I Make Children Cry.

I just posted the callback list for High School Musical Jr.

I was SO blown away by the amazing talent I saw at auditions... 81 kids showed up!  It was fantastic!  SUCH a hard choice!  I need to cut at least 20 for the show!  Good thing I have a few days to decide who and how many!

Callbacks will be held Thursday, and I'll post the cast list Saturday morning!

But in the meantime, let's focus on the fact that I had one kid break down in the middle of his audition, and at least four more break into tears when they walked out the door.  Plus however many cried reading the list tonight!

Does that make me a bully?  If I make small children cry??

Thoughts For a New Year...

I have been thinking a lot lately about the love the Lord has for us, and His desire to bless our lives and show us His love.  At times, we all struggle to feel His presence and His peace.  This can happen for many reasons.  Perhaps we may be struggling with temptation, frustration, or even discouragement.  How wonderful it is to know, then, that the Lord can help us overcome all of those obstacles, if we let Him.

I'm reading in Alma right now, and learned an important principle... After having persecuted the Church, Zeezrom has a change of heart and desires to repent.  Alma goes to visit him, and offers him counsel.  "And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ, thou canst be healed" (Alma 15:8).  The Lord has power to heal all wounds; those inflicted by other people or circumstances, as well as those brought about as a consequence of our own actions.  I have gained a testimony of that, particularly in this past year.  I know that if we exercise faith in the Atonement of the Lord, we will feel His peace.

As I work to develop my faith in Him, I am able to recognize His love more fully, and am more prepared to heed His invitation.  "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your heart, might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God" (Moroni 10:32).

One of the places I have come to know and love the Lord more fully is in the temple. As I have prepared to worship there, and am diligent in doing so, I really do come to know Him. Through that experience, I have gained a testimony that His grace is sufficient for me. It is enough not only to save us from our sins, but from our discouragements as well. As I am able to recognize His hand in my life in that way, I find it impossible to deny His power! 
 
I love the Lord!  I am grateful for the blessings He extends to me on a daily basis.  The past year has been the most difficult AND most wonderful I've had so far.  And I love the peace that comes from knowing that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me, and who gave His Son for my sake.  As I look to this new year, I do so with an increased desire to come to know Him, and a heart full of peace and hope.
 
In fact, a la my cousin Lindsey, I have selected "hope" as my word of the year for 2010.  It's a word that I will try to focus on throughout the year...  Here's what it means and why I picked it:
 

hope:

1. the feeling that events will turn out for the best.

2. a person or thing in which expectations are centered.

3. To wish for something with confident expectation of its fulfillment.

4. To have confidence; place trust.

5. the desire and search for a future good, difficult but not impossible to attain with God's help.

Support!

So... all week in Choir, we've been discussing the importance of supporting our sound, using our diaphram, and sustaining our breath.

Yesterday in 5th Period, I sang a song for my students to illustrate that point.  When I was finished, we had this conversation:

Student #1: "That was good because you held that last note really loud and really long!"

Me: "Thank you!  Now, how was I am able to do that?"

Student #2 (let's call him Albert): "Because you had good breast support!"

Me: "Excuse me?!?"

Albert: "Breast support.  You know... your breasts were supported!"

Me: "Um..."

Student #3: "Dude!  She's our teacher!!  Quit talking about her bra!"

Me: "Albert, did you mean BREATH support?"

Albert: "Breath?  ...Breath?   I THOUGHT YOU SAID BREAST!!!"

Needless to say, it took the 50 of us well over ten minutes to calm down.  Seriously the funniest teaching moment I've had to date!  I laughed so hard I cried...  And then my Principal laughed so hard HE cried when I told him this morning, just in case some mom called in upset because her kid heard the words "bra" and "breast" in class!

I can only imagine what that poor little boy has been thinking all week... 'Man!  I'll NEVER be a good singer!  I've got no chance at all!'

And I'm also a little bit worried about how this kid's gonna live that down within the next 6 years of public education...  There's no way his peers are gonna forget something that good!!

On a side note, half of the faculty have come up to me today to either compliment or thank me for my "support"!!  Funny stories travel fast!

Moral of the story:  Next time you teach twelve-year-olds, make sure that you, too, have good support!  You just never know!

HSM Jr. Announcement!

SO... for our musical, we are doing High School Musical Jr!

I announced it to the kids today, with the help of our art teacher.  We decided the best, most fun way to announce it would be to sing/dance a song from the show.  Which we did.  And they LOVED it!!  It was totally obnoxious, and therefore, totally fabulous!

CLICK HERE to watch the video of it!  (It is totally worth visiting the extra webpage!!)

Story of my Life...

So... in the month that I forgot to post anything, I was super busy with school, family, and church stuff!

I already mentioned that the performances for my classes went well... but I haven't mentioned yet that I have a new calling... 1st Counselor in the Relief Society!  I LOVE the girls I serve with, but it sure is keeping me busy!

Also in that month, I had visits from both mine and Barry's mamas, and from Grammy!  It was so great to have them!  We had a lot of fun!

When Barry's mom came, we went hiking in Zion's National Park.  5 miles.  5000 foot climb.  1 mile of it with chains and sheer cliffs.  UGH!!!!!

Luckily, however, I didn't die... But it was close!  Barry and I were both beat when we made it back down, while his awesome mom was all smiles!

I have to say, though, that the hike was worth it... that place is BEAUTIFUL!  It felt like looking at the Garden of Eden!  This picture does NOT do it justice, but it's something to give you a taste!

 Moral of the story?  If you want me to hike Angel's Landing with you, I will.  But I'm gonna need you to go slower, so I don't feel so lame again!

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When Mama and Grammy were here, we visited Greg & Liz and went to see Michael's football game(s), among other awesome things!

What a wonderful time to spend with family and friends!  I am loving life, and I can't WAIT for Christmas Break!!