July happenings...

July seems to have flown by! We were so busy with family, recovery, and work; but, I seemed to keep forgetting my camera. Here is just a sampling of our month.

The thing that has weighed most heavily on my mind this month has been my return to work. Unless you are a teacher or have spent time with large groups of children, you really do not understand how much planning and work goes into keeping them engaged and learning. Part of that organization is in the function of a classroom. Because I have not gained back all of my strength, setting up my room has worried me all month. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband and children who will do anything to help me out. Ron and Rebecca came to my rescue and got me off to a great start in my classroom.

Here are 2 corner-to-corner shots of how the room looked when it was packed up at the end of the year. District policy dictates that all bulletin boards and wall decor are removed, furniture is stacked to one side, and personal belonging are boxed and stored off the floor. Needless to say, that in itself is a huge undertaking. I was able to get the majority of it taken care of prior to surgery. My sweet Ron, went in after school ended and finished it up for me.

This picture is taken standing in the corner where my storage cabinet is, looking across to the one and only window in the room. It might be small, but my previous room had zero windows!

This is a picture taken from the door way, looking across the room to the corner where I set up my class library.
When Rebecca, Seth, and Ron met me at the classroom, they took care of the things that would require the greatest physical effort on my part. They put up all the bulletin board paper and borders, they arranged the furniture for me, and sweet Seth, unpacked and sorted my library books.

The next two pictures show all their hard work. Needless to say, there are many things that still need to be done, but they are things that I can actually handle alone.

This is a shot from the door way, showing the class library in the corner.

This is a shot from the library toward the classroom door. Once the rest of the room is set up, I will post more pictures. But for now, THANKS FAMILY! YOU ARE THE BEST!!!
The second major event in our lives was the realigning of our ward boundaries. In Temple, there are 2 wards and 1 Spanish branch. Temple I has always been located in the older part of the city, while Temple II encompassed the areas of Temple that allowed for continued growth. As a result, Temple I failed to grow or expand while Temple II was bursting at the seams. We thought eventually the stake president would just reorganize and establish a third ward. Instead, he decided to realign the boundaries and move 50 families to our ward. What a wonderfully, inspired decision! As a result, we have doubled in size and Temple II is much smaller. Leslie is the Ward Activities Chairman and her first activity occurred just after the ward grew. We had a pancake breakfast, pioneer parade, and old-fashioned game time on Saturday morning. It was very well attended and everyone had a great time.

Here is a picture of Maggie in the sack race.

And, this is a picture of Sophie in the pinafore I made from a yard of border fabric that Mom gave me ages ago. It turned out so cute, especially since I didn't have a pattern!

And, finally, I had to include a picture of good friends Rick and Marilyn Stoner (on the right), Jan Carter (next to Marilyn,) and Bishop Prescott (on the left). Love you guys!