California Girl Braving the Cold-- to Change The World One Child At A Time

What You May Not Know Is...

This is my Aunt Denese (left) and my Grandma Janice (right). These two women are some of the greatest role models I know, and they inspire me. My Grandma battled breast cancer, and won. But what you may not know, is that she represents the strength of Carlile Women. Carlile women are strong. They are strong enough to deal with their own trials and be there as a rock for others around them. At a time when she should have leaned on the rest of us, the rest of us leaned on her.

My Aunt Denese battled colon-rectal cancer this last year, and passed away on November 1, 2009. What you may not know, is that she represents unity in our family, and also taught us all of unselfish love. Two days before she passed away, she said "if my disease was the cause of drawing everyone closer together, then it was worth going through for that to happen." I love her dearly, and know that she will be waiting with open arms on the other side of the veil.

I can only hope to live up the the legacy of Carlile Women that these two have left.

The Core Of My Being...

This is a picture of the Oakland Temple that has hung in my house since before I was born. My parents and grandparents were both married there, and someday I will be too. I love it because it is not the typical view of the temple that you normally see painted. It shows the stark contrast between the temple and the world, and it seems to signify that we are a beacon to the world. We need to be steadfast and immovable, and stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places. This is how I try to live my life--being steadfast in what I know and standing out against the world surrounding me

This Is My Best Buddy...

Maybe he looks a little bit different, but Andrew is a little piece of heaven here on this earth. Working in the BYU preschool has been a huge part of my life and excellent training for who I want to be. I spent every day for the last four months working with this boy and we became the best of friends. It is truly a gift to be able to take a glimpse into the way someone else learns, and be able to make accomodations and celebrate their milestones according to his great accomplishments. Growing up I had the opportunity to be in Young Women's with Jennifer--a girl with down syndrome. As a class we all worked to help Jennifer earn her Young Women's Medallion. These lessons have taught me to always look for the light in people, and walk with them--especially when they look a little bit different on the outside.

Welcome Back

I got back into Provo yesterday at 2am, and am so excited to be back! The drive was good, even though I did it all by myself. I checked in at work, and spent the rest of the day relaxing around my apartment, putting my room back together (still not done) and the like.
Today was wonderful, as I started work and met all my darling, fabulous, adorable students. This is really going to be a great experience and I feel so lucky to have this oppertunity. Then, after work, I took a nap and was awoken by a friend who took me on his motorcycle!! We drove around a little while before he turned into a parking lot, hopped off the bike, and asked if i wanted to drive. It was pretty much the highlite of my day and i got to play around for about 20 min, going nearly 50 in the parking lot. It was a happy experience for sure!
When i got home I went off to dinner group where Jared had prepared a FABULOUS dinner, prepared straight from India (with background music to boot). It included spicy curry, homemade naan, cucumbers with something, and a very different, but very tasty dessert.
Afterwards I went to the ward Ultimate Frisbee intramural game, which turned into a scrimmage when the other team forefitted. It was great to see members of my ward that i have been missing and i got to reunite with Camille!! We took a break afterwards, and then returned to the field an hour later for men's softball....where it was our turn to forefit when not enough players showed up.
The night was topped off with a few token songs of rockband on a SAH-WEEEET set of drums, and an empty night at my apartment, as everyone i know is off seeing the midnight showing of Transformers.

Anyways, that was my day for anyone interested It feels nice to be back into the swing of things, although my life still seems a little bit empty. Hopefully those days wont fill up too quickly, but I have never been one to be content sitting around with nothing to do.

Until next time...

Valentine's Day

Amazing how one little holiday can turn people's worlds upside down (for good or bad). On the one hand--perfectly "incandescently" happy couples swoon over one another and shower the other with ginormous displays of roses, chocolate, candy, jewelry, etc. Don't get me wrong, I am ALL for chocolate, flowers, and all things shiny. However the opposite end of the spectrum has even renamed tomorrow "Singles Awareness Day". They get together with as many girls as possible, watch as many chick-flicks as time will allow, and generally indulge in a bit of boy-bashing.

I suppose I myself participated in more of the S.A.D traditions this "holiday season" and yet have had a wonderful time of it thus far. Last night two of us got together and decorated cookies. What were intended to become conversation heart cookies, ended up as a therapudic way to release frustrations. Needless to say, we ended up with some fun cookies. ;)

I have decided that my all-time favorite way to celebrate this holiday is in the spirit of Kindergarten. My darling students have been looking forward to this day since we switched the calendar to February. Today they burst through the door- arms loaded with cards and sweets to share with everyone in the class. We decorated paper sacks to collect these goodies in, read stories, and decorated sugar cookies. After allowing them to reach an abnormally high sugar level, we sent them home to their parents.

Isn't Valentine's Day great?

Oh. And I had better not leave out the best part. Every year my Dad makes sure that all of his girls know that they are loved. Even away at college I recieve a beautiful display of roses which remind me that no matter what, I am loved no matter what.