A Taste of Parenthood

Yesterday Tommy and I got a little taste of what being parents is all about. Two different families in our ward asked us to babysit their kids. The first family has two little boys and a newborn baby. We don't usually babysit for them, but with the newborn baby they were a little nervous to leave. We read books, played basketball (on a kiddie hoop of course), played with Transformers, played a good game of Candyland (Tommy's first believe it or not), tried to soothe a newborn baby who thought she was going to die of starvation, and laughed a lot. We ate a nice lunch with them and then came home for about a half hour for a short break.

The second family showed up shortly after that. They have a little girl full of energy and a little baby boy. Tommy needed to go to Midway to mow and water the lawn so we decided to pack up the kids and go. The car ride was interesting, but once we got their the adventures began. We stayed busy mowing and watering the lawn, playing the wii, swinging in the hammock, and once again laughing a lot. We ended this trip at McDonalds to play in the playground area for awhile. Then we came home and dropped the kids off.

After that Tommy and I really began to reflect on the events of the day. Our normal Saturday's consist of a little bit of cleaning, running errands, and a whole lot of relaxing. As we babysat these children we really got an idea of how unselfish parents have to be. We knew that the happiness of these children was our responsiblity. Both families were extremely grateful and said this was the best birth control for us. Little do they know we are grateful for the time that we were able to spend with them, and it makes us want children more than ever. We have learned so much from the wonderful examples around us. As crazy as it may sound we look forward to the day that we can drop our kids off at the babysitters so we can enjoy time together.

Here are a few pictures of our adventures. Sorry Shanna but some of these pictures were just too cute. I couldn't resist!! Thanks for letting us use your adorable kids as our models!

Golden Apple Teacher Award

Today I was invited to a special luncheon honoring Golden Apple Educators and Staff. To my surprise I was nominated by the Manila Elementary PTA to receive this award. This is my first REAL award since I have been teaching so I was very honored and excited.

They fed all of us a delicious lunch and then presented the awards. They handed out a program with a write up about each one of the people chosen. This is what was written in the program about me.

Holly is not only an excellent teacher, but she is an outstanding communicator. Parents of children in her class say this is a "wonderful gift." This 2nd grade teacher's ability to communicate with kids in helping them understand difficult concepts as well as her ability to keep parents informed ensures an optimum learning experience for the students in her class. She's quick to notice if a student needs extra attention in order to overcome an area where they may struggle. This creative teacher has an impressive ability to motivate her students. Holly has been teaching for four years-all at Manila. According to a parent, "thanks to Mrs. Deaver, my son loves school!" That is probably because Holly loves children and that is what inspired her to become a teacher. Feeling like she makes a difference in a child's life each day is the reward. She elicits joy from helping "students to really believe that they can read, write, or do math if they will just put their mind to it." The Manila PTA celebrates this amazing teacher!

Though I have never been one to care about awards or personal recognition this was truly an honor for me because my love for my students was recognized. There is a lot of things I don't do well...but loving and teaching children is something I take great pride in!

STRAWBERRY JAM -- YUM YUM!!

Who says that straight men can't be domesticated?? The first year of marriage to Tommy I saw one of the most odd things I had ever seen. On a trip to Las Vegas to visit Tommy's family in April, I saw Tommy's dad making strawberry jam. Yeah, a man making jam! Well, to make a long story short, making strawberry jam is a tradition every April in Tommy's family. So, of course we just had to join in and make our own. That's what we did, and yes I said We --Tommy made as much as I did, and he's actually pretty good at it.

Last year was our first run at it and it turned out pretty good. However, we didn't make a whole lot because we were to scared that it might not turn out. This year we went crazy! We made a ton of strawberry jam and we make it good! Our freezer is full and we're already looking forward to next year. So, if you want to taste some of the best homemade jam this side of the Mississippi River, give us a call!!

MARCH MADNESS HAS ARRIVED

Ever since Tommy and I were married we have looked forward to this time of the year for a lot of reasons. We love the nice warm spring weather. We love that Spring Break is around the corner, and know that the end of yet another school year is quickly approaching. Last but not least March Madness!

Tommy and I are big fans of college basketball, and we totally get into this. We are both huge DUKE fans. Every game throughout the season we are at home cheering them on. I don't keep track of any of the other teams unless they do something noteworthy and they are on Sportscenter. No it is not me that watches Sportscenter, but it is part of Tommy's nightly ritual. So you guessed it I see a lot of it.

As the regular season games start to wrap up we look forward to filling out our brackets. When the brackets come out we print them off and begin to fill them out. Sometimes I ask Tommy's advice but most of the time I just do it on my own. Very blindsided of course!

Let the games begin! This last weeked was the first weekend of games. With our brackets in hand we cheered on the teams we wanted to win. We were very sad when DUKE lost their second game of the tournament on Saturday. Better luck next year blue devils! Lucky for us neither one of us picked them to go to the final four. The games start up again on Thursday. Time will tell who is going to have the best bracket this year! I love the competition!

Teacher Appreciation Week

This week at school is teacher appreciation week. Ask any teacher at Manila Elementary... they will tell you this is the best week of the year because we get completely spoiled! The festivites kick off on Friday afternoon as the many of the devoted room moms come to the school to decorate all of the teacher's doors. Here is a picture of my door this year. I love that they are all so different and creative!

The door says, Mrs. Deaver we are
happy you are in our "school"

On Monday my room mom brought in a basket with a cute tag on it that said, "You are souper!" Each of my students brought in a can of soup for me. The PTA also provided us with an amazing lunch of delicious soups, salads, and dessert.

Check out the variety I have to choose from

On Tuesday my room mom brought in a pitcher filled with lemonade packets. On it there was a few quotes about lemonade. My favorite was if life gives you lemons take the juice and squirt it in your enemies eyes. I had never heard that one, and it gave me a good laugh for the day.

I don't think I will be thirsty for a really long time!

On Wednesday my room mom brought in a clear paint can that had a cute tag that said "You are so sweet to me." All of the students brought in loads of treats that day. I asked them if they were trying to make me fat. I can never begin to eat all of that candy! Maybe I will share with them if they can be really good :)

Yummy!

On Thursday my room mom brought in a cute red apple basket. On the basket it said, "You are an A+ Teacher." The students brought in all sorts of apples for me. I even got an apple called a grapple. It is an apple that tastes like a grape. I can't wait to try it. My students must of known that I don't eat apples unless I have peanut butter because some of my students gave me a big container of peanut butter. It is one of my favorite snacks!

Perfect gift for a teacher!

On Friday I walked into my classroom to see a large vase with a few flowers in it. As the students came to school today they brought lots of different kinds of flowers for me. Some were fake and some were real, but when we put them all together they made a beautiful bouquet.

Beautiful!

So needless you can see that I was extremely appreicated this week, but the great thing about Manila Elementary is that I feel appreicated every single day. I have the best group of students, and amazing, supportive parents too. I special thank you to everyone out there who made this week a special one for me!!

Check out my CRAZY class!

The BEST HUSBAND in the WHOLE WORLD!

Ever since Tommy graduated he usually spends his WHOLE day studying for the DAT. He used to go to the library and study but lately he has been staying at home. Sometimes he gets sick of studying, and needs to take a break. The typical guy would turn on the TV and watch some sports, play video games, and get something to eat. Not my INCREDIBLE husband. He spends his break cleaning the house, doing laundry, and doing AMAZING things for me...

On Monday when I came home from work he was sitting in the recliner just waiting for me to come home. I came in gave him a kiss and we just starting talking like we normally do. I have been feeling very guilty because I really don't do much of anything around the house anymore. Monday morning after he left to go work out I decided that I was going to make the bed, and make a consious effort to help out more. Well Tommy is extremely particular about how the bed is made. The last step being to fold the covers down. I didn't do that. So when I got home he commented about the bed being made, but mentioned that I had forgotten the last step. He told me to go and do it. I went in the bedroom and found this poem on the bed. It it titled MY LOVE.

September 8,
The day that marks our first date
The year, 2003
Important because…by 2004…you had fallen in love with me!

Since that day our lives have been filled with excitement and uncertainty
In fact, that’s the reason I’ll be gray by thirty!
And though we never know what’s next, we’ll stick together
That my dear, will be our legacy forever!

With so much life to live, we’ll do it to the fullest
Just wait until the kids get here, that will be the coolest
Tommy, Susanna, Addison and the rest
I can see them now, arguing over whom we love the best

They’ll come, to you this I tell
Be patient because when they do you’ll think you’ve died and gone to hell!
I’ll teach them to love you just as I do
As long as you don’t make me clean up the poo!

You work so hard, you log your time
Keep it up and I promise, in the end your life will be sublime
You must never bend nor break
The broken and torn you must mend, and out of bad, good you must make

Grateful for you I am, you have given me a sense of balance
I must have done something right for the Lord to have given me you, perhaps it was my valiance?
I’ll tell you now and forever again, it is you I need
That you’ll love me humbly I plead.

We’ll laugh and we’ll cry
We’ll pass through trials that try
And when life deals us a bad hand…
Together, as a family, we’ll make our stand

Simply put -
There are no perfect words that I might say…just that I will always love you more and more each day!

So after reading that you are probably thinking this is too good to be true, or you are thinking that I am really lucky! I know I am lucky! Tommy is the best husband in the whole world. I am so thankful for him everyday. He does so many little and BIG things for me everyday. Whether it is starting my car in the morning, making or bringing me lunch, or just listening to me complain. He does it all...and soon he'll be bringing home a paycheck! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

Counting Every Step I Take

A couple of weeks ago the PE teacher at Manila came and asked the teachers to participate in a program called Walk the Walk. This program is sponsered by our health insurance company. This is the second year that our school has participated but the first year that I have particpated. If any of you know me very well you know that I am NOT an exerciser! (It's a good thing that I was blessed with a great metabolism.) Usually I wouldn't particpate in things like this, but the PE teacher personally asked me and so I decided to support the cause.

So basically all it entails is wearing a pedometer around for the next month and keeping track of the steps that you take each day. The people with the highest amount of steps get a prize. It has been a HUGE eye opener for me. I don't realize how many steps you take in one day. For example yesterday Tommy and I went to the grocery store. I looked at the pedometer when we walked in and looked at it again when we walked out. I had walked about 1,000 steps just in the grocery store. Today was a school day and the day is not even over yet and I am at 4,439 steps for the day.

Can you even imagine how many steps I would take if I actully got off my lazy butt and did some exercise?