Blessings in Disguise

Have you ever looked back on the past and realized how blessed you are? Has it ever been over something that you were upset about at the time? Something that you thought was a huge trial, or just something sad, but looking back, it was one of your greatest blessings?

I realized a couple of instances in which this happened in my life just this morning. Specifically, mine related to instances in college where I ended up with a roommate that I liked, but didn't know if I wanted to live with, and where a roommate I adored and I drifted apart. The places I ended up with those circumstances were the perfect place for me to be at that point. I made life-long friends that mean more to me than I can put into words because of things that I was very upset about.

It always amazes me to see the Lord's hand in our lives. Especially when it's in extremely unexpected ways. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us, and that he loves us more than any of us can fully comprehend. I know that when all is said and done, every thing that we thought was bad in our lives will have contributed to shaping and molding us the way He needed us to be, and where we needed to be.

Student Teaching

It has been a long time since I posted...like a really long time. And I apologize for that. Over the summer, there really wasn't much going on to write about, and since getting back to Provo, I've been busy with one of the hardest things I've ever done....but also one of the most rewarding things. I've been doing my student teaching.

I will admit that there have been days when I have wanted to quit. There have been mornings when going back to bed sounds so much better than dealing with the students. But when I get up and go, I have yet to regret a day of teaching. I can't believe how much the students really do mean to me. I can't believe how the students I thought I would dislike the most have a way of getting to me. I can't believe how much I care about each of them succeeding. I can't believe how much they matter to me.

I loved the students at the high school. They were my students. I cared about each of them personally. I wondered how they were doing. I wanted to help them be the best they could be. And it took a little longer, but I feel the same way about my middle school students. I dream about them. I wake up wondering what I can do that day to teach them best. I want to help them.

I feel like I have 155 children right now. Thankfully, those 155 students are all 12-15, and I can send them on to their next teacher after 45 minutes. I don't know how much I would love them if I had to keep them longer than that. It will be hard to stop teaching them though. I only have 3 more weeks with them, and it makes me feel so sad. I feel empty at the thought of separation from them...but it has to happen.

I can't wait until I have my own classroom with students that are genuinely mine.

Jungle Jims

We live near an international food store called Jungle Jims. We decided to go look around one Saturday. At first we were fairly disappointed because with just a cursory beginning walk-around it looked like a regular grocery store with international alcohol and cheeses. However, after looking around, we found all of the really cool stuff. And there is a lot of really cool stuff.

A lot of the pillars at the ends of aisles had these so they looked like giraffes.

This is a cart that is used to taxi people around in India. It also had directions that explained how all of the levers and steering inside worked.

We thought these cans were really cool. The bottom is like the bottom of pop bottles, and other than the top, the material is the plastic of pop bottles too.

Another view of the cans.

Over the section for food from the UK they had a Robin Hood scene. Here's Robin. He was a talking advertisement for the store.

And over by the Indian food was this guy on the wall. The tusks are sticking out of the wall while the rest is painted on.

Here's Little John.

The elephant is a fountain. I thought that was cute.

The sassy faced gorilla.

We bought this fruit. It's an Ugli fruit from Jamaica. It kind of looks like a rotting orange.

But it was delicious! It was very sweet, and we really liked it.

If this actually works, I think that most of the guys at BYU could use some. I thought it was funny.

The Cincinnati Zoo

Today Matt and I did the one thing we've been planning to do since we got to Cincinnati...we went to the zoo!! I loved it!

The first thing in the zoo was the giraffes!

Giraffes are by far my favorite animal, so I was so excited!

Next we stopped to see the wolves

The otter kept slipping in and out of the water

Matt and the exotic birds

Spectacled Bear

Polar Bear

The Gibbon family

The orangutan

Lion tailed macaque

White Lion

The manatees got fed while we were there

Black Rhino

Zebras

Honeypot ants. They store sweetened dew in their stomachs and feed the other ants through their mouths when food is scarce

Emperor Tamarin

Bullet ants are the most poisonous insect in the world. They are however mostly peaceful and only attack when they feel threatened

The gorilla hiding back by the waterfall

The tiger was right up next to the glass.

The snow leopards were sleeping out in the back

The 5 year old Galapagos Tortoises. I was fascinated by them. They can't tell what gender they are until they are 20 years old, and then only by a blood test.

Alligator Snapping Turtle

Pancake Tortoise

Emerald Tree Boa

Stellar's Sea Eagle

This cockatoo was relaxing on this tree

This statue was an example of a full-sized Galapagos Tortoise

The emu

African Elephant

These little guys were all cuddled up on top of the structure built for them

This gibbon was just chilling out. This is one of my favorite positions to sit too.

These little penguins were so cute!

The patto was one of my favorite little creatures! He had the biggest eyes and was so cute to watch climbing through his exhibit.

My best friends the giraffes!

I had such a great day out with Matt at the zoo. We had so much fun going around and seeing the animals and exhibits. It was nice to get out and enjoy the nice weather and to have an adventure.

Wedding Dress completion

I had plans to make my own dress for my wedding. Not the big poofy white one, but the one for the luncheon and for traveling. It turned out to be way too big, and the summer ended, so I put it away, and just now got back to it 2 years later.

I am pleased with how it turned out given how bad it looked before I started working on it this morning. I do apologize for how bad my hair looks in these pictures. I didn't do it since I spent the day pinning and sewing.