it's november!

my favorite pic from halloween this year!


another favorite pic of this breathtaking world



i get to go home for a week for thanksgiving break. i'm so looking forward to it!

the sunday before last we had a really great lesson during sunday school and i don't think i mentioned it. it was pointed out that we live in the only time in the history of the earth when the most saints are living at one time. the teacher pointed out the membership, about 14 million members worldwide. and then we agreed upon the general number of people on the planet currently, around 7 billion (6.795 to be exact), and divided that number and the following came: for every 500 people, one is a member of the church.....it's a little off, but you get the idea. it was mind blowing, to look at the numbers that way....and then for him to point out how vastly different that is from what it ever has been was illuminating to think about! i loved it. it's something one does not often consider. we tend to see the world as growing more and more unrighteous, but fail to notice that simultaneously, righteousness is also growing.

it has changed my paradigm: made me more grateful to live in these latter days. (and more willing to suffer ;) and it will only keep growing, as the prophets have foretold. President Monson just announced at conference that 130 temples are in operation around the world, and that 83% of the members live within 200 miles of one. how spectacular is that?

anyway.....these are some of the things i think about.

work has been stress filled, but again, by the grace of God, i am getting through it. we have parent teacher conferences next week and i'm so looking forward to them being over! i am going to set it up so that the kids do 'student led conferences' thereby putting the responsibility on them and hopefully sending a message to the parents. we shall see. it's difficult since these kids just came out of the elementary school environment. difficult to get them to see that THEY are responsible for their learning, and not me. it's further compounded as we try and train the parents as well. i am really very much looking forward to that day when i won't need to worry that i am the odd woman out. the odd one who gets all this. -sigh- teaching. i love it and i hate it.

how i live for the weekend.

p.s. my diploma finally came in the mail. wow, just wow.