This is a speech I did a for my public speaking class and I thought it turned out so good that I'd share it with all of you! I think my grandpa is just so precious. I can't wait to get to know him better. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it..
On July 30, 1945, a member of the air force serving in World War II wrote in his personal journal the following, “In a letter Jean once asked me to “dream a pretty dream for me.” Little does she know. Just how many I have could only be compared to the stars that come out at night.”
The speaker is Stanley Porter, my grandfather, and the Jean he refers to is my sweet grandma. Stan and Jean grew up together and fell in love at 15. My grandmother fondly recollects the times he picked her up on his tandem bike to go out for a date. My grandparents were “going steady” up until Stan enlisted for the war and was sent out.
In response to my grandmas request to “dream a pretty dream for me”, my grandfather wrote,
“Dream a pretty dream for us sweetheart,
That we may be together, not apart.
Dream that I love you with all my heart.
And you’ll have the dreams I dreamed from the start.
From distant states I dream of you,
Dreams that come from a heart that’s true.
Dreams that make up all of our tomorrows,
Dreams full of life’s sweet love and sorrows.
Dreams now take your place, my only.
Dreams bring you back when I am lonely.
For now let our dreams suffice
Bridging the gap to our happier life.”
When Stan returned home from the war, he and Jean were married. Together they had 7 children, 35 grandchildren, and a constantly growing number of great grandchildren. They were both great examples of acceptance and kindness, and their love for each other was apparent. My grandpa is no longer with us , and I can only imagine what kind of emotion the last verse holds for my grandma.
"Dreams now take your place, my only.
Dreams bring you back when I am lonely.
For now let our dreams suffice,
Bridging the gap to our happier life.”
Monday, April 25, 2011
Mrs. Grubbs! Mrs. Grubbs!
Sometimes my kids just say the dumbest things. All I can think of to say back is "...okay... why are you telling me this?" Tattling is especially bad. I hear the most ridiculous tattles. Then I think about what one of MY professors would do if i asked/told them something so ridiculous. Just imagine... "Professor Stephens...
"Alexis just put a crayon in my pocket!"
"Uriel said the word situation to me."
"Bryan was looking at me!"
And then there are things that they tell me that I just don't know how to respond to.
"I have a bruise on my leg" uhh okay... what do you want me to do about it?
"My sister hates white people"
"Let me tell you something, I don't have feelings"
"I forgot how to read."
Right after I give his little guy (the same one who doesn't have feelings) a sticker that has an enthusiastic looking check mark on it he says, "Oh cool it's a pipe to smoke with!" It kind of did look like a pipe..
And then there are those times when they think they are saying something nice.
Sweet little "A" gives me a hug and sympathetically looks up at me. "You having a bad hair day Mrs. Grubbs?"
"Look, I made you a heart shaped dirt clod"
"I like your pants, are they your husbands?"
Gotta love the little ones. I can't believe that in 3 short weeks I won't see them anymore. As crazy and obnoxious they can be, I love them all so much. It's weird that I have only known most of them for 9 months. I feel especially close to this group of kids compared to last years, maybe because the class is much smaller, maybe because they are all ELL's, maybe because I'm more confident in what I do, I don't know. But I know that I will miss seeing their cute little faces every day.
I will miss seeing them so proud of themselves after they finally got the division problem that they'd been working on for 10 minutes.
I will miss hearing their little Mexican accents and the English that they use so terribly wrong. Example "Shes number how you get it?" Translation "How did she get that number?" And the ever present, "What time it is?"
I will miss the teacher that I work with.
I will miss helping "K" on her spelling and seeing her proud smile when she only misses 6 instead of 21 on the test.
I will miss the hearing the always rewarding phrase "ohhhhh, now I gettt it" In their sing-songy Spanish accents.
I love my kids.
On a different note, I have learned that I am an almondmilk-a-holic. Seriously. Have you ever had the stuff?? SO good. I bought some yesterday morning and there is only like an inch left at the bottom. That's me all by myself. I just can't get enough of it. Plus it's healthier than normal milk and it tastes so gooooood.
Mothers Day was great. I'm so lucky to have the amazing mother in my life that I have. And I'm so lucky for having such a wonderful mother-in-law. I have always felt so accepted and loved by her. We are so blessed.
I hope all you wonderful ladies felt special today, and i hope none of you made your own breakfast.
"Alexis just put a crayon in my pocket!"
"Uriel said the word situation to me."
"Bryan was looking at me!"
And then there are things that they tell me that I just don't know how to respond to.
"I have a bruise on my leg" uhh okay... what do you want me to do about it?
"My sister hates white people"
"Let me tell you something, I don't have feelings"
"I forgot how to read."
Right after I give his little guy (the same one who doesn't have feelings) a sticker that has an enthusiastic looking check mark on it he says, "Oh cool it's a pipe to smoke with!" It kind of did look like a pipe..
And then there are those times when they think they are saying something nice.
Sweet little "A" gives me a hug and sympathetically looks up at me. "You having a bad hair day Mrs. Grubbs?"
"Look, I made you a heart shaped dirt clod"
"I like your pants, are they your husbands?"
Gotta love the little ones. I can't believe that in 3 short weeks I won't see them anymore. As crazy and obnoxious they can be, I love them all so much. It's weird that I have only known most of them for 9 months. I feel especially close to this group of kids compared to last years, maybe because the class is much smaller, maybe because they are all ELL's, maybe because I'm more confident in what I do, I don't know. But I know that I will miss seeing their cute little faces every day.
I will miss seeing them so proud of themselves after they finally got the division problem that they'd been working on for 10 minutes.
I will miss hearing their little Mexican accents and the English that they use so terribly wrong. Example "Shes number how you get it?" Translation "How did she get that number?" And the ever present, "What time it is?"
I will miss the teacher that I work with.
I will miss helping "K" on her spelling and seeing her proud smile when she only misses 6 instead of 21 on the test.
I will miss the hearing the always rewarding phrase "ohhhhh, now I gettt it" In their sing-songy Spanish accents.
I love my kids.
On a different note, I have learned that I am an almondmilk-a-holic. Seriously. Have you ever had the stuff?? SO good. I bought some yesterday morning and there is only like an inch left at the bottom. That's me all by myself. I just can't get enough of it. Plus it's healthier than normal milk and it tastes so gooooood.
Mothers Day was great. I'm so lucky to have the amazing mother in my life that I have. And I'm so lucky for having such a wonderful mother-in-law. I have always felt so accepted and loved by her. We are so blessed.
I hope all you wonderful ladies felt special today, and i hope none of you made your own breakfast.
Friday, April 1, 2011
If you like Harry Potter... READ THIS
Quidditch in the muggle world?!? YES. Lets start a team.
This is no April Fools joke. Thank you Bethany Moffitt for opening my eyes to the magical world of muggle quidditch.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
hmmm...
lately ive been thinking about how cool of a concept godparents are.
i didn't know a whole lot about the roles and obligations of godparents so i looked it up. here are some things i found--
*giving kids godparents is traditionally a catholic thing, although similar ideas can be found in other religions.
*it is not limited to catholics, or religion at all. anybody can give their child a godparent.
*the godparent is to help the child on their spiritual journey.
*the godparent is to pray for their godchild.
*the godparent is to take a special interest in the child, and they usually have a good bond.
*back in the day, when people more often died young or unexpectedly, they godparent would take care of the child if anything happened to the parents. being a godparent today does not automatically mean someone is bound to this, unless it is done legally.
*in the above situation, ^ it is expected that the godparents make sure the child is being well cared for if they are not doing it themselves.
*sometimes godparents and godchildren exchange gifts or cards on occasions such as birthdays, christmas, fathers day and mothers day.
*godparents are expected to be a good role model for the child.
*you want the godparent to have the same religious ideals as the natural parents.
*godparents are to act as sort of a "second set of parents" for the child.
wikipedia says,
"The modern view of a godparent tends to be an individual chosen by the parents to take an interest in the child's upbringing and personal development."
i read a few discussions online and some people kept in touch with their godparents and had very special bonds, and some didn't. either way they all agreed that it is always a positive thing for everyone involved.
one man said, ""For me, it was important that there was somebody outside my immediate family who had a special concern for me."
i was excited to learn all of this and i think it could be so beneficial for the child... so i decided i want my future kids to have godparents! but when i brought it up to mike he didn't like the idea because it's traditionally a catholic thing. i explained to him that it's not necessarily anymore, but he still doesn't like it.
kids aren't coming anytime soon but its just something ive been thinking about.
is it weird that i want our kids to have godparents even though we're lds? is it worth it trying to convince mike that we should? is it disrespectful to our religion, adopting another religions traditions?
what do you think friends??
Monday, March 21, 2011
The spring break life.
Spring break is THE.BEST.THING.EVER. It was not this good as a kid. I appreciate boredom so much more as an adult.
The 4 weeks previous to spring break were pretty crazy. I taught my class all by myself nine times in only a month. Nine is almost ten and ten days is two weeks and two weeks is equal to HALF of a month. Basically I taught as much as the teacher that I work with did.
And let me tell you, teaching is a lot of work. It's not as easy as it looks.
On top of teaching my class, I still had school and scouts and a husband to keep up with.
Lets just say by the time spring break came around I had many knots in my back and many dishes in my sink.
But do you know what? I'm proud of myself. There is no way I could have even tried to teach a class before I started at Burke. And I did a good job. I am so lucky to have worked with to 2 amazing teachers these past 2 years. I have learned so much from each of them. Last year I told the teacher I worked with that she taught me just as much as she taught the kids, and I sincerely meant it.
Teaching, I felt all grown up. It's a good feeling, having important responsibilities, and having 24 precious kids relying on you.
But it's also a good feeling to be careless and FREEEE>>> cue spring break!
My spring break consisted of...
Sleeping in!
Schoolwork... I started another online class the monday of spring break. On top of my other classes. Then I wondered.... Why?
Baking and cooking :)
Playing with the nieces and nephews. Love them so much.
Spending time with the hubbs. He still had work, but it was so nice to spend the evenings together instead of school.
Finally visited sprinkles cupcakes. The verdict: They are delicious, probably the best cupcakes I've ever had, but they are not worth 15 bucks for 4 cupcakes.
Saw some movies-
Limitless review by me-Good movie. It kept me interested and excited the whole movie. The ending didn't quite sit right with me... But it was a good movie. I give it 3 3/4 stars.
Beastly review by me-You know exactly what it will be from the previews. And I thought it was cute. I did not take Mike with me, but he would probably give it 1/2 star. I give it 3.
Can someone explain to me why AMC is still in business with Harkins competing with it?? AMC only does student discount on Thursdays, and movie watcher card is not that awesome. Harkins rocks because they have student discount every day! Seven dollars a ticket compared to ten. pffff. Plus if you buy a loyalty shirt you get a free popcorn every time you go for the whole year. Annnndddd if you buy a loyalty cup, a drink is only one dollar, but if your cool like Mike, sprint gives you a dollar off any concession so it costs nothing. FREE drink and popcorn every time we see a movie. To think... I used to go to AMC. Scoff.
Thanks for reading all.
The 4 weeks previous to spring break were pretty crazy. I taught my class all by myself nine times in only a month. Nine is almost ten and ten days is two weeks and two weeks is equal to HALF of a month. Basically I taught as much as the teacher that I work with did.
And let me tell you, teaching is a lot of work. It's not as easy as it looks.
On top of teaching my class, I still had school and scouts and a husband to keep up with.
Lets just say by the time spring break came around I had many knots in my back and many dishes in my sink.
But do you know what? I'm proud of myself. There is no way I could have even tried to teach a class before I started at Burke. And I did a good job. I am so lucky to have worked with to 2 amazing teachers these past 2 years. I have learned so much from each of them. Last year I told the teacher I worked with that she taught me just as much as she taught the kids, and I sincerely meant it.
Teaching, I felt all grown up. It's a good feeling, having important responsibilities, and having 24 precious kids relying on you.
But it's also a good feeling to be careless and FREEEE>>> cue spring break!
My spring break consisted of...
Sleeping in!
Schoolwork... I started another online class the monday of spring break. On top of my other classes. Then I wondered.... Why?
Baking and cooking :)
Playing with the nieces and nephews. Love them so much.
Spending time with the hubbs. He still had work, but it was so nice to spend the evenings together instead of school.
Finally visited sprinkles cupcakes. The verdict: They are delicious, probably the best cupcakes I've ever had, but they are not worth 15 bucks for 4 cupcakes.
Saw some movies-
Limitless review by me-Good movie. It kept me interested and excited the whole movie. The ending didn't quite sit right with me... But it was a good movie. I give it 3 3/4 stars.
Beastly review by me-You know exactly what it will be from the previews. And I thought it was cute. I did not take Mike with me, but he would probably give it 1/2 star. I give it 3.
Can someone explain to me why AMC is still in business with Harkins competing with it?? AMC only does student discount on Thursdays, and movie watcher card is not that awesome. Harkins rocks because they have student discount every day! Seven dollars a ticket compared to ten. pffff. Plus if you buy a loyalty shirt you get a free popcorn every time you go for the whole year. Annnndddd if you buy a loyalty cup, a drink is only one dollar, but if your cool like Mike, sprint gives you a dollar off any concession so it costs nothing. FREE drink and popcorn every time we see a movie. To think... I used to go to AMC. Scoff.
...Also...
Bethany Moffitt is going to BUY HAWAII!! AHHH I'm so excited for her.
Thanks for reading all.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Mike got a letter in the mail..
That looked like this...
And I knew what it was. He wasn't home from work, so I got all excited and cleaned the house and put it where he could see it right when he walked in. When he walked inside I was waiting for him and I started yelling at him to "OPEN IT! OPEN IT!"
And he got into ASU! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Okay okay, now your thinking that I am crazy for being SO excited that he got into ASU, which isn't hard. You are thinking right. Yes, he kept telling me that It's not that big of a deal and we both knew he would get into ASU.
But I am still so proud of him. He works SO HARD in school. He works full time (with his commute and lunch break, he is gone for 10 hours everyday). AND he is going to school 2 credit hours short of full time. He does everything he can to get straight A's. I love his motivation.
I am so excited that he is moving forward with his education. With him transferring, it feels like the end is finally in sight. Kind of.
We celebrated by eating at Neilsons. (Were we celebrating or did I just not want to cook?? You'll never know!) Neilsons is the bomb. They have the best fries ever. You know how people argue about who has the best french fries? In n out, burger king, wendys, mcdonalds, red robin blah blah blah... Neilsons are seriously the best. Also their grinders are heavenly. PLUS it was TURTLE TUESDAY! Caramel custard with fudge and pecans. My.favorite.thing.ever. Neilsons should pay me for this post.
On a more serious note, I just finished this book...
I highly recommend it. Holy cow. Did you know in 1994 there was a holocaust in Africa and over one million people were brutally slaughtered in only 3 months? I didn't even know that happened.
This is an autobiography of one of the survivors. I was a little hesitant to read it because I thought it would depressing. It was not. In fact, it is one of the most spiritual, inspiring books I've ever read. Read it. Come borrow it from me if you don't want to buy it or library it.
Recap:
*Mike is going moving from MCC (yuck) to ASU (Wee)
*Mike is smart and good at school
*Neilsons is bomb
*Read Left to Tell
Thanks for reading. I love you all.
And I knew what it was. He wasn't home from work, so I got all excited and cleaned the house and put it where he could see it right when he walked in. When he walked inside I was waiting for him and I started yelling at him to "OPEN IT! OPEN IT!"
And he got into ASU! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Okay okay, now your thinking that I am crazy for being SO excited that he got into ASU, which isn't hard. You are thinking right. Yes, he kept telling me that It's not that big of a deal and we both knew he would get into ASU.
But I am still so proud of him. He works SO HARD in school. He works full time (with his commute and lunch break, he is gone for 10 hours everyday). AND he is going to school 2 credit hours short of full time. He does everything he can to get straight A's. I love his motivation.
I am so excited that he is moving forward with his education. With him transferring, it feels like the end is finally in sight. Kind of.
We celebrated by eating at Neilsons. (Were we celebrating or did I just not want to cook?? You'll never know!) Neilsons is the bomb. They have the best fries ever. You know how people argue about who has the best french fries? In n out, burger king, wendys, mcdonalds, red robin blah blah blah... Neilsons are seriously the best. Also their grinders are heavenly. PLUS it was TURTLE TUESDAY! Caramel custard with fudge and pecans. My.favorite.thing.ever. Neilsons should pay me for this post.
On a more serious note, I just finished this book...
I highly recommend it. Holy cow. Did you know in 1994 there was a holocaust in Africa and over one million people were brutally slaughtered in only 3 months? I didn't even know that happened.
This is an autobiography of one of the survivors. I was a little hesitant to read it because I thought it would depressing. It was not. In fact, it is one of the most spiritual, inspiring books I've ever read. Read it. Come borrow it from me if you don't want to buy it or library it.
Recap:
*Mike is going moving from MCC (yuck) to ASU (Wee)
*Mike is smart and good at school
*Neilsons is bomb
*Read Left to Tell
Thanks for reading. I love you all.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Once upon a time I had some friends...
And we were tight. We hung out 1, 2 or even 3 hours a day. I had dreams about them. Then they went away and I will never see them again.... because we finished Prison Break. And my friends weren't really my friends. I just pretended. Now we don't know what to do with ourselves. Homework I guess.
Also, I have fantastic news...... Soon I will be an auntie!! My childhood friend/adult friend/ nextdoor neighbor is having a BABY! And I will name it Merlin! When it cries in the night, I will punch a hole through our closet and crawl through it into Hillaries closet and into her bedroom and take her baby! Then I will rock Merlin until he falls asleep and train him to call me Auntie. I love babies.
Some random thoughts going through my head:
Vicks is the bomb
So is Meagan Bredsguard for making us sugar cookies that Mike broke his fast with.
I have had this lame cold and I am hoping and praying that I am getting better... I haven't held my baby niece for 3 weeks!! I am missing out on her childhood!
My bangs are now too long for me to wear straight across. Mike is happy about this. I don't know if I should start wearing them to the side or trim them again. What do you think??
Also, I have fantastic news...... Soon I will be an auntie!! My childhood friend/adult friend/ nextdoor neighbor is having a BABY! And I will name it Merlin! When it cries in the night, I will punch a hole through our closet and crawl through it into Hillaries closet and into her bedroom and take her baby! Then I will rock Merlin until he falls asleep and train him to call me Auntie. I love babies.
Some random thoughts going through my head:
Vicks is the bomb
So is Meagan Bredsguard for making us sugar cookies that Mike broke his fast with.
I have had this lame cold and I am hoping and praying that I am getting better... I haven't held my baby niece for 3 weeks!! I am missing out on her childhood!
My bangs are now too long for me to wear straight across. Mike is happy about this. I don't know if I should start wearing them to the side or trim them again. What do you think??
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