These past two days have been pretty uneventful, so there's not much to tell in this blog. The weather has been really crappy - grey skies and rain, rain, rain. I had decided not to go into the school this week unless I got a call (which I haven't). The idea was that Dad and I would spend some time at the beach, but it was not to be. :-( So, yesterday, Dad and I just stayed home and worked on church stuff. Dad and I did Meals on Wheels this morning. On our way there, we were at a stoplight and when it turned green, Dad started to go - lo and behold, a woman turned right, right in front of us. I couldn't believe it! We were going straight and this woman didn't even look in our direction - she just looked in the direction she was going. The other day, something similar happened to us - we were in a round-a-bout and were about to exit the round-a-bout, when a woman drove fast right in front of us. Thank goodness Dad is a very defensive driver and was able to avoid hitting her - again, he was in the right and she was just looking straight ahead. Sheesh!
Our Meals on Wheels run was short today for some reason. Whenever people are going to be away, they cancel the meals and so we only had 15 deliveries and we usually have about 20 or so. Even with so few to do, we still ran into problems. Two people weren't home when we stopped by - usually, both are at home, so it was odd that they weren't home today. We ended up going back to one lady at the end of our route and she was home by this time. She apologized for not being home - she had an appointment at the hospital and had forgotten about her meal coming.
After doing some shopping, we came home and spent the day doing more church stuff for me and census stuff for Dad. It turns out that Dad has a lot of reading and test taking to do. He even had to watch a dvd on the duties he has to perform as an area supervisor. He is going to have to interview people to choose some census collectors (enumerators) - he needs to find seven to cover his area.
I got an email from Chantelle tonight, the young girl who did her student teaching with me and Bronwyn last year - she is now at Torquay State School and she has been handing my card around to teachers in the school. She also talked with the principal and deputy principal about me. I have supply taught once in her school and I guess I did a good job because Chantelle told me in her email that the teachers were given a list of supply teachers who they were supposed to call if they were going to be away, and I am on the list! :-) That was so awesome to know - hopefully, that might lead to more supply jobs and maybe a more permanent position.
At SES tonight, Dad took part in two more practical exercises to complete his communications certificate. The first exercise was like the 'Chinese whisper game' where they had to receive a message from one team via radio, record it and then pass that message on to another team via radio on a different channel. The second exercise was reviewing how to fill in a radio log: keeping a record of everything that's happening over the radio in an activation exercise. Dad was asked by one of the assistant instructors today if he was interested in volunteering for Boy Scouts or EMQ (Emergency Management Queensland) cadets who are young people who are interested in becoming emergency personnel (eg: firefighter, police officer, etc.). She told Dad both were on Tuesday nights and Dad told her that he already has volunteer commitments on Tuesday nights - he has his Priesthood Executive Committee meeting at church every Tuesday. Even though he isn't able to fulfil her request, he was pleased to be asked.
Tuesday, April 25, 2011
Our day started off really early yesterday - we woke up at 7am as Dad had to be at the SES building at 7:45am. Yesterday was ANZAC Day - here's a little about it:
What is ANZAC Day? ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.
What does ANZAC stand for? ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they took in that name endures to this day.
When Dad got to the SES building, each SES member was assigned a location which they were to go to so that they could each block off the parade route. Dad was stationed across the road from the woman who was selected to be saluted to by the veterans passing by - she was a flight squadron commander in the Australian Air Force. After the veterans passed by, Dad and the other SES members had to remain at their posts until the veterans returned back that way after the ceremony. Dad felt it was quite an honour to be able to help out in this way and Dad says that some people even said thank you to the SES members as they passed them by.
At 4pm, our friends, Robyn and Geoff came by. We had asked them to come to dinner and Geoff offered to come over early so that he could give us some more practice time on the scooter. He has been so good at offering his time to do that and we really appreciate him for that. Dad looked great on the scooter and very confident - he drove downtown so that he could get some practice riding in a busy part of town. John, our instructor, had told us that he would expect us to ride in little traffic, some traffic and a lot of traffic. Dad said that he was very comfortable riding in the busy part of town and I think that he is ready to take the final test of riding the scooter. I, on the other hand, am not quite there - but, I was better riding yesterday. I felt much more comfortable and even made a right hand turn (which is like making a left hand turn over there in Canada). I was a bit nervous doing it since I had to make sure to keep checking traffic both ways, but I managed to do it. It was a bit hard riding westward as the sun was going down that way and it was hard to see well. Geoff says he will come again on Thursday around noon so that I can practice driving in other parts of town without having to worry about the sun shining in my eyes.
It was lovely having Robyn and Geoff for dinner. They are about ten years older than us and are retired. Geoff was a police officer in Queensland and then taught police officers at a university in New South Wales. They are very easy to talk with and so the conversation flowed really easily. Next time they come over, we are going to teach them how to play cribbage and/or euchre. I think that Geoff knows how to play the games, but Robyn isn't much into card games, she said.
Today (Tuesday) was relaxing in the morning, but then things got busy. First was grocery shopping, clothes shopping (I bought two more blouses and a sweater), errands, then to Rob and Rosalea's for lunch. Rosalea wanted us to show her how to use the church's family history program. Her sister in Perth (western Australia) has done a lot of it and Rosalea wants to help out. We taught both her and Rob how to navigate around the website and they are both eager to get their family information entered into the program. Rosalea said that she might come on Wednesday nights once Dad starts opening up the Family History Centre on Wednesdays (first day: next week: May 4th).
The missionaries came over for dinner tonight - I made chicken parmesan as it is Elder Richardson's favourite and he had asked me to make it. I found an easy recipe and it was made even easier to make when I found that our local grocery store (Coles) make something called 'chicken schnitzel' which is basically a chicken breast pounded down and then soaked in an egg and milk mix and then covered in bread crumbs. We taught the missionaries how to play cribbage tonight- actually, it was just a refresher for Elder Richardson and Elder Paki caught on pretty quickly. We only had time to play one game before we had to make dinner, but we will play more games with them when they come over for dinner in the future. :-)
What is ANZAC Day? ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.
What does ANZAC stand for? ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they took in that name endures to this day.
When Dad got to the SES building, each SES member was assigned a location which they were to go to so that they could each block off the parade route. Dad was stationed across the road from the woman who was selected to be saluted to by the veterans passing by - she was a flight squadron commander in the Australian Air Force. After the veterans passed by, Dad and the other SES members had to remain at their posts until the veterans returned back that way after the ceremony. Dad felt it was quite an honour to be able to help out in this way and Dad says that some people even said thank you to the SES members as they passed them by.
At 4pm, our friends, Robyn and Geoff came by. We had asked them to come to dinner and Geoff offered to come over early so that he could give us some more practice time on the scooter. He has been so good at offering his time to do that and we really appreciate him for that. Dad looked great on the scooter and very confident - he drove downtown so that he could get some practice riding in a busy part of town. John, our instructor, had told us that he would expect us to ride in little traffic, some traffic and a lot of traffic. Dad said that he was very comfortable riding in the busy part of town and I think that he is ready to take the final test of riding the scooter. I, on the other hand, am not quite there - but, I was better riding yesterday. I felt much more comfortable and even made a right hand turn (which is like making a left hand turn over there in Canada). I was a bit nervous doing it since I had to make sure to keep checking traffic both ways, but I managed to do it. It was a bit hard riding westward as the sun was going down that way and it was hard to see well. Geoff says he will come again on Thursday around noon so that I can practice driving in other parts of town without having to worry about the sun shining in my eyes.
It was lovely having Robyn and Geoff for dinner. They are about ten years older than us and are retired. Geoff was a police officer in Queensland and then taught police officers at a university in New South Wales. They are very easy to talk with and so the conversation flowed really easily. Next time they come over, we are going to teach them how to play cribbage and/or euchre. I think that Geoff knows how to play the games, but Robyn isn't much into card games, she said.
Today (Tuesday) was relaxing in the morning, but then things got busy. First was grocery shopping, clothes shopping (I bought two more blouses and a sweater), errands, then to Rob and Rosalea's for lunch. Rosalea wanted us to show her how to use the church's family history program. Her sister in Perth (western Australia) has done a lot of it and Rosalea wants to help out. We taught both her and Rob how to navigate around the website and they are both eager to get their family information entered into the program. Rosalea said that she might come on Wednesday nights once Dad starts opening up the Family History Centre on Wednesdays (first day: next week: May 4th).
The missionaries came over for dinner tonight - I made chicken parmesan as it is Elder Richardson's favourite and he had asked me to make it. I found an easy recipe and it was made even easier to make when I found that our local grocery store (Coles) make something called 'chicken schnitzel' which is basically a chicken breast pounded down and then soaked in an egg and milk mix and then covered in bread crumbs. We taught the missionaries how to play cribbage tonight- actually, it was just a refresher for Elder Richardson and Elder Paki caught on pretty quickly. We only had time to play one game before we had to make dinner, but we will play more games with them when they come over for dinner in the future. :-)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Friday was a heavenly day - we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for our picnic with our friends. When Robyn and I were visiting teaching Rosalea earlier this week, Rosalea asked us if we would like to meet at the beach for lunch on Friday. We all agreed it was a great idea, but because we figured that tons of people would be there since it was a holiday, we thought we should get there early - so, we decided to go for breakfast AND lunch. In the parks here, there are electric barbecues provided by the council. So, we all brought different items and then put them all together. For breakfast, we had eggs, bacon, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes on buns - I also had a hot cross bun - yummy! :-) We were going to go for a walk after breakfast, but we were worried about losing our place (we met at the barbecue which was under a shelter with picnic tables), so we just sat around and chatted 'til it was time for lunch. For lunch we all brought our own meat to barbecue and then each couple brought a salad to share. The weather was amazing - the sun was shining, it was so warm and there was a lovely breeze blowing there by the water. What could be better? Good friends, good food, and good weather!
After lunch, Dad and I went for a swim - well, it was more like a sit in the shallow water. :-) By the time we got to go swimming, the tide was going out - but, it was nice to just be in the water and enjoy the warm sun and cool breeze. Our friends came down to the beach after a while and Rob began using his metal detector. He has found lots of jewellry and coins and other metal things at the beach over the past couple of weeks since he bought it. Today, he didn't have much luck - he did find a 20c coin, but the rest of the things he found were things like bottlecaps, sinkers, nails and wire. When we got home, there was still a couple of hours of sunlight and so we went out onto the patio and sat in our chaise lounges to enjoy more of this beautiful day. We both were reading when I felt weary and so I turned over and rested my eyes. I never fell asleep, but it was lovely just relaxing outside listening to the music on the CD player. What a fantastic day! :-)
Yesterday was another fabulous day - nay, I would say a perfect day! :-) Dad and I packed up a lunch, put it in our esky (cooler) and headed off for the beach. After a quick dip, we ate lunch and then went back in the water again. We only went in waist deep, so we didn't have to wait for half an hour after eating to go in the water. :-) The water was quite cool, actually - we thought that since it was around noon, the water would have warmed up, but not so. It was still really nice just paddling around in the water. After our second dip, we went back up under the trees where we had put our chairs and camp stools (we use to put our feet up on) and sat and read for a while. While we were reading we noticed a bunch of sailboats on the water - it appeared that they were having a race - we don't get the local paper out here in Wondunna so we don't know what's going on locally. It was such a pretty picture with all those sailboats on the water and the sun shining down on the water - I wish that I had had my camera there to take some photos. After reading for another while, we had another dip and then read some more. Around 3pm, clouds rolled in and it looked like it was going to be a while before the sun peeked out again, so we decided to come home and spend time outside on our chaise lounges. We spent about two hours outside doing some more reading and a little napping. It was such a lovely, nay, perfect day! :-)
Today was another lovely day. We started it off by talking with our girls and boys. It's always nice to chat with our family - I couldn't believe how big Dominic is getting - he is going to be motoring around by the time we get back - I am so glad that we can Skype with everyone - it's almost like we are there. The talks today at church were focused on Easter, of course. Elder Paki, our friend, Robyn, and another member, Alistair, spoke about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Although we think about Jesus often, it's good to be reminded of just how much he suffered for us so that we can live again when we leave this world. I taught the Sharing Time lesson in Primary today and it, too, was based on the resurrection of Jesus. I first talked about how Jesus atoned for us so that when we repent, our sins are washed away and we are clean again. I did an object lesson: I showed them my clean hand and told them that this was like a person free from sin; then, I rubbed my hand in dirt and told them that this was like a person who has sinned; then, I washed my hands with soap and water and told them that this was like repenting and being forgiven and clean again. I told them, though, that it was only through the atonement of Christ that they could repent and be forgiven. The children were really focused during this object lesson. I really like these kinds of lessons because these are the ones that tend to stay with them.
After church, Dad and I went to the hospital to have a short visit with Judy, the woman in our ward who had a stroke a couple of weeks ago - she was transferred up to the Hervey Bay hospital this week which we are appreciative of as it was too far to go to see her in the Brisbane hospital where she was. It was really hard seeing Judy in the state she is. Before her stroke, she was a very active woman - she did everything for herself and her husband. When we saw her today, she could hardly move or talk. I could tell that she was frustrated, for sure. She didn't have the tv going and she had no energy to do anything else. She must be so bored. The nurse told us that it was going to be a very long recovery for Judy - I am sure inside she is screaming at feeling so 'useless'. As I was leaving the hospital, I felt very weepy. After lunch, Dad and I decided to go for a walk along the boardwalk by the beach. When we parked the car, Dad said that the car beside us belonged to friends from church. As we walked toward the boardwalk, we saw our friends, Sandy and Lloyd, so we sat with them and chatted for quite a while. They are a lovely couple - Lloyd is not a member of the church, but the missionaries tell us that he is a 'dry Mormon'. After our visit, we went for a walk along the boardwalk - it was such a lovely day today - being outside in the warmth was fabulous! :-)
After lunch, Dad and I went for a swim - well, it was more like a sit in the shallow water. :-) By the time we got to go swimming, the tide was going out - but, it was nice to just be in the water and enjoy the warm sun and cool breeze. Our friends came down to the beach after a while and Rob began using his metal detector. He has found lots of jewellry and coins and other metal things at the beach over the past couple of weeks since he bought it. Today, he didn't have much luck - he did find a 20c coin, but the rest of the things he found were things like bottlecaps, sinkers, nails and wire. When we got home, there was still a couple of hours of sunlight and so we went out onto the patio and sat in our chaise lounges to enjoy more of this beautiful day. We both were reading when I felt weary and so I turned over and rested my eyes. I never fell asleep, but it was lovely just relaxing outside listening to the music on the CD player. What a fantastic day! :-)
Yesterday was another fabulous day - nay, I would say a perfect day! :-) Dad and I packed up a lunch, put it in our esky (cooler) and headed off for the beach. After a quick dip, we ate lunch and then went back in the water again. We only went in waist deep, so we didn't have to wait for half an hour after eating to go in the water. :-) The water was quite cool, actually - we thought that since it was around noon, the water would have warmed up, but not so. It was still really nice just paddling around in the water. After our second dip, we went back up under the trees where we had put our chairs and camp stools (we use to put our feet up on) and sat and read for a while. While we were reading we noticed a bunch of sailboats on the water - it appeared that they were having a race - we don't get the local paper out here in Wondunna so we don't know what's going on locally. It was such a pretty picture with all those sailboats on the water and the sun shining down on the water - I wish that I had had my camera there to take some photos. After reading for another while, we had another dip and then read some more. Around 3pm, clouds rolled in and it looked like it was going to be a while before the sun peeked out again, so we decided to come home and spend time outside on our chaise lounges. We spent about two hours outside doing some more reading and a little napping. It was such a lovely, nay, perfect day! :-)
Today was another lovely day. We started it off by talking with our girls and boys. It's always nice to chat with our family - I couldn't believe how big Dominic is getting - he is going to be motoring around by the time we get back - I am so glad that we can Skype with everyone - it's almost like we are there. The talks today at church were focused on Easter, of course. Elder Paki, our friend, Robyn, and another member, Alistair, spoke about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Although we think about Jesus often, it's good to be reminded of just how much he suffered for us so that we can live again when we leave this world. I taught the Sharing Time lesson in Primary today and it, too, was based on the resurrection of Jesus. I first talked about how Jesus atoned for us so that when we repent, our sins are washed away and we are clean again. I did an object lesson: I showed them my clean hand and told them that this was like a person free from sin; then, I rubbed my hand in dirt and told them that this was like a person who has sinned; then, I washed my hands with soap and water and told them that this was like repenting and being forgiven and clean again. I told them, though, that it was only through the atonement of Christ that they could repent and be forgiven. The children were really focused during this object lesson. I really like these kinds of lessons because these are the ones that tend to stay with them.
After church, Dad and I went to the hospital to have a short visit with Judy, the woman in our ward who had a stroke a couple of weeks ago - she was transferred up to the Hervey Bay hospital this week which we are appreciative of as it was too far to go to see her in the Brisbane hospital where she was. It was really hard seeing Judy in the state she is. Before her stroke, she was a very active woman - she did everything for herself and her husband. When we saw her today, she could hardly move or talk. I could tell that she was frustrated, for sure. She didn't have the tv going and she had no energy to do anything else. She must be so bored. The nurse told us that it was going to be a very long recovery for Judy - I am sure inside she is screaming at feeling so 'useless'. As I was leaving the hospital, I felt very weepy. After lunch, Dad and I decided to go for a walk along the boardwalk by the beach. When we parked the car, Dad said that the car beside us belonged to friends from church. As we walked toward the boardwalk, we saw our friends, Sandy and Lloyd, so we sat with them and chatted for quite a while. They are a lovely couple - Lloyd is not a member of the church, but the missionaries tell us that he is a 'dry Mormon'. After our visit, we went for a walk along the boardwalk - it was such a lovely day today - being outside in the warmth was fabulous! :-)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Where does the time go in a day - I think I need 48 hours per day these days! :-)
Yesterday (Wednesday), we were supposed to be having two little boys from church over for the day. I talked with their mom, Tammy, on Sunday about it and we decided that Wednesday would be the best day for all of us. I asked her to call me and waited for her call, but it never came. I guess I will find out on Sunday what happened. Tammy is about Terri-Ann's age and has three boys around Colin, Caleb and Benjamin's age. I know how challenging three boys can be and so I offered ages ago to watch the boys so that Tammy and Zander (short for Alexander) could go out on a date. Dad and I had been invited to come over to their house one day last year and Zeke (their eldest) has asked when we are coming over again. :-)
While we were waiting for the call, Dad and I worked on church stuff. After lunch, we went for a walk on the beach. I was hoping to get in a swim since it had rained on Tuesday when we had time to go for a swim. However, when we got to the beach, it was low tide. So we walked out a fair way to the edge of the water and just walked along the water's edge for about 45 minutes. It was really lovely - warm and with a slight breeze - I really hope we can get in a swim before the holiday is over.
Dad went over to Chris's house after our walk (he is a fellow from church who is the Elder's Quorum President). Since he and dad lead the men's groups at church, they are going to be getting together quite often to go over their lists and see if they can meet up with everyone who they are responsible for. It's been a while since the names/addresses have been checked and so Dad and Chris will focus on the names from Hervey Bay while the bishop, Geoff and the missionaries do the same for the names in Maryborough (another large city about half an hour from HB and which is part of our ward). They are hoping to find out who still lives in the area and who has moved on. Once all the visits have been made, they will make up the home teaching lists so that everyone can have visits from members once a month.
Today was a lovely day outside - perfect for going to the beach - and Dad and I were too busy to go there. Wahhhhh! I drove the car today to Meals on Wheels - I am trying to drive more so that I feel more confident driving which leads me to feel more confident riding the scooter. Today while doing Meals on Wheels, we found out that one of our clients had passed away during the week. When I saw his daughter, I expressed my condolences - she said thanks and then said that she was looking at this situation positively. Her dad was 89 years old and he had just returned from his walk which he enjoyed doing, took three short breaths and passed away. So, he had lived a good, long life and he was doing something he loved doing when he died. I thought that she had a really good attitude toward her dad's passing.
After MOW and doing some shopping, we headed home to meet up with Geoff and Robyn who had come over so that they could follow us around while we did some more practicing on our scooter. Dad went first and he did a great job riding - he was very confident and it showed in the way he rode. I, on the other hand, am not as confident, but, I did do better today. I didn't feel worried about going fast and actually got up to 70km/h. I did have a little trouble stopping at the line when I came to a street which I had to stop at (I stopped too soon) and I also needed more time working on starting from a complete stop on a hill (which I did practice more today). I hope we can get in a couple of more sessions before Geoff and Robyn leave for two months.
As soon as our scooter session was over, Dad had to leave to go to SES. The meeting was held earlier today as it wasn't a regular meeting because it's a long weekend this weekend (a very long weekend since it's Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon and Tues). Those who needed to recertify their CPR were the ones who attended the training today. Since Dad's certification runs out next month, he needed to attend today's training. While he was doing that, I was outside in our backyard enjoying the beautiful weather. :-)
Yesterday (Wednesday), we were supposed to be having two little boys from church over for the day. I talked with their mom, Tammy, on Sunday about it and we decided that Wednesday would be the best day for all of us. I asked her to call me and waited for her call, but it never came. I guess I will find out on Sunday what happened. Tammy is about Terri-Ann's age and has three boys around Colin, Caleb and Benjamin's age. I know how challenging three boys can be and so I offered ages ago to watch the boys so that Tammy and Zander (short for Alexander) could go out on a date. Dad and I had been invited to come over to their house one day last year and Zeke (their eldest) has asked when we are coming over again. :-)
While we were waiting for the call, Dad and I worked on church stuff. After lunch, we went for a walk on the beach. I was hoping to get in a swim since it had rained on Tuesday when we had time to go for a swim. However, when we got to the beach, it was low tide. So we walked out a fair way to the edge of the water and just walked along the water's edge for about 45 minutes. It was really lovely - warm and with a slight breeze - I really hope we can get in a swim before the holiday is over.
Dad went over to Chris's house after our walk (he is a fellow from church who is the Elder's Quorum President). Since he and dad lead the men's groups at church, they are going to be getting together quite often to go over their lists and see if they can meet up with everyone who they are responsible for. It's been a while since the names/addresses have been checked and so Dad and Chris will focus on the names from Hervey Bay while the bishop, Geoff and the missionaries do the same for the names in Maryborough (another large city about half an hour from HB and which is part of our ward). They are hoping to find out who still lives in the area and who has moved on. Once all the visits have been made, they will make up the home teaching lists so that everyone can have visits from members once a month.
Today was a lovely day outside - perfect for going to the beach - and Dad and I were too busy to go there. Wahhhhh! I drove the car today to Meals on Wheels - I am trying to drive more so that I feel more confident driving which leads me to feel more confident riding the scooter. Today while doing Meals on Wheels, we found out that one of our clients had passed away during the week. When I saw his daughter, I expressed my condolences - she said thanks and then said that she was looking at this situation positively. Her dad was 89 years old and he had just returned from his walk which he enjoyed doing, took three short breaths and passed away. So, he had lived a good, long life and he was doing something he loved doing when he died. I thought that she had a really good attitude toward her dad's passing.
After MOW and doing some shopping, we headed home to meet up with Geoff and Robyn who had come over so that they could follow us around while we did some more practicing on our scooter. Dad went first and he did a great job riding - he was very confident and it showed in the way he rode. I, on the other hand, am not as confident, but, I did do better today. I didn't feel worried about going fast and actually got up to 70km/h. I did have a little trouble stopping at the line when I came to a street which I had to stop at (I stopped too soon) and I also needed more time working on starting from a complete stop on a hill (which I did practice more today). I hope we can get in a couple of more sessions before Geoff and Robyn leave for two months.
As soon as our scooter session was over, Dad had to leave to go to SES. The meeting was held earlier today as it wasn't a regular meeting because it's a long weekend this weekend (a very long weekend since it's Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon and Tues). Those who needed to recertify their CPR were the ones who attended the training today. Since Dad's certification runs out next month, he needed to attend today's training. While he was doing that, I was outside in our backyard enjoying the beautiful weather. :-)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Oops, remembered when we were in bed last night that I had forgotten to write in my blog - sorry about that. :-)
Monday was a busy day as usual. Dad was at the Family History Centre - he spent some time helping a couple of members do indexing. The phone also rang off the hook - Dad said that people had seen the article in the paper and were calling to see where the church was located. He was also able to do some of his own research and was able to find the marriage certificate for Grandma Noble's parents which now gives him some more information about her ancestors. Dad was very excited about this find! I spent the day in the Primary room again, going through more 'stuff'. I also wrote down all the stuff which is in the cupboards so that I can let the teachers know at our meeting on Sunday what's in there. The cupboard looks amazing, if I do say so myself. :-) It's all organized so everything is easily seen and accessible.
We seem to be spending our evenings doing Primary/High Priests work. There is a lot to do when you are the leader of an auxiliary in the church. I make lists of the things I need to do and every time I tick something off a list, it seems like I put two more items back on the list. :-) Dad's job right now is mostly finding out who the people are who are on the list he has been given. A number of the people have stopped coming to church and so, if they move, they don't let us know, and so there tends to be a large number of people on the lists, but the people are not necessarily even still living in Hervey Bay. My time is mostly taken up with getting the Primary running smoothly - and keeping up with all the things which need to be done along the way (like interviews to be organized with the Bishop when a child is going to be baptized or advancing to Young Men/Young Women's). I am so grateful to have an amazing secretary who really keeps things organized.
We took two meals over to our Relief Society President on Tuesday afternoon to be taken to the husband of the woman in our ward who had a heart attack/stroke last week and is in hospital in Brisbane. He is being provided with suppers for every night, but only two sisters are allowed to deliver them - this fellow isn't too keen on having church members come up to his door. So our RS president and the previous RS president are doing the delivering of the meals - one delivers them on Tuesdays and the other makes her delivery on Saturdays. I don't know how long the ward will provide the meals for him - it's going to be hard for him when he's on his own as he didn't even know how to use the toaster or the microwave oven - his wife did everything. I suggested that maybe they should suggest that he get Meals on Wheels to bring him meals - he can get a sandwich, main meal, and dessert for $7.00 a day.
We spent our afternoon yesterday doing cleaning - I was inside the house and Dad was outside. I don't like cleaning, never have and never will, and usually I don't do the main cleaning as Dad does it while I am at school, but since I am on school holidays, I thought that I should help out with the cleaning. :-) Dad was busy trying to clean the bug/spider eggs which were attached to the fans and the ceiling of the patio covering.
I was able to Skype with Char yesterday afternoon which was fun - I love the technology that allows us to keep in touch so easily. While I was talking with her, I showed her my scooter, our car and our new outdoor suite - it was so cool. It's amazing how cheap things have become to do things like this, too. I remember when I was a teenager and we called from Toronto to Wagga to talk with Grandma and Grandpa Dunkley at Christmas time and it cost us $3.00 per minute then.
We had the missionaries over for dinner again and, as usual, they were our 'guinea pigs' with the meal we planned. It was a beef and vegetable pie - basically, hamburger and tons of vegetables in a tomato base and topped with an all purpose biscuit mix (like Bisquick). It was okay, but it's not on the top of my list. I am looking forward to trying some meals with the black beans we bought back from Canada - I am going to cook the dried beans and see how they work in the recipes that I used to make back in Canada - I really like mexican and tex/mex meals, so I am happy that I can now cook them. We told the missionaries that next time they came, we would teach them how to play cribbage - we used to do that with the missionaries before we went to Canada in November. They are looking forward to that. They gave us a spiritual thought based on the scripture 1 Nephi 3:7 which says "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." We talked about the fact that we need to have faith in the Lord when we are asked to do something that He will always be with us to help us do whatever he has asked us to do. I love the faith that Nephi had - his brothers thought that what they had been asked to do would be impossible, but Nephi knew that Heavenly Father would help him to complete the task.
Monday was a busy day as usual. Dad was at the Family History Centre - he spent some time helping a couple of members do indexing. The phone also rang off the hook - Dad said that people had seen the article in the paper and were calling to see where the church was located. He was also able to do some of his own research and was able to find the marriage certificate for Grandma Noble's parents which now gives him some more information about her ancestors. Dad was very excited about this find! I spent the day in the Primary room again, going through more 'stuff'. I also wrote down all the stuff which is in the cupboards so that I can let the teachers know at our meeting on Sunday what's in there. The cupboard looks amazing, if I do say so myself. :-) It's all organized so everything is easily seen and accessible.
We seem to be spending our evenings doing Primary/High Priests work. There is a lot to do when you are the leader of an auxiliary in the church. I make lists of the things I need to do and every time I tick something off a list, it seems like I put two more items back on the list. :-) Dad's job right now is mostly finding out who the people are who are on the list he has been given. A number of the people have stopped coming to church and so, if they move, they don't let us know, and so there tends to be a large number of people on the lists, but the people are not necessarily even still living in Hervey Bay. My time is mostly taken up with getting the Primary running smoothly - and keeping up with all the things which need to be done along the way (like interviews to be organized with the Bishop when a child is going to be baptized or advancing to Young Men/Young Women's). I am so grateful to have an amazing secretary who really keeps things organized.
We took two meals over to our Relief Society President on Tuesday afternoon to be taken to the husband of the woman in our ward who had a heart attack/stroke last week and is in hospital in Brisbane. He is being provided with suppers for every night, but only two sisters are allowed to deliver them - this fellow isn't too keen on having church members come up to his door. So our RS president and the previous RS president are doing the delivering of the meals - one delivers them on Tuesdays and the other makes her delivery on Saturdays. I don't know how long the ward will provide the meals for him - it's going to be hard for him when he's on his own as he didn't even know how to use the toaster or the microwave oven - his wife did everything. I suggested that maybe they should suggest that he get Meals on Wheels to bring him meals - he can get a sandwich, main meal, and dessert for $7.00 a day.
We spent our afternoon yesterday doing cleaning - I was inside the house and Dad was outside. I don't like cleaning, never have and never will, and usually I don't do the main cleaning as Dad does it while I am at school, but since I am on school holidays, I thought that I should help out with the cleaning. :-) Dad was busy trying to clean the bug/spider eggs which were attached to the fans and the ceiling of the patio covering.
I was able to Skype with Char yesterday afternoon which was fun - I love the technology that allows us to keep in touch so easily. While I was talking with her, I showed her my scooter, our car and our new outdoor suite - it was so cool. It's amazing how cheap things have become to do things like this, too. I remember when I was a teenager and we called from Toronto to Wagga to talk with Grandma and Grandpa Dunkley at Christmas time and it cost us $3.00 per minute then.
We had the missionaries over for dinner again and, as usual, they were our 'guinea pigs' with the meal we planned. It was a beef and vegetable pie - basically, hamburger and tons of vegetables in a tomato base and topped with an all purpose biscuit mix (like Bisquick). It was okay, but it's not on the top of my list. I am looking forward to trying some meals with the black beans we bought back from Canada - I am going to cook the dried beans and see how they work in the recipes that I used to make back in Canada - I really like mexican and tex/mex meals, so I am happy that I can now cook them. We told the missionaries that next time they came, we would teach them how to play cribbage - we used to do that with the missionaries before we went to Canada in November. They are looking forward to that. They gave us a spiritual thought based on the scripture 1 Nephi 3:7 which says "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." We talked about the fact that we need to have faith in the Lord when we are asked to do something that He will always be with us to help us do whatever he has asked us to do. I love the faith that Nephi had - his brothers thought that what they had been asked to do would be impossible, but Nephi knew that Heavenly Father would help him to complete the task.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
I forgot to tell you all in my last blog that I was offered a job, which I turned down. It was a teacher's aide job working with children who are almost at level in reading and just need a little more assistance. I turned it down because the pay was half of what I can make at supply teaching. The teacher who called me told me that she figured that I wouldn't be interested in taking the position, but since I was in so often volunteering at the school, she wanted to offer it to me first. It would have meant working three days a week for eight weeks. I have been told that teachers are off a lot in the second term and so I felt that it would be better to keep my days open for supply teaching.
Since Friday was a 'Pupil Free Day' (like a PD Day), I spent the day at the chapel. I spent hours going through the filing cabinet and Primary cupboard - I found more stuff from 2002, 2005, etc. It felt great being able to clear it all out and throw away so much stuff. I think that people have just been letting things build up over the years and didn't want to throw anything out - I did not have that problem. :-) Dad spent time at the Family History Centre in the morning - mostly working on trying to figure out why the internet wasn't working - turns out he needed to reset the whole system - had to call the ward clerk in to the chapel to open the clerk's office to do that. He spent some time with me in the Primary room setting up the bulletin boards. Here are some pics to show you how it turned out.
I think I might have forgotten to tell you about Dad's celebrity status. :-) He was in the local newspaper. Our Ward Mission Leader, Geoff, wrote up an article about the Family History Centre and took a pic of Dad and Nicole (a new member) by one of the film readers. Here is the article.
Elder Richarson (left) and Elder Paki
Since Friday was a 'Pupil Free Day' (like a PD Day), I spent the day at the chapel. I spent hours going through the filing cabinet and Primary cupboard - I found more stuff from 2002, 2005, etc. It felt great being able to clear it all out and throw away so much stuff. I think that people have just been letting things build up over the years and didn't want to throw anything out - I did not have that problem. :-) Dad spent time at the Family History Centre in the morning - mostly working on trying to figure out why the internet wasn't working - turns out he needed to reset the whole system - had to call the ward clerk in to the chapel to open the clerk's office to do that. He spent some time with me in the Primary room setting up the bulletin boards. Here are some pics to show you how it turned out.
I think I might have forgotten to tell you about Dad's celebrity status. :-) He was in the local newspaper. Our Ward Mission Leader, Geoff, wrote up an article about the Family History Centre and took a pic of Dad and Nicole (a new member) by one of the film readers. Here is the article.
On Saturday, we Skyped with Terri-Ann, Colin, Caleb, Benjamin and Jennifer (Derek waved 'hi' in the background :-) It's always nice to talk with my girls and boys. :-) It's amazing to me how technology helps us to keep in touch as if we are almost there - it's great! :-)
The missionaries came for lunch on Saturday as they hadn't been able to come to us for dinner this week. The members take really good care of the missionaries in this ward. Not only do they get to come to members' homes for dinner, but people also bring food for them to the chapel on Sundays which they take home to eat for lunch during the week. Elders Richardson and Paki (pronounced Pah-key) told us that they love coming to our house which made us feel good. Elder Richardson wanted me to put a pic of them on my blog, so here it is.
After they left, we spent the rest of the day working on church stuff - Primary stuff for me and Dad worked on his small talk for the Music fireside today and also his High Priest group lesson for today as well. After dinner, we had four games of cribbage - it was so much fun - we haven't played it in ages.
Today, we had a 'church day' meaning that we were at church a lot today. We started out at 8:15am at our Ward Mission group meeting - we meet every Sunday to talk about how we can help the missionaries out (they are part of our group) - we talk about what we can do to help the church become better known in Hervey Bay. We also talk about things (like today - the music fireside) which we can invite non-members to to introduce them to the church.
There were many positive comments about the new bulletin boards in Primary - that was really nice to hear since Dad and I put a lot of time and effort into making it look good. Things are starting to come together in Primary, but it's taking time and patience (sometimes, patience is not my best quality :-) I am grateful for my secretary as she keeps me on track. My first counsellor is away right now with her daughter and my second counsellor has her daughter and four grandchildren living with her now, so it's mostly just me and Denise (secretary) who are getting things organized right now. I will be going in tomorrow while Dad is at the FHC and will work some more on getting the Primary room sorted out. I am hoping that this will be the last time I have to spend so much time clearing things up in there.
At 4:30pm, Dad and I went back to church for the musical fireside. It was based on music with an Easter theme (Christ, the atonement, etc) and we have many talented people in our ward. We had a lady play a harp which was absolutely beautiful. We had a number of singers including the women in the ward choir perform and then we had Elder Richardson read different scriptures which were interspersed with songs which the congregation sang. The fireside ended with Dad talking a little about worshipping through music and about the Saviour and the atonement - he finished by bearing his testimony about the resurrection of the Saviour. He did a really nice job - you wouldn't even have known that he was nervous. :-)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
I didn't get a call to supply teach Wednesday, so I went in to Kawungan to see if Terri wanted me to go over her students' writing task we did Tuesday with each of them. I was only able to get to a couple on that day as were two other teachers who came in to assist for a bit. Terri is such a lovely person and she was so appreciative of me helping her out. All day she kept saying "if you need to do something else, that's fine". I kept telling her that I was there for as long as she needed me. I didn't tell Luise I was there cuz I figured that I would only be with Terri for a little bit and then I would go and help Luise, but I didn't want to tell Luise I would be there in case things went differently than I imagined. Well, it sure did - it took me all day to go over the students' work with them. I was basically looking at how they had copied their corrected work on to a good copy. There was only one student who did it really well and a few who did it pretty well. Some teachers will just fix up the mistakes the students make when copying from rough copy to good copy, but I think it's more beneficial for the students if they do it themselves. Of course, if you are the classroom teacher, it's hard to find the time to do that. So having me do it would be a big help to Terri, I knew - I made notes as I went along as well so that she could use the comments if she wanted.
Dad spent the day at home doing the dreaded taxes. Man, the poor guy has really struggled with these. This is the Canadian taxes and there are no computer programs that Dad knows of which can do the taxes for him (like he used to do in Canada). He had to download pages and pages of information on how to fill out the forms - it literally took him all day and evening to finish them. I was so appreciative of him spending so much time to do this nasty job. He is going to contact the company which made the program he used to use to do his taxes in Canada to see if they have anything which might make it easier for him to do them next year. When we get back to Canada, we are going to take our info into H and R Block to make sure that he has done it the best way possible since there was so much information to go through and it was like legalese.
I didn't get a call to go in today, either (didn't think I would since it's the last day before the Easter holidays) and so I was able to go with Dad to do Meals on Wheels which I really enjoy doing. We were given a short route, so we were done quite quickly. Dad is so good with remembering where streets are - he can go on route one time and remember so much of the way we have to go - he's always been able to do that and it's a pretty amazing talent, I think.
This afternoon, our friends, Geoff and Robyn, came over. Geoff has a motorcycle license and he is allowed to drive behind us while we go on the scooter and practice riding. I went first and felt really comfortable riding it in our area of town (out in the boonies :-) Then, I rode down towards town, past the Anglican College, through the roundabout, and turned right (away from town) and drove with some of the traffic. When I got to the end of the street, I got off. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed and so I let Dad have a turn. What I found was that it was hard to get into traffic and ride and think about everything at the same time. I also found it hard to go above 50km - it just seemed too fast for me. Dad got on and didn't seem to have any issues - fearless, he was. :-) Watching him, I wondered if part of my problem is that I have not driven over here in over a year - Dad seemed so comfortable in traffic. Riding the scooter itself is not a problem - it's easy to do - it's just that I didn't feel comfortable around the traffic and I wonder if that's cuz Dad always drives. I found it hard to guage the passenger side of the car here and so I stopped driving. I told Dad that I need to get more practice in driving so that I feel comfortable about it again. It was great being on the bike out in the country, though - I even got up to 60km/hr when I was on my second ride. That felt great! :-)
Robyn and I went visiting teaching today. We visited with a woman whose husband is not a member. She is a lovely woman and we enjoy visiting with her. We have good discussions and get a good yak in as well. I feel for her, though, as her life at home is not easy. She goes to work full-time and then has to come home and do all the home stuff. Today, she had started dinner and stopped it to visit with us. After about a half hour visit, she said she had to go and finish making dinner - her husband wouldn't even do that. I asked her if she could come out one day for dinner or lunch in town instead of us coming out to her house - thought she might like to get out and let someone else do the cooking for her. She made a bunch of excuses and then said that it was hard for her to even get out to Relief Society, basically telling us that her husband didn't like her going out to church stuff or with church people. I tell you what - it sure make me appreciate your Dad even more.
Tonight at SES, Dad joined in with the newbie group today as he missed the second half of that class while we were in Canada. So, tonight he was a team leader in a communication exercise. His task was to 'find the fox'. 'The fox' was another SES person in an SES truck - each of the four teams had a grid map of a 10 square block radius. In turn, each team could ask 'the fox' one question which could only be answered affirmative or negative and the question had to be based on compass point directions. So, through listening to the answers to the questions, they were to narrow down the area of focus until they could pinpoint 'the fox's' exact location. This was all done by walking the grid and listening to the answers/asking the questions via radio (walkie talkie). They repeated the exercise four or five times and Dad's team was able to locate 'the fox' once before the other teams were able to. Dad really enjoyed the exercise and found it was good practice to get on the radio.
Dad spent the day at home doing the dreaded taxes. Man, the poor guy has really struggled with these. This is the Canadian taxes and there are no computer programs that Dad knows of which can do the taxes for him (like he used to do in Canada). He had to download pages and pages of information on how to fill out the forms - it literally took him all day and evening to finish them. I was so appreciative of him spending so much time to do this nasty job. He is going to contact the company which made the program he used to use to do his taxes in Canada to see if they have anything which might make it easier for him to do them next year. When we get back to Canada, we are going to take our info into H and R Block to make sure that he has done it the best way possible since there was so much information to go through and it was like legalese.
I didn't get a call to go in today, either (didn't think I would since it's the last day before the Easter holidays) and so I was able to go with Dad to do Meals on Wheels which I really enjoy doing. We were given a short route, so we were done quite quickly. Dad is so good with remembering where streets are - he can go on route one time and remember so much of the way we have to go - he's always been able to do that and it's a pretty amazing talent, I think.
This afternoon, our friends, Geoff and Robyn, came over. Geoff has a motorcycle license and he is allowed to drive behind us while we go on the scooter and practice riding. I went first and felt really comfortable riding it in our area of town (out in the boonies :-) Then, I rode down towards town, past the Anglican College, through the roundabout, and turned right (away from town) and drove with some of the traffic. When I got to the end of the street, I got off. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed and so I let Dad have a turn. What I found was that it was hard to get into traffic and ride and think about everything at the same time. I also found it hard to go above 50km - it just seemed too fast for me. Dad got on and didn't seem to have any issues - fearless, he was. :-) Watching him, I wondered if part of my problem is that I have not driven over here in over a year - Dad seemed so comfortable in traffic. Riding the scooter itself is not a problem - it's easy to do - it's just that I didn't feel comfortable around the traffic and I wonder if that's cuz Dad always drives. I found it hard to guage the passenger side of the car here and so I stopped driving. I told Dad that I need to get more practice in driving so that I feel comfortable about it again. It was great being on the bike out in the country, though - I even got up to 60km/hr when I was on my second ride. That felt great! :-)
Robyn and I went visiting teaching today. We visited with a woman whose husband is not a member. She is a lovely woman and we enjoy visiting with her. We have good discussions and get a good yak in as well. I feel for her, though, as her life at home is not easy. She goes to work full-time and then has to come home and do all the home stuff. Today, she had started dinner and stopped it to visit with us. After about a half hour visit, she said she had to go and finish making dinner - her husband wouldn't even do that. I asked her if she could come out one day for dinner or lunch in town instead of us coming out to her house - thought she might like to get out and let someone else do the cooking for her. She made a bunch of excuses and then said that it was hard for her to even get out to Relief Society, basically telling us that her husband didn't like her going out to church stuff or with church people. I tell you what - it sure make me appreciate your Dad even more.
Tonight at SES, Dad joined in with the newbie group today as he missed the second half of that class while we were in Canada. So, tonight he was a team leader in a communication exercise. His task was to 'find the fox'. 'The fox' was another SES person in an SES truck - each of the four teams had a grid map of a 10 square block radius. In turn, each team could ask 'the fox' one question which could only be answered affirmative or negative and the question had to be based on compass point directions. So, through listening to the answers to the questions, they were to narrow down the area of focus until they could pinpoint 'the fox's' exact location. This was all done by walking the grid and listening to the answers/asking the questions via radio (walkie talkie). They repeated the exercise four or five times and Dad's team was able to locate 'the fox' once before the other teams were able to. Dad really enjoyed the exercise and found it was good practice to get on the radio.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Whew! What a busy day for both Dad and I. I thought I wasn't going to be called in to teach today as I hadn't received a call by 7am, but at 7:15am, I received a call from Tracer asking me to teach a grade three class at Kawungan. It was a class which I had taught for half a day before - there are a few challenging children in there and so I wasn't overly thrilled about going, but it was a day's pay and it wasn't an awful class, so I said 'yes', and then got dressed in the shortest time I have ever gotten ready. When I got to school, I found that the teacher had left no plans (and found out later that this was pretty typical of her) and so I had to talk with the teacher next store to get some ideas. I worked out a basic plan and then just tweaked it as I went along. One boy in the class who should be on meds was off the wall and so I took him down to the deputy principal at little lunch - he stayed there for the whole lunch time and some more time as well. Then, at big lunch, I found out a bunch of kids had issues with scissors and so sent them down to see the deputy principal at big lunch. Travis, who was in Bronwyn's class last year was also 'off' today - he is 9, but acts about 4 - when he sets his mind to something, there is no changing it, so off he went with a teacher's aide to the deputy principal. We managed to fill the day with activities - nothing too exciting except for the 20 minutes of chess they played - but, at least I kept them busy. I also found out today that Terry, a grade two teacher, confirmed that she wanted me for tomorrow, so I am already in the system for that. I really like teaching grade two and so I imagine I am going to have a good day tomorrow.
Dad was so busy at the Family History Centre that, at times, there weren't enough computers for the number of patrons wanting to use them. This was very exciting for Dad since that rarely happens. Dad said that there were eight patrons today (a record for this FHC). He tried to do some indexing, but was kept busier helping the patrons with questions they had and having to show them how to use the machines there.
After school, although I was quite worn out, we went for a walk. We decided to just do the route around the park at the end of our street. Once around is a kilometre and so we went around three times. We try to do each round in ten minutes, but we are out of shape a little, I think, and it took us 14 minutes to do each round. We didn't worry about the timing that much as we know we are going to have to build up to it again. It was good to get out in the fresh air and sunshine and have a good talk while we walked. When we got home, I sat outside on my chaise lounge and enjoyed another 45 minutes of fresh air and sun.
I had a fabulous, fabulous time in Terri's grade two class today!!! I had talked with a teacher just before going in and she told me that Terri's class wasn't as lovely as last year. Oh no, I thought - that's just great. Anyway, I get in to the class and I take the attendance and two boys and a girl are away. I found out later, that the two boys who were away were the 'naughty' boys. Woo hoo! :-) So, the rest of the children were awesome and worked hard and followed instructions and listened well. I could hardly have asked for a better day. I told some of the teachers at Big Lunch that I don't feel I earned my pay today, it was that good. :-) I hope that next time I cover for Terri that those two boys are away again. I am sure that Terri is not going to be impressed that she didn't get to enjoy a day without those boys. :-)
Dad had a very busy day at home. He started out his day by hanging up the two loads of clothes which I had put in the washing machine this morning. Then, it was time to go outside and do some yard work: mowing the lawn, trimming, weeding, and spraying for bugs. After lunch, it was time to come inside and clean the house. Dad does a nice job of that - I appreciate not having to do it. When he gets a job, I am not going to like having to help out with this chore.
After doing some grocery shopping and 'Big W' (like Walmart) shopping, we came home. By this time, it was 5:30pm. I was going to get stuck into making dinner, but I couldn't give up the last half hour of light outside. So, I took my computer out there and lay on my chaise lounge and enjoyed the fresh air while I caught up on some emails. I am looking forward to Friday when our fall school holidays start. It will be a lovely ten days of relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. We plan on doing some swimming, walking, biking and lazing around outside on our chaise loungers. Life is great here in HB!!! :-)
Dad was so busy at the Family History Centre that, at times, there weren't enough computers for the number of patrons wanting to use them. This was very exciting for Dad since that rarely happens. Dad said that there were eight patrons today (a record for this FHC). He tried to do some indexing, but was kept busier helping the patrons with questions they had and having to show them how to use the machines there.
After school, although I was quite worn out, we went for a walk. We decided to just do the route around the park at the end of our street. Once around is a kilometre and so we went around three times. We try to do each round in ten minutes, but we are out of shape a little, I think, and it took us 14 minutes to do each round. We didn't worry about the timing that much as we know we are going to have to build up to it again. It was good to get out in the fresh air and sunshine and have a good talk while we walked. When we got home, I sat outside on my chaise lounge and enjoyed another 45 minutes of fresh air and sun.
I had a fabulous, fabulous time in Terri's grade two class today!!! I had talked with a teacher just before going in and she told me that Terri's class wasn't as lovely as last year. Oh no, I thought - that's just great. Anyway, I get in to the class and I take the attendance and two boys and a girl are away. I found out later, that the two boys who were away were the 'naughty' boys. Woo hoo! :-) So, the rest of the children were awesome and worked hard and followed instructions and listened well. I could hardly have asked for a better day. I told some of the teachers at Big Lunch that I don't feel I earned my pay today, it was that good. :-) I hope that next time I cover for Terri that those two boys are away again. I am sure that Terri is not going to be impressed that she didn't get to enjoy a day without those boys. :-)
Dad had a very busy day at home. He started out his day by hanging up the two loads of clothes which I had put in the washing machine this morning. Then, it was time to go outside and do some yard work: mowing the lawn, trimming, weeding, and spraying for bugs. After lunch, it was time to come inside and clean the house. Dad does a nice job of that - I appreciate not having to do it. When he gets a job, I am not going to like having to help out with this chore.
After doing some grocery shopping and 'Big W' (like Walmart) shopping, we came home. By this time, it was 5:30pm. I was going to get stuck into making dinner, but I couldn't give up the last half hour of light outside. So, I took my computer out there and lay on my chaise lounge and enjoyed the fresh air while I caught up on some emails. I am looking forward to Friday when our fall school holidays start. It will be a lovely ten days of relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. We plan on doing some swimming, walking, biking and lazing around outside on our chaise loungers. Life is great here in HB!!! :-)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
I was very surprised to get ANOTHER call from Tracer on Friday - and this time it was to a different school again. This time, it was to Torquay State School where Chantelle, the student teacher from last year, works - it was her teaching partner who called Tracer and asked for me. I was really pleased to be able to go in there. So, it was another day in Prep (kindergarten) - Chantelle said they were a lovely class, but they were not as lovely as the Prep class I had earlier in the week. There was a teacher's aide as there is in every Prep class - Samantha was great - she was able to tell me what was on the cards for the day as again no lesson plan had been left, but the teacher had called Sam at home. The day went fairly well - the children were a bit restless, but overall, it was a pretty good day. I am hoping that Sam will give a good report about me to the teacher - this teacher is going on her long service leave soon and I would love to do her contract - there is a possibility that there might be another teacher returning who is on leave right now and she might be taking over that contract, but you never know what might happen. The principal of this school also told Chantelle that if I were to volunteer in the school, they would send as many supply days my way as they could. So, I am going to go in on the first Friday after the holidays (which are next week) and get started on the volunteering. They want me to help with a reading program they want to do with children in grade one who are having trouble reading.
Dad spent the day at the Family History Centre and he was very excited to have two patrons since they usually don't get anyone on Fridays. Dad helped the patrons to find names on the internet. Dad did some more indexing - he is way past half way in the records he has done and we're only one third of the way through the month. Dad also worked on the files for General Conference - there were issues yesterday, but he needed his computer to fix them.
After school, we did some grocery shopping and ran some other errands and then came home and vegged in front of the tv for the night. Teaching Prep children can be very exhausting mentally and I was spent for the day. We are watching less tv these days in general - we were watching way too much and getting nothing else done - we don't want to become couch potatoes, but sometimes we are just too tired. I don't mind taking one night a week to just veg.
We spent Saturday from 8am to 5pm learning how to ride the scooter. We met the instructor, John, at the Maryborough Showgrounds - that's where John does the training - he pays a fee to the city to use the showgrounds. He lives in Maryborough and that city is about half an hour from HB. Once we got there, we quickly dispensed with the paperwork so that we could get to the riding part. I got to go first on the bike and I was so excited. First, John had me get on the scooter and then he pushed me along (without the motor running), then he had me start the scooter and had me ride slowly and then stop it while he ran along beside me, then I did a few laps of the area we were training in, and then it was Dad's turn to do the same. Next, we went to another area of the showground to do the next two manoeuvres which were driving slowly along a path (lined with pylons) and doing figure eights. Next, we went to John's home to watch a DVD about riding safely. While we watched the video, we ate lunch so that we could finish earlier. Then, it was back to the first area where we did slaloms (riding in and out a line of pylons) and doing an avoidance manoevre (riding in a straight line at 40km and then having to swerve one way or another quickly when John put up his hand one way or the other). Our last manoeuvre for the day was learning how to stop quickly which we both did quite well. It was a great day and I can't wait to get back on the scooter again. :-) Here are some pics of our day..........
Today was General Conference here in Australia. Because of the time difference, we don't watch it when it's aired, but rather we download them and then watch them on the next weekend. We missed Saturday's sessions because of the scooter lessons, but we were able to go to the two sessions today. The way they work it is we watch the first session, then have a half hour for lunch and then watch the last two hour session. There were some wonderful messages today - here is a snapshot of what I took from the speakers:
- hearken to the promptings of the Spirit and be eager to heed them
- affliction is part of our mortal experience and after much tribulation come the blessings
- the church welfare program's emphasis is on personal responsibility and self reliance
- love one another, serve one another, reach out and assist the less fortunate
- revelation can be immediate and intense, but that is rare; usually it is gradual, line upon line, precept upon precept; we need to press forward obediently and with faith in the Saviour
- temples bring joy to the faithful and attending the temple brings blessings, so attend the temple regularly
- being sealed in the temple for eternity bring happiness to families; express love and appreciation for your spouse and speak kindly to one another
- Heavenly Father has high expectations of us so we need to willingly accept correction: He persuades us to repent which leads to righteousness, refines and sanctifies us, redirects our course to a better way
- the Lord remembers His promises to them who pay their tithing
- to BE like the Saviour, you must DO things to emulate him; the doing is important but it must associated with the 'be'; we must strengthen our children's self-worth and help them to draw unto Him
- live the gospel, follow the prophet, be faithful, come unto the Lord
- the atonement is there for all of us so that if we repent, our sins are forgiven and remembered no more
- stay on the narrow path
Dad and I look forward to getting the Ensign magazine so that we can read the messages given over the two days of General Conference. It's so wonderful hearing the words of the prophet and other church leaders twice a year.
Not only did we have a lovely day at Conference, but we spent the afternoon outside enjoying the lovely weather. The sky was blue (well, mostly - there were a few clouds around) and the sun was shining. I took the opportunity to pull my chaise lounge out onto the grass and sat on it with my book and enjoyed the sun shining down on me. :-) Dad stayed under cover working on some more indexing. Aaaah, life is good. :-)
Dad spent the day at the Family History Centre and he was very excited to have two patrons since they usually don't get anyone on Fridays. Dad helped the patrons to find names on the internet. Dad did some more indexing - he is way past half way in the records he has done and we're only one third of the way through the month. Dad also worked on the files for General Conference - there were issues yesterday, but he needed his computer to fix them.
After school, we did some grocery shopping and ran some other errands and then came home and vegged in front of the tv for the night. Teaching Prep children can be very exhausting mentally and I was spent for the day. We are watching less tv these days in general - we were watching way too much and getting nothing else done - we don't want to become couch potatoes, but sometimes we are just too tired. I don't mind taking one night a week to just veg.
We spent Saturday from 8am to 5pm learning how to ride the scooter. We met the instructor, John, at the Maryborough Showgrounds - that's where John does the training - he pays a fee to the city to use the showgrounds. He lives in Maryborough and that city is about half an hour from HB. Once we got there, we quickly dispensed with the paperwork so that we could get to the riding part. I got to go first on the bike and I was so excited. First, John had me get on the scooter and then he pushed me along (without the motor running), then he had me start the scooter and had me ride slowly and then stop it while he ran along beside me, then I did a few laps of the area we were training in, and then it was Dad's turn to do the same. Next, we went to another area of the showground to do the next two manoeuvres which were driving slowly along a path (lined with pylons) and doing figure eights. Next, we went to John's home to watch a DVD about riding safely. While we watched the video, we ate lunch so that we could finish earlier. Then, it was back to the first area where we did slaloms (riding in and out a line of pylons) and doing an avoidance manoevre (riding in a straight line at 40km and then having to swerve one way or another quickly when John put up his hand one way or the other). Our last manoeuvre for the day was learning how to stop quickly which we both did quite well. It was a great day and I can't wait to get back on the scooter again. :-) Here are some pics of our day..........
John pushing me
John running beside me
Me riding around the track
Me riding around the track
John giving Dad instructions
Dad riding around the track
Dad sitting on the scooter
Me in the learner 'L' vest riding as slow as I can through the pylons
Dad riding the slalom
Me riding the avoidance manoeuvre
Dad riding around the track
Today was General Conference here in Australia. Because of the time difference, we don't watch it when it's aired, but rather we download them and then watch them on the next weekend. We missed Saturday's sessions because of the scooter lessons, but we were able to go to the two sessions today. The way they work it is we watch the first session, then have a half hour for lunch and then watch the last two hour session. There were some wonderful messages today - here is a snapshot of what I took from the speakers:
- hearken to the promptings of the Spirit and be eager to heed them
- affliction is part of our mortal experience and after much tribulation come the blessings
- the church welfare program's emphasis is on personal responsibility and self reliance
- love one another, serve one another, reach out and assist the less fortunate
- revelation can be immediate and intense, but that is rare; usually it is gradual, line upon line, precept upon precept; we need to press forward obediently and with faith in the Saviour
- temples bring joy to the faithful and attending the temple brings blessings, so attend the temple regularly
- being sealed in the temple for eternity bring happiness to families; express love and appreciation for your spouse and speak kindly to one another
- Heavenly Father has high expectations of us so we need to willingly accept correction: He persuades us to repent which leads to righteousness, refines and sanctifies us, redirects our course to a better way
- the Lord remembers His promises to them who pay their tithing
- to BE like the Saviour, you must DO things to emulate him; the doing is important but it must associated with the 'be'; we must strengthen our children's self-worth and help them to draw unto Him
- live the gospel, follow the prophet, be faithful, come unto the Lord
- the atonement is there for all of us so that if we repent, our sins are forgiven and remembered no more
- stay on the narrow path
Dad and I look forward to getting the Ensign magazine so that we can read the messages given over the two days of General Conference. It's so wonderful hearing the words of the prophet and other church leaders twice a year.
Not only did we have a lovely day at Conference, but we spent the afternoon outside enjoying the lovely weather. The sky was blue (well, mostly - there were a few clouds around) and the sun was shining. I took the opportunity to pull my chaise lounge out onto the grass and sat on it with my book and enjoyed the sun shining down on me. :-) Dad stayed under cover working on some more indexing. Aaaah, life is good. :-)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Yesterday morning, I got a call from Tracer (they are the ones who call you to supply teach). I was sort of expecting a call since Luise told me the day before that I might get a call because the teachers were getting tired. So, imagine my surprise when I was asked to go to a different school. They called me to supply at a school called Sandy Strait to teach in a Prep (kindergarten) class - AND the teacher I was subbing for was male! That REALLY surprised me - I have never known a male to be a kindergarten teacher before. It turns out that he taught grade four last year and they lost so many children at the school, that they lost teachers at different grades - and he was reassigned to kindergarten. I was told that he is not happy about it. Also, he left no plans which actually annoyed me since I was told that he wasn’t feeling well the day before. Fortunately for me, he has a wonderful teacher’s aide (every kindergarten class has a teacher’s aide at least for half a day and sometimes for a while day here). Madonna (the aide) helped me work out what we could do for the day. There were 18 children in the class and I was told to keep an eye on three boys. I had to work my ‘magic’ and I think that I did very well. One of my ‘tricks’ is to use the ‘challenge’ child(ren) as my ‘carpet examples’ where I mention how well they are sitting and that everyone should sit like them. That works really well most of the time and worked with these guys. I also find that praising them for positive behaviour has a good effect, too. I left my supply teaching card for the teacher and the teacher next door asked me for a card as well. Then, I had to cover another kindergarten teacher’s class for the last part of the day and I left my card with her. When I left the school, I stopped by the office and left my card with the woman there. So, hopefully, this will lead to more work.
Dad spent the morning doing errands and then had to stay home for the afternoon as we were having some more furniture delivered. Our single beds for our second guest room and our two rocker/recliners came. Dad was so excited about his chair. :-) Here is a pic of it. He quite enjoyed sitting in his new chair today. :-)
After school, we came straight home so that we could make lasagna as the missionaries were coming over for dinner. It was such a lovely day, so we decided to eat outside. It was fun having them over. They are two new missionaries from when we left to go to Canada. Both missionaries are from Melbourne, although they didn’t know each other there as they were in different Stakes. They get along really well which is good. They are working on finding out where the less active children are in our ward for me. As the Primary president, I want to know what we can do to help the children who aren’t coming out to church right now, but I need to know who they are and what their situation is before I can do anything.
Today was my day to go in and teach the grade 2s and grade 3s at Kawungan. I was really looking forward to today as I was going to be in Bronwyn’s class for half a day and then a grade three class. Before school, I went in to Bronwyn’s classroom to see what I was going to be doing that morning and she told me a nice bit of info. Her husband supply teaches at a catholic school and they had asked him if he ever supply taught at the primary level (he’s a high school person) - they said that they had some difficulties sometimes getting supply teachers for that level. I told her thanks for letting me know and I will go there tomorrow after school and give them my card. I had a lovely time in Bronwyn’s class today- they are all lovely and work well and listen well - the perfect class to supply teach in. I told her after school that she is welcome to take off as many days as she would like. :-) She sure deserves this class after the last two years! The grade three class was fairly easy to teach as well as I knew most of the students from volunteering/working in the grade two classes last year. There were a couple of boys who were annoying, but hopefully if I ever get to supply in that class again, they will be better behaved.
Dad started off his day doing some errands before going to do his Meals on Wheels run. He was paired up with a new couple today who used to receive meals from MOW and now wanted to give back. They did the Baycrest run which is the one we have often done in the past. After MOW, Dad went to the chapel to help our friend, Rob figure out why he couldn’t get the General Conference videos to run. Another guy in our ward, Zander, had downloaded them, but for some reason, Rob couldn’t get them to play, so he called Dad to ask him to come to the chapel to help him figure out what was wrong.
After school, Dad and I went to the motorcycle shop where we bought my scooter from. We needed to buy a helmet and some gloves as we are starting our riding course on Saturday. We decided that, since we can’t both ride on the motorcycle at the same time (you have to have your license for a year before you can take someone else on your bike) and the cost of buying these accessories was hefty, we would buy one of each and then share them. There was a really good sale on the helmet, but not on the gloves ($80. for the gloves, can you believe it!). We asked the woman about the jackets even though we knew they were expensive, too, just so that we knew what they were like when we did spend the money on one. They were on a really good sale - too good a sale to pass up - and so we bought a jacket as well. I will have to work a couple of extra supply days before we can get another set of accessories. :-) We are really looking forward to starting our riding lessons - I can’t wait until I can ride the scooter to school when I get calls to teach or when I am volunteering. They say the cost of petrol (gas) could go up to $2.00 per litre in the next while so not only will it be fun riding my scooter, but it will also save money. Two for the price of one! :-)
At SES tonight, Dad did a review of maps and navigation. They were given a map and told to get from A to B. They had to use a compass to complete the activity (it was all on paper). The idea was that they would have been able to go outside and do the search for real using the calculations they had made on the paper. It was pretty basic stuff, but it’s always good to go over it, Dad says.
Dad spent the morning doing errands and then had to stay home for the afternoon as we were having some more furniture delivered. Our single beds for our second guest room and our two rocker/recliners came. Dad was so excited about his chair. :-) Here is a pic of it. He quite enjoyed sitting in his new chair today. :-)
After school, we came straight home so that we could make lasagna as the missionaries were coming over for dinner. It was such a lovely day, so we decided to eat outside. It was fun having them over. They are two new missionaries from when we left to go to Canada. Both missionaries are from Melbourne, although they didn’t know each other there as they were in different Stakes. They get along really well which is good. They are working on finding out where the less active children are in our ward for me. As the Primary president, I want to know what we can do to help the children who aren’t coming out to church right now, but I need to know who they are and what their situation is before I can do anything.
Today was my day to go in and teach the grade 2s and grade 3s at Kawungan. I was really looking forward to today as I was going to be in Bronwyn’s class for half a day and then a grade three class. Before school, I went in to Bronwyn’s classroom to see what I was going to be doing that morning and she told me a nice bit of info. Her husband supply teaches at a catholic school and they had asked him if he ever supply taught at the primary level (he’s a high school person) - they said that they had some difficulties sometimes getting supply teachers for that level. I told her thanks for letting me know and I will go there tomorrow after school and give them my card. I had a lovely time in Bronwyn’s class today- they are all lovely and work well and listen well - the perfect class to supply teach in. I told her after school that she is welcome to take off as many days as she would like. :-) She sure deserves this class after the last two years! The grade three class was fairly easy to teach as well as I knew most of the students from volunteering/working in the grade two classes last year. There were a couple of boys who were annoying, but hopefully if I ever get to supply in that class again, they will be better behaved.
Dad started off his day doing some errands before going to do his Meals on Wheels run. He was paired up with a new couple today who used to receive meals from MOW and now wanted to give back. They did the Baycrest run which is the one we have often done in the past. After MOW, Dad went to the chapel to help our friend, Rob figure out why he couldn’t get the General Conference videos to run. Another guy in our ward, Zander, had downloaded them, but for some reason, Rob couldn’t get them to play, so he called Dad to ask him to come to the chapel to help him figure out what was wrong.
After school, Dad and I went to the motorcycle shop where we bought my scooter from. We needed to buy a helmet and some gloves as we are starting our riding course on Saturday. We decided that, since we can’t both ride on the motorcycle at the same time (you have to have your license for a year before you can take someone else on your bike) and the cost of buying these accessories was hefty, we would buy one of each and then share them. There was a really good sale on the helmet, but not on the gloves ($80. for the gloves, can you believe it!). We asked the woman about the jackets even though we knew they were expensive, too, just so that we knew what they were like when we did spend the money on one. They were on a really good sale - too good a sale to pass up - and so we bought a jacket as well. I will have to work a couple of extra supply days before we can get another set of accessories. :-) We are really looking forward to starting our riding lessons - I can’t wait until I can ride the scooter to school when I get calls to teach or when I am volunteering. They say the cost of petrol (gas) could go up to $2.00 per litre in the next while so not only will it be fun riding my scooter, but it will also save money. Two for the price of one! :-)
At SES tonight, Dad did a review of maps and navigation. They were given a map and told to get from A to B. They had to use a compass to complete the activity (it was all on paper). The idea was that they would have been able to go outside and do the search for real using the calculations they had made on the paper. It was pretty basic stuff, but it’s always good to go over it, Dad says.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Today I had a job already lined up at Kawungan and my morning was in Luise’s grade one class. That made it so easy for me as they already knew me and I knew them and I knew the routine which Luise has. I started out by reading them a book - I love to read to children and they love to be read to. I find that some teachers don’t read as much to the kids as others - I used to have all kinds of reading happening in my classroom. After that, we had centres (they call them ‘rotations’). Luise is very fortunate to have parents come in and help out with these. Two parents came in (one dad and one mum) and each one took a literacy centre, two groups were working independently and I took the reading group. I was quite surprised at how well some of these children can read and they’re only in grade one. Even the lowest group didn’t do too badly in my opinion. The only thing now is that this school is expecting the grade one kids to be working at a grade level higher than the grade one kids were last year. So, for instance, the grade ones are now expected to do grade two work. We did some floor work (alphabetical order and counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, etc.) and then it was time for ‘little lunch’.
After that, I only had half an hour with them before it was time to go and be with the Prep (kindergarten) class I was assigned to. That was an experience! At first, it was going really well - they had to work on centres for the first hour. I worked with one group, the teaching assistant worked with another group and a volunteer worked with a third group. There were other centres which the children went to independently. At the centre I was working at, I had to teach them how to print the letter ‘r’ - easy enough. However, while I was doing that, some of the kids decided to go outside and I didn’t notice that. Fortunately for me, some other kids came and told me and I rounded them up. I hadn’t even thought of keeping an eye on the door - I just figured that they knew what to do and didn’t even think that they might try and go out of the door. I will know that for next time. After centres, they had a 15 minute nap - they lay down on their towels on the carpet and listened to some jazz music which I put on. Two of the little girls fell fast asleep - I felt bad having to wake them up - but, it was ‘big lunch’ time and they needed to eat. I wonder sometimes why they have all day kindergarten - the teaching assistant reckoned that they were done by 2pm and we didn’t get much out of them after that. Fortunately today, after ‘big lunch’, they had reading buddies and then P.E. (as they call ‘gym’ here).
Dad was at the Family History Centre today. There were three other workers there and two patrons. Dad spent some time indexing today, but most of his time was spent doing other things: fixing cabinets, fixing computers, and showing a patron how to search for information. Dad said today that it took something like four years to get half a billion records indexed, but since the church had put a push on it beginning late last year, another half a billion have been indexed in just the past three months; approximately 14 billion to go. :-)
Here is an email which Dad received about his doing the indexing:
Dear Michael,
Congratulations on completing your 100th batch with FamilySearch Indexing!
You have reached a significant and rare milestone: the completion of your 100th batch with FamilySearch indexing. The completion of your 100th batch places you into an exclusive group of top indexing volunteers. We want to thank you for your ongoing efforts and recognize this significant achievement.
Your efforts, combined with the efforts of other volunteers, have now made more than one billion records available online at FamilySearch.org, where they are accessed by people around the world who are searching for their ancestors. Each week dozens of these people send us messages of appreciation for your efforts.
We join these people in expressing our sincere appreciation for your efforts in reaching 100 completed indexing batches and recognize the significant contribution you are making to FamilySearch indexing.
Keep Up the Good Work!
You are providing valuable and meaningful service to people around the world who are seeking information about their ancestors. The continued success of this project depends on you and others like you who graciously give of their time and efforts. We celebrate your success and encourage you to continue in this important endeavor to make records more accessible online.
Thank You,
FamilySearch Indexing
I thought that was a cool email to receive acknowledging all the work and hours dad has done/put in. :-)
After school, Dad and I changed into our running shoes and drove down to the beach. I am glad that I took my runners with me this morning, as if I had come home first to get them, I might not have gone out for a walk since I felt weary after working with those young ‘uns all day. We walked half an hour along the beach (it was low tide so the water was very far out) and then we walked back for half an hour along the boardwalk. It was a lovely walk - the sun was warm and it’s so nice walking along the beach. There were a number of others walking along the beach, especially those with dogs. We are planning on doing this three times a week - it’s almost like cheating to call this exercise. :-)
When we were done our walk, we stopped to get take-out. Now I can just hear you all saying ‘what, after you have exercised, you had take-out!’. :-) Well, we happened to park across the road from a fish and chip place which we had heard was the best in Hervey Bay. We had forgotten to take out the meat we needed for dinner and so there was nothing waiting for us at home and Dad really did want to try the fish there, so we got some fish and chips - well, Dad got fish (crumbed barramundi - Barramundi has gained a reputation as one of Australia's finest eating fish, usually with a price to match! There is no denying that Barramundi are excellent table fish and specimens captured from estuarine waters are delicious, with firm, white, fine-grained meat) and I got a chiko roll (the Chiko roll is an Australian savoury snack, consisting of beef, celery, cabbage, barley, carrot, onion, green beans, and spices in a tube of egg, flour and dough which is then deep-fried. The Chiko Roll debuted at the Wagga Wagga Agriculture Show in 1951). We ate our dinner out on our outdoor table and it was lovely to sit outside in the fresh air with the sun shining warmly on us. The food was delicious as well. :-) We stayed out there until 6:30pm - we had to put the lights on at about 6pm, but then the lights attracted too many bugs and so we decided to come inside. We are really going to enjoy using this outdoor set. :-)
Today I was supplying for the grade 5s and grade 4s. I was in a grade 5 classroom which I was in a week or so ago, so I thought it would be easier cuz the kids knew me and I knew them. Michelle has a lovely class, except for a few which makes it not fun - it’s amazing how a few kids can change a lovely time into a challenging and weary time. Two of the boys threw things when my back was turned, but the kids dobbed them in (told me that they did it) and so I reported this to Michelle later on (she told me that they had done the same thing with her in the classroom). She called the D.P. (deputy (vice) principal) and she came, and boy, did she tear a strip off those boys! Two other students (one boy and one girl) were rude and disrespectful to me - they kept talking even when I asked them to stop and did other annoying things on purpose. Michelle decided that they would miss their recess time, which I was very happy about - and I was even happier when I didn’t have to stay in with them - Michelle sent them to the office. The rest of my time with that class went much smoother. I went to a grade four class in the afternoon and they were easier, although not the little lovelies that the teacher said they were, but that’s the way it is when you are a supply teacher - the kids try to take advantage and you don’t have the same effect over them as you do as the classroom teacher. I managed to get through the day, though - and it sure told me that I am right about only wanting to supply Prep (kindergarten) to Year 3. :-)
While I was at school, Dad was VERY busy. He started the day off mowing the lawn, which was fun since there were small showers all day today. He also vacuumed the house and cleaned the bathrooms. After school, the day just flew by: shopping (food and clothes), making dinner, dropping by the chapel for a quick visit with the Bishop (Dad), eating dinner, working on Primary stuff, reading scriptures, doing weight exercises…….we were going to ride our bikes today, but by the time we were finished with our shopping, it was too late to go riding. When we were at the grocery store, I happened to notice a big sale going on at a clothing store called ‘Millers’ which I love - they have clothing that I really like and they were having a 50% off sale today! I was able to find three skirts (all the same, but in different colours), two tops and two capris which I liked. Man, what a lucky week I am having with buying clothes! :-)
After that, I only had half an hour with them before it was time to go and be with the Prep (kindergarten) class I was assigned to. That was an experience! At first, it was going really well - they had to work on centres for the first hour. I worked with one group, the teaching assistant worked with another group and a volunteer worked with a third group. There were other centres which the children went to independently. At the centre I was working at, I had to teach them how to print the letter ‘r’ - easy enough. However, while I was doing that, some of the kids decided to go outside and I didn’t notice that. Fortunately for me, some other kids came and told me and I rounded them up. I hadn’t even thought of keeping an eye on the door - I just figured that they knew what to do and didn’t even think that they might try and go out of the door. I will know that for next time. After centres, they had a 15 minute nap - they lay down on their towels on the carpet and listened to some jazz music which I put on. Two of the little girls fell fast asleep - I felt bad having to wake them up - but, it was ‘big lunch’ time and they needed to eat. I wonder sometimes why they have all day kindergarten - the teaching assistant reckoned that they were done by 2pm and we didn’t get much out of them after that. Fortunately today, after ‘big lunch’, they had reading buddies and then P.E. (as they call ‘gym’ here).
Dad was at the Family History Centre today. There were three other workers there and two patrons. Dad spent some time indexing today, but most of his time was spent doing other things: fixing cabinets, fixing computers, and showing a patron how to search for information. Dad said today that it took something like four years to get half a billion records indexed, but since the church had put a push on it beginning late last year, another half a billion have been indexed in just the past three months; approximately 14 billion to go. :-)
Here is an email which Dad received about his doing the indexing:
Dear Michael,
Congratulations on completing your 100th batch with FamilySearch Indexing!
You have reached a significant and rare milestone: the completion of your 100th batch with FamilySearch indexing. The completion of your 100th batch places you into an exclusive group of top indexing volunteers. We want to thank you for your ongoing efforts and recognize this significant achievement.
Your efforts, combined with the efforts of other volunteers, have now made more than one billion records available online at FamilySearch.org, where they are accessed by people around the world who are searching for their ancestors. Each week dozens of these people send us messages of appreciation for your efforts.
We join these people in expressing our sincere appreciation for your efforts in reaching 100 completed indexing batches and recognize the significant contribution you are making to FamilySearch indexing.
Keep Up the Good Work!
You are providing valuable and meaningful service to people around the world who are seeking information about their ancestors. The continued success of this project depends on you and others like you who graciously give of their time and efforts. We celebrate your success and encourage you to continue in this important endeavor to make records more accessible online.
Thank You,
FamilySearch Indexing
I thought that was a cool email to receive acknowledging all the work and hours dad has done/put in. :-)
After school, Dad and I changed into our running shoes and drove down to the beach. I am glad that I took my runners with me this morning, as if I had come home first to get them, I might not have gone out for a walk since I felt weary after working with those young ‘uns all day. We walked half an hour along the beach (it was low tide so the water was very far out) and then we walked back for half an hour along the boardwalk. It was a lovely walk - the sun was warm and it’s so nice walking along the beach. There were a number of others walking along the beach, especially those with dogs. We are planning on doing this three times a week - it’s almost like cheating to call this exercise. :-)
When we were done our walk, we stopped to get take-out. Now I can just hear you all saying ‘what, after you have exercised, you had take-out!’. :-) Well, we happened to park across the road from a fish and chip place which we had heard was the best in Hervey Bay. We had forgotten to take out the meat we needed for dinner and so there was nothing waiting for us at home and Dad really did want to try the fish there, so we got some fish and chips - well, Dad got fish (crumbed barramundi - Barramundi has gained a reputation as one of Australia's finest eating fish, usually with a price to match! There is no denying that Barramundi are excellent table fish and specimens captured from estuarine waters are delicious, with firm, white, fine-grained meat) and I got a chiko roll (the Chiko roll is an Australian savoury snack, consisting of beef, celery, cabbage, barley, carrot, onion, green beans, and spices in a tube of egg, flour and dough which is then deep-fried. The Chiko Roll debuted at the Wagga Wagga Agriculture Show in 1951). We ate our dinner out on our outdoor table and it was lovely to sit outside in the fresh air with the sun shining warmly on us. The food was delicious as well. :-) We stayed out there until 6:30pm - we had to put the lights on at about 6pm, but then the lights attracted too many bugs and so we decided to come inside. We are really going to enjoy using this outdoor set. :-)
Today I was supplying for the grade 5s and grade 4s. I was in a grade 5 classroom which I was in a week or so ago, so I thought it would be easier cuz the kids knew me and I knew them. Michelle has a lovely class, except for a few which makes it not fun - it’s amazing how a few kids can change a lovely time into a challenging and weary time. Two of the boys threw things when my back was turned, but the kids dobbed them in (told me that they did it) and so I reported this to Michelle later on (she told me that they had done the same thing with her in the classroom). She called the D.P. (deputy (vice) principal) and she came, and boy, did she tear a strip off those boys! Two other students (one boy and one girl) were rude and disrespectful to me - they kept talking even when I asked them to stop and did other annoying things on purpose. Michelle decided that they would miss their recess time, which I was very happy about - and I was even happier when I didn’t have to stay in with them - Michelle sent them to the office. The rest of my time with that class went much smoother. I went to a grade four class in the afternoon and they were easier, although not the little lovelies that the teacher said they were, but that’s the way it is when you are a supply teacher - the kids try to take advantage and you don’t have the same effect over them as you do as the classroom teacher. I managed to get through the day, though - and it sure told me that I am right about only wanting to supply Prep (kindergarten) to Year 3. :-)
While I was at school, Dad was VERY busy. He started the day off mowing the lawn, which was fun since there were small showers all day today. He also vacuumed the house and cleaned the bathrooms. After school, the day just flew by: shopping (food and clothes), making dinner, dropping by the chapel for a quick visit with the Bishop (Dad), eating dinner, working on Primary stuff, reading scriptures, doing weight exercises…….we were going to ride our bikes today, but by the time we were finished with our shopping, it was too late to go riding. When we were at the grocery store, I happened to notice a big sale going on at a clothing store called ‘Millers’ which I love - they have clothing that I really like and they were having a 50% off sale today! I was able to find three skirts (all the same, but in different colours), two tops and two capris which I liked. Man, what a lucky week I am having with buying clothes! :-)
Sunday, April 3, 2011
I took Friday off volunteering at school and Dad drove me to the Primary secretary's place (Denise). She and I spent the next six hours working on Primary stuff. My first counsellor (assistant) is away and the second counsellor was at the Family History Centre. I wanted to go through all the things we have been working on and a lot of it was to do with secretarial business. We wrote down tons of questions we had so that I could email the people who would know the answers and we wrote down things which we both needed to follow-up. I ended up writing down a whole page of things just for me to do. It sure is a lot of work being the president of Primary. Although it was a very long meeting, it was very fruitful and I am glad that we were both able to spend the time to work through things.
Dad spent the day at the Family History Centre. No patrons showed up and so Dad and the other workers spent the day doing indexing. The two workers had some difficulties doing their indexing and Dad was able to help them. Dad was able to do 70 entries on Friday, so it's a start to his new goal for the month of April.
After Dad was finished at the FHC, he came and picked me up and dropped me off at a local coffee house. Chantelle, who was a student teacher at Kawungan when I was doing Bronwyn's grade two contract, and Bronwyn and I got together there (Chantelle said she had been there before and they made good drinks). I ordered an iced chocolate which was actually pretty good: milk with chocolate sauce, ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate shavings. The three of us chatted for about an hour, mostly about what is happening at Chantelle's school. She is working at Torquay State School as a Prep (kindergarten) teacher - it was interesting talking with her about how her school works. It seems so different from Kawungan. When Bronwyn had to leave at about 5pm, Chantelle drove me home and we ended up talking in the driveway for another hour or so. It was great to see Chantelle again and to catch up with her. I gave her some of my supply teacher cards and she is going to hand them out at her school. She is going to try and talk with her Deputy Principal (Vice Principal) on Monday and see if I can come in and meet with him on Tuesday. She also suggested that I come and volunteer at her school and get my face/name known. I think that I might start doing that on Fridays when I don't have work.
On Saturday, we woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep (how frustrating!). I put four or five loads of laundry in and worked on Primary stuff while Dad worked on church stuff - he was reading the 'Ensign' maganize trying to figure out which article he would base his Sunday lesson on for the High Priest group.
After lunch, we went downtown to do some shopping - had to buy more stuff for Primary. When we got to the 'mall' (small shopping centre), we met our friends, Rob and Rosalea, who were also shopping. Rosalea was looking at clothes and so, as we talked, I looked at some, too. I had looked at some skirts earlier in the week and so I checked them out again. After trying two of them on, I decided to ask the woman at the cash if the sale that I saw earlier in the week (2 for $50) was still on. She said 'no' and I said 'okay then - I was going to take two of them, but I will just take the one' (they were on for $29.99 each). She then said she would give them to me for the sale price (see, it pays to ask :-) They are both VERY colourful skirts and just the kind I like: elastic waist and long. :-) Rosalea then wanted to go to another store in the mall, so I went with her. Can you believe that I found three shirts that I loved in that store which were on sale? I mean, I NEVER am THAT lucky! :-) I got a green, blue and white shirt and they all go with the two skirts I bought. Rosalea bought a ton of stuff at the second store and she usually isn't that lucky either, so we both said that we each must bring each other good luck. :-)
Today was a nice relaxing day - as Sunday always is. :-) It was Fast and Testimony Sunday today and the members in Hervey Bay are quick to get up and bear their testimonies and they fill the whole time up. Both Dad and I were thinking about going up and bearing our testimonies, but there just wasn't a break. We both plan on doing it next month - we will have to just get up at the beginning of the meeting. Primary went really well - we still have a lot of working out to do, but we are on the right track. I gave the Sharing Time lesson today on where we lived before we came to earth and how Jesus said that he would come down and die for us. The kids were really good at answering the questions and participating by helping me to hold up some visual aids. Today, the High Priest group (of which Dad is the leader) met for the first time today - there were eight of them present today. Dad gave the lesson about the atonement of Jesus Christ. Dad said that the men were really good about participating and so they had a good discussion.
Dad and I spent the rest of today relaxing. When we got home, I took my Primary stuff outside and Dad took his lesson book outside and we sat in our new outdoor chairs. It was lovely out there - nice and warm (about 24C with a lovely breeze) and our chairs are so comfortable. Dad has taken some pictures of the suite and so there are a few below this entry. We stayed out there until it was supper time and then ate supper outside on the table. It was just a glorious time! :-)
Dad spent the day at the Family History Centre. No patrons showed up and so Dad and the other workers spent the day doing indexing. The two workers had some difficulties doing their indexing and Dad was able to help them. Dad was able to do 70 entries on Friday, so it's a start to his new goal for the month of April.
After Dad was finished at the FHC, he came and picked me up and dropped me off at a local coffee house. Chantelle, who was a student teacher at Kawungan when I was doing Bronwyn's grade two contract, and Bronwyn and I got together there (Chantelle said she had been there before and they made good drinks). I ordered an iced chocolate which was actually pretty good: milk with chocolate sauce, ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate shavings. The three of us chatted for about an hour, mostly about what is happening at Chantelle's school. She is working at Torquay State School as a Prep (kindergarten) teacher - it was interesting talking with her about how her school works. It seems so different from Kawungan. When Bronwyn had to leave at about 5pm, Chantelle drove me home and we ended up talking in the driveway for another hour or so. It was great to see Chantelle again and to catch up with her. I gave her some of my supply teacher cards and she is going to hand them out at her school. She is going to try and talk with her Deputy Principal (Vice Principal) on Monday and see if I can come in and meet with him on Tuesday. She also suggested that I come and volunteer at her school and get my face/name known. I think that I might start doing that on Fridays when I don't have work.
On Saturday, we woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep (how frustrating!). I put four or five loads of laundry in and worked on Primary stuff while Dad worked on church stuff - he was reading the 'Ensign' maganize trying to figure out which article he would base his Sunday lesson on for the High Priest group.
After lunch, we went downtown to do some shopping - had to buy more stuff for Primary. When we got to the 'mall' (small shopping centre), we met our friends, Rob and Rosalea, who were also shopping. Rosalea was looking at clothes and so, as we talked, I looked at some, too. I had looked at some skirts earlier in the week and so I checked them out again. After trying two of them on, I decided to ask the woman at the cash if the sale that I saw earlier in the week (2 for $50) was still on. She said 'no' and I said 'okay then - I was going to take two of them, but I will just take the one' (they were on for $29.99 each). She then said she would give them to me for the sale price (see, it pays to ask :-) They are both VERY colourful skirts and just the kind I like: elastic waist and long. :-) Rosalea then wanted to go to another store in the mall, so I went with her. Can you believe that I found three shirts that I loved in that store which were on sale? I mean, I NEVER am THAT lucky! :-) I got a green, blue and white shirt and they all go with the two skirts I bought. Rosalea bought a ton of stuff at the second store and she usually isn't that lucky either, so we both said that we each must bring each other good luck. :-)
Today was a nice relaxing day - as Sunday always is. :-) It was Fast and Testimony Sunday today and the members in Hervey Bay are quick to get up and bear their testimonies and they fill the whole time up. Both Dad and I were thinking about going up and bearing our testimonies, but there just wasn't a break. We both plan on doing it next month - we will have to just get up at the beginning of the meeting. Primary went really well - we still have a lot of working out to do, but we are on the right track. I gave the Sharing Time lesson today on where we lived before we came to earth and how Jesus said that he would come down and die for us. The kids were really good at answering the questions and participating by helping me to hold up some visual aids. Today, the High Priest group (of which Dad is the leader) met for the first time today - there were eight of them present today. Dad gave the lesson about the atonement of Jesus Christ. Dad said that the men were really good about participating and so they had a good discussion.
Dad and I spent the rest of today relaxing. When we got home, I took my Primary stuff outside and Dad took his lesson book outside and we sat in our new outdoor chairs. It was lovely out there - nice and warm (about 24C with a lovely breeze) and our chairs are so comfortable. Dad has taken some pictures of the suite and so there are a few below this entry. We stayed out there until it was supper time and then ate supper outside on the table. It was just a glorious time! :-)
Outdoor set with two chaise loungers
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