Reaching New Heights

Crunchy leaves on the sidewalk, pumpkins, corn mazes and the changing colors.  I love it all!  I met Josh three years ago and I will forever have fond memories of the Fall.  Our second date was to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point.  We had so much fun and learned a lot about each other.  I learned that Josh loves the simple things in life and that he loves to play like a child. This weekend we went to Cornbelly's and it has changed quite a bit since our second date... but so have we.  Our favorites: the giant trampoline pillows, tether ball, the playground with multiple slides, the duck races, and the giant Lincoln Logs.  I actually tried the zip line despite my fear of heights.  Sarah's least favorite: The Rat Maze.  It's like an 8 ft by 9 ft box on a trailer that you crawl through up and over, up and over, around and down etc.  Somehow you can fit about 10 adults crawling through it at a time.  Oh, did...

I wake up each day with great enthusiasm to go to work.  What do I do that makes my life so exciting and occupies all of my time?  I teach.  Simple as that.  I have been blessed with a job that so perfectly fits my skills, abilities, and talents.  When I went to college, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I didn’t have a specific expertise.  I wasn’t good at Science or Math.  Business and Marketing was definitely not for me.  Without knowing what I wanted to do, Heavenly Father so tenderly guided me to the teaching field and even more specifically, the field of Early Childhood Education.  I did not know what a perfect match that was for me, until I started teaching last year.  I was amazed at how naturally I adapted to all areas of my career and even more so this year.  Now that I have a year behind me, a whole new world of knowledge is flooding upon me.  I can’t believe how much I am learning about child d...

Not even to the trailhead, I was already distressed and anxious.  With a three-day backpacking trip ahead of me and about 30 miles to cover, I began to think that perhaps I just wasn’t cut out for this sort of thing.  After some sizing adjustments on my 30lb pack, we finally began our adventure.  We crossed Elkhorn Bridge after several miles into the hike.  There we stopped next to the stream and took a lunch break.  After filtering some water to refill our bottles, we picked up our packs and continued on.  Later that afternoon we stopped next to Dollar Lake to rest.  There was a group of scouts playing in the water and a few men fishing.  We rested on a few rocks under a tree, while Josh read a chapter of  The Horse and His Boy from the Narnia series.  Surrounded by a peaceful environment, I closed my eyes and dozed off for a few minutes.  When it began to rain we picked up our stuff and found our way back to the trail and hiked fo...

I told Josh that I did not want any gifts for my birthday this year.  So he decided that if he gave me gifts beforehand, it would not count as 'my birthday' and he could get away with it.  Josh started celebrating my birthday a few weeks ago with 'un-birthday' gifts.  He is AMAZING.  Even though I couldn't possibly think of anything that I wanted, he surprised me with things that I have used every day since then. As I got to thinking about gifts, I realized that I have given myself one of the best birthday gifts of all.  I have given myself the gift of a healthy lifestyle.  It is of greater value than what money can buy.  I have been blessed with good health by a loving Father and I have maintained that good health through the way that I live.  A healthy lifestyle is not something that you can purchase at the grocery store.  It is more like a well that you fill up...one droplet at a time.  I add to my well e...

I have a wonderful Church calling.  I am privileged to teach the principles and concepts of the Gospel to children ages 3-5.  I learn so much through my preparation, but I learn even more from THEM.  Children are SO Christlike.  They forgive easily and love unconditionally.  I am amazed how they soak up each lesson like a sponge. At the end of each lesson, I like to review previously taught concepts.  Young children learn so much through review and repetition.  I pulled out a picture of Jesus calming the seas and asked them what they remembered about this story.  One girl excitedly raised her hand and said, "There was a storm.  Jesus was the only one who didn't know (he was sleeping).  They were scared and woke him up.  He said 'peace, be still' and the storm went away."  I was excited that she remembered so many details.  I pulled out the next picture.  It was a picture of Jesus gathering little children.  A...

 Last week I ran a 6-mile run in preparation for a race that we are doing in the Fall.   Running in Salt Lake can be a challenge sometimes.   It seems hard to find a balanced route.   There are a lot of areas with stoplights at each block, areas that are only flat, and areas that have very steep hills.   And I mean steep.   So sometimes it can be challenging to create a route that has a good challenge without being ridiculously discouraging.   So during this particular run, Staci (Josh’s sister) and I ran uphill in increments.   We ran a couple of blocks on flat ground and then we would take on a steep hill.   Then flat ground and then a hill.   Get the picture?   We continued that pattern for quite a while and then we made our way back down to our final destination.   After finishing the uphill portion of our run, I was embracing the relaxed feeling of running on flat ground.   We had just conquered the hardest part...

Time flies by so fast.  Life is going great for our little family.  Josh is busy wrapping up this semester.  He is planning to graduate Spring 2014 with his Bachelors/Masters.  He is such a hard worker and a wonderful husband.  I am so grateful for his love and care. Here is a little info about my hubby, he won't mind...right?  He loves to tease me and tickle my toes, even though he ends up getting kicked in the midst of it (I can't help it, I'm too ticklish!)  He asks me what I'm wearing every Sunday, so that he can match me.  He takes me out on dates often. When I cry he wipes the tears from my cheeks and whispers, "you're leaking".  Josh washes the dishes before they pile up in the sink.  He replaces the toilet paper so that it unravels 'upside-down' which seems to drive me crazy.  He works on class projects with 4 computer screens open at the same time.  He hides my chocolate when I'm not looking.  He buys candy that...