My Favorite Things of the Week that Was

I have noticed that when life gets a bit crazy (i.e. busy, stressful and challenging) I tend to blog less.   This past week  has been one of those stressful and challenging times when  I have not even kept up with the several blogs I like to visit every day.   Despite the challenges of this past week however, I believe that God is good and in control and I do need to look at the many good things that happened and express my gratitude.

With that introduction, lets get to work...

1.  My favorite thing this week was a wonderful Sunday Surprise we had when our doorbell rang just before 8 this morning, and our awesome son-in-law and three of the grandchildren stood at my front door.  He had come down to a reunion his family was having here in Arizona this weekend, but because he was making a quick trip, and had left our daughter and the new baby at home to rest and recuperate, we didn't expect to see him and the children.  It was so fun to have them come by and spend a few minutes visiting before they headed home to Utah.  Seeing my grand children is always my favorite thing!

2.  My daughter is turning 30 tomorrow!  Here she is with her husband and the sweet baby she gave birth to just a few weeks ago.  It surely does not seem like thirty years ago tomorrow that I was laying in a hospital bed holding her! She has always been a delight and a joy to our family and I am so grateful to be her mom. Have a wonderful birthday and a great year!

  

 

3.  My husband is such a hard working guy.  He does a great job of keeping our yard looking good even in the summer heat. This week was an especially busy one for him, but he still took time to work in the yard Saturday morning.  In this picture, he is burning some weeds in the back yard, behind some small palm trees. I helped out for a while, even though the temps were already heating up when we were out working.

 4.  Beautiful sunrises.  I love the early morning and sunrises that fill my soul with wonder and awe.

5.  The first progress reports of the school year come out next week.  My deadline for late work to be included in this first progress report was Friday.   So far, the school is going well for both Charly and I, but it seems unbelievable that we are already half-way finished with the first report card grading period. 

6.  Friday night football is back.  Josh and I attended this game at my high school Friday night.  Although Mountain View ultimately lost this hard-fought game, it is always fun to experience the excitement of the "Friday Night Lights."  

7.  Charly and I had a little "shopping date" Saturday night and ended up at our local Barnes and Noble bookstore.  I found this little book entitled, Little Ways to Keep Calm and Carry On ~ Twenty Lesson for Managing Worry, Anxiety, and Fear.  After a week like this last one, this seemed like the perfect book for me, so I got it and have started reading it.  It has some great ideas on keeping problems, challenges and fears from getting out of control.  I am enjoying the reading and learning a lot.

8.  It's Labor Day weekend and that means an extra day off.  I am looking forward to sleeping in ~ that means getting up sometime later than 4:30 a.m.!  Have a great long weekend and enjoy the fruits of your labors!

"Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work."

~Booker T. Washington

I am joining again this last weekend of August with..

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and 

Lisa at Home to 4 Kiddos.

Things I loved about this last week...

I am taking a few minutes once again this weekend, to remember, reflect and be grateful for the good things that took place in my life last week.

Honor Day ~ 

The school I teach at has had an honor code in place for years. At the beginning of each school year, homeroom teachers take time to review the honor code and students must sign a paper acknowledging their awareness of the school honor code and what it means. This year, the administration and staff decided to take an entire school day and designate it as "Honor Day."  We had a special hour devoted to lessons, activities and discussions about honor ~ what it is and is not and what being honorable does for our society, our school and our individual lives.  Each teacher was also responsible for "mini-lessons" on some aspect of honor for at least ten minutes each class period during the day.  I admit that at first I was skeptical about Honor Day, but it ended up being a great opportunity to let the students think and talk about why integrity, respect, honesty, responsibility and grit are important and what each individual can do to become a person of honor.  In my opinion, this activity had a positive impact that will hopefully last through out the school year and beyond.  I hope the Honor Day becomes an annual tradition at Mountain View High School. 

Temple Time ~

I had the opportunity to spend some time at both the Gilbert and Mesa temples last week. It was so good to get away from the busyness of everyday life for a few hours and experience the peace that is found at any and all of the temples.

Clouds, Storms and Rain ~

As the summer monsoons lingered, there were big, awesome and ominous clouds that rolled in bringing wind, dust storms and lots of rain.  A deluge of rain  resulted in flooding in some areas.  Although I am not fond of dust storms and the flooding brought by heavy rains, the clouds were beautiful, the downpours were appreciated and the temperatures were much cooler.

Summer Sunshine ~

The sunshine is back for the weekend, along with blue skies and August heat.  That's why Phoenix is the "The Valley of the Sun!"

Good Home Cooking and Eating Out  ~

We started the week with slow cooker pot roast and ended with this a fun new recipe ~ Breakfast enchiladas ~ that I hope to share here on the bog some time this week.

We went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch earlier today.  We don't eat out a lot and I had never been here, but the food was good, the atmosphere pleasant and the prices reasonable.  We'll probably go back.

Reading Time ~

I have made a conscious choice this week to step away from the computer, turn off the TV and spend more time than usual reading every day this past week.  Reading always enriches my life and makes my days go better.

Joining once again with Susanne of Living to Tell the Story  and other blogging friends including Lisa at Home to 4 Kiddos for "Friday Fave Five" and "Our Week in Review."

Mid-August Favorites of the Week

Here we are at the end of another full and busy week. Time to slow down and take a few minutes to remember some of my favorite things from the past few days.  Joining again with Susanne for...

Rain!   Yes, Phoenix is situated in a desert and is usually very hot and dry, but summer monsoon storms can bring a lot of rain all at one time.  Such was the case this last Tuesday, when parts of our valley were inundated and flooded.  I did not take these pictures, but they give some idea of the magnitude of Tuesday night's storm.   The rain cooled things off considerably very quickly around here.  We dropped from 104 to 75, which was a welcome relief.  Where I live, there was no flooding, but a nice much needed rain, which did our plants a world of good.  

The rain is gone for now and this morning dawned clear and bright.  The heat is back too though and I find myself hoping for another storm soon.

School!  The second week of school went pretty well for both Charly and I.  Charly is enjoying his new school and students and I am enjoying having him home early every afternoon since he now teaches much closer to home than last year.

Parent night!  Yes, it's over for another year.  It's not that I don't enjoy spending all evening in my classroom greeting parents and explaining my curriculum after spending all day in my classroom greeting students and explaining my curriculum, but it does make for an exhausting 15 hour day and I am always happy when it goes well and is over for another year. 

Service! Josh spent all day Tuesday volunteering at the Bishops Storehouse, which is our church's version of a food bank/pantry.  He left at 6:20 a.m. and got home after 7:00 p.m. volunteering, with a couple of friends, for twelve hours.  He said he spend most of that time bagging potatoes for distribution to those in need.  He came home tired but happy and said he wants to go back and volunteer again soon.

Homemade Ice Cream!  It has been years since I've made homemade ice cream, but inspired by my daughter, who made homemade ice cream the week before she gave birth, I decided to get out our little ice cream maker and give it a try once again.  The results were delicious and much enjoyed. 

We indulged so quickly in the ice cream, that I forgot to take a picture of the soft, creamy good stuff until it was almost gone.  

It really isn't hard to make, or even that time consuming so I plan to make this treat again very soon!

Walks!  With school back in session, Charly and I have resumed our evening walks, even though the heat of summer is still with us.  Last night, I got to have a bonus walk when, after Charly and I finished our two mile walk, Josh wanted to get out of the house and we decided to take a late night stroll around a local park.  This past week, I walked a total of 11.7 miles.  My goal would be to walk more than that each week, so we will keep trying to bump that total up a bit.

We have some cows that live just around the corner from us on a small urban farm and we pass them every night on our walk.  They are friendly cows and if we stop for a moment, they will come right up to the fence and say hello.  

Birthdays!  My mother-in-law celebrated her 85th birthday yesterday.  She is not in good health and has late stage Parkinsons' Disease so we truly didn't know if she would be with us for this birthday.  She is actually doing OK, all things considered, and Charly was able to have a nice birthday conversation with her last night. The picture was taken last May when we went to Utah.  That's Josh and his sister, Tiffany, with their grandma.  Tiffany also has a birthday coming up soon, and I was able to get her gift purchased, wrapped and mailed off in time so it won't be late!

Reading! With all that has been going on this week, I have still been able to find the time to read and journal, which always makes my week go a little better.  In addition to the scriptures, I am currently reading The Choice by  Suzanne Woods Fisher.  I call books like this "Amish comfort reads" because they are pleasant and comforting books to read, especially when life gets busy and stressful.

Hope you had many "favorite things" going on in your life this week.

Happy Homemaker Monday

Last week, with the beginning of school, life was a little busy.  There was so much to do, adjusting to a new school year and new schedules, and just taking care of the business of life around here, that there was very little time for blogging.  There was no time for posting or catching up with blogging friends and I missed that, so I am getting an early start on Happy Homemaker Monday, joining with Sandra at Dairy of a Stay At Home Mom. 

Breakfast time, on the plate this morning...

I am writing this post late Sunday evening but, I get up very early (4:30 a.m.) to be at school by 6:30 a.m. to teach A hour.  I always take time for a nutritious breakfast however ~ I have made a conscious effort to make a good breakfast part of my day.  Most mornings, I have a blueberry and banana smoothie with a bowl of whole grain cheerios or my own breakfast concoction which is bananas, unsweetened apple sauce and flaxseed meal/wheat bran/oat bran all mashed up and mixed together.   Sounds weird, I know, but it is actually quite tasty and pretty healthy.  After that, I usually have a bowl of blue berries, then I wash it all down with a large glass of zip fizz, mixed with lite cranberry grape juice.  That will keep me going until lunch time.

On today's to do list...

At school I need to finish printing off seating charts which I was unable to do on Friday because our grading and attendance program went down.  I also need to give some thought to which novel my Junior English Essentials classes will be reading. Tuesday evening is Parent Night so I will need to make sure I am prepared for that too.  Of course this is in addition to my main occupation of teaching and working with my students for five class periods during the day.

At home there is laundry, folding and ironing to be finished.  I need to call the doctor about an immunization Josh needs before he heads off to Mexico.  I also need to stop by the store and get some apple juice that I need for a slow cooker recipe I have planned for this week.

Currently reading...

I just barely started The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher.  I decided it was time for an Amish novel "comfort read."  Over the weekend, I finished this great little book by John Bytheway called Lifestyles of the Great & Spacious.  If  you are Mormon, you have probably hear of John Bytheway.  He has written a series of scripture commentaries, which are interesting and thought-provoking.  You can see from all the colored tabbed pages, there was plenty in this book that I found to be worth referring back to.  You can read my Goodreads review here.

On the TV...

I don't have any set plans for TV, but hopefully will find something interesting to keep my attention while I iron.  Last week, I found some interesting episodes of American Greed on CNBC to watch.  

The weather outside...
The forecast for this week is cooler temps (low 100s) and some rain.  As I write this post, I can hear thunder!

On the menu...
Monday ~ subway sandwiches
Tuesday ~ slower cooker beef and mushrooms over rice
Wednesday ~ leftovers

If I have a few minutes to myself, I will...
Check in with my blogging friends to see what is new!

Favorite photos...
These pictures of my brand new grand daughter surrounded by her family are just so sweet.  I borrowed them from my son-in-law's Facebook page and just had to share.  I sure do love this little family!

Homemaking/parenting tip...
Teach children when they are very young that they are part of the family and that everyone in the family helps out and does his part.  I love the way my daughter and her husband (pictured above) have done this with their family. Children may not always do what they are asked right away, but gently and politely make sure they know that they are expected to do their part and they will do it.  Being firm while ignoring whining and tantrums when they are little is much easier than dealing with much bigger problems when they are older.

Visiting with blog friends...
Karen's lovely, happy blog Life is Good was one of the first blogs I started to follow and comment on several years ago.  Her posts are always upbeat and happy and she looks for the good in the simple every day things of life.  She has become a role model of sorts for me and I freely admit to copy catting some of her great ideas. Reading her blog makes me want to be a better, kinder person. Thanks Karen for bringing happiness into blog land!

The week and weekend in review...

It was a busy, hectic week.  Monday and Tuesday were teacher meetings for Charly and I. Josh went to school with me on Tuesday and helped out with whatever I needed him to do.  I loved having him there in the classroom with me. Josh had some unexpected time off since the remodeling contractor/house flipper he works for finished up the three houses he is currently flipping and temporarily ran out of work for Josh. Wednesday the students came back to school and I was pretty much exhausted the rest of the week.  Josh and I volunteered at the Bishop's Storehouse Saturday afternoon. This is the second time we have volunteered there.  We were put to work weighing and putting potatoes into five-pound bags. If my math is correct, we weighed and bagged around 1500 pounds of potatoes during the time we worked.  We stayed busy and happy and loved being able to help out.

Praying for...
Josh as his departure for his mission grows ever closer. Praying for Charly and I as we begin another new school year. Our students that they can have good experiences in our classrooms and learn what they need to learn.  I am also praying for my son's friends who are preparing for or serving missions themselves. Praying for my children and grandchildren and missionaries around the world as well as the Christians in Iraq who are being hunted down, threatened and killed by ISIS. I don't like to get political in my blog, but I find it very upsetting that this is happening after so many Americans gave their lives so that Iraq could be a free and democratic country.  This is so very sad.

Bible verse...

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

As we have there fore opportunity, let us do good unto all men..."

--Galatians 6:9-10

Have a good week.  Stay safe, healthy and happy!

Gratitude Sunday ~ Blessings Great and Small

This has been a "red letter week" of sorts for our family, and I am feeling grateful for many things this Sunday evening.

Our biggest event and greatest blessing this week was the safe arrival of a beautiful new grand daughter who was born early this morning.  Our youngest daughter, (the mom) and this sweet baby are healthy and doing great.  We are told that the baby has been given the name of Paige, which is a cute name that really fits.  We are all so thankful that Paige has joined our family!

These two fine gentlemen, my son Josh and husband Charly, are also on my gratitude list this Sunday.  Josh is making such good life choices as he prepares to go on his mission and today he was ordained an Elder in our church (which is something that happens for all young men before they enter full-time missionary service). Charly (who is also an Elder, and has been since he served his mission) did the honors and ordained Josh.  It was a very special, happy event.

My classroom is clean, organized and almost ready for the new school year.  Charly and I have been in teacher meetings this last week and our students will return on Wednesday. A fresh new beginning is always something to be thankful for.  I am grateful the jobs that Charly and I have as teachers, the great colleagues that make returning to school at the end of summer fun, and the raise I got because I completed all of those classes last year!

Again this week, we have had some cloudy days and rain storms.  I am thankful for the clouds, rain, and..

 ..lower temperatures they bring.

Joining today with Taryn of Mama Gone Green 

to remember the blessings of the week.