Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Finals, finals, and more finals

Just a quick note to say, I love my job, well, the teaching part of it anyway. :) I am at one of those miserable parts of it though. We're crazy at CHS and give our kids three finals...an oral final (they have to talk for two minutes on a topic, or answer questions asked by the teacher), a written essay final, and a big scantron cumulative final. It's the orals that I hate (three days of class spent grading them-ugh), but it is the written essays that sit in my bag for the two weeks from the moment that they take them until my grades are due. It usually takes me a week to even start them (I'm usually behind in my grades anyway...I just finished their last quizzes, so I can officially start them). LOL. Needless to say that my colleagues, though they might be my kidless colleagues, have already finished theirs and passed them back to their kids. My kids will have to wait a few more days, and they better not complain, or I'll remember that when I'm up in the middle of the night (since that is when they'll have to be done) grading their essay...Grades have to be done on Monday at midnight so they'll have their grades by then. :)

Wish me luck...I better get to work--enough procrastinating--or I'll never get these done.

Monday, January 28, 2008

President Hinckley Passes Away

President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97.

President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since 12 March 1995.

The Church president died at his apartment in downtown Salt Lake City at 7:00 p.m. Sunday night from causes incident to age. Members of his family were at his bedside. A successor is not expected to be formally chosen by the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after President Hinckley’s funeral within the next few days.
From http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/
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We found this out last night when our Utah family called us. We were saddened but know that he has been working so hard down here and deserves a break. He was such a great man and Prophet! He is happy I'm sure to be where he is now with his wife and everyone else who has passed on. We had the opportunity to hear him speak two weeks ago at a regional conference--he looked really weak--but it was nice to hear his counsel.

You will be missed President Hinckley! Here are some of my favorite quotes. Does anyone else have any? :)

Faith in something greater than ourselves enables us to do what we have said we'll do, to press forward when we are tired or hurt or afraid, to keep going when the challenge seems overwhelming and the course is entirely uncertain.”

“Our lives are the only meaningful expression of what we believe and in Whom we believe. And the only real wealth, for any of us, lies in our faith.”

“Of course we're Christian. The very name of the church declares that. The more people see us and come to know us, the more I believe they will come to realize that we are trying to exemplify in our lives and in our living the great ideals which (Jesus Christ) taught.”

“Believe in Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer, the Son of God, who came to earth and walked the dusty roads of Palestine-the Son of God-to teach us the way of truth and light and salvation, and who, in one great and glorious act offered an atonement for each of us. He opened the way of salvation and exaltation for each of us, under which we may go forward in the Church and kingdom of God. Be not faithless, but believe in the great and wonderful and marvelous blessings of the Atonement.”

"Your faith will perform miracles especially when you get your hands and feet involved.”

“Popularity ends on yearbook day, but respect lasts forever.”

"I think [forgiveness] may be the greatest virtue on earth, and certainly the most needed. There is so much of meanness and abuse, of intolerance and hatred. There is so great a need for repentance and forgiveness. It is the great principle emphasized in all of scripture, both ancient and modern. Somehow forgiveness, with love and tolerance, accomplishes miracles that can happen in no other way."

"The Lord's standards have come from Him. Some of them may appear a little out-of-date in our society, but this does not detract from their validity nor diminish the virtue of their application. The subtle reasoning of men, no matter how clever, no matter how plausible it may sound, cannot abridge the declared wisdom of God."

"Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine."


"The only way to get anything done is to get on your knees and plead for help and then get on your feet and go to work."

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. i say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us,...if we put our trust in Him, if we pray to Him, if we live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Just one of those mornings... ugh!

What a day what a day. On the way to work I was thinking about blogging about how I hate mornings (or I hate weekday mornings and the awful minute-by-minute schedule that I have to be on to be able to get everything done before I leave--it makes me grumpy!) Is that weird to think about blogging while driving? Hmm...either way when I got to school I had kids waiting for help so that was pushed aside until now....so.... have you ever had a day where everything seemed to go wrong? I was trying to leave for work (later than I wanted to leave like always and I hadn't even had time for breakfast grr) and grabbed the bowls (that I didn't stick in the sink last night after we had ice cream) and taking them to the sink, but when I leaned over to hug Sammy goodbye I also spilled melted mint and chip ice cream all over him and the floor...then at work I dropped my clipboard right on my toes (ouch) and then when I went to pick it up I whacked my head/eyebrow on the overhead (that still hurts). Later I tripped over the overhead cord (but didn't fall-phew) Then when I went home I walked all the way to the car and then realized that my car keys were in my desk drawer and had to go back to get them. Then I missed almost every light home. Then I burned all of the (yes alllll) of the quesadillas I made for lunch (2 because of a phone call and the other 2 burned while I delivered the first two to Thad) and we were out of cheese so I couldn't make any more and we were out of almost everything else so that was all there was for quick lunches besides PB&J and I wasn't feeling PB&Jish today), and man, my head hurts from trying to remember all of the clumsy stuff I did...ugh..all in all I survived today and no, nothing was totally disastrous but man, I am a klutz and today was awful for the klutzy gal! I'm glad that this day is over--I am wiped out!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Friday, January 11, 2008

Why Me? What's the deal with me and weirdos?

Why me? Why do I have all of the weird things happen to me? Why have I been in two car accidents and they've both run lights and hit me and run off leaving me smushed (and thankfully alive)?! And more recently (last night at 9:45 pm) did I have some drunk guy trying to get into my house? (Just for the record everything worked out as okay as it could be he was too drunk to do anything but throw up on our lawn and pass out until the police got there!) So last night I was finishing up a great big pile of dishes that had been building up slowly all week (awful eh?!) and I heard someone at the door. I thought that it was Thad so I unlocked and opened the door, but instead of Thad I saw a Hispanic guy with a beanie on about six inches from my door. I screamed and then closed the door and ran around closing and locking all of the doors that Thad had left open in the backyard when he was working. That was quite a challenge because I was shaking and so freaked out that it was hard to get the doors closed and locked. I called Thad but he didn't pick up so I called the Tolman's from church who live around the corner from us. Poor Grace couldn't understand me at first because I was so scared that I was crying but she got Mitch to come over and go around the house. I had to worry and protect my boys who were asleep--I didn't know what I would do if he got in!!! I ran into my bedroom with Nathan and locked the door and prayed that he wouldn't get in before Mitch got here! Mitch came right over and he said that everything was fine and then Thad pulled up (I had finally gotten a hold of him and he came flying home!) He got out of the car and then that is when they noticed the drunk guy hiding in our van in the driveway. They made him get out and luckily he was really wasted (since it took the stinkin' police 10 mins to get to my house) and so he just laid down on the cement (or maybe fell?!) The police took him away but talk about freaky! Oh, and I found a scooter by our back gate--I'm guessing that it was his? I'm glad that he didn't go into the back first--the doors were wide open by where Thad was working!

Ugh! So, yes, why me? That happened to me in college too-I heard somebody's keys in the door and opened it to see some guy there and I slammed the door and locked it and called the police. It ended up being some drunk guy that was trying to find his girlfriend's room--still scared the living daylights out of me at 1 am in the morning!!!

Oh, and just in case I don't have enough weird stories, there is always the one about the morning that I was up grading at 4 am trying to get some tests done when I heard my horn honk (we don't have an alarm on our little green car so I knew something was fishy) and I went and looked and there was someone sleeping(we guess?) in our car. Again, I screamed and woke everyone up and my Dad grabbed a golf club and ran outside with Thad. They detained him for 2 or 3 minutes until the Cerritos police got there (FAST! Hooray for the Cerritos Police!) and then he proceeded to tell us that he was the Messiah and that he had come from India to save us, and that it was our fault for leaving our car unlocked. He wouldn't have been in there if WE hadn't left it open. --sigh-- Enough is enough. Can I have a break from the weird car stories and drunk guys trying to get into my house--it's starting to freak me out.

At least I have been protected each time and I'm still here and alive and well.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Back to work...

I had a wonderful two weeks off with my boys, but now I'm back to the real world, and real life and work. Oh well. :) At the end of it all even if I don't have time to do the dishes, laundry, pick up all of the toys, or relax, it's nice to know that I'm loved and missed when my kids give me smiles and sometimes even a big hug or a kiss! Those make it all worth it!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Driggs Family Pics - Jan 1, 2008

Carolyn and her family were going to be in town so we got everyone together, my mom and I found coordinating shirts for almost everyone (that was quite a challenge considering their ages/genders from 2 months to 63!) I think mostly everyone was okay with the shirts besides my brother and his wife (we chose pink for them b/c that is the color they had left of the matching striped shirts and they don't have any kids--I could have sworn that my brother already owned a pink shirt, but he refused to wear it--luckily my mom and dad had packed another set. It was crazy trying to get all of the kids and families there and the sun started to set before everyone was ready but I think that they turned out pretty well. Here is a pic of each family. I think it's fun to see them and what everyone looks like. More pics at SmugMug. :)

Mom and Dad/ Grandma and Grandpa Driggs
Mike and Stephanie Driggs
Jared, Danny, Lizzie, and Cathy FongSammy, Allie, Thad and Nathan
Mike, Cameron, Natalie, Carolyn, and Ashely Repetti

Echo Mountain Excursion with Grandpa Marcroft

We left bright and early yesterday (we had to be at Grandpa's house by 5:30 am-yuck!) to head up to Echo Mountain. Cousin Troy and Uncle Bill went too. We hiked 2/3 of a mile (better than last year's 2.5 mile hike, let's just say that we didn't make it to the top) and ate a yummy hot breakfast with the other rangers and their friends/family. We watched the fighter jets fly over the Rose Parade (and right by us) and then hiked back down. It was fun, and tiring, but Sammy had a blast. Here are a few fun pics :)

Here is a picture of the whole group. (Allie, Thad, Sammy, Grandpa, Nathan, Troy, Uncle Bill)
(More pics , of course, at SmugMug)

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Sammy and Nathan in the Newspaper :)

Thad's grandmother sent in a picture to the local paper, The Press Telegram, and it was published yesterday on the Reader Page. It was a picture of Sammy and his cousins holding Nathan. It's pretty cute. You'll have to click it to enlarge it and read it. It says, "Betty Fern Marcroft of Norwalk sent in her favorite photo, which is from an October visit. She writes: 'These are five of my many great grandchildren. Sammy Marcroft, second from right, is showing his new baby brother Nathan to visiting cousins Hannah, James, and Esther Keen.'" Fun eh?
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