Praise, Praise

I cannot give enough praise to the people that donated toward a document camera for my classroom. It was neat to see donations come in. It was fun thinking of the people as they donated. I don't know if they want to be mentioned here, but I just have to thank them. My cousin and friend Melanie, my childhood friend Rachael, my friend and neighbor Maria, and anonymous donor and my friend from when Don and I were newlyweds, Dayna were all donors. Wells Fargo and The Eccles Foundation selected my project and matched all donations.

The document camera has been purchased and is on its way. I can't wait to see what a difference it makes in the classroom. I already know it is going to help in so many ways. It will be fun to see the impact that it has. I had already started typing out assignments so that I could project them on the board. My students learn so much better that way. Now I can save so much time in that I won't have to type anything out anymore.

I just wanted to share a story about one of the donors, Dayna. Dayna and Adam were our neighbors in the downtown ward. We lived in an apartment complex with a cross-dresser, a thief and a bunch of newly weds. There are so many stories from that time, I could write a book. Adam and Dayna were our "Phase 10" friends. I would knock on their door and tell them that we had corn or chicken or whatever and ask what they could make to complete the meal. We would get together to play games and listen to Don play the guitar.

We moved and they moved, but we still remained friends. They seemed to "get us" which is hard with our weirdness. We started having kids and Adam joined the army. They moved with the army. Adam was even deployed to Iraq a few times.

When he was deployed to Iraq I had a hard time staying in contact with Dayna. I was so afraid he had been killed in the war and I wouldn't know what to say. I don't think Dayna knew that. I would check on the military website that listed the deceased from the Iraq war and I never found his name. Then Dayna started a blog and I was happy to see that he was home and alright. Just recently he was released from the military because of a war injury and post traumatic stress disorder. We are just glad he was released! He was about to go to Iraq for a third time. So I was so touched when Dayna donated towards the camera. I was even more touched when I found out she donated again to cover the last $203.

I could mention stories about all of the amazing women that donated. I hope they don't feel left out in any way. They each mean so much to me. I remember all the family reunions with Melanie, camping in a tent and talking till the wee hours. I remember growing up with Rachael and playing Strawberry Shortcake and Barbies. I remember going to "Twilight" with Maria for the midnight showing when it first came out. I have some great memories.

These are hard times. There are so many people struggling. I had to get a full-time job to help us get back on our feet. I thought that the parents from my classroom would have been the ones to get this project funded. Instead, it was some of my friends. That means a lot to me.

I also want to thank everyone for spreading the word. Katrina put in a great plug for the project on her blog. Many people were reached because of everyones' efforts. Thank you. I even had people call after it was funded to ask how to donate, not knowing that we had the full amount. I am sure there are many people that planned on donating but hadn't had a chance yet.

I don't want to become one giant cause, always asking for help. I just wanted to let you know that anytime you are getting rid of games because they are missing pieces or other things that you think we could use, I will gladly accept them. Thanks for always supporting me. But above all, thanks for your friendship.