Oh to be this cute in the morning...

Christmas Tree Found

A taste of this year's Christmas tree hunt...

Posing with the right one
After my handsome man carried it down the hill
And my very favorite, with uncle Andrew
Brightening our little house

First Ticket

I don't know if my first cavity at 17 or my first traffic ticket last week was more painful. I held out on both for a very long time. Tuesday morning, 7:26. Coming back from the gym. School zone lights are on. No kids out yet. I slow from 35 to 25. Is that a cop car parked on that side street? Shoot. I'm going slower than I was, but faster than 20. The car is dark. I don't think there's anyone in it. Or if there is, maybe the officer tolerates going 25 in a school zone when the kids aren't out yet, because surely they would be following me by now. Thank goodness. Wait. The car is pulling out. The car has its lights on. Maybe they got an important call and need to head this direction. Let me get out of the way. I pull over. Please don't pull up behind me. He pulls up behind me. No wait, she pulls up behind me and she's getting out of the car. As my window is coming down, I am thankful to have a little more life experience behind me than the first time I was pulled over at 16 and it made me cry.
"Apparently you didn't see the school zone back there."
"No, I did, and I know better."
"Why were you speeding?"
"I know better."
"You wanna knock out someone's kid?"
"No." Do I tell her I'm a school teacher? No, that will just give her more material.
"Can I see your license and insurance?"
I don't take my purse with me to the gym at 6:30. Well, I do now. No license. I hand over my insurance information. She goes back to her car. Ten minutes later I am handed my first traffic ticket and told to appear in justice court within 14 days. I try not to let words on the ticket like, "defendant," "without admitting guilt," and " IF YOU FAIL TO APPEAR THE COURT MAY ISSUE A WARRANT FOR YOUR ARREST" make me feel like a criminal.
"This will teach me," I tell the officer.
She actually smiles, I think having determined I'm not quite the punk she thought she was going to encounter, and says, "Have a safe day."
I would like to thank the hearing officer who made the experience of going to justice court bearable. When he said, "Ouch, school zone, huh?" and I told him I was a teacher, he asked where. When I told him I was at home now with my baby, he asked to see a picture and said the things moms like to hear about their babies. He then proceeded to give me my options. Paying $125 to attend traffic school was the best one. Yes, that'll teach me. The good news? I still get to be Grace's mom.

Satisfying

NOTE: I have been debating whether or not to pull this post off the blog. When I wrote it I meant it to be a cute story about feeling better after resolving one of those disagreements husbands and wives run into from time to time. But when I read over it, I can't tell if that's the message someone reading would get or if it just sounds like I'm venting about my husband online. That's not my intention. It's kind like a text message...some of the feeling gets lost in the words (if you're anything like my sisters and me, you carefully plan whether to put a period or an exclamation point, or maybe two exclamation points to send the right idea :). Anyway, know how much I love Danilo, how thankful I am for the way he treats me, and please read this for what it's meant to be.

Danilo and I were both upset the other night after a talk we'd had on the way home. As I busied myself around the house and he worked on his homework, I kept thinking of things I thought would feel so good to say to Danilo in response to some of the things he'd said in the car--now that I'd had time to stew over it. Words that would sting...something along the lines of, well if that bothers you so much, what were you thinking when you married me? I would play it out in my mind, telling Danilo exactly what I thought I wanted to, and reveled in how good it would feel when I delivered the words like a punch. Moments like these make me thankful for the marriage covenant. It makes me step back and think, is coming out on top in this disagreement more important than my marriage? So far the answer has never been yes. A testimony of the importance of marriage in God's plan, my love for Danilo, remembering what I read once in this article , and my husband's sweet example of always apologizing first gave me the push I needed to step up and repair the rift between us that night. After it was done, I remembered thinking how good I had thought it was going to feel to tell Danilo off earlier in the night, and was so thankful I hadn't. Better to cause no damage than to feel hollow satisfaction that would probably turn into regret by morning. With it all resolved I could see clearly that being in love with him was a much more satisfying feeling to my soul than saying what I wanted to say to him would have been.

The link on the picture below takes you to a trailer for one of our favorite movies. It revitalized how I think about my marriage. I get excited to be married to Danilo all over again after I watch it. Have you seen it?

Happy Halloween!

As mentioned in the previous post, little things have become a very big deal lately. I usually can't wait for Halloween to be over so we can get on with Thanksgiving and Christmas, but having Grace around this year made this Halloween the most fun I've had since I was nine!!

Gracie spent Halloween with friends

Grace with Austin Bergstrom

and family

Grace with Uncle Andrew

and pulled off quite a sweet black cat.

Now the only problem is figuring out how to get her cat nose off before church this morning.

Soap and water didn't work last night. Almay lipstick is powerful stuff (on lips and noses)!!

I love how...

...little things have suddenly become a very big deal....

Adventures in Substituting

I started substituting in the elementary and secondary schools in the last month or so. I go in one day a week and Gracie's grandmas have the chore of taking turns watching her. It's been fun to still keep my foot in the door as an educator because I really enjoy teaching. Other reasons why substituting is great:

- everything is prepared for you when you get there

- someone is coming to pick up where you left off the next day

- if a class is unbearable, you don't have to face them the next day :)

I've also enjoyed getting a taste of every grade level. I think I could teach almost any grade and enjoy it, and believe it or not, the substituting I have done in jr. high has been my very favorite so far.

The grandmas who "have" to watch Grace

I've prepared a little game for all our blog readers. Guess what grade level I was teaching when I had each experience: (your choices are: elementary, jr. high, and high school...award yourself extra points if you are dead on with the grade level)

a. Was asked, "Can we call you Mrs. Gordita?" when the students found out my last name was Spanish. I responded, "Mrs. Chubby?" and everyone else went, "OOOOOOOOO!"

b. "Your name is Mrs. Camaro, right?"

c. Saw several of my past students in the hallway and taught four or five of them in Pre Algebra and Utah Studies.

d. Had my cousin in English class. She sent a text message to my sister who was also in the building that said, "I am not texting in your sister's class."

e. Supervised students covering each others' faces in plaster for a true mummy experience.

Answers below:

a. High School. Junior English.
b. Elementary School. 1st grade.
c. Junior High. 7th grade.
d. High School. Junior English. Again. Cute Katie.
e. Elementary School. 6th grade.

I'm thankful I can help out a little financially doing something I enjoy. And the very best part of substitute teaching? Knowing that in a few hours I get to come home to this: (my mom sent this to me today on my phone while I was gone)