When Your Job and Life Passion Merge Together For the Good of Others

I love substitute teaching and I love to travel. For the first time since working at JSD, I put the two together with an amazing outcome. Working at the high school level has been very fulfilling. Hopefully by the end of the month I should have my 1983 Utah Teaching License reinstated since moving away. That means the substitute pay will go up almost $12 a day! (sidenote: teachers and subs should be paid better)

I have had the opportunity to work a lot with one particular high school close to my home. The staff and the teachers have been amazing. I have been given the opportunity to do three long term jobs at the school lasting for 6 weeks each. This really helps to build report with the students and staff when you are more consistent.  I am trained in the student system so I can do attendance and grades online and that alone gives you a better standing with the students. . . I have access to their grades in long term jobs! That helps them listen better, lol.

This last longterm job was in the FCCLA department teaching sewing. I am so thankful my grandmother taught me to sew when I was in the third grade! It was one of the best jobs ever. I was able to teach and sew for myself during my prep time. The students were scheduled to make drawstring bags for Apparel One. I was heading to South Africa at the end of this job and these bags were perfect to take to the village we were going to be visiting.

My travel buddy Mardell and I, filled the bags with school supplies and made room in our luggage for the bags. About two weeks before the sub job ended, Lois Nielsen a sewing teacher at another local high school, heard I was going to Africa through another substitute. We worked it out for me to pick up their sewing projects "Little Dresses For Africa," a few days before we left.  With full suitcases, Mardell and I were off to South Africa.

It was a wonderful trip scheduled through Fun For Less Tours out of Draper, Utah. We traveled through five countries, learned a ton of history, went on several land and water safari's and fell in love with the children. Their smiles are beautiful and they are so happy even with so little.

This is a link to the districts story about the students who helped with the projects.

JSD Students Help Children in Africa with Homemade Gifts From the Heart



The following are pictures I took of the children in the Zambian Village who benefited from the generosity of these high school students.

The village guide was given the bags and dresses to hand out. This helps to get them to those in the most need and helped keep us from getting mobbed!

I LOVE her smile!

"I have a question?"

I Love My Kids!

Have I ever mentioned how wonderful my kids are? They are a great support to me and I probably don't tell them enough how much they mean to me.
Marie is an amazing mother! She is a joy to watch taking care of her son Ethan. Chris and her have an amazing relationship. I have loved watching her grow into the women she is. She has her struggles but deep down she is a very strong women. I love to listen to her play the piano. She was blessed with a great talent for that.
Jeffrey, well I have always wondered why I was so lucky to raise such an outstanding young man. He is so centered and very strong in his convictions and faith. He has an amazing understanding of the purpose of life. He is a great example to our family and the center of our family strength. His example of hard work and endurance is a blessing and example to all of us.
Rachel is unbelievable! The death of her father has been very hard on her, yet she has made a choice to rise above it and try to understand the purpose of God's plan for us. She works so hard at school and tries to follow her brothers example of hard work. Most kids in her shoes would have chose to retreat and crawl in a hole. She chose to get involved in school and surround herself with good people.
We all have are faults. That is one reason we are on earth, to overcome our faults and become better people. As a mom, I couldn't have hand picked better children. They are a large part of the reason I have been able to go on and get through this year as well as I have.
Kids, if you read this, I LOVE YOU. You are my diamonds.