Grateful

 Hello Blogger Fam! 

What a whirl wind it has been! If I didn't blog today I would be so ungrateful. This weekend the love I have felt. It was the weekend of the deer hunt which means bake sale for the Grouse Creek Buckaroos. 

If I didn't blog today to share my gratitude I would be so ungrateful. Tender mercies of this weekend. It was the weekend of the deer hunt which means it was the bake sale for Grouse Creek Buckaroos! It is the weekend that my school raises money for their field trip. This year we raised $998 more dollars than last year thank you to everyone who came and supported us.

I want to give a few shout outs. One to my friend Morgan who drove all the way from American Fork it is a 4 hour drive but she came. She came to support me as a human, a teacher and a friend. She helped me understand some curriculum I was struggling with. She helped me make the breakfast burritos she helped set up for the bake sale. I know it was a simple gesture but it meant the world to me to have you come and visit me. I am so lucky and grateful to call you my friend and to have you in my life! 

Next shout out goes to Mrs. Pettingill! Thank you for driving 3 hours to come and support me and then turn around and drive the 3 hours home! Thank you for coming and supporting my students and my school. Thank you for even helping me with my dishes. I know driving the 3 hours to help me with dishes wasn't what you signed up for. Thank you for being you and coming to support me! 

Lastly, I want to give a shout out to my dad! My dad is the best! He comes and checks for mice and sits at a bake sale in the cold and he even checked for mice and got rid of it for me. He took me to the dump and let me wear his coat so I wouldn't freeze and he froze but he stayed like a champ and supported me and my school.

I am truly the luckiest school teacher and person to be alive. I am so thankful for my friends and family for the love they have for me and the support they show me. I am truly grateful for the love and support I felt this weekend. Changing jobs a year ago truly changed my life for the better. It helped me get back to being safe in my life. It taught me that I am worth something and can do anything. It taught me that even though life is hard it is worth it. Changing jobs I didn't think I would last a year or a month. But look at me now I am making something of myself. I asked for an adventure and I got one! It has been a crazy ride but it has changed my life for the better. The 400 miles a week on my car. I am truly grateful for who I am becoming. Grouse Creek has changed me and my life! There is just something about this community! 

Thank you Morgan, Mrs. Pettingill and my Dad for coming to spend the weekend with me and my students! 

I am off to my next adventure! Send Coke! I mean that with all seriousness grape crush is also accepted too! 😉 When life gets hard drink a coke. 😊 And don't forget to pray because sometimes that is all you have! 

Until next time, Peace Out Cub Scour! Work hard, play harder, RUN YOUR HEART OUT! Pray a little louder! Never loose sight of the end goal! Peace and Love! Over and Out! 

I should have stopped.

 Hello Blogger Fam! 

Have you ever had a regret or done something that you wish you hadn't or something that you wish you had. Well, this past Thursday on my normal commute to Brigham City. I was driving as I normally do, it was muddy at the start and then once I got 11 miles on the dirt road then it was smooth sailing. I continued on my journey past Park Valley and then got to the Kelton sign and the road was wet and icy. My car started sliding in and out of the lane and all I could do was hold the steering wheel and pray that I wouldn't hit the barriers and luckily no cars were coming. I got control back and I could see car parts on the side of the road and then there was a man holding his front bumper. I didn't stop I drove by. I didn't stop. That was the worst decision that I have ever made. I haven't stopped thinking about that split second decision. I drove 1 mile and turned around and someone had stopped to help him. I was so grateful for that man who stopped to help that man because I was a jerk. I should have stopped! 

I texted my principal and asked her if it was her husband stopped to help a man right passed the Kelton sign and she said yes. 

I should have stopped. I know that I can't change the past but I can decide now that if I can be of service to someone. I will  stop and help them. 

I hope that if there ever comes a day that I am on the side of the road someone will stop and help me and not be a Jill and just look and drive by. I did turn around and to go check on him but I still should have stopped. 

Make the choice now on the person that you want to be. If you want to be the person who stops or the person who drives by. I know we are all busy and have many things on our minds but you never know how something so simple will change your life.

Until next week! Send Coke! I mean that with all seriousness or grape crush is accepted too. 😉

I am off to my next adventure. When life gets hard, drink a coke.😊  And don’t forget to pray because sometimes that’s all you have. Until, next time, Peace Out Cub Scout. Work hard, play harder, RUN YOUR HEART OUT! Pray a little louder! Never lose sight of the end goal! Keep the Faith! Peace and Love! Over and Out! 

Quilt Retreat!

 Hello Blogger Fam! 

Have you ever wondered why school teachers don't take time off? Well I am here to tell you that it is easier to go to work than to make sub plans. I know that sounds silly but it is so true. Because you end up teaching even when you are away. You love your students as your own. You will do what is best for them and that is being there for them everyday. Even the days when you start out with two crying students from getting off the bus. I love my students and I would do anything for them. I now want to tell you about the adventure that I embarked on last week! 

What is a quilt retreat you might ask. It is where you go and sew and you don't even have to wear real clothes you can wear your pajamas all day if you want or your yoga pants. You can work on your UFO (unfinished objects/projects) or on a group project.

I have been following this wonderful lady on youtube and learned so much from her on quilting. I found out she was having a quilt retreat and I watched it and watched it, I told myself at Christmas if there was still spots left I would go and guess what there was. Just two spaces left!  In October a lot of things were happening and my dad who never really says much said I should go because it would be a way to get away and to go and do something I love sewing! My best friend and I went and it was so much fun! It was in Quitman, Texas. I met so many amazing people I learned so much. I have met many people that I would have never met if I wouldn't have went. I love those ladies that I have met. I got to sew all day for three days and I didn't have a worry in the world. It was so fun to go and relax and to meet people who have the same passion about quilting and sewing like I do. 

This quilt retreat was what I needed to relax and to find happiness in my life again. It was such an amazing experience. I am so thankful that I was able to go. I got to go to Bucee's and I got to sew three quilt tops and I learned how to make a new quilt and let me tell you what who ever said it was for beginners was crazy.  I loved meeting the lady I follow on youtube and I am so thankful for the time she took to get to know me and make me feel important. She took the time to understand me and to answer all my questions. She even called me and answered all my questions before the retreat. She is incredible! 

Quilting is way more than sewing it is feeling of freedom and letting your creativity come out. The fabric speaks for you when you can't speak for yourself. I have learned that quilting brings joy not only to me but to others to.

I am so thankful for the opportunity that I had to go to this quilt retreat and to meet some amazing people and to make friends from all over the country! 

I am off to my next adventure! Send Coke! I mean that with all seriousness or grape crush is accepted too! 😉 When life gets hard, drink a coke. 😊 And don't forget to pray because sometimes that is all you have! 

Until next time, Peace Out Cub Scout! Work Hard, play harder, RUN YOUR HEART OUT! Pray a little louder! Never lose sight of the end goal! Peace and Love! Over and Out! 

They take care of their own! No matter the task!

Hello Blogger Fam! 

If I didn't blog today I would be very ungrateful! As I got ready to leave my parents house, all I could think about was how I was going to have to shovel my driveway and sidewalk. To my surprise when I pulled in from my 2.5 hour commute my driveway was clear and so was my sidewalk. My silent prayers were answered. I am truly blessed to be apart of this community. It isn't just the snow, it's all the things this community does and being welcomed with open arms. Let me tell you about some of the other amazing things this community. 

First off I want to start with saying how grateful I am for the kind soul or souls who cleared my driveway and sidewalk. I came home to a cleared driveway and sidewalk after a big winter storm. I am so thankful to live in this community. They took me in when I was broken, torn and trying to rebuild my self esteem, they took me in when I had no where to live but the school but they didn't have that, they found me a place to stay for a month, while the place I was supposed to live was getting finished. Once the place I was supposed to move into was ready. It was a the whole community was here to move me in and in less than 20 minutes all my stuff was moved in. 

I am so thankful to be apart of a community that welcomes outsiders  (if they know you are coming, if you are a hick hiker that is another story) and takes them in as their own (they protect their own). I am thankful for the people who I can call to come and kill a spider that is 6 feet big and I mean that! Or the ones who come and get a dead mouse and remove it from my house as I am screaming and crying like a 5 year old because I am pretty sure I am going to die, because I am so scared. I am so thankful for this new adventure I have embarked on. I am thankful to be the school teacher out here. I am truly the luckiest teacher. I love this community. When I first started I thought people were crazy for living out in the middle of nowhere but I was the one that was wrong. I have met the most amazing people out here. 

I love being apart of a community that when you drive to town after a snow storm they say text me when you get to your parents so I know you are safe. I am thankful for the janitor who calls to check on me to make sure that I made it back safe. I am truly the luckiest school teacher around. What other teacher can say that when you leave for the weekend everyone is concerned for their well being. 

I am truly the lucky one. I am so thankful for the journey that got me here and the opportunity I have to be here. I am thankful for all the challenges that I had to go through to get here, all the hiccups and I am so thankful that I took the leap of faith to come out and to start a life for myself in the middle of nowhere. I wouldn't change it for the world. I am so grateful for all the no's that I got. It only takes one yes and I am so thankful that this was my yes! I love this adventure and this community! Thank you for taking me in when I needed it the most and most importantly thanks for taking a chance on me! 

I am off to my next adventure! Send Coke! I mean that with all seriousness or grape crush is accepted too! 😉 When life gets hard, drink a coke. 😊 And don't forget to pray because sometimes that is all you have!

Until next time, Peace Out Cub Scout. Work hard, play harder, RUN YOUR HEART OUT! Pray a little louder! Never lose sight of the end goal! Keep the Faith! Peace and Love! Over and Out! 

So long 2023! Welcome New Adventures 2024!

Hello Blogger Fam!

 
So long 2023! Hello 2024!

What an adventure 2023 was, it changed my life for the better. It had it's ups and downs as every year does but this was one for the books. It changed my life for the better! It taught me how to stand up for what I believe in and what to fight for and what to not fight for. Here are the top 5 things that changed my life in 2023.

1. Having oral surgery in July.

2. Going to the gym in the mornings at 5 am and the morning chats.

3. Getting a new job and attending the rural school conference.

4. Going to Missouri Star and Oklahoma with my mom.

5. Being able to attend 2 of my best friends weddings both in September.

2023 was a year that didn't go how I planned but it went the way it needed to. It shaped me into a better person and a happier one. I learned that I am strong enough to handle hard things and I am never alone. You never realize how alone you really are until you are homeless just praying to sleep, then moving into a bunk house and you just pray to not see a mouse or have one in your car and to live to see that next day. Life is hard but the hiccups in the road make it all worth it. I learned that a dead mouse isn't going to kill you even though it is as big as a rhinoceros.

If you would have asked me a year ago what my life would look like it would have been staying in West Valley teaching the morning conversations at the gym Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I would be living in the city around things and still seeing my friends everyday. The year had its ups and downs but I wouldn't change it for anything.  

Out with the old and in with the new. I am so excited for this year and all of the adventures! I am hoping for one real adventure this year and I hope it finds me and if not I hope I get some adventure that is life changing and I hope to get to spend sometime with my brother! 

I must tell you I am finally an adult, I changed my own toilet seat and I used my very own drill yes I did have to call my dad to ask how to take the drill part out of the drill but I did it. 

Here is to 2024 and new adventures! 

I am off to my next adventure! Send Coke! I mean that with all seriousness or grape crush is accepted too. 😉 When life gets hard, drink a coke. 😊 And don't forget to pray because sometimes that is all you have. 

Until next time, Peace Out Cub Scout. Work hard, play harder, RUN YOUR HEART OUT! Pray a little louder! Never lose sight of the end goal! Keep the Faith! Peace and Love! Over and Out! Here is to new adventures and great things ahead! 

Camping?!

Hello Blogger Fam!

Have you ever been camping?! Do you know all the work that goes into camping? Well, that is what Grouse Creek living is like. You pack a bag, you plan your meals, you make sure you have fabric and you have to drive with your head on the swivel to make sure you don't hit a cow/deer/antelope because they are expensive.  You have to plan your meals and all the things you want to do. You have to make sure you have enough food to last you until you go to town and enough just in case you get snowed in because I am not willing to drive on a dirt road in a snow storm to go get groceries. Please don't tell me that I can leave my parents house at 5 in the evening and get to Grouse Creek by 5:30 there is no way it is 160 miles one way that is 2.5 hours that's will no stops. Don't tell me you understand until you make the commute as many times as I have. I get that my schedule isn't the best and doesn't work with the Bishops schedule and I am sorry about that. But I would rather drive in the daylight and return in one piece than be on the side of the road in a ditch somewhere with no cell service because you didn't understand where I work or the commute I make.

Camping is fun when it is only for a while but an every week occurrence is something I never thought was possible, I never even know what I am going to eat until I eat it planning meals is something else. I know that every Tuesday I am going to eat two cheese enchiladas with rice no beans. Yes, every Tuesday, lately is has been Friday or Saturday when I am in town. I am became a pro at living out of a suitcase and a cooler and now I have a place to finally hang my clothes and to put my food. I have a nice little place in the middle of nowhere. I am grateful to the foreman who can read body language and facial expressions of a  girl who is like I think this is a bad idea, but my mom taught me to never quit no matter the challenge it brings. I appreciate that the foreman puts up with me even the angry crying girl because the breaker was turned off to the fridge. I am grateful that he never once made me feel like I was an idiot (even when he had every right to) even when I overreact about the little things but they are mountains to me. I am thankful for the opportunity to work out here and to be the teacher in a small town. I am learning so much about myself and how much I have grown being here. Camping is an adventure and so is living in a small town in the middle of no where. 

Now, I want to tell you the sweetest story that happened. At lunch I had just returned to the lunchroom from the office because I needed to microwave my lunch. I went and sat down it was dead silent and I mean so quiet a pin could have dropped. Mind you, it is never quiet someone is always talking! One of my students said, who is going to pray we need to pray another said you pray to who and why? This students isn't of their faith and without missing a beat the other student said to Heavenly Father we always thank him for our food before we eat it. Another student said to this student, its okay buddy we will pray at dinner for our lunch to and he will understand. We sat in silence for another minute and then they started eating. The faith of little child is something so real that you know they love their father in heaven and they are willing to pray no matter where they are. My heart melted because that was a tender mercy to me to remind me that as long as you still have a little bit of faith it will grow. It reminded me that the love of a child is real and the love of Heavenly Father is real no matter how far you stray or how hard the struggles are. I hope to have has much faith as these students one day. 

I am off to my next adventure! Send Coke! I mean that with all seriousness or grape crush is accepted too. 😉

When life gets hard, drink a coke. 😊 And don't forget to pray because sometimes that is all you have. 

Until next time, Peace Out Cub Scout. Work hard, play harder, RUN YOUR HEART OUT! Pray a little louder! Never lose sight of the end goal! Keep the Faith! Peace and Love! Over and Out! Here is to new adventures and great things ahead! 

Thank you for knowing I needed you!

 Hello Blogger Fam! 

What a week and it is only Tuesday! First let me give you the weekly update I wish I had something so profound to say like something that would make you say oh man I wish I could be just like this girl. Well, I don’t. Many people have told me to write a book about my adventures, I should but I am just trying to survive. Clearly, you are like trying to survive. I have been living in survival mode for the past month or so and I am now starting to feel it in my body as it is refusing to do things it used to do with ease like running 5 miles now, I can barely run a mile without my back telling me to stop I can’t take it please stop you are hurting me. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I am on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere with the silent tears streaming down my cheeks talking to the Branch President. I love to run and lately this fear of being attacked by a mouse or a bug or germs were going to kill me. My mom came with her army and cleaned the house I am in now. I am sleeping on a cot and my back is not having that either. It’s alright one day I will have a bed.

I have read a few books two last month to be exact. I read this one and it changed my life. It taught me to love myself and to forgive myself. I learned that sometimes once you can let go of things you are holding on to, it becomes easier not because of your circumstances but because of the way you look at them and way you handle them. Life is different for everyone; everyone has different struggles different battles to face and mountains to climb. 

Yesterday, I was trying to have a conversation with my dad it got to the point where I was just done and stressed and I said I’m done talking to you, you are causing me stress and it just isn’t going to work. Then my mom starts on the bandwagon and I am like just leave me alone. I called my boss she called someone and then the foreman called me and said in the most loving tone even though he was probably super annoyed with me. “Why didn’t you call earlier? Why didn’t you call me first?” My response I didn’t think it was your problem anymore. It is my are problem for a year. I laughed and said OKAY he said call me first. He then had me call the heating guys and he said we will be out in the morning. Heat broke once again sound familiar? At least it is getting fixed much faster than last time. Update it is fixed!

Sunday night, I just rolled back in to Grouse Creek and having my normal pity party and panic of I’m going to die to many germs. I got a phone call from a friend who I truly adore and it was the worst timing but yet the best timing. We talked for 45 minutes it was so fun to catch up and just talk like old times. We used to work together they were the first one that I told I was taking this job in Grouse Creek. The love, the love that this friend has for the Savior is truly the most incredible thing I have ever seen. They have the most Christlike love. I hope one day to that kind of spiritual giant. I am so thankful for that friend who listened to call me that day to boost my spirits for the week and to bring a smile to my face. Little did they know I really needed them that night. They said something and it just made me giggle inside because I had never thought about it and you know what they are right I am tough and I can do hard things. 

I am so lucky to have the people I have in my life. My life has been changed for the better because of most of the people I have met some maybe not so much but this one friend definitely changed my life for the better and saved it truly saved it!

Until next week! Send Coke! I mean that with all seriousness or grape crush is accepted too. 😉

I am off to my next adventure. When life gets hard, drink a coke. 😊  And don’t forget to pray because sometimes that’s all you have. Also, be like an elementary student and wish big and dream big. Wishes do come true, they just take time. They tell me so! 

Until, next time, Peace Out Cub Scout. Work hard, play harder, RUN YOUR HEART OUT! Pray a little louder! Never lose sight of the end goal! Keep the Faith! Peace and Love! Over and Out! Here is to new adventures and great things ahead!