a great deal of the time so (poker face that I'm not) it shows on my face. Hmm, I'll bet a lot of this pain can be dealt with by eating healthy foods, getting more exercize (raising endorphins), and seeing the doctor regularly and then doing what he/she tells me to do.

Objective 2: My friends and family make me smile. I can and will make better connections with them. I'm a recluse. I use the excuse of my busy life to justify how often I pull away from people. Then I'm sad and lonely when I feel invisible, but I've created the situation. I can and will spend time with friends, get out of my comfort zone, follow through when I feel prompted to call someone. I can and will contact my mothers and father and brothers and sisters and children more and let them know that I love them and think about them often. (Don't think too hard about the fact that I put mothers -plural- I will explain later.) I also want to get to know more about my ancestry. These people who are the root and soil of who I am. I've been blessed in recent years with more information about them and a desire to investigate. Doing that will put a smile on my face.

Objective 3: My gifts from God make me smile. I love my work. I feel that I'm good at it and it is incredibly rewarding to me. This is a gift from God. The skills I have with children who hurt come directly from God and this is my true calling. I take a paycheck home because the school district pays people to do what I do, but I'd do it without being paid (don't tell District 11). Most of the people I work with are incredibly loving dedicated people. This is also a Gift from God. Another gift from God that is mine is my creativity. I'm descended from some true artists. My father and brother are talented artists. I'm not a true artist, just creative, but creativity is the power of God. What is it that the Saviour did? He created the earth and all that is in it. My creativity is a miniscule portion of that great power and it puts a smile on my face. I'm going to respect and nurture that creativity in all the forms that it takes.

Objective 4: I can unpack, unload, and destress. I noticed something wonderful about my son and his wife. They smile and laugh a lot. They don't seem to take themselve too seriously. I have always taken myself way too seriously, and I'm a funny person - especially when I'm not trying to be. I can let go and let God much more than I do.

Objective 5: My relationship with my Heavenly Father and my Saviour make me smile. I can open the door for the Saviour by being a better Seminary teacher, studying the scriptures for myself as much as to prepare a lesson. I need to spend more time on my knees talking to my loving Father in Heaven. I need to spend more time listening to the promptings of the Spirit. I feel peace when I take the time to read the articles in the Ensign and the New Era, when I attend church meetings, listen to the counsel of the local church leaders, and when I do as the prophets have asked. These are things that intertwine themselves with all of the other objectives I've written about. These will be the actions that make all the others possible.

"My Soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation." Psalms 35:9

I wish for all my friends and family a happy, healthy, and prosperous year, but most of all I wish for you to smile!