Monday, October 29th

Wedding photos

music: Perfect silence

Posted some new pictures in the "being married" folder, as well as about 130 of our wedding photos ...

Check them out if you'd like. smile
Sam on 10.29.07 @ 01:09 AM MST [link]

Saturday, October 27th

It's just life, so keep dancing through.

music: Wicked soundtrack -- "Popular"
mood: big grin

Thought I would take a few minutes before I get in the shower and get ready to go to Provo to write a little update. It's been a while, but things have been going really well. smile We are still VERY happily married and still VERY busy! lol The fact that Halloween is next week totally blows my mind; I'm not sure where time is going! Student teaching is coming quickly, which means graduation and real life is coming soon too! But I'm really excited. This is a really good thing, and I am so excited to finally have my own classroom!

School is going well, albeit insanely busy! I've been teaching a lot in my placements, which is fantastic! I taught a great lesson on the life cycle of pumpkins last Thursday to my first graders. smile And then on Friday, I taught two lessons in my creative arts class that were really fun -- one in drama (gasp!) and one in music. smile With each day that passes, I am becoming more and more excited to become a teacher!

Brandon is enjoying work; he went on a business trip to the middle of nowhere Wyoming on Thursday with one of his co-workers. Guess they had a really good time, and of course, Brandon loved it. smile I'm really happy that he loves his job here! He's still working a TON of overtime, but I can't complain too much ... they money is nice. lol Heaven knows we'll need it in the spring when I won't be able to work much (if at all). We're also saving up for our honeymoon (hopefully to Costa Rica!) in May! It's really exciting!

We went to the pumpkin patch today and picked out pumpkins. smile It was fun! I love pumpkin patches!! lol We picked out three pumpkins so we could each carve one and I could have one to cut up and make pumpkin bread with! Mmmm! big grin We already roasted the seeds out of that pumpkin, and the flesh is all cut up and waiting to be boiled and mashed and turned into something delicious! Won't be able to do it till tomorrow though, because we're going down to Provo in about an hour to have dinner with Annie and Chris (and maybe Kevin and Megan?), and hang out for a while. I'm really excited because I haven't really gotten to spend a significant amount of time together in years. We've seen each other every so often, but man ... it'll be really good to hang out for a few hours. smile She got a job as a third grade teacher and will be starting in January; I'm really excited for her!

While we're on the subject of old friends ... Kevin's engaged to his girlfriend of four months, Megan. They're planning on a May wedding, so I'm excited for them. I'm excited that he is going to experience the amazing joys of marriage, and the incredible blessing of marrying the love of your life. smile I'll tell you ... marriage is the most incredible journey ever ... it's challenging in its own right, but it's also the most rewarding and fantastic feeling I've ever experienced! smile We have such a great time together, even when we're doing nothing ... and even when we fight, we know it's just a temporary setback and that things will be back to being amazing soon enough. There's no one I'd rather go through this life with; I'm so glad he's mine. smile

Anyway, I better go get in the shower so we can head down to Provo before it gets too late. Kevin wanted to make Halloween gingerbread houses after dinner, and Brandon and I don't want to stay down there too late because of the drive back in the dark. I'm going to post some of our wedding photos in my photo gallery tomorrow, so check back. smile Adios!
Sam on 10.27.07 @ 04:12 PM MST [link]

I couldn't be happier ... because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true.

music: Wicked soundtrack -- "Thank Goodness"
mood: Happy. smile

For Good
from the Broadway musical Wicked

I'm limited:
Just look at me - I'm limited
And just look at you -
You can do all I couldn't do
So now it's up to you
For both of us
Now it's up to you:

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend:
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you:

Because I knew you

I have been changed for good

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

And none of it seems to matter anymore

Like a comet pulled Like a ship blown
From orbit as it
Off it's mooring
Passes a sun, like
By a wind off the
A stream that meets
Sea, like a seed
A boulder, half-way
Dropped by a
Through the wood
Bird in the wood

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
I do believe I have been changed for the better?

And because I knew you
Because I knew you

Because I knew you
I have been changed for good
Sam on 10.27.07 @ 04:00 PM MST [link]

Friday, October 19th

Home is just another word for you

music: Billy Joel -- "You're My Home"
mood: Happy/productive

Exactly how I feel about my husband. Exactly how I feel about life. Exactly how I know just how blessed I am. smile

You're My Home
Billy Joel

When you look into my eyes
And you see the crazy gypsy in my soul
It always comes as a surprise
When I feel my withered roots begin to grow
Well I never had a place that I could call my very own
That's all right, my love, 'cause you're my home

When you touch my weary head
And you tell me everything will be all right
You say, "Use my body for your bed
And my love will keep you warm throughout the night"
Well I'll never be a stranger and I'll never be alone
Whenever we're together, that's my home

Home can be the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Indiana's early morning dew
High up in the hills of California
Home is just another word for you

Well I never had a place that I could call my very own
That's all right, my love, 'cause you're my home

If I travel all my life
And I never get to stop and settle down
Long as I have you by my side
There's a roof above and good walls all around
You're my castle, you're my cabin and my instant pleasure dome
I need you in my house 'cause you're my home.
You're my home.

You're my home.
Sam on 10.19.07 @ 05:46 PM MST [link]

Thursday, October 18th

There's so much happiness in the world, it's overwhelming.

mood: Blessed. smile

"I don't need no one to tell me about heaven
I look at my daughter, and I believe.
I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sunset and I perceive"
-- Live, "Heaven"

I am convinced that sunrises are God's way of assuring His people that things will go on. Every morning when the light of the new day touches the land, He is expressing His faith that everything will be okay, that people are good, and that life is worth living.

I am so aware of how precious time is ... especially lately. A dear friend of mine has lost two friends in the last three weeks, and it is heartbreaking to hear about. She is a pillar of strength, though, and I am confident that she will be okay. She will pull through ahead of the game, and her life will continue to be blessed. She is going to be in inspiringly powerful teacher, of that I am sure; her struggles will only make her stronger and more influential.

In the meantime, I am incredibly grateful for the moments when I know I am alive ... like this morning, for instance. As I was driving down 215, taking my normal route to Emerson Elementary, I glanced to the west and realized exactly how beautiful this world is. My life was enriched by the way the light bounced off the snowy mountains, and my day was better because of the beauty God showed me at 7:15am. Despite the cold, despite the fact that there are fallen leaves and snow on the ground at the same time, and despite how tired I was ... I knew that today would be a day worth living, and a day worth remembering.

Then, I arrived at school to the smiling face of my mentor teacher who told me yesterday that he thinks I will be an incredible asset to the education field. This coming from a teacher I really look up to -- one whom I hold a great deal of respect for. Then the most incredible six and seven year olds came bounding into the room, all dressed up for picture day, with smiles on their faces ... simply excited to be alive. A few of them hugged me, a couple girls even told me they liked my shoes. And, as if on cue, one little boy walked up to me and told me I looked pretty today and then proceeded to tell me about the worm he stepped on on his way to school this morning. My day was made before it even began.

This is why I teach.

I taught a math lesson today, and it went really well! One of my professors came to observe the lesson and afterwards told me that I have a natural flair for teaching, and that my connection with my students is astounding. This is what I've loved and all I've ever known ... it's what I have wanted to do my entire life ... and my dreams are finally coming true.

Teachers in the hall who I have never met come up to me and tell me they've heard great things about me, and that if I ever want to work in their classes, to let them know.

It's an amazing feeling! There are no words for how exhilarating it is to be in front of the classroom, or breaking my knees to help someone understand ... to see their HUGE smiles whenever I say something they think is hilarious, and to see the light in their eyes when they finally understand something they've been struggling with.

This is my joy. This is my life. This is why I want to teach.
Sam on 10.18.07 @ 05:57 PM MST [link]

Sunday, October 7th

Push me until I have to fly.

music: "Car Crash" -- Matt Nathanson
mood: Happy, blessed, and loved

So it's been a little while ... about 2 months now? Wow.

Life is good. smile Brandon and I are very happily married and are having the time of our lives building our new lives together. It's so nice to have him with me and to be with him. He makes my life better; he makes me better.

School is school -- very very busy. I'm working in a first grade classroom right now and the kids are amazing! My mentor teacher is a Westminster alum and he is just fantastic with the kids, and is helping me in every way possible to become a better teacher! It's really nice to have someone there who can show me how things work, and help me improve my own teaching.

I can't wait to have my own classroom. smile

I don't have a lot of time right now, but I just wanted to let you all know I'm not dead. wink

<3
Sam on 10.07.07 @ 10:40 AM MST [link]