One Spring Afternoon in March

I know....it's been a while. I will catch up eventually.

For this post, I am using this blog as a journal. Please forgive me if I get too personal, or if I ramble. I just don't want to forget this experience as I remember it.

Ok..flashback about 20 years ago: My mom, Janet, had breast cancer. I really don't remember much about it. I remember Grandma Ruth stayed with us and took me to school, took me to Burger King, and did all the stuff around the house. I also remember that all of my sisters and my brother got to see my mom in the hospital, but that I had to stay home since I was too little. I will never forget when my dad said that he got special permission from the doctor and brought me in to see her for a few minutes. I remember feeling scared, but I didn't understand how sick my Mom was. I just remember that she had it, and then she recovered, and thought she would never have it again.

Ok....fast forward to March 14, 2009. It was my best friend Tiffany's wedding that day. It was also orange harvest day at my house. This was the day that all of my family came over to pick and juice hundreds and thousands of oranges. I got permission to miss it since it was my friends wedding.

I came home after my newlywed friend came out of the Temple and we did the whole picture thing. I was about to go to the luncheon, but my Mom told me to stay home. Normally, she doesn't care when I go out, but she was very firm that I stay home, so I put on my grub clothes to help with the oranges.

During a lunch break, while all the grandkids where playing outside and all of the adults were just chatting, my dad told us that my mom had had a mamogram, and the results didn't look good. I will never forget that moment. The earth really stood still for me. I was shocked. My dad proceeded to tell us that we were going to have a family fast that Sunday. We spent the rest of the afternoon picking oranges.

I had to go to Tiffany's wedding reception that night. I was still in shock at that point. I decided not to tell my friend Tiffany, because, duh, it was her wedding day! I was a bridesmaid, so I had to plaster a smile and get through that reception.

I came home from the wedding reception and went straight to my room. I read my scriptures, looking in the Topical Guide for "Cancer" (which, by the way, isn't in there). I will never forget being on my knees that night. I think that is the first time that day that I really had a good cry. I know that my Father in Heaven heard my pleadings that night, and, you know what, I know that He cried with me. After that prayer, I felt a peace that He was with my mom, He was with me, and He was with my family.

We eventually found out that it was indeed cancer. Through many miracles, my mom was able to be seen by a doctor and was scheduled to have her surgery a couple of weeks later.

The Sunday before my mom's surgery was Easter Sunday. We decided to have a nice Easter dinner and then give my mom a Priesthood blessing. After dinner, our family and friends gathered together in Grandma's special room. It was beautiful! Even the grandkids understood the importance of it, and they were reverant the entire time (some grahm crakers went a long way for the babies :).

I remember the sweet, strong spirit that was present during the blessing. I don't remember all of the words that were said, but I do remember one particular phrase from the blessing that I have tried to live by. In the blessing, the Lord said that my mom would get better through her faith and through the faith of her family! I knew that if I wanted my mother to get better, I had to have faith. I have to put her into the hands of the Lord, and He will help her. I knew I had to trust in Him.

Ok.....fast forward to today. My mom has had about 4 months of Chemo. Although she feels sick sometimes, she is doing really well. And the best news? The Chemo is working! The cancer has not spread anymore. We are so grateful for that!

I love my mom so much! It has been so hard to see her suffer during this trial, but she has gone through it without even one complaint. She is amazing to me! I know that the Lord is with her! I will put her into His hands, and trust Him to help her.

...if you are still reading these ramblings, thank you! As I said before, I wanted this to be a journal entry, so that I would not forget this.

Hotel Del Taco?

In a writing lesson today, I gave my students the assignment to write a personal narrative about a beautiful place they had been to and one experience they had there.


To start off any writing lesson, I always show my students an example graphic organizer and then the acutal piece of writing. I drew the chart on the whiteboard and began to write. My example was going to talk about the time I had lunch at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California (a great example of a beautiful place!)

I wrote the words "Hotel Del..." on the board and then one of my students shouted out "HOTEL DEL TACO MS. DAVIS!!"

This was one of those moments as a teacher when I had to turn around and just laugh! I could not help myself!

I guess I need to make reservations for the Hotel Del Taco!!)

"Thank You, Teacher"

These three words: "Thank you, teacher" are the whole reason I am doing this job.

I had parent-teacher conferences two weeks ago. Speaking from a teacher's point of view, these conferences are wonderful because we get to communicate with parents about their child's performance in the classroom. Even if parents can only speak Spanish, which in my case they do, it is still so important to talk to them about their child.

There was one particular conference that touched me, however. I was particulary concerned for this child, Zeke because of his reading skills. Basically, he is reading at a first-grade level in my 4th-grade classroom. At his conference, through an interpretor, I was able to express that, yes, I have concerns about his reading, but that he behaved really well in class. I went on to tell Zeke's dad how much I enjoy having him in my class because of his smile and happy demeanor. I gave this dad some things to do at home (a.k.a. have Zeke read with him 15 minutes a day). I felt that this dad was truly willing to help, and he wanted to know what he could do.

At the end of this very positive conference, this dad started to cry. I was so suprised because usually dad's don't show much emotion, especially in front of a woman. I asked him what was wrong. In response, he simply said, in his very broken English, "Thank You Teacher! I very happy."

I think most everybody knows that teachers do not get much in terms of monetary compensation. However, I think that teachers truly go into the profession for the right reasons are not in it for the money. We are in it to teach children and to touch lives. It is little "thank yous" from parents and students that are our true compensation and make all of the hard work worth while. I cannot tell you how blessed I am to be a part of this little boy's learning.
I am happy to report that in just a couple of weeks, Zeke's fluency and comprehension have already started to improve.
I am so glad I was a part of that conference. Those three simple words meant the world to me. Much more than a paycheck would (even though I need those too:)

Spelling Review

Sometimes my students say things that are so funny, I just can't help but laugh. Here is just one example:

We were playing a game to study for for our spelling test this past Thursday. I asked Martha to spell the word "knife." She spelled the word correctly, but I always ask my other students if they agree, or if the student really did spell it right. This is just a tactic to make sure everybody is listening and paying attention. My student Zeke said, "Ms. Davis, I really wouldn't know if she spelled it right or not." I couldn't help myself from smiling. His answer was so mature and sophisticated! I told Zeke that he should probably study those spelling words for the test tomorrow! I can tell he did because he got a B.

New Blog URL

My new blog url is maestradavis.blogspot.com. I thought this would be a very fitting title!

A 4th Grade Funny!

Each week in school, we study specific vocabulary words. Last week, we were studying the words Elegant and Practical. I asked the class "Would it be very practical for me to take my elegant prom dress camping?" The class laughed! "No way, Ms. Davis!!"
I listed reasons why it wouldn't be practical to take a prom dress camping on the board: the dress could get dirty, the dress could rip, it would be to cold, etc. Just as I thought I thought we were done with this list, Karla raised her hand and said: "Ms. Davis, it wouldn't be very practical to bring your prom dress camping because you wouldn't be able to fit into it anymore!" It took a minute for the rest of the class to get it, but I just laughed!
Sometimes, my students say the funniest and sometimes most honest comments. I just had to write this experience down so that I would not forget it!

Beans and Hotdogs...

Have you ever had a favorite dinner that you loved to eat as a kid? Well, for me, that was beans and hot dogs. I actually made it for my dad and I tonight, and it brought back all kinds of memories. I remember eating beans and hot dogs for lunch during the summer! I also remember my grandma and I eating beans and hot dogs together when I was staying with her in Utah. I love how the two flavors come together and make a tasty meal. I know, it sounds kind of gross, but I loved that meal as a kid! It is so simple to make, but I really love it.
I love how food can bring back certain memories! It was fun to reminisce tonight!