Poem

"I Asked God..."

I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No.
Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn't
granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness. God said, No.
I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain. God said, No.
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares
and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, No.
You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to
make you fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy in life. God said
No. I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as God
loves me. God said... Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.

Things I have learned in the past 5 weeks...

So I haven't blogged for years (not really, but it feels like it).  Life has been super busy and stressful lately, but I'm learning a lot. I felt I needed to write it all down so I would remember it.

For those of you who don't know I'm a special ed major. I'll graduate in April and be a real life teacher...but to get there I have had to have some growing pains. Since August 2012, I have been going to school full time (even Spring and Summer semester). It has been doable and I have loved it for the most part. But then "Summer Practicum" started...and I hated it. I was all of a sudden in charge of 4 students who were between the ages of 6 and 7 and all had Autism. From 8:30am-11:45am, Monday-Friday I was in charge of teaching these students Math, Writing and Reading along with dealing with their behavior problems. I felt very under prepared and felt like I could barely stay afloat. For the first week I would come home and cry. I am not a crier...but I sure turned into one. I had never felt so inadequate and stressed at the same time. While this was going on I was busy being the Activities Co-chair for my ward and we had a cabin trip I had to help plan, and things with some of my friends were not going smoothly. I felt like I was drowning.

I can't pin point a turning point, but eventually I stopped crying. I had this desire to learn and find new ways to help my students. I started asking my cooperating teacher questions every day, and staying after extra to figure out things I could do better. I tried hard to make my lessons engaging and to truly learn to love my students. Now I'm on my last week, and I love it. Yes, I'm excited for it to be over because I'm tired of all the assignments, observations and stress I have had. But I am so sad to not see my students, and for this time to come to an end. At the beginning I doubted my career choice, at the end I have no doubt in my mind that this is what I love and want to do.

These are somethings I have learned:

• Kids love to play games, so if you make learning into a game you can't loose 
• Praising a kid can go a long way (so constantly praising them can turn them into angels)
• It is easier to ask, then to do something wrong without asking
• Being a teacher takes a lot of patience, humility and humor
• The Spirit is always there to help you to love your students, be patient and to help you be humble
• You can do anything if you keep the Lord as your number one priority 
• Even the hardest kid can become someone you love with all your heart
• You will miss the days when the hardest kid is gone
• Elementary school is cheesy (I'm not cheesy)
• The Temple can be a source for peace
• Having Costa Vida Fridays can help you manage your stress
• My family are my best friends
• Play hard on your weekends and the weeks will feel worth it

Spammers

Dear Spammers,

Just because I haven't written a post for a while doesn't mean you should spam me. So pleas stop leaving Anonymous comments.

Sincerely,
Annoyed Stacy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Readers,

I am still alive. I just have not been in the mood to blog. Maybe I will pick it up again. Maybe this will be the first post of many. But maybe not...

I have been busy with school, 2 jobs and lots of soccer. Nothing too exciting happening. I did go visit Kyle and Monica and kids in February. That was a fun visit. It was nice to see the sunshine for those couple days and of course the family.  Not sure what Utah's weather is doing right now, but next weekend I'm going to St. George to get some sun. I'm super ready for summer....however I will be going to school full time spring and summer so not sure how much I will get to enjoy it. Well that's a quick update. I still read everyone else's blogs. Maybe that's why I don't bog...cause by the time I get reading all of yours my life seems not worthy to blog about! Or I'm just lazy.

Sincerely,
Stacy

All 6 year olds should blog...

My 6 year old nephew asked his mom for a blog...so she has created one for him...and it is the best thing that has happened this Christmas season!

Here is a recent post:

He is doing this all by himself. This is a picture of him at 2 years old with his baby sister. He is HILARIOUS! Who would think of that?

He is so smart...I can only hope to have a kid this funny and smart.

The day I almost died...

December 8, 2012 is a day that changed my life. I was heading to a dance party that my sister, Lisa was throwing and was on the freeway. It had been snowing and the roads were icy. I was in fast lane, but felt I wanted to get out of the fast lane for fear I was going too fast. But it was too late...I hit a piece of black ice and went spinning. While spinning at one point I remember saying, "I'm going to die" out loud. I was facing the oncoming traffic and was seriously thinking it was the end of my life. I somehow made it to the left side of the road without being hit. My car was perpendicular to the oncoming traffic. While looking to my right I noticed that another car had hit the ice and was coming right for my car. I couldn't do anything. I just sat and waited for the car to hit.

Nothing could have prepared me for the impact or the noise of the crash. My body was whipped around and the car went flying forward. Finally it stopped--my hands were shaking, and I couldn't believe I was alive. I got my phone quickly and called my mom. While on the phone another car came and slammed into my car. The driver from that vehicle got out and came to me asking if I was okay. I was freaking out. No I wasn't okay! I started yelling at him, "Get back in your car! I have already been hit twice! Stay in your car!"

Several cars came and pulled over to check on the accident. At one point someone started yelling at me to call 911 and to call a towing company. In my mind I was so confused why no one else had called 911, and why me...the girl who had been hit twice was supposed to call? Also...I was stuck in my car...there was no way for me to get out since my side was against the freeway median.

So I called 911, and was the first one to report the accident. They asked if I need medical and I said no. However, soon after the phone call another guy came to me and asked if I was hurting anywhere. I told him my back was hurting and he told me he worked at the hospital and that I should stop moving. He then called for medical assistance.

Soon after paramedics arrived and they put me on a stretcher! I didn't even see my car. I was taken away in an ambulance. At the hospital they took x-rays and found nothing wrong. They told me ice lots and that if after a week if I was still in pain that I should seek physical therapy.

My parents were able to meet me at the hospital and when I was alone with my mom I finally broke down. This was the scariest thing of my life. When I fall asleep at night all I can do is picture the car coming towards me. Today while driving, my mom tapped her breaks in reaction to a car coming over--I started bawling. This has for sure shaken me up, but I'm so grateful to be alive. I'm so grateful the only thing really damaged was my car. I'm so grateful that my body will heal and that I will be able to function normally soon. Life is short...and we never know when something like this can happen. This Christmas season will be a memorable one. I know that angels were protecting me. I'm grateful for the love I have felt from people all around me! It's those people that have made me grateful to be alive. 

TMD

Urban Dictionary will define it as the following:

Too Much Drama
Too Much Drugs
Territorial Missile Defense
or
The Muslim Dream

But it really stands for Temporomandibular Joint Disorder. Basically it is stressed induced, and it causes a lot of pain in the jaw joint. When I say a lot...I mean A LOT! Don't get stressed guys...it's not worth it. I didn't think I was stressed, but I guess I have been and have had the TMJ (Tmeporomandibular Joint) has "flared" up and it hurts a lot.

Did I mention I have been in pain? Yeah, one night I had to take a sleeping pill at 4 pm to knock me out because the pain was so bad. I have gotten a massage on my jaw and neck and it has helped, and I'm going to get another massage today.

So while you all eat Thanksgiving dinner this week, I want you to be thankful for the ability to chew...cause I can't without extreme pain. But honestly, it is times like this that I'm amazed with the human body and the blessings I have to be able run, walk and usually chew without pain. It is the small things in life, that can make things big. Who would of thought that a tiny joint in the jaw could affect so much of my life? I'm grateful that I don't feel this pain year-round, and that it only comes ones in a while and modern medicine can help me manage it.

On another note...I only have 2 more weeks of school, then finals! I can't believe the semester is almost done! Then I will have 3 weeks of a break, and I can't wait for that! Good things are coming! I love the Christmas season. It is a good time to reflect on the things that really matter in life and serving and loving those around us!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Love you all.

November already?

Well, lets say I have become awful at blogging...its been since September! I can't believe it is already November. This semester has gone by so fast, and that last little bit will only go faster.

So what have I been doing? Well I work 2 jobs....one is I program emails for my old job (Rain) from home and then I work as a Research Assistant for one of my professors. Besides the 2 jobs, I am going to school full time while doing lots of hours in the schools observing and working with kids. So...I'm busy. Oh, I also play on a couple soccer teams. That all basically fills my time.

I think that is why I don't blog, cause nothing really exciting is happening. But I'm happy, being busy is good. And I do make sure I make time for me by watching netflix and readig books :)


P.S. My parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew are in Disney World right now...why didn't they take me? Very good question. I think I deserve a trip to Disney World if you ask me.