A few random thoughts from Brad

So I just thought I'd toss my two cents' worth in here. We got word from Kent's mission 'mom' that he and his companion arrived in Jamaica safe and sound. They need work permits before they can start working and the government was shut down for Ash Wednesday, so their fist day was spent hanging around the mission home. I assume that he got his papers on Thursday and got to work.

Things always seem busy at our house. Just when I think that some event will happen (i.e. Kent finally leaves for his mission) and then stuff will calm down, it fails to really happen that way (Kent left, but things didn't calm down). We have begun playing racquetball twice a week, but that's just something new to fit into the schedule. Oh well, its tons of fun so I guess we'll just have to keep it up.

I've got two student teachers, I share with the other Physics teacher to give the student teacher's the best possible experience. Paradoxically, I am busier than ever. I still teach three of my sections and I have to supervise, mentor, and critique theses two really good students.

Wendy talked about the things that make her happy. I try hard to keep the house put together and the electricity working and the plumbing to not leak etc, etc. I love projects. When I don't have one I generally invent one. Sometimes to invent a project I take stuff apart that I probably shouldn't. Wendy just rolls her eyes and walks away. It's best that way.

I know what makes me happy - Life. I just enjoy stuff and people. Some things make me complain, I'm even happy when I complain about them. But generally, I just enjoy the ride. I like to follow roads just to see where they lead.

Well, I'm just rambling without purpose so I'll wrap up. I've got a great family.

Things That Make Me Happy!

I just thought I would list some things that make me happy and bring peace into my life.
Brad - he is such a hard worker and he always does my dishes.
Clean Bedrooms - we have just rearranged many of the bedrooms in our house and all the children have their own rooms. They are doing such a wonderful job of keeping them clean. If only it would last!
Racquetball - our family has started playing this on a semi-regular basis and I really love this sport. I especially enjoy the one on one time playing with Brad or with one of the kids.
Work - I love my job! Junior High kids can sure be a challenge but they have so much potential. Hopefully I am making a difference in their lives as they are in mine.
Missionary Work - I love having a son on a mission. It brings such a peace into our home and it is so great for him. I love how he has grown in the gospel. I have also been studying from the Preach My Gospel manual and wow, it is great! I don't know why I haven't done this before. It is so full of just the right messages for me and adds so much to my scripture study.
Prayer - He is there and He answers prayers. Can anything be more peaceful?!

A Blog for Elder Talbert

I only have time for a quick note but Kent went into the MTC today and you can check out the blog I created for his mission at the link on the sidebar of this blog. As he emails us, I will include those emails on his blog. Just know that we are busy but oh so grateful for a son who sets the example for his other siblings and friends and who follows the Savior.

Time Goes By Too Fast

It is hard to believe that it has been almost a month since I wrote on this blog. I have so much to say I don't know where to begin, so I will just have to jump in and see how it goes.
Christmas Vacation: Christmas was absolutely wonderful. We spent a lot of the time just hanging out with our family and enjoying each other. It was so great to see Joseph enjoying himself - he was so sick last year and this year he had so much energy and is feeling so great. Between this and the fact that Kent will be gone next Christmas, I just wanted to savor every moment and make it last forever.
Josh: In January, our nephew, Josh Talbert moved in with us. It has been good to have him with us. All the kids have enjoyed having him around. He was able to get a job quickly and will be busy working full time. Josh will only be living with us for a short time while he saves up money to get himself into an apartment. For this I am grateful, because while I am happy to help Josh out, I am looking forward to separating Joseph and Nathaniel into separate bedrooms and dejunking the mess that they currently have.
Kent: Kent will be leaving for the MTC and Jamaica in just about two weeks and it seems like time is just flying. We have finished most of the shopping and he will be speaking this Sunday. He is so excited to be 0n his way. One of the highlights of getting ready for a mission is when they go through the temple. Kent took out his endowments about a week ago and it was so wonderful. It is probably the very best thing I have ever watched one of my children do - it was just so perfect and is truly the real step to being grown up.
New Job: My new job is wonderful. The flex program is a program where students receive a progress report every day and during a 30 minute time set aside for this program, students with an F or an I report to their teachers and try to get caught up. If they have passing grades then they get to go to other activities, including a movie, video, computer, or board games, scrapbooking, sports in the gym, etc. I am so excited about this program. There are so many students that need to feel the success that comes from passing their classes and if they use this time it can accomplish this. I spent my first week of work going to other schools that have this program already in place and observing. I was especially impressed with the increase in students passing their classes. It has had a real impact and I know from subbing in the junior high that this is exactly what Orem Jr. needs. My job includes running reports and creating progress reports for each student every day. These reports are small, you can fit 10 on a page, and I have to cut them so that each of the 839 students receive a report every day. The students then use these as their tickets to activities or remediation. I am loving being out of the house and busy. So far the kids have adjusted really well. Nathaniel is able to go to and from school with Austen and his mom and that is a big relief to not have to worry about him. All in all things with the new job couldn't be better.
Joseph: Joseph just had his annual biopsy and things looked great. He is having no rejection and shouldn't have to have another biopsy until next January. Hooray!!

Christmastime is Crazy!

December is always my least favorite month because it is so crazy. Of course, I added 3 children's birthdays to the mix (Joseph and Heather's are officially in November but since they fall after Thanksgiving I consider them as part of the December craziness.) Joseph and Heather's birthday was a lot of fun due to the fact that we still had all of our Thanksgiving company around. They took their cousins and went to Nickelcade for the afternoon and then we did the cake and ice cream at grandma and grandpa's house.

Their cakes were topped with powdered sugar instead of frosting and Joseph blew as hard as he could in order to share his powdered sugar with Heather!










Laura's birthday was a lot more calm. We had a family party and she got lots of love from her friends. They decorated our sidewalk with chalk, filled her locker with confetti and stuffed animals, and decorated her room with snow (fake snow!). She knew she was loved by the end of the day.


















Laura with her new guitar.
















Other things of note:
We are excited to have our nephew Josh Talbert moving in with us in January. We plan on this being a short term move in until Josh is able to find a job and an apartment, but we are excited to have him living close to us.
I have a new job. With Kent going on a mission and the financial help we have had from Joseph reaching it's maximum, I have been looking for a job but not very hard yet. I figured I had until February before I had to get really serious. Well, I found a job I know I will love and they hired me. I will be working at Orem Junior High as their flex coordinator. This is a new position, as is the flex program that I will be organizing. The flex program is in place of their homeroom reading time and it is for those who have missing assignments and low grades to work with their teachers on improving their grades and for those who are caught up and have passing grades to be able to participate in activities such as sports or movies or learning new skills. I am excited about the job. It will start in January when school resumes so this is my Christmas vacation as well as the rest of the family's. I am sure there will be a lot of adjusting that needs to happen for our family, but it is amazing how Heavenly Father takes care of us and provides for our needs. I just feel so blessed to have this job and to have it be something that I will enjoy, to have it before I need it, and to have a job that has the same schedule as the rest of the family.

Brad played Santa Claus for his parents' Ward Christmas Party.

Thanksgiving fun!

First let me update on Joseph. He endured the shingles and was thrilled to have his prayers answered and to feel better by Thanksgiving and by the day after he felt really really good and since that was his birthday, his life wasn't so bad as he had believed. From a mother's point of view, the shingles were horrible, even the pain medicine only took the edge off but the pain was still there.
Now, on to a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend!! We had a total of 34 people eating dinner at mom and dad Talbert's house. This was our trial run for our family reunion that we will be having this summer. Those who were present were Richard and Susan and family, Deborah (Jeff was in France) and family, including Deborah's sister Mary and her daughter Rebekah, Jim and Debbie and Josh, Jake and Sara, Charlie, Kevin, as well as our family and mom and dad. For sleeping we split between our house, Aaron and Diane's, and mom and dad's. This worked out very well. We also were able to have enough space for eating and for playing games. On Thursday and Friday, we set up 5 card tables and had 20 people playing the same game. It was wild. Brad had to set up a spreadsheet to help keep score and after every 4 rounds we rotated tables with the goal being to try to get to the top table by having the best score. Mostly this holiday was about laughter and friendship. It was amazing to have that many people together and there was no arguing, complaining, or any other difficulty. The Talbert family is truly an amazing family and I am so blessed to have become a part of this family.
Along with lots of family and food, on Friday we had a baby shower at my house for Lenay. Her and JC were not able to join us for Thanksgiving because she had family visiting but we were excited to have a shower for her since her family was around as well as so many Talbert's.

Lenay opening her gifts, Kelsey is on the side.



Susan, Bobbye, Diane, and Sara enjoying the shower.


Lenay again but check out the diaper cake that I made. I forgot to take a better picture than this but it turned out really cute (if I don't say so myself!).

So, Laura needs to do homework so the rest of the fun will be in the next post!

Joseph is Miserable

It always seems that Joseph has more up and downs than most. The good news is that he is done taking the steroids and is going through his last round of withdrawals. By Thanksgiving he should not feel the effects of the steroids at all. The bad news is that Joseph has shingles. These are horrible and he is in so much pain. His shingles are on his leg from his knee to his lower back and it makes moving extremely painful so he is spending all his time lying on the couch or in bed. We are hoping and praying that he will feel better by Thanksgiving and that he will be able to enjoy the holiday and his birthday and most of all his favorite cousin who will be visiting from Ohio.
Other than helping Joseph to endure the pain I am busier than ever with projects. We had Young Women in Excellence and it was a wonderful evening. Next it is on to Thanksgiving, 3 birthdays, a baby shower and Christmas. I have been working on Christmas projects and am almost done with those and I even have some of the shopping done for Christmas. If only I knew what to do for Joseph and Heather for their birthdays. Hopefully I will get some inspiration soon.