Masters program

I just received my acceptance letter yesterday. I already started taking classes last Monday. The school allows students to take nine credit hours in the program without being accepted. I guess I don't have to worry about that.

The masters program can take anywhere from 2-4 years depending on the number of classes taken each term. The classes during the summer are during the day. The other terms are in the evening.

Nuclear Science Merit Badge

I signed Kyath up for Orchard University Summer of Fun (www.ousf.com)this summer. It is a stake in Bountiful that is holding merit badge classes throughout the summer. Last week he had physical fitness, personal management, and cycling. There are still some requirements he needs to fulfill before he will get these. This week he took a nuclear science class. Today they went on their field trip. Kyath officially has one merit badge done. I am so proud of him.

What I learned

This is my blog, right? I should be able to write whatever I want.

Today I started reading the Book of Mormon again. I had some thoughts that I wanted to share. In first Nephi chapter 1 verse 4 it says,

"...and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed."

I thought about a lesson I heard on Sunday about Samuel. In a basic summary, the lesson talked about warnings were are given today and whether we are following those warnings. The warnings were things like watching good television, listening to good music, etc. It is easy to get lackadaisical and excuse behavior. I am addicted to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But is it a wholesome show that I should watch or let my kids watch? Believe me when I say they didn't bring up Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That was just one of my guilty thoughts.

I read further in chapter 1 verse 19-20 and it says,

"And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; ...

And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; ...

I thought about how many times I have been reminded that I need to make good choices and how many times I have made excuses for my actions.

There is one part of this chapter that reminded me of a specific experience I had and that is in verses 11-13.

And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book and bade him that he should read.

And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.
And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon.

On my mission I met a woman from the Philippines. I loved meeting with her because she spoke English. I was still new to Germany and learning how to speak more fluently. With her, I was able to speak comfortably.

She shared an experience of a dream she had. In the dream a man came to her and gave her a book. He asked her to read it. She woke up before she could read. The dream left her wanting to read the book that was given to her. She felt like the dream had a specific meaning.

I asked her to describe the man in her dream. She described a nice man with long brown hair. I held up a picture of Jesus in a red robe and asked her if he looked anything like the picture. The picture was unlike the ones in Germany with Jesus dying on the cross with a look of sheer unhappiness. She looked at the picture and immediately said that this was the man she had seen.

I asked her to describe the book that he had given her. She described a book that looked exactly like the Philippine version of the Book of Mormon.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. I love her so much. I have been thinking a lot about my mother and thought maybe it is best to put it into words.

My mother is the cats meow. She is the top dog. She is the queen bee. She is the person I love to see most when I am down. I love just being around her. She has this way of making me feel like everything is alright.

I think of all the mistakes I am making as a parent and I look back and see that my mom didn't make those mistakes. Usually kids set out to raise their kids better then there parents did, I am just trying to be half the mom my mom is.

Mom, thank you for your example. Thank you for all that you have taught me. I love you.

Read between the lines

My neighbor Lorinda always says that people never know how they will react to life situations. OK, so you may think you know. But you really don't know until you are experiencing it. Her wisdom comes from when her husband died. She thought she would react one way, but struggled to act that way to a point. I find myself struggling with the same reaction. My situation is completely different. But the similarity is that I really thought I was a different person than I really am.

In March I was fired from my job as a teacher. The reasoning was that I wasn't militant enough to work at the school. The school was very militant in that students were to sit at attention and speak only when the teacher snapped her fingers. Those that know me, know that is not my personality at all. I was pulled into the office and told that I was way to patient and tolerant. Some would think those good characteristics. But they treated me like I was against them and in the end, fired me.

I really thought I was a forgiving type of person. I have had my grudges. I have thought mean things about people. But I have always tried to let go of my grudges and replace my mean thoughts. I have even sought forgiveness when needs be.

Then this whole thing with the school happened. It has really been a hit to my ego. I feel less of a person. I feel like I have been mentally attacked. The worst part of it is, there is nothing to do but move on. If only I could.

I think it will help to have Porter at a different school. It didn't help getting e-mails and letters from the teacher that replaced me. It didn't help that I knew what they were doing in class. It didn't help that I had to keep going to the school to drop and pick Porter up.

Today was just like another rock on top of the pile they have already thrown at me. Porter brought home his yearbook. They did not have any pictures of me. They made sure that there was not any trace of me having taught second grade for 140 days out of 188 days. What a slap in the face.

So it all comes back to where I started this musing. What happened to the person that lets go of grudges? What happened to replacing mean thoughts? What kind of person have I become?