A blast from the past!

So I have been watching old home videos because I have been recording them from vhs to dvd. Today I was watching one of our Christmases and if anyone ever asked me to explain what my family is like, I would pull out this video and show them. It captured each of our personalities perfectly.

Dad-He was videotaping us open our "one" present until after only a little begging from us, he let us open up the rest of our presents. He has always been such a softie pushover.

Mom-She made sure that we found every part of the present we were opening. She has always wanted us to be happy and to get everything we want.

Brendon-Quietly opens his chess set and his model airplanes. He has always been the strategic quiet type. Always the quiet observer.

Karlie-I opened some of the ugliest clothes and 90's scrunchies, but I was so happy about it. I always try to find the good in the bad or the bad situation.

Trevor-Opened his present that was his own pack of computer paper and colored paper. He has always been the creator. He even tried to act not excited like his big brother. He has always looked up to and admired him.

Katie-Opened her present and screamed with joy until Brendon pointed out that it was just a box. She opened the box and screamed with joy as she pulled out two beautiful dresses and modeled them for all of us. She has always had joy for life and looks dang good living it!

We sure do have our faults, but I must say that we are lucky to have each other because we are so different that we compliment each other. And now we have Ann and Mary Deane to add to the craziness that is our family!

Favorite quote of the day!

So I was on the phone with my dad when the kids came in from lunch today and I guess I was laughing at something he said and so this is what they said:
Student: Ms. Jones, was that your boyfriend?
Me: No, why?
Student: Because you were laughing and smiling.
Me: Oh, well it was my dad.
Student: You should tell him to stop calling you so that you have time to call your boyfriend.

Little do they know that I don't have a boyfriend to call so you call me all you want dad!

To my BIG sister!

I put this picture up of Ann because I told her she looked ridiculously hott that day and I asked Brendon how he was keeping his hands off of her. He told me it was only because we were in church! ;) Ann is great at everything she does. She is an amazing seamstress and with that has amazing fashion sense as you can see. She is an amazing wife and mother and she has become, to me, an amazing big sister.
It is fun because we are only a year and a half apart and so we are friends too. I love that Brendon married her because she thinks I am funny and laughs at my jokes! So I call her big sister because of her BIG heart, her BIG personality, her bright BIG eyes, her BIG love for her family and her BIG spirit!
I love you Ann and hope you have a great birthday! Here is to 26 more!

It is sad but true...

...that money is a serious motivator. I am telling you my class is a whole different class. I went and bought fake money at the teacher store and decided that I would give them money for different things and take away money when they didn't listen to the rules. It is random and the kids never know when they are going to get money. The second they walk in now they ask me if they can help me with anything. It has been great because I have gotten so much done lately. They also have been really quiet and really on task. I especially love to see them teach each other and they have been doing a lot of that lately. I just hope the novelty of it doesn't wear off too quickly. I am kind of loving teaching!

Good times!

So this weekend I was craving Wheat thins like crazy so I went and bought some. As I was eating them, I thought of this little cutie!

Over the Christmas break we bonded over Wheat thins. I would open the box and eat some and she would clap her hands together to show me she wanted more in sign language. So I would break up the cracker to smaller pieces and we would sit and eat our Wheat thins together. When she was done, she would say no in her sweet little voice when I would try to hand her one. This went on for a couple of days. The funny thing is that she would not take Wheat thins from anyone else. It was our bonding moment of the Christmas break. So as I ate my Wheat thins alone, I missed my Wheat thins buddy and can't wait to see her again and have a great conversation while eating our crackers!

A gentle reminder

So today I had the opportunity to go to Karlie Smith Morris' funeral. What a sweet experience it was for me. In a blessing I received from my dad before I went back to another year of college, the Lord told me to try to live my life so that I could honor my name. I assumed this meant to honor the Jones name and all the great people that hold that name. I found out today that he also meant my first name Karlie. The woman I was named after was an incredible woman. She was very Christlike and, according to her children, the least judgmental person they knew.

I sat there crying because I was sad that the world lost another great woman and crying with joy for the hope of tomorrow that I now have. I have hope that I can become the great woman that she was. What a sweet experience for me and I am so grateful for the gospel and the knowledge we have that we can be together forever!

Her family also gave us each a white rose to remember her by and it now sits on my mantle in my kitchen so that I can be reminded that each day is a new day and I can do great things with my life!

The calm before the storm

One of my favorite things about Utah are the couple of days before a really big snow storm or rain storm. It just feels different. Today was one of those days. I walked out of my apartment and everything was quiet and still. It was almost as if the air was frozen because nothing was blowing. I had to stop and smell everything around me. I even had to say a quick "thank you prayer" to Heavenly Father for this beautiful moment.

I started thinking about how crazy life has been lately and how I need to enjoy the "calm" moments in my life. My life has very few "storm" moments lately and I need to enjoy it while it lasts. One of the things that calms me down the most is a rain or snow storm. I just love watching it all fall from the sky.

What helps calm you down?

A Bad Day for both of us!

I don't know if you can read what is written on this paper, but it is not good. By the end of yesterday I had had enough. So I had the students sit down for the last 20 minutes of the day and write, in cursive, "I will not talk out in class. I will listen to directions the first time." They had to fill up the whole page and they had to do it in silence.
Sometimes I feel like I am not getting through to them and that they are learning nothing in my class. Then I sit down and remember that I am making a difference and they are learning something at least. If they learn nothing else in my class, they at least learned that I care about each and every one of them.
The funny part was that the boy who sits in the desk right next to mine was really upset about this assignment so he would write a sentence and then slam his pencil down to make a period and then give me a look that could kill. I kept a straight face, but later I had a good chuckle about it. :)