Fancy Pants!

Check out these fancy pants! Every year, my mom buys the family new pajama pants. Among our many themes, bears (with the phrase "bear bum" on the "bum"), monkeys, frogs and now....bugs! The perk this year....flannel!!! WOO HOO! How can you argue with these PJs on a cold winter's day?

A Truly Amazing Gift

This morning, my family received an email from my oldest brother, Kevin, who lives in Illinois. It contained an attachment that is part of his Christmas gift to us this year. It is excerpts of his journal from October 2007 through the first half of December. When I opened the attachment, I saw that it is 76 pages long and I thought, "sure Kevin, when will I have time to read this?!" Then I started reading the Forward. As Kevin stated his purpose for sharing this with his family and bore his testimony, I kept scrolling. I did not read thoroughly, only skimmed (luckily as an English teacher, I can get through a massive amount of reading in little time and still pick up the jist of it all). I plan on reading this more intently later when I don't have household chores to finish for my mom before she gets home from shopping! As I skimmed this document, Kevin simply described the different ways he felt the love of the Lord each day. As I was reading, I felt very blessed that my brother was willing to share with us these excerpts and what a truly amazing gift he has given us this year. I also felt almost guilty(do not take offense Kevin!) for not being more aware of the blessings in my life. I have found new resolve to be more devoted and dedicated to studying the scriptures and words of the modern prophets everyday, as well as recognizing the tender mercies of the Lord. I also felt more inclined to reach out and serve others without waiting for the opportunity to present itself. Sometimes I get so caught up with my busy schedule (which is nothing compared to those of you who are parents--I don't know how you do it!) that I forget about those who may need a phone call, a note, a visit, etc.

To my friends who may not share the same religious beliefs as me, I know we have one commonality. We have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who knows us by name. They know our wants and needs; they know when we feel joy and when we are feeling sorrow; they are aware of every concern that we have; and they love us more than anyone could ever comprehend. They want us to be happy and will continually bless our lives each day...all we have to do is take a step back and recognize those blessings! Merry Christmas to all!

Home is Where It's At!

Last night I flew to California for the holidays. I think this is the year where I am feeling everything I should've felt last year with my dad being gone, but because I was so focused on playing Santa and making sure my mom was making it through last year, I didn't have time to really "feel" anything outside of the Christmas and family craziness. So let's just say that as I prepared to come home this year, I wasn't all into that "Christmas Spirit." Well, I think my mom must have secretly sensed my thoughts and feelings because when I walked into my bedroom, there was a little miniature tree set up on a table in the corner of my room. The theme of the tree...SOCCER! Oh yeah! My kind of tree! It really made my day and immediately put me back in the Christmas spirit.



My Christmas list...I really don't have one! I joked with my mom that a Nintendo Wii would be WAY COOL...though I don't know when I'd have time to play it! But in all honesty, I have everything I need and want for the time being and I know that I have been richly blessed with more than I could ever ask for...o.k. so maybe a date/boyfriend/husband would be nice along with a masters degree...but let's be realistic...what fun are those things if I don't work for it a little!

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you find love, safety, peace and happiness! You deserve it!

Lights! Lights! Lights!

I went to look at the lights at Temple Square. It was 25 degrees and I didn't have a heavy jacket...the result of my stupidity...I've been fighting a sore throat and cold all week! ONe of my friends with me was nice enough to give me his jacket on our way back to the car, but I should've known better. The spontaneous trip was well worth it! Enjoy!

How Well Do You Know Your World?

Test your knowledge of locations of world cities and famous places! I made it to level 5 with a traveler IQ of 88--I need to study up a bit! Let us know how you do....your first time! :)

Traveler's IQ

P.S. Um....just for the record, my roommate introduced me to this site!

Reflections

To add to my previous entry regarding influences for good, early Saturday evening, a very good friend of the family, Stephanie Weger, passed away losing a battle to cancer. She and her husband have known my parents since before they were married and our two families have seen each other through everything. They have been a constant in our lives, and if it wasn't for Steph, I don't think my mom would be as strong as she is today after losing my dad. She called my mom twice a day everyday, even while she was battling cancer, just to make sure my mom was doing o.k. Something I really miss about my dad are his bear hugs, and since my dad passed away, Steph, though not having the size or strength of my dad, always had a huge hug waiting for me when I came to visit. I will always remember walking into the chapel and seeing her come towards me welcoming me home with open arms. She was always concerned for others and she put others first. What a great influence and blessing she has been to me and my family over the course of our lives. After finding out about her passing, I regretted not telling her how much I appreciated her friendship with my mom. How important it is for us to tell those around us that we appreciate them, even for the little things! So my challenge to you this week....sit down and write someone a note to tell them how much you appreciate them!!!! :) Below is a picture of Stephanie holding my nephew, Kaleb.

For Good...

Since my hard drive crashed (and I now have a working computer) I was going through some picture folders to see what I lost and saved, and I stumbled onto some old pics. So I decided to pull some and make a slideshow of people outside my family who have influenced my life. Unfortunately, not every person who has influenced my life for good is represented in this slideshow, but please know that I appreciate and love all of you and I am grateful for the influence you still have on me!

"True friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget!"

Holiday Decor and Whirligigs!

My students turned in whirligigs while I was in Israel and we just finished displaying them in the school! They were awesome this year. Their whirligig either had to represent themselves or someone they know who has passed away.



I also decorated my room! There are still more snowflakes to put up. I have broken the fire code and if the fire marshall comes, hopefully an "insider" will warn me so my kids can hurry and tear everything down so I won't get caught with all this stuff on my walls and ceiling! The kids love it. They feel like they are inside a giant present! I took these pictures just after another teacher, two kids in my ward and I finished the putting up bows, gift tags and snowflakes, so my room is not quite put back together.

The Weather Outside is....

This weekend, a storm rolled into Utah! I am a little disappointed that I did not get to make a snowman...truth be told, I don't know how to make one and I could not find anyone to make one with me! :( But I did make a snow angel...then as I was getting up, I slipped and fell!!! I posted pictures of me playing in the snow and pictures of our house and neighborhood the morning after the snow was dumped on us.



My roommate and I also took a couple pictures. The camera was on auto
-timer and we used a chair from our deck and an empty tide detergent bottle as a stand for the camera (yes, we take pride in our innovation and creativity)! Some of you may not know my roommate. Her name is Donna Ure and she is from Kamas, Utah. This is the third ward (church congregation) we have been in together, but the first time we have ever lived together! We met in the Saddleback Ward in Mission Viejo, California, then we both ended up in the BYU 3rd Ward in Provo, and now we are in our little ward in Alpine! Donna travels every week for work, so she is not around often. When she comes home on weekends, it is really fun to hang out with her and catch up on all of our weekly life updates! She is a wonderful friend and an awesome roommate!

Wow! Can this really be true? I wonder how they rate these! It would be interesting to find out!

So...my computer has died! Last night it froze, I went to restart it and now it won't even reboot. I am using my landlord's computer and will have to use my school computer until my current one is fixed or I buy a new one! EEK! How did we survive without internet and cell phones? I will live...I have plenty to do and I think not having a computer around will help my cause to finish all my projects around my classroom and house. Happy Sunday!

Check This Out!

Happy Holidays from Marla the Elf!

Hall Zamboni?!

So it is 8:30pm on Friday night and I just finished working the girls' basketball game. As I was walking to my classroom, I saw the custodians talking and they were gathered around the thingy they drive around to wax the floors...it is like a zamboni you see at ice skating rinks, but these are for waxing floors. I asked the custodians if I could have a ride on it, and one of the custodians said, "you can drive it if you want!" So I started making my rounds, picked up another English teacher who was still here grading papers (he stood on the side of it), and we made our two laps around the school. I found the button for the horn, so I started honking the horn almost too excessively until we drove by the front office and saw one of the assistant principals! At first, I think he thought we were students because he was staring us down, and then when he realized we were teachers, he started laughing! In of one of the hall intersections, Jake (my partner in crime) said, "let's see if this baby can turn around in circles." I asked, "like doughnuts?" So we started doing doughnuts on the hall zamboni!!! I have to give it credit, the hall zamboni has an excellent turning radius! Unfortunately, I have no picture and really, the story doesn't do the experience any justice...but how many times does a teacher get to ride the hall zamboni?! That's one for the history books!

What is it with these deer?

So I came home from school today, looked out the window and thought I saw two huge dogs by the fence of my deck...nope, they were deer! I just stood at the window and took pictures! Then the dog barked at them, so I chased the dog upstairs, quietly opened the door, walked out on the deck and continued taking pictures. I know that seeing deer is not that big of a deal, but when they are practically on the doorstep, it's a little different!

The Fam

Nelson Family Update!
Pat(Mom)--splitting time between Glendale and Oceanside. She spends much of her time traveling to see her children and grandchildren (except she won't come to Utah--its too cold!). She is doing much better, but misses my dad, as we all do. She could definitely still use your prayers and lots of TLC!

Kevin and Heather--Kevin is finishing up med school this year, and Heather is finishing her PhD in Marriage and Family Sciences this year at University of Illinois in Urbana/Champagne...and with a two year old and a 10 month old! Their daughters, Eva and Linnea are so stinking cute! Eva is now speaking in short sentences. She called me the other day to say, "Me and Daddy post office!" in her two year old way. It made my day!

Scott and Melissa--they love being parents to Kaleb and Lexi (Melissa's daughter)! Kaleb is now 9 months old and Lexi is four! Scott has applied for a position at the Glendale Police Department and will take his PT test in February. They live in Glendale near my mom, and my mom loves holding baby Kaleb as much as possible. Kaleb has the best laugh and LOVES frogs!

Tyler and Stacy--can you believe that my baby brother has two kids? Tyler and Stacy are the proud parents of Leah (2.5 yrs) and Benjamin (1 yr this month!). Benjamin has a smile that just melts my heart. You can't help but be happy around the little guy! Leah is also speaking and her favorite word is "No." I'll say, "Leah, can Aunt Marla have a hug?" She gets a pouty look on her face and says, "NO!" Then I act sad and she says, "O.k. Aunt Marla have hug!" Tyler is working for Deloitte in Costa Mesa while Stacy enjoys being a stay at home mom!

Spy?!

I walked outside to take a picture of the view, since it was clear enough to see across the lake, and I heard some footsteps. When I looked over, this little guy was watching me from behind the tree!