Tuesday, September 18, 2012

I have been so busy with teaching and so tired from teaching all day - that's why I haven't written until now.  I love being back in teaching mode - doing all the planning is exciting to me - I definitely am meant to be a teacher - it's totally in my blood. :-)  I am teaching a grade two class and there are 21 kids in the class.  There are two little monkeys, but the rest are quite good.  There are more girls than boys which suits me well - having said that, there are some sweet boys and some annoying girls in the class. :-)  There are so many things that the government is telling us to teach now (explicit lessons have been given for language and math), that I feel that there is so little of "ME" in my program.  This is nice for me right now with doing a contract position for just four weeks, but I am not sure I would be a fan of it if I was permanent/full-time.  Teaching is taking up pretty much all my time.  I get to school around 7:30am and am usually there until between 4:30pm and 5pm each day.  After dinner, I usually spend between 1 1/2 and 2 hours doing more school work.  It's a lot of work and it's tiring, but I wouldn't give it up for anything. :-)  Other than school work, the other thing that keeps me busy is church - on Sunday, I typed up the Sacrament Meeting Presentation which the Primary children will put on in October.  We usually have 11 children in Primary, but two of them (both of who can read and know the songs) are leaving for England before the presentation - so, we are really going to find it hard, I think, to make it work, but we are going to try.  We are going to have a run-through on Sunday to see how the children cope with what I have prepared for them to say and then make a decision on the final draft of the presentation.

Now for Dad - he has some good news - we think. :-)  He is still waiting for a phone call to 'seal the deal', but he feels very hopeful - and very excited.  He drove down to Brisbane this morning (3 1/2 hours) to have an interview with a guy who owns a company which teaches aircraft technical training.  Harry (the owner of the company) and his son interviewed Dad (for 1 1/2 hours) and Dad reckons the interview went really well.  He said that they sounded like they wanted to hire him, but be thought that they might need some time to figure out when they could use him, when he could get some training he would need, and also to give him some time to get his ABN (Australian Business Number).  Basically, he would be working as a contractor and so he would bill the company every time they use him to teach and then that means he would have to pay his own taxes.  Dad has also been busy with church stuff - mostly getting his lessons together to teach on Sundays.  He also has been busy working on things around the house and at the Family History Centre. 

We both need a cruise to go on to get a rest.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Our weeks are becoming very predictable - busy and restful - and I quite like this routine. :-)  I didn't teach on Monday again and I could easily get used to that.  I did teach for three days this week - Tuesday and Wednesday I taught in a Prep class at Torquay - I was teaching with Sam who was my TA last year - she could easily run the class on her own - sometimes when I am in there, I almost feel like she should be the teacher - she has 26 years of experience as a TA.  There are a few challenging children in that class which makes for a tiring day - I wish that I could just teach those other 20 lovely children who want to listen and learn. 

On Thursday, I did my regular contract day at Torquay, but it was different that day as Pam asked me to take over the whole class while she did parent/teacher interviews.  I was very surprised that it would be okay for her to do this, but I don't know if the admin knew what she was doing or not.  Chantelle was fit to be tied when she heard what Pam was doing - she couldn't believe that Pam would have the nerve to use me to teach her class while she did parent/teacher interviews during the school day while all the other teachers at the school had to stay after school to do their interviews.  I was miffed that she didn't leave me a plan for 90 minutes of math she wanted me to do with her class.  Her class is  challenging and so I didn't want to try and do 90 minutes of math with the whole class, so I planned out five activities which they could rotate through and that worked really well.  A couple of teachers made comments to me again about how well behaved the children were with me teaching compared to when Pam has them - it made me feel good to be recognized for having good classroom management skills - that's the hardest thing about being a teacher, I think.

On Wednesday evening, I went to a local restaurant to meet up with some people who were interested in being part of a book club.  Two british women decided that they wanted to start one up in order to have a bit of an adult social life and read and discuss books.  There were twelve women and one man who showed up and I think it's going to be a really good book club.  The two women who are leading the club came with a synopsis of six books which we could choose from to be the book for the next meeting.  The choice ended up being a book by an Australian author called 'Traitor'.  I talked with the group about how the book club ran in Bolton and they are sad that I will not be there to share my experience in our first book club discussion.  I did tell them how it used to work and when I got home, Dad looked up on the net to see if he could find some questions that the club could use at the next meeting - I sent them off and the women were really pleased to have a way to begin the discussion next month.  I'm looking forward to being able to attend the September meeting.

I took Friday off work and Dad and I spent the day getting things organized around the house so that we would be ready to leave on Monday.  However, after speaking to the HR woman about the job which Dad applied for (and really wants), we decided to wait another week before we come back to Canada.  It was a bit disappointing as I was really looking forward to getting back there and getting some cuddles in with my lovely grandchildren (oh, and hanging out with my girls, too, of course :-)  and also to going to Paris with Krystal on the following Saturday.  But, Dad really wants this job - he will find out this coming Friday or the following Monday if he has been successful in acquiring an interview or not.  We are keeping an eye on the flight loads between here and Sydney - if they get busy, I might fly out to Sydney on the morning flight on Monday - if Dad hasn't heard by then, he will stay behind until the 6pm flight (if he doesn't get an interview).
This job would be perfect for Dad, he thinks, so we'll hope for the best - but, on the other hand, if he gets the job, he won't be able to come back to Canada and that will be sad for him and for you guys.

On Friday, we met up with our friends, Robyn and Geoff, for lunch at 'Hogsbreath Cafe' - it's kind of like 'Kelsey's' - Dad and I both ordered a wrap (chicken for me and beef for Dad) with curly fries.  While we were there, the sister missionaries called us to see if we were still going to be in town on Saturday and if we were still planning on coming to the baptism on Saturday.  When Dad hung up and told us what they had said, Geoff said that I was doing a talk on faith and repentance and I said that no, they had asked me (last Sunday) to welcome the boys to Primary after  their baptism.  After both of us going back and forth a bit, I began to wonder if what Geoff was saying was true.  On the way home, I called the sister  missionaries to check out if they were thinking that I was giving a talk - sure enough, they were.  It's a good thing I listened to Geoff! 

On Saturday at 1pm, we went to the baptism of Jeremy and Douglas (8 and 9 years old) - there were about 20 people there and it was so nice to see the smiles on the boys' faces as they were baptized.  It took me back to my own baptism day (many years ago :-)  I can't remember a lot about that day, but I still remember the feeling I had when I came up out of the water - it was like a heavy load had been lifted off my shoulders - I will never forget  that wonderful feeling.  The talk went well - Dad and I both searched for articles about faith and repentance on the internet and Dad found two great articles which had been in The Friend magazine.  I spoke right to both boys and made sure that my talk was at their level - they both watched me the whole time I talked so I guess it was interesting enough for them. :-) 

That evening, we went to Robyn and Geoff's for dinner - they also invited another couple from church, Fiona and Randall.  We had a lovely meal (roast chicken with veggies and mini pavlovas for dessert - sorry Nana :-) and we had a really nice time chatting with everyone.  Having these dinners really gives us a chance to get to know members of our ward better and I am looking forward to having more dinners like these when we get back from Canada. 

Dad and I both handed over the reigns  re: our callings at church today.  I gave all my stuff to my first counsellor in Primary - she was great last time we left at keeping things rolling in Primary and it's great to have someone who I know will run things smoothly while I am away.  I had organized things for the months of June and July and she will just have to sort things out for August (although I did do have a tentative schedule for that month as well).  Dad teaches his priesthood group every Sunday and those lessons will now be taught on a rotation basis by all members of the group.  People were sad to see us leaving for such a long time and they were all saying good-bye to us and wishing us a safe trip and a happy time with everyone in Canada.  It's so nice to be so loved in our ward. :-)

Sunday, June 3, 2010

A busy week, but with two days off (sort of).  I was hoping not to have to work again on Monday and I didn't have to - it's always nice having a three day weekend. :-)  Dad and I spent Monday and Wednesday (didn't get called in that day, either) doing errands like shopping, etc. plus we both also got our hair cut.  Dad needed a trim and I wanted more hair cut off (now it's quite short) - just getting tired of the long(er) hair and told Christa (hairdresser) to cut it off - I just tell her to cut and she always does a nice job - plus, her prices are really good.

I worked Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  Tuesday was at a school I actually haven't been at this year, although I was at it last year a few times.  The deputy principal called me and asked me to teach grade 4 - before I could say to him that I don't do grade four, he told me it was for a class which has two teachers teaching both classes together.  The husband was going to be out of the classroom and so I would be teaching with the wife.  I actually worked with her before and it was good, so I said yes.  It was an easy day, actually - she taught most of the time and I just assisted her by helping out with the kids once they started working.  Thursday was my regular day at Torquay and things went pretty much the way they have for the past six weeks.  Friday, I was in at Kawungan in a grade two classroom.  Lisa was a prac student (student teacher) who taught most of the day and things went well except for the one boy who has been suspended more than he's been there, I think.  He's the one who tipped over his desk last time I was in.  I had to call the deputy principal twice about him and both times she came down to talk with him.  There are a couple of other kids who are annoying, but for the most part, it was a good day.

Dad and I spent Saturday afternoon shopping - regular grocery shopping and also shopping for a basket which is being passed around in Relief Society.  It's supposed to be an opportunity for us to get to know the sisters in the ward better.   I received the basket last week (from a secret sister) and so it was my turn to fill the basket for the sister whose name I picked from a sealed envelope.  I didn't know much about this sister other than she grows flowers, so I called a friend who I knew would know something about this sister and she gave me a ton of ideas to choose from.  It took us longer to find all that I wanted to get (plant, scarf, stationery and handkerchiefs), but it was relaxing and gave Dad and I lot of time to chat while we were driving and shopping. 

We had our friends, Robyn and Geoff over for dinner Saturday night and also invited Christine and Chris (the people whose granny flat we stayed at when we first got here) to join us.  Dad barbecued lamb chops (and we also had corn on the cob, jacket potatoes, salad (which Christine and Chris) brought over) and apple pie and ice-cream for dessert).  The meal was delicious and we had a really nice time chatting with each other.  When we have people over, we always go and sit in the front room after dinner - it's about the only time we use it - the chairs/couch are so comfortable.

Since we are not sure when we are leaving HB (we hope to leave a week Monday, but with going stand-by, you know how that never is a sure thing), so we said our good-byes to our friends at church (other than Robyn and Geoff who we will get together with later this week for a meal) - we know we are going to be missed and it's a nice feeling to know how much people care about us in this ward.

I have included a pic of our new tv unit underneath this blog.  Loving my new unit! :-)

Sunday, May 27, 2012

It's been a busy week and a restful week - kind of just the way I like it.  I was praying really hard that I wouldn't get a call to teach on Monday since I was a bit tired still from last week - and I didn't get a call - I was so happy.  Dad and I were very busy that day, though. I finally finished editing my 'personal statement' I had to write for my application to be able to interview for a permanent teaching position in HB.  I had to write about my beliefs in education plus how my classroom would look and also how I feel about things like teaming, etc.  It was only supposed to be 500 words or less - I started out with over 1000 words and couldn't get it down to any less than 700 - but it was all on one page, so I figured it was good enough.  Dad had been able to get all my original documents photocopied and certified by a justice of the peace last week, so after I finished printing out my personal statement, we put each application together (I had to make three copies of the application) and there were 20 pages per application.  Once they were all put together, we drove over to Maryborough (half an hour away) to drop it off.  We figured that while we were in Maryborough that we might as well have lunch at the chinese restaurant there - I had been there with my friends from church, so I was happy to be able to take Dad there - the food was really good and now we have to take our friends, Robyn and Geoff there.

I got called in to teach on both Tuesday and Wednesday for two different friends (Bronwyn and Chantelle) who both ended up not being able to talk.  Bronwyn's husband called me on Monday night to ask me if I could teach and Chantelle texted me - so neither of them had to actually talk  to me.  Both classes were good to teach - Chantelle has a great TA, Carolyn who was so helpful and we had a good day with the kids.  I love teaching Bronwyn's class and I am really looking forward to having them for four weeks later on this year.  The kids were a little bit off that day, though, as we had a crazy start to the day.  All of the kids in the school met out on 'the oval' (the field) to make a commercial - yep, you read that right.  The RSL (Returned and Services League) kind of like The Legion in Canada - gave each student a water bottle and then the students formed the letters RSL on the oval and there was a crane there with a guy who had a tv camera on the crane.  On a cue, the students waved their bottles and then walked to the outer edge of the oval and back again to form the RSL again (not sure if they did that, though - it would have been hard for the little guys to remember exactly where they had been).  Anyway, I haven't seen the ad, but others have seen it - not sure how long it's supposed  to be on, but I do hope I see it at some point.

I did the usual contract on Thursday at Torquay and it went okay - I got two new students today (two others stayed back with the class).  One of them was a beautiful little boy who I was so happy to be able to work with and who was happy to be part of our little group (and then, at the end of the day, his mom came and told us that they were moving to NSW the next day - how sad that we didn't have any prior notice so that all of the kids could have said a proper good-bye). 

It was so nice to have a long weekend - thanks to the 'Maryborough Show' for which the kids get the day off school - can you believe it?  Not that I'm complaining since I didn't have to teach that day, but really.......a day off school to go to a country fair - weird - and yet it happens all over the state (not sure if it's all over the country or not).  Dad and I were supposed to be going camping this weekend with Robyn and Geoff, but the forecast was for rain and more rain - and guess what?  There was rain and more rain Friday and Saturday.  When we are in our house and it rains, it sounds like the air conditioning has just come on - that's how we know it's raining. :-)

Dad and I went home teaching on Wednesday evening to three of our families - the Lyttles (who are in their 60s, the Gilberts (in their 40s who have five children aged 6 - 18) and our Bishop and his wife (who are in their 70s).  We get along really well with the Gilberts and the bishop and his wife and we are getting to know the Lyttles.  We really enjoy going and visiting with each family every month.  Even though we gave the same message to each family (this month about receiving answers to prayers), the discussions we have are so different.

Dad did his usual Meals on Wheels and SES on Thursday and things went as they usually do.  He had to tell them that this coming Thursday will be his last one until September.  Neither group was happy since they love having him as part of the group, but they totally understand how much he would want to go back to Canada to see everyone and meet our new grandchild. :-)

I spent most of Friday researching things to see and do in Paris and also checking out where to stay in Paris.  Krystal and I will have a packed week there in mid-June - we will be tired, but I am sure that we are going to have a great time! :-)  We will be in Paris for six of our seven days there and will spend one day in Versailles seeing the Palace there.  I have done a lot of reading on the net (so happy that we have the internet - it's so easy to find info on there!) and think that I have figured out a way to see the most in the time we have there.  Many people wrote on the net that it's a good idea to just take some time to walk some of the neighbourhoods, so that's on the plan - of course, we will do the usual tourist things like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and cruising on the Seine as well. 

On Saturday, Dad and I did some errands and on the way back home, we stopped by my friend, Samantha's (TA from last year) to check out a TV unit she had - I had found out at school that she was selling it and asked her if I could come and see it to see if I liked it and if it would fit our tv.  Both Dad and I loved it - and she only wanted $100 for it - it would probably cost about $800. new - it's really lovely - has a few scratches on it from moving the tv in and out - but it will be really perfect for us - it  has room for our tv, stereo and it will hide our cds.  We are going to keep the old tv unit for now as it's a great place to put all of our photos on.  Dad called Geoff to ask him if he would drive his big truck to Sam's house to pick up the unit and bring it to our house - it's still sitting in the hallway - Dad says he will put the unit together Tuesday or Wednesday - I will take photos of it then and put it on the blog next week.

As usual, Sunday was another relaxing day - well, after church, that is. :-)  All of our Primary children were at church today, so we had a full house (which in our ward means 12 children - small, I know).  It was great having so many kids there and it sounded really nice when they sang.  Our new music leader, Haidi, is doing such a great job with them and even the little ones are starting to sing (or trying to) - I am hoping that by the time we have our Sacrament Meeting Presentation in October that they will all know all the songs and that it will sound lovely when they are singing in the chapel to the congregation.  I taught the Valiant girls (aged 8 - 11)  their lesson this week - they are so interesting - they have some interesting thoughts and questions.  Dad taught the teenagers in Sunday School - the teacher was going to be away and had asked the bishop's wife to teach the class, but she was a bit worried about teaching that age group and so she asked Dad if he would do it - he didn't know how to say 'no' and so he ended up teaching them.  I asked him afterwards how it went and he said it was okay - that they were typical teenagers (lots of idle chit chat), but they did do some reading and answering of questions, so Dad survived it.  He certainly won't be looking forward to doing it again any time soon, though.  We spent the rest of the day relaxing and just enjoying not having to do anything for a change. :-)

Sunday, May 20, 2012

What a week - I am tired just thinking about it.  Monday I got a call to go into Kawungan to teach a grade one class.  I hadn't had this class before, so I checked with the other grade one teachers to see what the kids were like.  I was warned about a few of them - most of them are great.  Of the three I was told about, one was away, one was fine (just chatty) and the third did a little bit of work - so, all in all, a good day.  HOWEVER, when Dad and I were taking our walk that evening, Pam called - she is the kindergarten teacher who I go in to help every Thursday.  She was quite sick and wanted to know if I could go in on Tuesday and supply teach in her class.  I ended up being in her class for the rest of the week.

Pam has a different style of teaching from me - she is much more relaxed - and so the kids had a bit of a shock this week with having very high expectations, especially with listening to me when I was talking.  She has a handful of challenging children and they were not impressed that I expected the same of them as I did everyone else.  One of the girls was so rude (with me and with another teacher) that I took her to the principal and she even spoke back to her.  I can't believe how rude some children are here - and how they think it's acceptable to be rude and talk back to teachers - it's so unreal to me and out of my scope of experience.  A few teachers told me at the end of the week that they couldn't believe how well behaved the class was compared to what they normally were like - I was pleased that I had been able to guide them to be more respectful.

I was really lucky to have a prac student (student teacher), Stephanie, in the class for the week.  She was only supposed to teach one third of the time, but I could tell right away that she was quite good, so I not only had her teach math, but asked her to do a few more things (like take attendance, read books to the students, etc.).  I told her that I thought that the  best way to learn was to do, so that I would like her to do more and if it was too much, to  just asked me to step in and I would.  I did have her observe me a few times so that she was able to see me use a few of my classroom management strategies (the hardest part of teaching is classroom management).  Stephanie was really pleased to be able to do so much - I don't think she will be doing the same amount next week, though - Pam called her and asked her to do only a one half hour lesson on Monday. 

Tuesday night, Dad and I went to the chapel: Dad met with the members of the bishopric (minus the Bishop) and I had an activity for the Valiant girls (aged 8 and 11).  Usually my first counsellor does it, but she is away on holidays and I didn't want the girls to miss out for the month.  The theme of the night was 'Keeping  the Sabbath Day Holy'.  We talked about why we keep the Sabbath day holy and what kinds of things are appropriate to do on a Sunday.  We then made 'Sabbath Day Boxes' out of cardstock (I printed colour copies off the net) and gave the girls a list of 109 things they could do on Sundays.  They made the boxes, put the list inside and then we had a little snack.  The girls seemed to enjoy the activity - we will do one about prayer next week.

Dad went to Meals on Wheels this week, but he was an extra person this time - there is one couple who comes and does it once a month - this was their week.  So, Dad had some unexpected time off - it was a good thing actually as he wasn't feeling too well that day.  He went to SES that evening, but didn't stay long as his tummy was acting up again.  It lasted for a couple of days.  He went to the Family History Centre on Friday - thankfully, they didn't have any patrons - Dad helped one of our ward members with some family history stuff and then a new computer came and Dad worked on that for the rest of the day.

I was so tired on Friday night that I didn't feel like cooking so Dad and I went to Subway and got a delicious sub to share and went to McDonald's for a chocolate milkshake - both were yummy!  We then did nothing that night and spent the next morning relaxing - well, Dad did while I got to chat with you girls and saw only one of my grandchildren (little squishy :-)  I went to a Relief Society meeting on Saturday afternoon - it was about being an effective teacher and then afterwards we had some goodies (I wasn't hungry as I had eaten just before I went).  But, I like the opportunity to mix and mingle with the sisters so that's why I went.  That night, it was more relaxing time - me trying to de-stress and Dad trying to feel better.

I sure hope this coming week will be less tiring! :-)  Oh yeah, another thing - Dad has been applying for lots of jobs lately - aviation positions - not in Hervey Bay.  I'll let you know how things go as we hear from each company he has applied to.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

I was hoping not to get a call to teach on Tuesday - and I didn't.  It was a lovely day (when isn't it ) and so we headed down to the beach to enjoy the ocean again.  We took our chairs and set up under a tree with our books and sat and enjoyed the water, the sun and the lovely breeze.  I find that we (and by the 'we', I mean a lot of people in HB) take the beach for granted, so I told Dad this week that we need to remember to go down there more often.  Tuesday night, I went with Dad to the chapel - while he had his priesthood meeting, I worked on Primary stuff.  I have been thinking that it would be a good idea to take that time to get things organized for the following Sunday including getting all of my photocopying done.  It was a very productive time and I was glad to get so much done as I was going to be really full-on on Sunday.

I got called in to teach on Wednesday - to a school that I have only been to once before in the time I have been teaching in HB.  I had taught Prep there before and this was for a Prep class, too.  Last time I had had a great day and this time was the same.  The teacher had left a plan, but it needed some extra  things which she did not leave (not sure she knew she was going to be away).  Thank goodness for her teacher aide, Donna, who was amazing!  She basically made up the plan for the day and things went so smoothly.  The children were great - there was one little boy who was a bit of a handful (one of the other teachers told me that  this little guy would be a handful) and he did go off and had to go to his 'time out' area.  After a bit, he came around and was great for the rest of the day.  Of course, I made him my 'carpet example' - he really liked being the one who everyone looked to to see what they should be doing.  After everyone had left for the day, he came back to the classroom with tears in his eyes.  I asked him what was wrong and he said that he didn't want his teacher to come back, that he wanted me to be his teacher.  Awww. :-)

Dad brought my running shoes to pick me up after school and we went down to the beach again, but this time we went for a  50 minute walk.  It was low tide and so we didn't get to walk in the water, but rather just walked along the wet sand.  I love walking along beside the water - the only drawback is that, by the time we got there, the sun was low on the horizon and so it was going to be in our eyes when we were walking along one way.  So, we decided to walk along the beach away from the glare of the sun and then walk back along the boardwalk. 

Thursday I did my regular teaching at Torquay - I talked with Pam afterwards about a couple of the kids who I thought were not up to the challenges I was asking of them - so she took those two out of my group and added two more children who she thought might be up to the challenge.  I was glad that she took this one little girl out of the group as she was a 'brat' - yeah, I know, I should be kinder, but really, that's how I would describe this little girl, and apparently her mother has told Pam the same thing.  Anyway, I am looking forward to next week in the hope that I will be able to really help these children to go a little further in their learning than they would be able to do with being a part of a class of 28 children (that's how many are in Pam's class - crazy to have that many children in a kindergarten class).  I'm not sure that I am being very effective with the challenge that I was set up to do, but then I didn't have the cream of the crop in my group, so I am trying not to be too hard on myself.

Dad went to Meals on Wheels Thursday morning and got a different partner this time.  His usual partner, Paul was there, but Avis asked Paul if he would come back on Friday as she had an extra person and needed him more the next day.  Dad and his partner did the route that he and I used to do in the retirement community called 'Baycrest'.  I used to love doing that route as we got to know the people and would chat a little with each of them each week.  When I asked Dad if many of our old regulars were on the route that day, though, he said that only a couple were.  Dad went to SES Thursday night and was very busy for the whole evening.  Since it was the second Thursday of the month, they had a 'support group' meeting - this smaller group within the SES group talks about how their fundraising efforts are going and also vote about things they wish to buy (this time it was whether to buy a display board which is huge and folds down to a briefcase size).  The training for the night was a communications exercise based on the training they had received two weeks previously.  It was sending, receiving and recording radio messages - however, it was prescripted so it was pretty fast-paced.

On Friday morning, I went over to Torquay to do some assessment of the children I have been working with in Pam's class.  I find that I just don't have much time during my usual day and Pam wanted to know some information about what these children knew, so I decided to use my free time that morning to do that.  Chantelle saw me and asked me what I was doing - when I told her what it was, she said that I didn't have to do it on my own time - I told her that I just didn't have time to do it during the day on Thursday.  She said that she wanted me to do her class instead of Pam's. :-)  At 11am, I headed over to Kawungan to eat lunch with the grade two teachers before going into Bronwyn's class for the afternoon (she had 3 hours of curriculum development training to go to).  I love her class - they are lovely kids - I am looking forward to the four weeks of teaching I will be doing with them in September/October.

Dad and I went for another beach walk on Saturday afternoon - the weather was lovely (or was it beautiful or was it perfect ) and since it was high tide, we got to actually walk in the water which I love to do.  The little waves were actually splashing quite high and both Dad and my shorts ended up quite wet and sandy by the end of our walk.  It was still wonderful being at the beach - I really love it there. :-)

Today is Mother's Day and so all the talks in Sacrament meeting were about mothers.  Dad and I were both assigned to talk today - my talk was on 'The Sacred Role of Mothers' and Dad spoke on 'Women and Mothers in the Scriptures'.  I used mostly quotes from the prophets and blog entries from LDS women - Dad used mostly the scriptures in his talk.  We both received very positive comments about our talks which is always nice to hear.  I really enjoyed giving this talk with stay-at-home mothers not being valued by the world and knowing how important it is for women to do that.  Here are a few quotes from my talk:

Spencer W. Kimball:  “No matter what you read or hear, no matter what the difference of circumstances you observe in the lives of women about you, it is important for you Latter-day Saint women to understand that the Lord holds motherhood and mothers sacred and in the highest esteem. He has entrusted to his daughters the great responsibility of bearing and nurturing children.... There is divinity in each new life.”

President N. Eldon Tanner: From the beginning God has made it clear that woman is very special, and he has also very clearly defined her position, her duties, and her destiny in the divine plan. One of woman's greatest privileges, blessings, and opportunities is to be a co-partner with God in bringing his spirit children into the world.


What a glorious concept! No greater honor could be given. With this honor comes the tremendous responsibility of loving and caring for those children so they might learn their duty as citizens and what they must do to return to their Heavenly Father. They must be taught to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and to accept and live his teachings.
 
President Gordon B. Hinckley:  “Most of you are mothers, and very many of you are grandmothers and even great-grandmothers. You have walked the sometimes painful, sometimes joyous path of parenthood. You have walked hand in hand with God in the great process of bringing children into the world that they might experience this estate along the road of immortality and eternal life. It has not been easy rearing a family. Most of you have had to sacrifice and skimp and labor night and day. As I think of you and your circumstances, I think of the words of Anne Campbell, who wrote as she looked upon her children:


You are the trip I did not take;

You are the pearls I cannot buy;

You are my blue Italian lake;

You are my piece of foreign sky.

President Spencer W. Kimball:  “Motherhood is near to Divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels. To you mothers in Israel we say, God bless and protect you, and give you the strength and courage, the faith and knowledge, the holy love and consecration to duty, that shall enable you to fill to the fullest measure the sacred calling which is yours.

After church, Dad and I came home and assembled a pavlova which is our special dessert for Mother's Day.  Dad and I bought the ingredients yesterday at the grocery store (and no, we didn't make the pavlova base [meringue] from scratch - we bought one already made) and topped it with cream, mandarines, strawberries, bananas, kiwi and passionfruit.  It was most delicious!!! (Sorry Nana :-)  I took a pic and have added it along with some from our camping trip last weekend as well - hope you enjoy! :-)

beach at Noosa Heads

man paddling on what appears to be a surfboard

wild turkey

sailing boat at Noosa Heads

Noosa Heads

Dad looking out at ocean at Noosa Heads

pelicans on canal at Tewantin

driving home

sunset in HB when we arrived home

sunset

Mother's Day pavlova

pavlova

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

What a busy week and a lovely, restful weekend.  I worked Monday for Tracey at Kawungan - it was a grade two class and Tracey had told me that there was one boy named Jye who was a real handful (as in tipping over his desk and having tantrums) - I woke up very early (around 4am) in the morning that morning and couldn't get back to sleep worrying about how difficult it was going to be.  The first three hours went pretty well, so I figured I had it made ................... wrong!  When he 'lost it', he tipped over  his desk and his glue went flying along with everything else on his desk.  He did go outside when I told him to (Tracey had said to just tell him to go outside and cool down and then come back in when he was ready).  He did that and began to work well again, but then he lost it again and I finally called the vice principal to come and take him out of the classroom.  The rest of the class were fine and we were able to get most done of which Tracey had left for me to do with them.  I worked in Bronwyn's class on Wednesday and it was a dream day - she has a lovely class (again) and it was a pleasure to teach them.  I did my regular day on Thursday at Torquay and it went fine.  Pam, the teacher whose children I work with on Thursday, asked me  if I could come in for her on Friday (she has family things going on and needed a day off), so I ended up back in her class on Friday - they are a full-on class, but we  managed to get through it.

Dad did his usual this week: mowed the lawn, did the housework, worked at the Family History Centre (ended up working an extra day there due to computer problems), did Meals on Wheels and SES.  By Friday, we were both ready to get in some relaxation and so, right after school on Friday, we headed down south.  We met Robyn and Geoff at the campground in Yandina, set up the tent and enjoyed the yummy chicken dinner which Geoff and Robyn had cooked for us.  Early to bed that night and slept like babies, we did.  We then spent Saturday morning at a local market (where I picked up some kids' books  and Robyn picked up some plants - the things we love to buy the most :-)  We then walked the main street (one block) of Yandina and had a stickybeak in some stores before buying lamingtons and carrot cake from a local bakery and heading back to the campground for a late lunch.  Dad and Geoff then headed off to a leadership meeting after that and Robyn and I got into our bathing suits and headed to the pool.  I thought it was a heated pool, but it wasn't - it was QUITE cool.  We both took a long time to get ourselves wet - we mostly sat on the edge of the pool yakking. :-)  I FINALLY got in the water (I wanted to swim and I was going to do it! :-)  We stayed at the pool for ages and it was so nice and relaxing.  We then went to the Kawana Waters chapel, where the guys were, for the evening session of Stake Conference.  The meetings were being webcast to the HB chapel, but Dad and I like to feel a part of the Stake and one way to do that is to actually be at the meetings in person.  The talks and music were wonderful that evening and we were spiritual fed really well.

Sunday morning we headed off to the Nambour Civic Centre where the Sunday morning session of Stake Conference was.  There isn't enough room anywhere to hold everyone who comes to the Sunday morning session, so that's why it's at the civic centre.  We were again spiritually fed - we were especially impressed with one young woman who spoke about the Young Women's program and what she had learned from being a part of YWs and participating in the Personal Progress program.  She was so confident and had such a strong testimony and it was great to listen to her talk.  We enjoyed listening to all the speakers and it was one of the best Stake Conferences we have been to. 

After Stake Conference, we went back to the campground and Geoff and Robyn's son, Mark, daughter-in-law, Naomi, and their four children (aged 2 1/2 to 10) joined us for lunch.  After that, we drove down to a seaside city called Maroochydore and went for a walk along the beach before heading back to the unit which Mark and Naomi were staying in.  We chatted for a bit and then had a lovely pasta dinner before heading back to the campground for another early night. 

Monday morning, we packed everything up and then had a nice big breakfast (eggs, bacon, baked beans, toast) before heading out to Noosa Heads.  We met Mark, Naomi and their family again there and went for a walk in the National Park which went along the ocean where surfers were loving the big waves.  The idea of going through the park was to see if we could spot any koalas.  Dad REALLY wants to see a koala in the wild and we gave it a good go, but it was not to be this time.  We did walk along a hiking path for a good hour and enjoyed the warm sun and lovely breeze and being near the water is always good.

Everyone went their own way after that (mid-afternoon) and Dad and I decided to find a McDonald's to get a milkshake before heading home.  We wanted to drink it by the ocean, but there weren't any roads along the ocean on the way home, so we found a nice quiet canal to sit beside and drink our shakes - there were four pelicans by the canal and we watched them while we sat there and enjoyed the water, the sun and the lovely weather. :-)  A short drive later, we stopped in Gympie, picked up a sub and found a lovely park to sit in and enjoy the food and more of the lovely weather.  We were a little sad to be home as we had had such an amazingly beautiful and relaxing weekend and sure would have loved to have more of that. :-)