...my stretch marks.
I'm not kidding.
Yesterday I had a powerful experience in testimony meeting. We have a new family in the ward and she bore her testimony. She told the story of how she met her husband and then told a heartbreaking story.
For five years they have been desperately trying to have a baby. They went to doctors and specialists who told them that they would never get pregnant but time and time again in faith they persisted and kept trying. After years of infertility they went to a doctor who told them that they would have to go through invitro fertilization, a process that would cost thousands and thousands of dollars. They ended up becoming so desperate that they lost their home, their savings, and nearly their sanity...but this story has a happy ending: they are pregnant with a little girl who will arrive in February!
As I listened to this story I couldn't help but cry. Her story was not presented in a woe is me way by any means. Rather she spoke of her life as if every step was a great gift.
One year ago this week I stopped "the pill" the same week my closest friend Rosalie also stopped "the pill." One year later I have a two month old beautiful baby girl and she has two ginormous cysts. I don't understand how two 24 (almost) year old young women who have both led similar lives (even marrying within a week of each other) could have such different stories.
I don't understand WHY ME. WHY have I been so blessed. It is certainly not a matter of deserving or righteousness. There are some far more faithful than I that struggle to start a family. All I can do is live with a grateful heart and try to be humble and deserving of my great blessing.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Happy as a Clam!
The past two weeks have been fun with Hannah.
Each time one of us goes to retrieve her from her crib she begins to smile. The past few days however, when she sees us she breaks out into a fit of giggles. This tells me that my child is a morning person...or she just loves her parents.
She especially loves her daddy. She'll get excited to see her mommy but when her daddy comes in to view she just STARES at him with a gigantic grin! It is so sweet. Sometimes I want to say "look kid, I carried you for nine months and THEN gave birth to you after laboring all day..." but I'm sure she would just look at me and think I was silly.
I have started to tell her stories every day. I've been telling her classics like Red Ridding Hood and Three Little Pigs. She LOVES story time. I think she believes we are having a conversation because I get really close to her face and stare into her eyes for about thirty minutes and just talk to her. She tries to answer back with coos and babble so it is pretty fun.
We traded one of the pieces of her three white bear mobile for a big pink lady bug. She is distinguishing the difference and will follow the lady bug around.
Hannah is still an extremely pleasant baby. I'm grateful for that, as she allows me to get my work accomplished. Last night I felt like super mom! I was grading over a hundred assessments and assignments for the week with Hannah sitting right across from me in her bouncer. We were talking the whole time until she started to fuss because she was hungry... so I got the boppy out and began to feed her and continue to grade papers. There I was attached to a baby grading papers without missing a beat! Maybe I CAN do this semester!
It took me about four hours to grade the papers. Then I have to prepare for next week by reading through each lesson I wrote, gathering materials, and distributing those materials. I told my mom I'm in survival mode. I've never had a more challenging semester but I'm learning so much!
I think it is incredible that Adam and I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to switch rolls...He's the stay at home parent, caring for Hannah and the house while I go to school each day and be a teacher. Not only is it "I'm at work, he's at home" but we are doing the EXACT SAME JOB. Being a teacher is hard work. I know people say that all the time but until you've DONE it, it is hard to fully appreciate. Only a teacher could manage a classroom of 20 + 8 year olds with love and kindness and TEACH them something as well without strangling at least one. It is hard enough to TEACH as well as MANAGE BEHAVIOR and then trying to PLAN and PREPARE for it all. What a FANTASTIC experience!
I can't wait to stay at home with my sweet happy baby...oh sounds like her mobile is not working...she's yelling at the bears to move some more :)
Each time one of us goes to retrieve her from her crib she begins to smile. The past few days however, when she sees us she breaks out into a fit of giggles. This tells me that my child is a morning person...or she just loves her parents.
She especially loves her daddy. She'll get excited to see her mommy but when her daddy comes in to view she just STARES at him with a gigantic grin! It is so sweet. Sometimes I want to say "look kid, I carried you for nine months and THEN gave birth to you after laboring all day..." but I'm sure she would just look at me and think I was silly.
I have started to tell her stories every day. I've been telling her classics like Red Ridding Hood and Three Little Pigs. She LOVES story time. I think she believes we are having a conversation because I get really close to her face and stare into her eyes for about thirty minutes and just talk to her. She tries to answer back with coos and babble so it is pretty fun.
We traded one of the pieces of her three white bear mobile for a big pink lady bug. She is distinguishing the difference and will follow the lady bug around.
Hannah is still an extremely pleasant baby. I'm grateful for that, as she allows me to get my work accomplished. Last night I felt like super mom! I was grading over a hundred assessments and assignments for the week with Hannah sitting right across from me in her bouncer. We were talking the whole time until she started to fuss because she was hungry... so I got the boppy out and began to feed her and continue to grade papers. There I was attached to a baby grading papers without missing a beat! Maybe I CAN do this semester!
It took me about four hours to grade the papers. Then I have to prepare for next week by reading through each lesson I wrote, gathering materials, and distributing those materials. I told my mom I'm in survival mode. I've never had a more challenging semester but I'm learning so much!
I think it is incredible that Adam and I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to switch rolls...He's the stay at home parent, caring for Hannah and the house while I go to school each day and be a teacher. Not only is it "I'm at work, he's at home" but we are doing the EXACT SAME JOB. Being a teacher is hard work. I know people say that all the time but until you've DONE it, it is hard to fully appreciate. Only a teacher could manage a classroom of 20 + 8 year olds with love and kindness and TEACH them something as well without strangling at least one. It is hard enough to TEACH as well as MANAGE BEHAVIOR and then trying to PLAN and PREPARE for it all. What a FANTASTIC experience!
I can't wait to stay at home with my sweet happy baby...oh sounds like her mobile is not working...she's yelling at the bears to move some more :)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Pass the potatoes...adding more to my plate :)
So just when I thought I couldn't get any busier...I go and get busy!
Adam and I decided that we need to get in better shape...our shapes are...fine...I weigh less than I did before I got pregnant but we need to GET INTO SHAPE.
One of the teachers at Adam's school decided that she wanted to get an exercise group together at the school. Starting MONDAY (well Tuesday for me because Hannah has an appointment) I will join a 12 week course of the P90X workout. It is supposed to really tone you up.
"The secret behind the P90X system is an advanced training technique called Muscle Confusion, which accelerates the results process by constantly introducing new moves and routines so your body never plateaus, and you never get bored! Whether you want to get lean, bulk up, or just plain get ripped, there's an endless variety of ways to mix and match the routines to keep you motivated the full 90 days and beyond!"
Hopefully it will be a good way to get out of the house (with Hannah) and socialize with some awesome women while getting fit. If it proves to be too much with student teaching and mothering then I guess I'll just have to nip it, but I really enjoy the thought of it...so I think I'll give it a go...I'll give it two weeks.
My Goal: Have more energy and work my body in a way that I haven't in a year building new muscles and rebuilding old ones.
Adam and I decided that we need to get in better shape...our shapes are...fine...I weigh less than I did before I got pregnant but we need to GET INTO SHAPE.
One of the teachers at Adam's school decided that she wanted to get an exercise group together at the school. Starting MONDAY (well Tuesday for me because Hannah has an appointment) I will join a 12 week course of the P90X workout. It is supposed to really tone you up.
"The secret behind the P90X system is an advanced training technique called Muscle Confusion, which accelerates the results process by constantly introducing new moves and routines so your body never plateaus, and you never get bored! Whether you want to get lean, bulk up, or just plain get ripped, there's an endless variety of ways to mix and match the routines to keep you motivated the full 90 days and beyond!"
Hopefully it will be a good way to get out of the house (with Hannah) and socialize with some awesome women while getting fit. If it proves to be too much with student teaching and mothering then I guess I'll just have to nip it, but I really enjoy the thought of it...so I think I'll give it a go...I'll give it two weeks.
My Goal: Have more energy and work my body in a way that I haven't in a year building new muscles and rebuilding old ones.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Cr-AZY Hair!
So this morning I gave Hannah Banana a bath, dressed her up, and then got ready. I figured I'd wait to comb her hair and put a clip in it until after she'd been squirming and we were on our way to church so after she got out of her bath I didn't really touch it...bad idea.
So ALL day her hair has been sticking STRAIGHT UP all nice and fluffy all over the place crazy! It is about two inches long now (seems to be growing every day along with those cheeks!) and we love ever last bit of it!
Friday, September 11, 2009
{Learning from my Students}
I love Student Teaching.
Yes it is hard work.
No I do not enjoy my break from Hannah.
Nevertheless I really do love teaching. My mentor teacher Jasmine Bauer is way more than I could have ever expected. She is so awesome. Not only is she an awesome teacher and someone I am learning SO MUCH from, she is also very approachable, understanding, and personable. I feel so grateful to have someone that I can trust and truly enjoy on a daily basis.
The kids are so fun it is ridiculous. Yesterday while I was teaching the concept of rounding in math, I had the kids get out their personal whiteboards and answer silently by writing down the answer and holding it up for me to check. They were rounding to the nearest hundred and the number given was 892 so they all wrote down 900 and held it up for me to see. One girl {bless her heart} has a problem with sometimes writing letters and numbers backwards and wrote "P00" it took great self discipline to hold in my laughter. I know...real mature Mrs. Turney...but you picture an 8 year old holding up a sign above them that says P00 and you tell me that isn't a great mental image.
We have a marble jar in our class. When the class is being especially good, they receive marbles. When the jar is full the class gets a party. The boy with the job as the marble jar person has been a little sneaky. He may slip in an extra marble here or there...or when the class has their bad moments and they lose marbles he may not be honest with the amount he takes out. When we addressed it with his father, he told his son that he needed to write an apology to Mrs. Bauer and Mrs. Turney. Then he asked us as the teachers to please allow his son to address the class. Cole got up and said "I'd like to apologize to everyone in class...I haven't been honest in my job as marble person. I am sorry and I want you to forgive me." Here he stood shaking in his shoes tears streaming down and his voice was cracking. I felt like crying for him...both tears of sadness, because I know how hard it is to do something like that, and tears of happiness, because he doesn't know how lucky he is for a Dad who cares enough to make him have a concequence for his actions and doesn't make excuses for him (his parents are going through a divorce so he COULD have tried to make excuses). It made me think of MY parents and how they would have done the same thing. It made me want to be that kind of parent.
I enjoy my time with my fellow interns. Part of me wishes that I had a couple years to join them out in the field. I truly belong teaching...but not now. I realize that even though I have such a passion for it, I know that right now my classroom has only one student. She has a lot to learn and I have a lot to teach her. One of my students came up to tell me "Mrs. Turney, last year my mom got fired and lost her job for a couple of months...that was the best track break of my life. I got to spend EVERY DAY with my mom!" It kind of put me in my place.
So I'm doing well, Adam just went on track break after six weeks of paternity leave, after three months of summer break. He hasn't taught since June and is getting anxious to get back to his classroom. He's really enjoyed his time with Hannah though and I'm grateful they have been able to bond so closely. She loves her daddy so much!
Yes it is hard work.
No I do not enjoy my break from Hannah.
Nevertheless I really do love teaching. My mentor teacher Jasmine Bauer is way more than I could have ever expected. She is so awesome. Not only is she an awesome teacher and someone I am learning SO MUCH from, she is also very approachable, understanding, and personable. I feel so grateful to have someone that I can trust and truly enjoy on a daily basis.
The kids are so fun it is ridiculous. Yesterday while I was teaching the concept of rounding in math, I had the kids get out their personal whiteboards and answer silently by writing down the answer and holding it up for me to check. They were rounding to the nearest hundred and the number given was 892 so they all wrote down 900 and held it up for me to see. One girl {bless her heart} has a problem with sometimes writing letters and numbers backwards and wrote "P00" it took great self discipline to hold in my laughter. I know...real mature Mrs. Turney...but you picture an 8 year old holding up a sign above them that says P00 and you tell me that isn't a great mental image.
We have a marble jar in our class. When the class is being especially good, they receive marbles. When the jar is full the class gets a party. The boy with the job as the marble jar person has been a little sneaky. He may slip in an extra marble here or there...or when the class has their bad moments and they lose marbles he may not be honest with the amount he takes out. When we addressed it with his father, he told his son that he needed to write an apology to Mrs. Bauer and Mrs. Turney. Then he asked us as the teachers to please allow his son to address the class. Cole got up and said "I'd like to apologize to everyone in class...I haven't been honest in my job as marble person. I am sorry and I want you to forgive me." Here he stood shaking in his shoes tears streaming down and his voice was cracking. I felt like crying for him...both tears of sadness, because I know how hard it is to do something like that, and tears of happiness, because he doesn't know how lucky he is for a Dad who cares enough to make him have a concequence for his actions and doesn't make excuses for him (his parents are going through a divorce so he COULD have tried to make excuses). It made me think of MY parents and how they would have done the same thing. It made me want to be that kind of parent.
I enjoy my time with my fellow interns. Part of me wishes that I had a couple years to join them out in the field. I truly belong teaching...but not now. I realize that even though I have such a passion for it, I know that right now my classroom has only one student. She has a lot to learn and I have a lot to teach her. One of my students came up to tell me "Mrs. Turney, last year my mom got fired and lost her job for a couple of months...that was the best track break of my life. I got to spend EVERY DAY with my mom!" It kind of put me in my place.
So I'm doing well, Adam just went on track break after six weeks of paternity leave, after three months of summer break. He hasn't taught since June and is getting anxious to get back to his classroom. He's really enjoyed his time with Hannah though and I'm grateful they have been able to bond so closely. She loves her daddy so much!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Mommy and Me :)
All Smiles
Curious
Studying with Mommy...planing the school week
Secrets don't make friends...they make BEST FRIENDS
Thursday, September 3, 2009
I should clarify...
The blog in my previous post was created by a retired grandma who is blogging daily and posting homework assignments for people to write blogs about. I created a blog mtvoice.blogspot.com just for the homework assignments. They are pretty boring blogs (mine) but hers are incredible. They have traveling tips etc.
What I posted was her blog post inviting people to join. It has been pretty fun reading her blogs daily although I'm not perfect at writing. I'm having a lot of fun! So please visit her blog: www.travelinoma.blogspot.com
What I posted was her blog post inviting people to join. It has been pretty fun reading her blogs daily although I'm not perfect at writing. I'm having a lot of fun! So please visit her blog: www.travelinoma.blogspot.com
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