Filled With Joy

If you look closely, you can see snow on the mountains. The snow, itself, doesn’t bring me joy, but the beauty of how it looks does bring me joy. It is amazing! Now it can go away.

Trent found these glasses today as he cleaned out his closet. It brought back all kinds of fun memories of the time we stopped at the party store and bought glasses for everyone in the family. Then we wore them for hours on our drive to the Uintah Mountains for a reunion. Adri put them on and we chatted about all the fun we had together with family. We have had opportunities to enjoy many trips with family. Those memories bring all of us joy.

A dear friend sent me a text to remind me to cover my garden. She knows I would forget. The tomatoes are still baking and not ready. The green beans are still producing. Blanket for warmth and tarp for dryness. They will survive tonight’s freeze because of friendship. Joy to having friends that know me well.

Friday night lights. I went to watch Quincy play tonight. It certainly felt like fall as the temperature quickly dropped when the sun dipped below the horizon. That was when the lights began to shine and the real feel of football was felt. It brought back many memories over many years. Good times. Great joy.

This week we ordered a Bountiful Basket. It is fresh veggies and fruits purchased through a coop of purchasers. We used to get it every week. For some reason, that we can’t remember, we stopped. When we unloaded our box tonight we were grateful we had purchased another. It looks so pretty and delicious. There is joy in all that produce!

Today I made dinner with yellow, green, and red peppers from my garden. I also used onion from the garden. The recipe called for salsa which I had made from produce in the garden. It was so much fun to pick, chop, smell, and eat all that garden goodness. Sometimes I find joy in that often forgotten plot of land in the back of the yard. Today is one of those times.

There is no school joy like the joy you feel when the lightbulb goes off in a student's head when they have been working hard. That is a great feeling. Today I gave a couple quizzes in math and hoped that I would see some improvement and understanding. I did! They are gettin' it. Sure, there are a few that we will keep working with, but the majority have had the lightbulb shine bright. I 💓 it!

First day of fall was beautiful. I was witness to some of the most beautiful fall colors this morning as I walked down the alley to school. What a great and joyful way to begin the day! Bring on all the deliciousness and beauty of the season.

When we organized the storage room yesterday, we also discovered we had "bazillions" of empty canning jars. I don't can as much as I used to. So, I don't need them anymore. Luckily, my sister found someone that can use them. Today she came to get them. We now have just enough to finish the canning season and we have two and a half extra shelves of space. I'm happy. She is happy. Joy!!!

We organized and cleaned out our storage room today. Organization makes me feel peace and calm. When I feal peaceful I can feel joy. I can't even count the number of times I walked in and smiled. Also, there is food on the shelves. We are very blessed.

I work with a great team of teachers. We work hard and we have lots of fun. We are also good supporters of one another, in the classroom and out. For the last several years we have tried to do something fun for Halloween. Two of us aren't into Halloween. Two of us are. We do this for them This year the Miss Halloweens found easy and doable costumes for us. We are going to be Care Bears. We all had to order t-shirts and and one Miss Halloween will make bear ears for us. It is going to be awesome. Just thinking about how cute we will be made me happy. Seeing how excited they were was pure joy.

Today was rough. I am emotionally exhausted. However, today we gathered on the football field to spell the word "Hello" as an entire school. I didn't think it could be done. I was pretty Debbie Downer on the whole thing. But, without much trouble, and with a lot of giggles, the word came together and it worked. My class did exactly what they were supposed to do (they had just gotten in trouble and were pretty much on their toes at the time) so that made me feel a fleeting moment of joy. I'll take it on a day like today.

I love this sticky pad I have. I write things on it that are important for me to remember. It is super sticky so I never lose the notes. It is super smiley so it makes me feel happy. And, it reminds me of the really nice person who gave it to me. All good and happy things that bring joy into my day. Also, I love using technology to help get students into reading like Epic! Epic is awesome!!!

I have an assignment that is due at the end of the month. I have put it off because it is a real snoozer, though it may be important. There were “octillions” of employee documents that had to be read. I decided I was going to knock it all out today. I have been reading since 6:00. It is now 10:00. I learned a few things (a positive and not a total waste). There is much redundancy in employee documentation. The joy came as I finished reading and clicked the final button. FINALIZED!!!! Until next year.

McKenna calls me each day. I love her calls. I look forward to them. Those calls bring joy - especially today!

Collin called today. I haven’t talked with him in awhile. Made me so happy. He loves exploring in Price. I love his pictures. He sounded so happy today. Happy children make joyful parents.

I have started meditating before I get out of bed. I am loving it. For ten minutes I think about nothing but breathing. How sweet is that in a world that is so fast paced and full and overwhelming at times. I use an app called Calm. I wouldn’t know how to do it on my own. The app also has bedtime stories and peaceful music or waterfalls and oceans. It always give you a little quote and a congratulations at the end of a sessions. Happy things to wake up to. It is my new happy. I think I’ll be using it a lot this year. Calm has helped me find joy.

Grasshopper season has arrived. As I walk home from school they are bouncing all over the alley. I cause quite a stir. They see, or feel, me coming a just leap, willy-nilly, banging off whatever they encounter be it shed, tree, fence, dog, person, lunch bag. It cracks me up. I’ve walked in the house free and clear of a grasshopper or covered, unknowingly, with them. The pinging sound is hilarious. Today I laughed all the way home. After a difficult week it was great to end with a good chuckle. Laughing always brings me joy.

Today was hard. A parent asked to come to my class yesterday to observe her son during the day. He is a hard challenge and came to school two weeks after it started. I received a lengthy text this morning telling me of all the things I am doing wrong and causing the issues her son has. He acts out because I am boring and he doesn’t want to be controlled by me. I didn’t even know how to respond, so I didn’t. Taking time to think before reacting is what we teach during our mindfulness lessons. I’m glad I practiced what I taught. That is where I found joy today. Holding my tongue and giving it time was the best thing I could do. Also, I found joy and comfort in being able to talk with my administrators who validated my teaching and got me back on track. Then a colleague sent me this meme and I laughed and laughed.

Eighteen years ago I was helping the kids get ready for school and listening to NPR. We didn’t have tv and so our news came from the radio. I heard something about a plane crash. It sounded so unbelievable that I figured it was some type of radio show. But then current things were mentioned. Once the kids were at school I ran to Trent’s office to see the news. I was shocked and confused. I remember thinking about the time and the number of people at work in their offices when their lives were tragically and abruptly ended. I cried. Trent and I gathered up the scout flags and lined the streets in our ward. It was something beautiful on such an ugly day. Today, as we do every year, we gathered as a school at the base of the flag pole to say the pledge and have a moment of silence. My students have no personal knowledge of that day. Their understanding comes from history retold - like I learn of the Civil War, the moon landing, the Mayflower. What they know of that day is the patriots ...

This has been a difficult start to the school year. I am finding it hard to see the joy in my classroom. I am sure that I will soon once things settle. That has been bothering me. Today I realized how much I like lifting weights and the release of negativity I feel during that time. I sure love the lift I feel after the workout is complete. I found joy I’m tired muscles today.

Sometimes I think that Monday’s are the best days for recess duty because I usually have great weather. Today was no different. After several days of rain, I got blue skies to enjoy. A bright blue sky lifts my soul and makes it lots easier to find joy in unliked tasks.

Football season! Woot woot. I’m not sure when I started liking it but I do. I find joy in some teams winning (Denver, Chicago, and KC) and some teams losing (Dallas, NE). Not much joy in that department today.

Homemade bread can bring joy. Homemade bread made by someone else definitely brings joy! Adri’s artisan bread. Delicious!

Our neighbors have worked hard to improve the fence situation in their backyard. That has improved our backyard. It looks fantastic. All of the dogs are happy and safe. Tonight I looked out and realized that it was quite beautiful. Thanks for helping us feel joy when we look to the west, Parker’s. Love our good neighbors.

President Nelson is turning 95 years old on the 9th. There was a celebration of his years tonight. It was wonderful. I’m so inspired by his testimony of the Savior and his knowledge of our Savior’s love for each of us. Just listening to him brings joy and peace. I’m so grateful that he has lived long enough for me to listen and learn from him. (Also, the music was phenomenal.)

Field trip day came. The day was beautiful. Only had to slam on the brakes (send kids flying out of their seats) once to avoid a deer. No one fell into the springs. Historical Johnny Sack Cabin survied another set of 100 2nd graders. No car sickness. We survived. Everyone came home. There were only a few scrapes. Each student was exhausted - parents can thank us later. Joy in another successful adventure in the "wilderness" (as said by a 2nd grader that was scared to death to be in the forest).

I saw this shirt today and fell in love. I'm a huge advocate of getting kids to read. I'm grateful that I had the knowledge of the power of reading when our kids were young. I try to help my students' parents know that the most powerful thing they can do to help their students succeed in school is to read to them, with them, or make time for them to read on their own. Fifteen minutes is not a lot of time. Fifteen minutes can change a life. I don't know if there is anything more important than those fifteen minutes. When I hear of parents reading each night with their students my heart jumps for joy.

Today I was studying up on Big Springs so I look like I know what I'm talking about when we go on our 2nd grade field trip. I've heard the spill many times, this is my 15th time doing this trip. But, as I was reading I realized how much I love this area in which I live. There are gems of magnificence all around me. Sharing this spectacular sight with my students and their parents always brings me joy.

I found joy this afternoon while driving to and through parts of Yellowstone Park. This is our first time visiting this year. It is always so crowded. That ruins the park for me. But, today we took our chances. I'm glad we did. It wasn't too crowded, and we discovered a beautiful area to explore. We will definitely go back there soon. West Thumb Geyser Basin is magnificent.