Feeling Better Today

I'm feeling better today. I've received a lot of encouragement from family and friends this week and it has made a HUGE difference, so thank you.

Ben has been so supportive and has helped me in countless ways. He really takes very good care of me.

Yesterday was the end of the term at school, and with that comes the stress of dealing with students who procrastinate and give me huge stacks of late work and then continue to constantly harass me about when I will have their grades finished and the fact that they have to pass my class. With the multiple experiences I had with catching cheaters in the last two weeks, the whole ordeal is extremely unpleasant and sometimes makes me very cranky.

However, I got a letter from a mom yesterday that came at the perfect time and reminded me of why I do what I do: (I've changed the student's name here)

Ms. Henry,
John is so thrilled that he got a 100% on his math test. But I want to tell you what he said about it. It was the first thing he told me when I got home from work yesterday. He even told me that he texted his dad after class when he found out. (His dad has helped him for years after school with his math, so they are especially bonded over math scores.) I told John that his score was fabulous and I was happy for him. He said, "Ms. Henry is the first teacher that has taught me what I need to know to get a 100 on a math test." He is giving you the credit for teaching him in a way that helped him get the score he wanted. He has been in advanced math for years, and has tried to get the ever elusive 100% many times. Thank you for giving him the knowledge and skills to test well.

You might remember that previously he was not getting the scores he wanted and had to do test corrections all of the time. He simply had not realized (even though he had been told) that not showing his work in math usually meant incorrect answers. After all of the test corrections and having an opportunity to see what he did wrong and trying to fix it, he seems to be improving in his understanding of math and tests. I see the wisdom behind the test corrections even though it creates more work for you. Thank you for helping John progress.

I must add that my husband has not had to help him with math this year for a couple months. Thank you for teaching your students what they need to know to do their homework, too.

Thanks again,

Writer's block

I haven't blogged in a while. Mostly because I am always feeling sick. I have not thrown up, but I always feel nauseated. I've actually lost weight because I can't eat anything.

I started writing a post and got 3 paragraphs of extreme pessimistic whining about how terrible I feel. Then I tried to change tactics and be extremely optimistic and talk about how excited I am to be a mom and try to come up with some positive goals as New Year's resolutions.

Neither of these situations is entirely true. I am not fully incapacitated and miserable, but with the amount of crying I have been doing lately, I cannot pretend that I am extremely happy.

I've reached a writer's block and I do not know how long it will last. So until then, I probably will not be posting.

A New BABY!!

We are so excited to let everyone know that we are going to be parents in August!

We look forward to the adventures that this new opportunity will bring.

We surprised our families with the news on Christmas. We told Ben's parents to save a spot for us in their "Grandchildren Brag Book." We gave my parents a webcam and a note that read:
"This gift will help you keep an eye on your fifth grandchild when he or she comes in AUGUST."

The reaction was way more than we expected. The video is priceless:

Birthday Celebrations

Ben turned 25.

And about 25 people showed up to his birthday party.

This truly made him feel loved. Thanks to all of our great friends who came to celebrate with us!

I was really worried that we would not be able to fit everyone that RSVP-ed into our tiny apartment, but we did it and it was such a success! And since the majority of our guests happened to be Vocal Point members, it definitely got loud and crazy. The evening included snacks and birthday cake, a rousing game of "Catch Phrase," and of course memorable sing-alongs of Vocal Point songs. And with that much talent crammed into one tiny apartment, "Happy Birthday to Ben" was definitely a performance:

Reflecting on the evening, we were once again reminded of how wonderful it is to have such good friends. We feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many awesome people who inspire us to be better.

And I am so blessed to have my best friend with me for eternity. I love you, Sweetheart!

Happy Birthday.

Christmas Cowboy

Ben is a bass. He can sing some very low notes and it is beautiful.

When we first moved into our ward, he quickly caught the attention of Miss Janie Thompson, a legend at BYU (there is a giant portrait of her in the HFAC). She is 89 years old and has a magnificent history: she is the original founder of the Young Ambassadors and Living Legends performing groups at BYU, as well as being involved in countless other achievements and accomplishments. This woman knows her stuff and has performed with and trained the best of the best.She got really excited when she heard Ben read a quote in Sunday School and even interrupted the lesson to say, "What an amazing bass voice!" (Which is funny because Ben's speaking voice is not that low...) and invited him to come to choir. Then when he let slip that he is a former member of Vocal Point, she fell in love. Literally. She dotes on him like crazy!

She directs our ward choir, often having us sing things that are very advanced and complicated (not just simple hymn arrangements), many of them ones that she herself has arranged and/or composed. They are actually quite amazing and uplifting.

She also conducts the ward's annual Christmas show, which is quite a production. The youth and primary children perform numbers that she has written and choreographed and she accompanies all of them on the piano and leads the caroling (again, not just simple carols but complicated arrangements).

This year she pulled out a song that she wrote called "Cowboy Christmas" and had us over a few times so she could coach Ben. This song is funny because Ben sings about all of the "cowboy" things he likes to do. She thinks it is pretty cute. But what we find absolutely hilarious is that it has nothing to do with Christmas, except for a random line that she throws in at the end where he wants to "wish a very Merry Christmas to you." It got a lot of laughs at the ward Christmas party and Janie was glowing with pride.

She also wrote another ending to the song so that he doesn't have to sing it just at Christmas time. So Ben's talent has stolen the heart of another lovely lady and we now have the sheet music to a Janie Thompson original (in her own handwriting, too) and sweet memories of a great experience with a great lady.

Party, Pirates, Pizza, and Puckers

For Ben's birthday my parents took us all out to dinner (thanks Mom and Dad!) and Ben decided he wanted to go to Pirate Island Pizza. It is kind of like a Pirate-themed Chuck-E-Cheese with a dark atmosphere that makes you feel like you are in a bog with a giant Pirate ship that periodically shoots off smoke from the cannons and flashes lightning. The servers are all dressed like pirates and Ben and I saw a Jack Sparrow character bussing tables that was absolutely hilarious!

The menu items all have funny pirate names (each type of pizza is named after a ship) and the kids get pirate hats and a balloon person comes around and makes pirate swords for them. We actually got Marcus and Ian to try eating some lemons. Ian's face is classic:

It was a fun night out with the family. Happy Birthday Ben!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Ben reached a milestone today. He is now officially a quarter of a century old!

We didn't do much today to celebrate because his party is next week, but something really exciting did happen. After an awesome summer in San Antonio, doing an internship that he absolutely loved, Ben was offered a full-time position at USAA. We have spent the last couple of months deciding whether to accept, looking at the pros and cons.

Pros: the security of having a job right out of college, a great company, great pay, excellent benefits, doing work that he enjoys, the possibility of getting his MBA at the University of Texas San Antonio, very low cost of living and great housing market, which leads to a realistic dream of being homeowners much sooner than expected!

Cons: being very far away from family, missing the mountains and the snow, extremely hot summers

Obviously, the pros won out and Ben officially accepted the offer today and is so incredibly excited! I couldn't be prouder of him.

So in June we start the next chapter of our lives in San Antonio, Texas!