Lost And Found

Three weeks from the day our car was stolen, we got a phone call that it had been found. Unfortunately for the insurance company we had just settled with them three days before, so now it's their problem. However, we did go down to the tow yard to see if anything was left in it that we wanted. Of course the presents from the toy drive were gone, and even the church books I left in the car were gone. They did leave some weights I had in the car, and they left their sparkplug wrench (I think that's what it's called). The only damage we could see were scratches on the back bumper and the steering column was broken.

My Beautiful, Sweet Sisters-in-law

I've been feeling a little guilty that all of the pictures thus far have been of my side of the family and none from Todd's side. I just didn't really have recent ones of them and so I was waiting for Christmas to take lots of pictures to post of them. It's funny how now that I have my blog I find myself taking a lot more pictures. Anyway, today we received a Christmas card from Todd's parents and sisters and voila. There were two pictures of Todd's younger sisters. For those of you who haven't seen them since the wedding, seven years ago, you probably don't recognize them. But those sweet little girls at the wedding are growing up to be beautiful young women. I love them and am proud of the lives they are leading.

The first picture is of Alysha who is 17. Wow! I thought she was 16 and Todd just corrected me. I can't believe she is 17. She was probably 9 or 10 when Todd and I got married. Any way, she is a senior and just recently got her drivers license. Todd and I took her out a few months ago to teach her how to drive stick shift. I can't believe how well she did on her first try. She did way better than I did when I first started driving stick. Anyway, Alysha is quite the performer. She goes to a school were students can focus on certain areas. She does a lot with drama and has been in some plays and musicals. She does very well. I guess they have even had Dick Van Dyke come to their school, I'm jealous, and they do an event with him every year. She is also working part-time at a photo studio. I also just recently found out that she has her "Young Womenhood" award. For those who aren't familiar with this award, it's an award that the young girls in our church ages 12-18 can earn. It's can kind of be compared to an Eagle Scout in the sense that it takes a lot of time and effort. I was excited and proud of her when I heard she had already completed all the requirements for the award. I think it says a lot about her. And If I'm correct, I believe she did a lot of it on her own. I think that shows what a self motivating young woman she is.

The second picture is of sweet little Cassie, Todd's 14 year old sister and the youngest of the 5 siblings (Todd also has two brothers). Only she isn't so little. She is almost as tall as me. I am extremely jealous of her figure. She could definately be a model. She also has beautiful hair.

Cassie has always had a tender heart. I remember once when she was younger she had a friend that some of us thought was annoying. One day some of us were going somewhere and Cassie's friend was there. We didn't want her friend to go with us so Cassie being the sweet girl that she is said she would stay behind with her friend. Wow! That sure taught me a lesson.

Cassie is also a very talented girl with a busy schedule. She is on a club soccer team (you have to try out for it) and in the fall she played on the highschool volleyball team. You know, I have never been a big fan of volleyball and didn't think watching a game would be very interesting. Boy was I wrong. Todd and I had the opportunity to go to one of her volleyball tournaments and beleive me it was very exciting. As I am writing my blog I realize that we probably have some pictures of her playing volleyball. I should find those and post them.

As you can see, these are two very special girls. I love Todd's family and am excited to share more about them in future blogs. Well, most of them. Just kidding Ryan. So, hopefully Christmas will give me a chance to take some more pictures to post.

One of the reasons I LOVE being a teacher...

One of the reasons I love being a teacher is that we get long breaks during the year. Today was my last day of teaching until Jan. 7th, 2008. I love my job and working with my kids, but sometimes a break is needed so I can recharge my batteries. This time of year is especially busy with report cards and conferences. And if you're a special ed. teacher, you still have to keep up with the IEPs, Individualized Education Plans for each of the students. Any way, that boils down to a lot of paperwork and extra hours during this time of year. But it's all worth it to be able to work with these precious children. I am looking forward to resting, cleaning and organizing my house, and of course, spending some time organizing my classroom and curriculum. I can't seem to stay away from work.

I also just finished my student teaching for my Intern Specialist Credential. My teacher informed me that I got an A. I was supprised, as it seemed everytime she came in the lessons never went quite right. Oh well, I guess we are always harder on ourselves.

With the completion of the student teaching, I have finished the requirements for the Level I credential. I now need to do Level II. Both levels need to be completed in order to qualify for the credential. In order to meet the requirements for the Level II credential, I need to take some more classess and teach two years with my Level I credential. I will need to complete the requirements of the Level II credential within five years of receiving the Level I credential. I'm not sure how that will work since when Todd and I are blessed with children I will be staying home and not working. It would be nice to have in case something happened and I needed to go back to work. Since there is a great need for special education teachers, having this credential would give me more job security. I am a strong believer in education and in being prepared for whatever unseen circumstances might happen, so I will probably continue my education throughout my life. But of course, my family will always be first.

Today was fun. When the kids came into class there were presents under the tree from Santa. Each of them got a book. It's funny how honest kids are. Santa really tried to get each of them a book that they would enjoy. However, while most of the students seemed to enjoy their presents I still heard a few comments such as "I thought it was a toy." and " This is for babies." Oh well. Not even Santa can please everyone. My aid, who owns a pizza shop also brought pizza for everyone. It was a nice little party.

See Who's Been Elfed

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1379545666

Merry Christmas

This is the Chrismas tree in my classroom. The kids made paper chains and paper ornaments with their pictures on them. One of my students also made the star on top of the tree.

















This is a Christmas tree I made on the door with my students' handprints. It looked better before this picture. It rained one day and I had the door opened a little while before I realized the tree was getting wet. As a result, some of the hand prints started to fold and fall off.

Parker The Cowboy

This is my three year old nephew Parker riding his horse.

Julie's Boyfriend!

This is Lisa sharing her jacket with my sister Julie's boyfriend. This was a statue outside an ice cream parlor we went to in Lincoln Nebraska. I guess every time Julie goes to Lincoln, she calls him her boyfriend. Me, Lacy, and Parker rode to the ice cream shop in one car while Josie, Todd, Lisa, and Jason went in another car. On the way there we got separated. In the car she was in, Josie (my five-year old niece) was the only one who had been to the ice cream shop. While they were driving around looking for the shop, Josie saw the statue and said, "There's Aunt Julie's boyfriend." Yep! That's how they found the shop.

Here Lisa and Josie posing with Julie's boyfriend.

"Aunt Julie. Look who we found!"

More Pictures From Lincoln Nebraska

This is me, Lisa, Jason, Todd, Josie, and Parker outside of an ice cream parlor in Lincoln.

This is a picture of Me, Todd, Jason, Lisa, Josie, and Parker eating ice cream in Lincoln. And yes. It was snowing outside.

Blast from the past

Every March our school celebrates Dr. Suess' birthday. As part of the celebration we invite people to come and read to the kids. Last year my Mom, Lisa, Lincoln, and Dillon came. Dillon made his hat at preschool and my class made the hat for Lincoln.

For our FHE activity....

I think this thing is BROKEN!!!!!

What's Missing from our driveway?

BINGO! No car. I went out this morning to go to work and this is what I saw. Todd was the last to drive it(our only car) and so I thought maybe he parked it on the street. I looked up and down the street and still no car. I ran back inside to see where he parked it and he said that it should be in the driveway. Well, after calling the cops to see if for some reason it had been towed (as that is what happened last time our car went missing when we lived in our apartment) we came to the conclusion that it must have been stolen. Todd looked on State Farm's website and our car, a 1995 Honda Civic is the second most stolen car in California. It's the number one most stolen car in the United States. I just wish they would have chosen another night to steal the car as I was in charge of the toy drive at our church and yes, I had some of the toys in the trunk to be delivered the next day. At least they didn't get all of the toys. Oh, well. Since our car has 240,ooo miles and with the prospect of adoption, we had been thinking of possibly getting a new car in the near future, after we had saved a little more money. I guess we might have to buy one a little sooner than expected, but life still goes on. I would just like to thank my wonderful sister Lisa for getting up early in the morning and driving twenty miles or so to come pick me up for work and letting me use her car, Blue Bunny.

Birthday Girls

Since Josie's birthday is December 3rd and mine is December 4th, we celebrated our birthdays together while in Nebraska. I bought Josie the Little Miss books and gave them to her when we first arrived in Nebraska. A few days later some of the girls were out shopping and they found these little Miss shirts. Josie and Lacy have mathcing pink Little Miss Sunshine shirts and my mom bought this green Little Miss Sunshine shirt for Josie to give to me. Cute. I love it!

The Next Gerber Baby

Isn't he cute. This is Lincoln in a highchair at McDonald's.

Merry Christmas

Since they will be moving back to Ca just before Christmas, Lacy bought a small tree. Great idea!

Thanksgiving Recap

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Todd and I flew to Nebraska and stayed a few days with my brother and his family. For Thanksgiving we drove to Kansas and spent it with my Dad's side of the family. We had lots of fun spending it with family members we don't see a lot.

Due to popular demand, I have decided to start a blog. So welcome to our blog. Hope you enjoy a look into our our life. I guess I'll start with introductions. My name is LynMarie Southworth. I grew up in Covina Ca. I graduated from Charter Oak highschool and the University of Laverne. I ran both track and cross country at Charter Oak and Laverne. I also recieved my teaching credential from the University of Chapman. I have taught various grades such as 4th, kinder, and 1st. I am currently a Special Education teacher working on my Education Specialist credential through Cal Poly. I currently have tweleve students in my class, ranging from grades 1st-5th. It's a demanding and challenging job, but I love working with these special children. I can honestly say I LOVE my job. Some other interesting facts: I served a 1 1/2 year mission in La Paz Bolivia and have traveled to places such as Costa Rica, Canada, Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii, and through the Panama Canal.

My wonderful husband is Todd. He is a computer programmer and has the privilage of working at home. We have been married for seven wonderful years. Todd loves elephants and playing strategy games. Todd was born in Canoga Park and raised mostly in Simi Valley Ca. Todd also served a 2-year mission in Brazil. Todd is currently the Young Men's president in our ward at chuch.

Other exciting news-Todd and I are currently in the process of adoption. We have been waiting since June for a special child to join our family. We are very excited to become parents.