it's holiday time!

I'm glad this doesn't apply to me!

Report: Nation’s Wealthy Cruelly Deprived Of True Meaning Of Christmas
Notice the guy buying Apples to Apples? My favorite game.

I'm moving to Rancho!

Things at Vista weren't going well, so the day after school got out, I interviewed and accepted a new position at a different school. It's the second oldest school in Vegas, so they have a lot of history and traditions. Many of the teachers there were students there themselves. In some ways, I feel like the school is more of a "community" than some of the other schools where I've worked.

I'm teaching two entirely different groups of kids this year, so it's been interesting to figure out what works with each group. Both groups are pretty different from kids I've taught before.

• English 1 Honors-- mostly magnet students, very motivated, turn in homework daily, some even ask if they can do additional work because the enjoy the work so much. Most of these kids already have plans for college and careers. Many are involved in one of our three magnet programs- biomedical, medical, and aviation. The students in the aviation program will graduate from high school with an actual pilot's license.
• English 1 RP-- kids who've failed English 1 once, twice, or even three times. These kids STRUGGLE, hate English, have major attendance issues, and some really don't care about school or their education in general. It took a LONG TIME to get these kids to work with me, but once I won their trust, things went pretty well. For the most part, the kids were causing most of the problems were expelled for reasons that had nothing to do with my class or just stopped coming to school overall.

The first few weeks were completely blissful, but reality soon set in. Our school hasn't met test score requirements in YEARS, so there's a lot of work to do. We got a new supervisor, who required that we submit weekly lesson plans, which is just extra paperwork (typing up lesson plans in a way that someone other than me can understand them) none of us were really interested in doing.

Everytime Belisa and I start to feel that things at Rancho are too much, we call some old friends from Vista and meet up for dinner. That never fails to make us feel better. Things there continue to get worse, so I definitely feel like I made a good decision. It's a longer commute and longer hours, but it's much less stress. That's what I need in my life. Less stress!!

Kyiv Temple Dedication

My friends have posted so many great pics from the dedication. I can't wait to talk to them about it and go through this temple for myself. I loved this article in LDS Church News.

Kyiv Temple

I'm so excited about this... and so sad I'm not able to be there! I've said this before, but unless you're Ukrainian (or emotionally Ukrainian, like me,) you may not understand how completely amazing it is that an LDS temple is being build in Ukraine, a formerly Communist country. Let me explain a little bit of the background.

This is the first temple anywhere in the former Soviet Union! Since the church was opened in Ukraine in 1991, the members in Ukraine traveled to Germany (three days by bus) to visit the temple. Beginning tomorrow, this temple will serve nine different countries in Europe. Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.

On Sept. 12, 1991, Elder Boyd K. Packer offered a blessing on the land of Ukraine. The brief ceremony took place at the base of a statue honoring Prince Vladimir, who declared his realm would be Christian. I loved walking up to this statue and listening to this story when I lived in Kyiv. I'm sure we took the same walk and the story was told to me fifty times by fifty different people, but I loved to hear it every time.

The Kyiv Temple was announced while I was a missionary in Dnepropetrovsk (in a year I'd rather not disclose here!) For some reason, I thought the temple would be done by the time I finished my mission and I'd be able to do a session on my way home. So much time has passed. The members there have been so patient and hopeful during this entire process. This really just seems like a dream come true. It's a miracle.

I've heard about the open house all week and see my friends who are there in Kyiv post their photos on Facebook. I visited a couple of summers ago and saw the temple under construction. It's done and it's beautiful, as evidenced in this video and this video, which show the highlights of the temple. Yesterday, a cultural celebration telling the history of Ukraine was held in a huge concert hall. I wish I could have shared in the music, love, and laughter of the people I love so much. I would have loved to sing the hymns with the members in the meeting. I wish I could have seen the excitement on the faces of the members when President Monson spoke. I wish I was there to hear the Prophet's voice as he spoke about this beautiful building and the importance of the work there.

I always thought I'd be there for this and looked forward to this for years, but the timing just doesn't work for me. I can't miss the first week of school, especially since I'm moving to a new school this year. I'm heartbroken, but at the same time my heart is overflowing with excitement for those who can be there. It's an amazing place to be and an amazing time to be there.


Find more info here: Deseret News, Newsroom and Meridian Magazine

Daddy's Day

My dad has always been a tough guy, as evidenced by this newspaper pic from his days as a firefighter. He went from firefighter, to paramedic, training officer, then worked for the state in public safety.

Three years ago he retired and began his own company, Milligan Educational Associates.
Somehow, during the past few years, he's also become a self- proclaimed artist and the grandfather of four. Not too shabby at all.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you.

sarcasm?

So... sometimes I wonder if I'm too sarcastic.

Report: 70 Percent Of All Praise Sarcastic

taco hell... blah.

I don't usually eat Taco Bell, but I had a cheesy burrito today. It made me feel like this "news" story may actually have some truth to it.


Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature