Courage :)

I love this scene from The Princess Diaries. In the movie, the princess is about to give up her royalty and go somewhere else because the change is too hard. Aren't there times in our lives where we fear that change is too hard?

I love the part where he mentions that courage is the judgment that something else is more important than fear. To me that means that you are most courageous when you choose to do something DESPITE the fact that you are afraid. I love that.

My husband and I are at a point in our lives where we are making a lot of important decisions: i.e. where we will go to law school, work, live, start our new life. It's scary to think of any change from where we already are, because I LOVE where we are. Who knows, we may not need to leave this place at all. But I need to prepare my heart to be ok with leaving all my loved ones here: my friends, my students, my co-workers, in case that is what we need to do. I need to be prepared to support my sweet husband. That way, even if we do stay here, he knows that I was ready and willing to make that change because sometimes the change will be the best thing to do.

 People of the world, LET'S BE COURAGEOUS! Let's do the impossible! Let's be our best selves. We can do it! :) Have a BEAUTIFUL Saturday. Love, me! :)

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. From now on you'll be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey."

You are "super," by being WHO YOU ARE! :)

"The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father's children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole."-- Joseph B. Wurthlin, Apostle, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 I saw this quote today and it really inspired me. It inspired me to be my best SARAH, not to just look at someone else and think "Oh, she's perfect! I need to be just like her." I think that too often us women will compare ourselves to others, expecting to be amazing at everything. I had a teacher once that really made me think by creating this diagram, explaining what happens when we compare ourselves to others:

She started with examples such as "Sally has the perfect body, I need to look like her" or "Amy's so great at the piano, I need to be like her" or "what a perfect organizer Jane is, I need to be a better organizer" or "look at how much fun Anna is, why don't I have fun like that?" or "wow, Lizzy's awesome at basketball, I need to get out there and shoot some hoops!" All of these seem fine, except when we expect ourselves to be this "super woman" we've created out of everyone's strengths that doesn't exist. All of us have our special talents, our special strengths. And no one can be perfect at everything! That's what helps us work together. If you're a piccolo, be a piccolo! If you're a violin, be one, and be proud of it! It takes a whole bunch of people to make a symphony, not just one. So be who you are and LOVE it! YOU are super! Have a great day! Love, me! :)

Thoughts for Sunday

This video made me cry! I'm such a crier. I thought it was just amazing how this girl didn't focus on her challenges, but rather focused on how she could help others with challenges and how in turn that helps her feel better. It makes me want to be better. It makes me want to serve others and help others and lift others up rather than focus on challenges I face. Wow. Have a wonderful Sunday. Love, me! :)

                               The Joy of Service

                                


"As we look heavenward, we inevitably learn of our responsibility to reach outward. To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy. We do not live alone—in our city, our nation, or our world. There is no dividing line between our prosperity and our neighbor's wretchedness. 'Love thy neighbor' is more than a divine truth. It is a pattern for perfection."- Thomas S. Monson, Prophet, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

St. Patty's Day :)

Irish Toast
It is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there's no money!

Irish Saying
There are only two kinds of people in the world, The Irish and those who wish they were.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! :) I have to share the fun things my class and I did yesterday to celebrate. It's SO fun to make a fun day for kids. They get so into it. Definitely, if you want to have an awesome day, spend it making it a fun day for children. :)

When the kids came in the morning, the classroom was destroyed. A total mess. Our candy was "stolen," and everything green in our room was "gone" because of the leprechaun. BUT... he left behind his hat. So we had leverage. We made a class leprechaun trap to catch him and get our candy back. In the end, he got away, but we ended up trading the hat to get all our stuff back.

I also was worried that not everyone would wear green, because it wasn't "officially" St. Patrick's Day. SO... I cut out some shamrocks and stapled them to stickers and let everyone make up their own "leprechaun name." We had some crazy ones like "Green Ninja" (#'s 1, 2, and 3 because so many boys liked the name) and "Lucky Billy" (Lucky Billy was a girl). Mine was "Crazy Green Lady" because I was wearing the brightest lime green jacket ever!!!

The best part of the day was the scavenger hunt. After lunch, there was a "clue" inside the leprechaun trap telling us where we might find him. We went to the cafeteria, the library, sang songs in the office, it was a blast. My other favorite part of the day was when the kids told me I could not eat lunch with them (cause I usually eat with my students on Fridays) because they wanted me to guard the leprechaun trap. They were hilarious yesterday. :)

I also added pictures from the art project we did. We wrote what makes us feel lucky and what we would do with a pot of gold. It was fun!!! Hope you guys are having a fabulous St. Patrick's Day!! Love, me!!! :)

God Bless America

AUTHOR:

Benjamin Franklin (1706–90)

QUOTATION:

“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”   “A Republic, if you can keep it.” I love this quote. So true. It makes me not only want to vote, but also do everything ever to support the country we are so blessed to live in. If we are going to have a government "by the people and for the people," then we (the people), need to vote and be involved in supporting our nation in any way we can. I love to teach my first graders about America. I teach them the National Anthem and we sing it every single day as part of our morning routine. (In fact, my class last year got to perform the National Anthem as an intro to a concert!!! So cool!!!) They LOVE it. They love being Americans. It makes me all mushy inside. Whenever I talk to my first graders about America, they tell me about family members and friends they have that are in the military. I love to see the support they have for our troops. I can just see it now, those little 6 year olds saying their prayers and blessing the soldiers... and what a great example those kids are. What a blessing it is to live in such a great nation. I'm so thankful to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. God Bless America, and God Bless all of YOU! Have an incredibly wonderful evening! :) Love, me! :) God Bless the USA

My class family :)

HILARIOUS QUOTES: :)

Kids say the darndest things, quotes :)

My students are some of my favorite people in the entire world!! :) Obviously I can't post a picture of them (because that would be illegal) but... just imagine 28 of the cutest little six-year-olds ever... and that's my first grade class. :)

I feel like they are my own. We call ourselves a class family because I want to create some closeness and unity in the class. I also want to encourage them to treat each other with love and kindness, like family. Thus, we call ourselves a "class family." 

I love watching my kids learn. I love watching them help one another, lift each-other up, create smiles and laughter... I just LOVE these kids SO MUCH!!

Today we made the cutest St. Patrick's day projects. They told me what makes them feel "lucky" and what they would do if they had a pot of gold. Then they wrote it all on pretty paper and made artsy designs to decorate it. I'll post a picture tomorrow. :) My favorite post was when one of the kids said he would invest his pot of gold into a business and get even more rich. Smart little 6-year old I'd say!

They really are just hilarious. My friends say it's because I have a first-grade-level humor... and yes, that might be true. Here's my fav knock knock joke right now. Ready? Ok!

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Owl's say
Owl's say who?
That's right!!!


BAHAHA. Ok. Looks like teacher needs to get some sleep before she goes coo-coo. She's already telling crazy knock-knock jokes. Goodnight, world! Have a STUPENDOUS evening! Love, me!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

"Winning isn't everything, but wanting to is." - Vince Lombardi

"And just when you thought you were the coolest person in the room, I walked in." - -unknown,  LOL!

If you really want a fun time, make a boat out of newspaper and have a race!!!
Here's my boat..... canoe style...I know, totally cool right?

And.... here's Josh's. Not sure of the design. Definitely not as cool as mine. :)

We had three rounds. He won the first one, I'm a big enough person to admit... but I'm also glad to say that I KICKED BUTT in the other two races!!!! :) :) 

The start up race video is not uploading (it's ok cause you don't want to see the part where JOSH's boat is winning!!)... but you get to see the AMAZING finish of MY boat.... ending also by Josh tickling me which is why the camera moves a lot. :) I'm not the slightest bit competitive....

Anyway, lesson learned that slow and steady wins the race. His boat sank WAYYY before mine. My boat went almost the distance of a football field. A little proud? Maybe. :) All in good fun. You know I love you, Honey!!!! :) :) :)

And yes, at this very moment Josh is watching a video online on how to make oragami boats. Legit. I'm impressed. His new boat looks pretty cool. Well, it did look cool until he destroyed it because he doesn't want me to know how he did it.... 

Have a MARVELOUS day! Love, Me! :)

Sickness and Prayers :)

Having a sick tummy is no fun, but having an awesome husband to take care of you makes everything better. :) I love you, Josh!!! I came home from school today with a sick tummy. It's still not better yet, but I'm saying lots of prayers. I believe that will help, too. :)

"It matters not our circumstance, be we humble or arrogant, poor or rich, free or enslaved, learned or ignorant, loved or forsaken, we can address Him. We need no appointment. Our solicitation can be brief or can occupy all the time needed. It can be an extended expression of love and gratitude or an urgent plea for help. He has created numberless cosmos and populated them with worlds, yet you and I can talk with Him personally, and He will ever answer." - Elder Richard G. Scott, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  "Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer," Ensign, May 2007, 8

Also, here are some fun pictures from our pizza night. Don't we love the heart-shaped pizza?!

P.S. Great food idea for a sensitive stomach: baked potato with cottage cheese. Sounds weird? It's delicious. Very comforting. :) Have an AMAZING day! Love, me! :)

Double Dates and Happy Movies :)

“The whole of life is just like watching a film. Only it's as though you always get in ten minutes after the big picture has started, and no-one will tell you the plot, so you have to work it out all yourself from the clues.” ― Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures

I LOVE HAPPY MOVIES. They take my mind off of anything stressful and just put me in a completely different world. I guess that's the point of movies, isn't it? So... if you're stressed... HAVE SOME FUN!!! Watch a happy movie. Get together with some people (or someone) that you really enjoy being with and just forget about the stress for a while! :) Tonight we did a double date with Emma (my sis-in-law) and Jacob (her date/super cute friend)... and do we sure love being with them. It was SO FUN!!!! We made pizzas and mine was heart shaped. It didn't taste as good as it looked (too dough-y), but that's ok. :) We set the table all pretty and listened to Frank Sinatra eating by candle-light. Quite the romantic pizza dinner. I'd recommend it to anyone! Then we watched a girly movie...and that, like I said, is always happy! :) Have a wonderfully FUN Saturday! Love, me! :)

"I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun." - Thomas A. Edison

This one's for you :)

"Lovely,

Never ever change.

Keep that breathless charm.

Won't you please arrange it?

Cause I love you

Just the way you look tonight."

-Fred Astaire

I was listening to this song on my way home, and you know? It made me cry!! Like a BABY I cried! I just couldn't stop thinking about how much I love and adore my husband. I couldn't stop thinking about how incredibly blessed I am that he is in my life... so darling, this one's for you. :)

My Darling Joshua

Your loving smile,

Your bright blue eyes,

Your gentle loving hands,

Your snuggle and your sweet carress

are making my heart prance!

I feel so happy with you around

knowing that you are mine

that it brings tears to my eyes

just thinking about our life

Together I know we have it all

and why so lucky am I?

I ask myself every day

but does it matter?

I'm dominated by

the thought of you and I forever

and all that we will do

for I know that it is paradise

Just knowing that I'm with you. 

I LOVE YOU, Joshua!!! :)

To my fellow bloggers and friends, thought you might enjoy a listen of the song I sang to Josh on our wedding day... "I Believe in You and Me" by Whitney Houston.  Have an AMAZING day! :) Love, me! :)

"Give Said the Little Stream" :)

 “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”

- Winston S. Churchill

My day was completely brightened by a mom of one of my students. She had purchased a jacket that didn't fit her right, and rather than taking it back to the store, she gave it to me and it fits me PERFECTLY. :) Thank you, my friend!!!! :) :)

So I've decided to pay it forward. Not by giving the jacket of course, but by finding a gift and making someone else's day with it. Maybe I'll do something special for my students. Or my husband. Or a girl-friend. Hopefully I can figure out who just "needs it." Who needs a special gift I wonder? If it's you, let me know! :) Have a SPECTACULAR day!!! Love, me! :)

Service and Songs

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up" -- Mark Twain. 

You know when you have those days that cheer you up, and you didn't even know you needed it, but once it happened, you totally realized you needed it? Yeah. That happened to me today. I went to my cousin Audrey's house to help her clean up a party mess from her brand new 1-yr-old's birthday party and it was awesome. Isn't he the cutest?!?!? I love you so much, Parker!! :)

Also, I listened to the BEST song on my way home from her house. "Don't stop believing" by Journey. It is a no-fail, every time I hear it I sing at the top of my lungs and start dancing in the car song. I LOVE THAT SONG. So here you go. No official music video, but you get to at least hear the song and have a good jam session! Have a fabulous day! Love, me! :)

Don't Stop Believing!!! :)

Walking

Being married to the most wonderful man on earth is definitely a way to brighten your day. I came home from work and said, "Honey, let's go for a walk!" We walked for like 5 miles, just talking about our future and having a ball. Walks are the best, too. Just being in the fresh air and getting a little excercise.... wow. Mmmmm... life is good. :) Love, Me! :)

“If you seek creative ideas go walking.
Angels whisper to a man when he goes for
a walk.”
― Raymond I. Myers

"Why? Because I like life!"

HI! :) I'm Sarah. Today I'm blogging because I want to bring you an inspiring message! :) We all need a little pick-me-up each day, right? If you come looking for a little something to make you smile, you've come to the right spot! :)

My blog address,"whybecauseilikelife," is derived from a song from the movie Scrooge. For generations my family has enjoyed this movie with Albert Finney at Christmas time, and I can't help but feel that this song can take the "scrooge" out of all of us when we listen to it. Enjoy! :) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VkOBbt5gl8