Quote for Tuesday

I came across this quote from our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, and thought it appropriate to share. 

"Girls, Aim high, but do not aim so high that you totally miss the target.What really matters is that he will love you, that he will respect you, that he will honor you, that he will be absolutely true to you, that he will give you the freedom of expression and let you fly in the development of your own talents. He is not going to be perfect, but if he is kind and thoughtful, if he knows how to work and earn a living, if he is honest and full of faith, the chances are you will not go wrong, that you will be immensely happy...True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion."

GORDON B. HINCKLEY

Snowy sacrament meetings and sunday reminders

"Now my bethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever." Alma 26:37

I'm grateful to have some really close friends that live so close to us here in Watertown. There are around 5 homes with LDS guys and girls within walking distance to one another. We all gathered this morning for sacrament meeting and it was very special. I decided to share this scripture because it hit me so powerfully this morning how mindful the Lord is of each of us and our individual needs. His love can be felt at any time and in any place the moment we invite him in. It is a very powerful principle. The love of the Lord is all around us, continuously, we just have to keep the pathway to us clear by filling our lives with good things (and good people). 

Happy Sunday to the rest of you! 

Would rather be swimming with Nemo.

Snow time in Boston! It started snowing yesterday around 10am but didn't get heavy until later in the afternoon. We last our power for a few hours last night but other than that it hasn't been so bad. Until we woke up this morning.... 

This is our covered front porch. Shows you how windy it has been!

We didn't even think to close the garage last night! Duh! 

This is my third winter in Boston and the first time I've EVER seen snow like this. The snow reached clear up to my thigh while walking through it taking pictures this morning! My cute and very with it roommate got us out there at about 9:30am to start shoveling... I wasn't thinking it would take too long. Well after two hours of shoveling we came it to take a break and defrost. I've never been more grateful for taco soup :) So we barely made a dent in the shoveling but hopefully we will have the driveway cleared up by the end of the day. We can take the bus to church if we have to! The city is still closed down and banned all cars from the roads with a $500 fine and possible jail time if you're caught on the roads. So we are happy to stay indoors today. 

Snow day wishes

This is gonna be me tomorrow! Just kidding... it better not be me. We just got new that our school is closing tomorrow (even though it hasn't started snowing yet). Boston is supposed to be getting close to 2 feet of snow. I'm kind of excited because I've never been in a snow storm that crazy before! 

Things I'd like to do tomorrow. 

1. Snow shoeing

2. Snow kissing

3. Snow sledding

4. Snowmobiling

5. Snow cones

6. Snow angels

Things I will actually do tomorrow..

1. Homework all day

2. Drink hot chocolate all day

Ya, it's gonna be great.

CJ 

Blankets Galore!

So I'm posting about some WONDERFUL news!

In Boston we received about 250 blankets and beanies to send to New York. Thank you so much to all of you who made blankets and donated them.

In Arizona and Utah blankets and beanies were collected as well. SO HAPPY! Here are a few pictures of the loading and shipping from AZ.

43 boxes to be exact. We were able to find someone to donate the money to ship them to NEW YORK yeeaaaaaa. 

Here are some pictures from our friend Gerry in New York who helped with distribution. These were taken after they arrived in NY. 

I wanted to share a note Gerry sent us recently.

Hi Liz (my mom)
Just a quick update ,
2 pallets of the blankets went to the Roxbury volunteer fire department in Breezy Point for distribution where 83 homes were burnt to the ground the night of the storm.
The remainder are being distributed throughout Broad Channel. The people are truly grateful and appreciate the talent , time and effort that was put into making each blanket and hat.  along with the monumental task of packaging and shipping the boxes. I myself want to thank you and want you to know you have 1254 new Friends in Broad Channel

Gerry

Does that not warm your heart? Admit it, yours just got a little bigger.. More of the blankets were sent to New Jersey and we are still waiting to hear back from them on the distribution. I'm excited to continue service like the YEAR ROUND! There's lots of work to do people!

-CJ 

Just being all grateful up in here. Catholic Christmas pageant success.

We had our Christmas Pageant at St. Peters school last night. Just imagine the magic of Disneyland, combined with christmas lights, caroling, church spirit, family and friends, along with the cutest kids on the planet. That's just like a portion of the amazingness of this pageant. It was the BEST.

Ya, I can't really put it into words. I worked a 14 hour day yesterday and even after I got home (and all packed to fly home) I was still going going from all the energy of the pageant excitement. There is nothing more fulfilling then preparing students for something then watching them succeed incredibly! The school is k-8. We worked with each grade in preparing a Christmas song (all of which had 2 part harmonies). The 8th grade was dressed for the nativity to perform and narrate the whole pageant. We also have a choir at the school that we worked with at lunch every day in preparing some other special numbers that Dave and I arranged. I played the piano for the whole concert (about 13 songs) along with a drummer and bassist. So fun!!! I walked away last night in tears after several standing ovations from a wonderful audience. The kids did SO WELL and I was so thrilled to be a part of it. I don't think I'll ever be able to leave this job?

I also had several friends come to support me last night, and that meant so much to me since none of my family was able to attend. This has been the best Christmas so far and I haven't even played the name game with my family yet...

Here are some photos and I also included some from my piano last Saturday.

Recital success and chocolate.

So I held my very first piano/voice recital this last saturday evening and it was a SMASHING success. Perhaps arriving at the church to set up 3 hours early did it? Or maybe it was putting all of my students through "recital boot camp" last week.... which they totally loved by the way. Teaching full time these last few months has taught me a lot, to say the least. I've been learning extreme patience with my little 4 year olds as well as my 14 year olds. I've also made quite the list of practice excuses and hilarious phrases my students come up with. Teaching is the BEST.

Now on to the next concert! My cute students at St. Peters k-8 school will be performing our annual Christmas pageant this thursday evening. I can hardly wait. They've been working hard for the last couple of months and the school community has been getting excited. I guess the pageant has quite the reputation to being amazing. It's such a blessing for me to be a part of the pageant and get to spend time with these cute kids everyday!

Hope everyone else is having a happy holiday!

Chocolate piano gift from student. Don't think I'll be eating it. My apartment is cold enough to keep it whole for a while. 

CJ