An Interesting Week!

This has been kind of an interesting week, at least, more than most.

Monday I started an aerobics class and this time invited a friend in the ward. She’s really gung-ho about this aerobics things so we went three days in a row and Thursday I played ultimate Frisbee for an hour. Maybe with her help I’ll actually get in shape. J

I also suggested that Jason take a public speaking class Spring term. I was serious enough that he went to the class that night and then after talking it over, he decided to change his schedule, drop his modern Hebrew class, and take public speaking instead. He now has a lighter load this term with a religious class, and a work credit, in addition to his public speaking class. We both hope it proves to be a helpful skill when he teaches seminary in the Fall.

Tuesday was the add/drop deadline for Spring Term classes. I found out that I have to have 3 cr. for Spring or Summer terms in order to work as a student since I’m graduating in August. I signed up for 2 credits of Master’s Project credit over a week ago, but today I tried to add one more credit of Master’s Project so I would have 3 credits, which is the required amount. I tried to just add 1 credit, but it wouldn’t let me since I was already signed up for the credit. So I dropped the two credits I had so I could re-sign up for 3 cr. and then it wouldn’t let me use my permission code anymore because it said it had already been redeemed. So I went from taking 2 credits Spring Term to 0 Credits Spring Term. It was kind of a mess and filling out the petition form is a mess, so for the time being I signed up for three credits project in the Summer even though I’ll be pretty much done with my project after Spring. Hopefully it all works out and they let me graduate!

Thursday Jason and I played an intramural ultimate Frisbee game with our ward. Unfortunately it was really windy that day, and it’s hard to throw a Frisbee into the wind. We lost the game pretty badly, but not before Jason got hit in the nose really hard by someone’s hand as they were releasing the Frisbee. I was worried at first that his nose was broken because it swelled up really big. After some pain reliever and ice, Jason’s has a smaller nose, but two black eyes as the bruising moved down his nose and under his eyes. Four days later it doesn’t look too terrible and so most people don’t notice or ask about it.

Friday we took dinner over to a sister in the ward that just had a baby and then to a play at the Scera Theatre called, “Once Upon a Mattress . . .” It’s a fractured fairy tale of the Princess and the Pea story. I mostly wanted to go because I played the clarinet in the pit orchestra when my high school performed that play my senior year. It has some pretty fun music that brought back a lot of memories. The acting was actually pretty good too with a hilarious actress doing Princess Winnifred. In high school I mostly only heard the play and never actually saw it.

For Mother’s Day, the ward gave all the women red roses and a chocolate bar. We had a delicious dinner at my mom’s house and talked for quite a while. Also, I have been wanting a new camera since my birthday. The flash on my old camera stopped working a while ago and it’s been hard to take pictures with at times. Mark was more than happy to shop for my camera for me and he was able to order this week so I could pick it up yesterday. I really like it so far. It’s a Canon PowerShot 12.1 megapixal, 4x optical zoom for anyone who’s curious. It’s nice and small and has some helpful features on it. Hopefully a new camera will encourage me to take more pictures. :)

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to the two greatest moms ever! Jason and I are both so grateful to have such amazing parents. They are both great examples to us and we hope be can be just as great when it's our turn to be parents too.

A Weekend Getaway--the long version

So I am flying home from a visit to Katrina and Neal’s house in Olean, New York. Last Wednesday I flew in with Kristilyn. It was quite the adventure even getting to the airport because of a large rainstorm. Jason agreed to take me to the airport and I was very grateful because it poured the whole way there. At times the windshield wipers couldn’t even keep up with it and it was hard to see through the windshield. We also drove through about an inch of water and hail on the roads. I was tense for most of the drive there, but it was the worst when a truck would drive by and literally wash our car with a wave of water so that we couldn’t see at all for a few seconds, and a few seconds can see like a long time when you’re going 50 mph on the freeway.

Because of the storm our plane was delayed an hour because of the lightning danger. Our first flight was a quick one to Las Vegas, but we didn’t arrive there until the time that our second flight was scheduled to leave. Fortunately they held the second plane for us so we didn’t miss our connecting flight. We arrived in Buffalo close to 11:30pm and Melody met us there about 30 minutes later. We decided to meet her at her gate instead of at the luggage claim area and almost got our luggage locked up because we didn’t pick it up fast enough. Fortunately Katrina heard them call for our names and saved our luggage from being locked up overnight. Kristilyn and I were starving since we hadn’t eaten anything substantial since noon so after the four of us got loaded up in Katrina’s new Kia mini-van we made a quick stop at McDonald’s to hold us over for the 90 minute drive to her house. We really enjoyed talking to each other the whole way and I’m sure Katrina enjoyed the trip without Daniel and Anna for once. Anna (14 months) needs a lot of attention with all of her special needs. She has a feeding tube in her stomach and Katrina has to hook her up about every 4 hours. She also has a lot of other seizure medications that have to be taken at certain times as well. Anna has little seizures throughout the day and at least a couple bigger ones even with the medication. Even though she is 14 months, she looks like she’s about 6-7 months old and has the developmental level between 2-4 months. She has an occupational therapist, a vision therapist, and another therapist that come in the mornings once a week and Katrina is working on getting some respite care so she can have time to get other things done like grocery shopping, cooking, etc. Anna can’t sit up by herself, but she can kind of support her head and turn it somewhat. She has the most beautiful brown eyes, cute button nose, and curly hair. She feels good to hold and doesn’t cry very often anymore.

Daniel (almost 4) is just as bouncy and energetic as ever, and just as adorable. He loves to be outside, so we spent a lot of time walking around the block or following him on his big wheel around the block when it was both sunny and rainy. He likes to tease and say, “Come on.” He’s also being potty trained right now and trying to have “perfect days” so he can go to McDonalds. He was really pretty good the whole time we were there. His favorite movies are “Mr. Kruger’s Christmas” and “The Restoration.” He has a lot of other cartoon movies, but doesn’t want to watch them. He likes to dance to music, play basketball in the back yard, and play kid computer games. He’s very social and doesn’t like to be alone. He would prefer to do everything with a buddy, and we took turns being that buddy for the whole weekend!

Thursday and Friday were beautiful days and we spent our time grocery shopping, cleaning her house, doing laundry, cooking, and helping outside with some yard work while trying to keep Daniel entertained and Anna cared for. We played games and ate cookies at night when Neal got home from work. It may not sound like a lot, but it took all day to do those things.

Saturday afternoon Melody and Neal took Daniel to the park while Kristilyn and I gave Anna a bath, and all I can say is that it’s a good thing there’s two of us, because it’s hard to get a good position and babies are really slippery when they’re wet! We got some Little Caesar’s Pizza for dinner, made some lasagna for the next day, put Daniel to bed, and then watched The Princess Bride. Melody took some allergy medicine that knocked her out for the night, but Kristilyn and I talked to Katrina and Neal for a little while when they got home that night.

Sunday after church we ate a quick snack in the car and then drove back home for a delicious lasagna dinner and an afternoon of relaxing, talking, and game playing—City and Knights, Lost Cities, Dominion, and Blockus.

Today we straightened up the house again, did one last load of laundry, made homemade pot stickers, ate lunch, and packed our bags before we all got into the mini-van and made the long drive back to the airport (all except Neal since he had to go to work today). Daniel was able to say good-bye happily since his mom told him they were going to McDonald’s afterwards. We all hugged each other good-bye and headed through the security gates to return home.

It’s been a good trip and I’m glad we had the chance to come out and visit Katrina and help out with some of the basic things to make her life a little easier. They've been in survival mode for several months now, and the lack of sleep and personal time are taking their toll on both Katrina and Neal. Kristilyn, Melody, and I had a good time together and we were able to get a lot more done with all of us so we could switch off between working and taking care of kids. It’s nice to know we’ll all be together again in July!

Brother Burningham, Here we come!

So after waiting months, and months, AND MONTHS to know what we are doing in the Fall and where we will live, etc. The decision has come and the waiting is over, at least temporarily. We got the call Saturday night that Jason has been invited to student teach 9th Grade Seminary classes at Lehi Junior High. We are both surprised, since it was very unlikely, but happy for the news. I think Jason is just as happy to teach seminary as he is that he doesn't have to worry about what to do if he weren't teaching seminary. He's going teach two classes in the afternoon everyday and will be contracted for about 20 hrs a week. After teaching for one semester, he will be re-evaluated to see if he can teach a second semester and then be up for hire. He will have training meetings and such over the summer to help him get ready, and we'll find out more details in the coming weeks.

What does that mean for me? It means that I get to look for a job and now I know what part of the country and state to look for one. Since both Jason and I will graduate in August, we'll be off of student insurance and have to enter the "real" world. There are still a lot of questions and details to be worked out, but it's nice to see at least a few more months into the future. As of the last few days, we're think about moving to the Lehi area, but that will largely depend on where I find work. Onward and Upward!

Grandpa Burningham's 90th Birthday

Today is Grandpa Burningham's 90th Birthday. There was a family and friend celebration for him that we attended on Saturday in Midvale. The Church was decorated with a cowboy theme with gorgeous flower bouquets arranged in cowboy boots as the centerpieces on the tables. It was fun to look through the photo albums set on the display table, and we ate yummy barbecue sandwiches and strawberry shortcake. There were at least 70 people that came and wished Grandpa B a happy birthday. Jason's dad also recorded an interview with Grandpa B about his life that included pictures of his childhood. That recording was playing during part of the celebration.

I'm grateful for Grandpa's good life and the good family he raised. He is such a hard worker and takes really good care of his beautiful home and garden. He always greets me with a smile and a hug, and with all his posterity, I'm impressed that he remembers my name so easily after being part of the family for such a short time. I'm glad that so many friends and family would come and honor him and his good life.

Gratitude

Jason and I were just talking about how we need to be more grateful for our blessings and the little services that other people do for us every day, so this post will be dedicated to expressing some of those little things I'm grateful for.

1. I'm grateful for every time that I don't have to plan out and make every part of a meal. This week has been really nice because I went home and my mom cooked a yummy meal for our family, I just got home from a really good dinner group that I didn't have to plan, and I attended two meetings for work that included lunch so I didn't have to pack my lunch for the day. It is such a service when others take care of meals and I don't have to worry about when, or what we're going to eat.
2. I'm also grateful for friends and family. My brother and his family were visiting from Colorado this week and it was nice to see and talk to them again. It's a nice change of pace from school and work to spend time with family. I'm also grateful to have great visiting teachers and a companion that have become some good friends to me through visiting teaching. I love talking to Jason, but it's also fun to talk and interact with other girls. My friend Sara also indulged me by playing Ping Pong this week. We're pretty evenly matched. She won the first game, I won the second, but she won the third. That means that we'll have to have a rematch soon. :)
3. I'm grateful that I like my job. My job is really pretty interesting to me. I feel like it's meaningful and it doesn't cause me a lot of stress like some of my other jobs. It pays well enough for what we need right now and keeps me busy since Jason is so busy with school.
4. I'm grateful for good health. I feel like I am really blessed with good health. I rarely get sick and have plenty of energy for a day's worth of activities. Jason got a cold this weekend and he didn't feel very well over the weekend. It just makes life so much easier when you're not thinking about the pain and discomfort you're feeling. Fortunately, Jason recovered pretty quickly from his cold.
5. I'm grateful for how often the Lord helps things to work out smoothly and blesses us with little things that are important to us although they may seem small to other people. I am trying to renew my teaching license and had to get my fingerprints taken for a background check. I decided I needed to take care of it this week and knew that it would probably be a big ordeal trying to fit it into my schedule and get the right forms to the right people, etc. Well, it ended up being a really easy process that didn't take much time at all because after some quick checking, I found out that they do fingerprinting in my college and I was headed there that afternoon anyway. A process that could have easily taken 2 hours only took an extra 15 min. in my day. A simple thing, but I count it as a blessing.
6. I'm also very grateful for a very loving husband. Jason is very altruistic. He may tell you that he has a harder time seeing things from someone else's perspective, but that doesn't stop him from thinking about others and what he can do to help them. Since I am married to him, I am often the benefactor of his service, although whenever he is around other people, he is often thinking of ways to help and volunteering for whatever is needed whether that need is made explicit or remains unspoken. I am very grateful to be married to someone striving to be so unselfish and kind.

That's probably a good list for today, although it is not hard to think of many other things I am thankful for and experiences that illustrate them. I am grateful for the many blessings I receive daily and hope that I can better recognize them and express gratitude for them.

Racquetball Championship and other Sports

We played in the Racquetball Intramural Championship game this week. I was kind of excited because we've had pretty easy games this whole tournament and I wanted to get a free t-shirt for winning the tournament. Well, we played Tues. night against a worthy opponent. The other team played well--well, at least the boy did. We lost a game, won a game, and then barely lost in the third game 7-11. Since we hadn't lost any games in the tournament and it was double elimination, we played the same team on Thursday. Both Jason and I were pretty sure we could beat the other team. Unfortunately, we were rushed that night and didn't have a lot of time to warm-up and mentally prepare. As a result, we lost the first two games. Right after the games, I asked them if they just wanted to play one more game for fun. They agreed, and now that we were both relaxed and warmed-up, we beat them 15-5. At least we walked out of there with our pride, if not with free t-shirts!

Saturday afternoon I went to the bridal shower of my good friend April. It was actually a really fun shower and enjoyed playing the games and talking with friends.

That night Jason and I went to a BYU Men's Volleyball game against Pepperdine. They are the No. 1 ranked team but we beat them Friday night 3 games to 1. I was excited for a really great match. Unfortunately, the BYU team did not play very well--missed serves, blocked spikes, etc. We lost 3-0. I guess all good teams have their off days, whether in volleyball or in racquetball. :)