Mission Call Arrives

The wait is finally over. After months of paperwork getting lost and blanks not completed we finally got everything together at the same time to submit the paperwork for Jason to go on his mission for the Church. He found out last weekend that the information from church headquarters was mailed last Friday and he has been on pins and needles all week anticipating its arrival. (I must admit that I too have been a little excited waiting for it.) The early part of the week was just a little nerve wracking but by Friday it was unbearable to wait for the mail. When it didn't come Friday he was really stressed. I told him that it was because we wanted to all be together when he opened the letter and that everyone was going to be in a different place on Friday night. Earl was in Little Rock for a doctor's appointment (just a check up) and then doing the family shopping. Jenny had to play in the band at the ballgame and I was scheduled to work in the concession stand. Jason was planning to go with me and Jack had decided to just stay at home. Like I said, everyone scattered.

Then, when Jason got home from work this afternoon and the mail had not arrived yet he was like a little child on Christmas morning waiting for everyone to wake up. He paced from the front of the house to the back and then to the front again waiting for the mail to arrive. Then, suddenly, I hear this blood curdling scream from the front, "It's here." He was just a little excited. We all gathered in the kitchen, Jason called his Aunt Lori on his cell phone and put her on speaker phone. Earl called his mom on the house phone and put her on speaker. I tried to get Dorothy and Uncle Roddy but neither were in a position to answer their phones. Before opening the envelope everyone made a guess as to where he might be going. We were all over the map. Then he opens the letter and starts to read. His eyes scan down the page and he bursts out with a loud laugh and announces that someone is going to be very excited. He has been called to the Nevada, Los Vegas Spanish speaking mission. This is ironic because his paternal grandmother lives in Phurmph which is about an hour from Vegas. We are all stunned and excited at the same time.

We have a lot of preparations to take care of in very little time. He goes into the Mission Training Center on 17 December 2008 and that only gives us two months to get everything pulled together and ready. Christmas will come a little early to the Bowen family this year. But we wouldn't change any of it because we know this is what the Lord wants him to do and we are thrilled that he is able to go. It has been a dream of his parents since his birth and a dream of his for a very long time. We look forward to sharing all the exciting times ahead with each of you.

Busy, Busy, Busy

As usual, life in the Bowen house is very busy. School activities and functions have everybody hopping except for Jason. Jenny stays busy with band practice and football games on top of her class work, which seems to be much heavier now that she is in high school. She can't decide if she likes high school or not. She loves the idea of being in high school but it also has its drawbacks. She likes playing in the band and loves concert season but marching season is another topic. Being out in the heat and the cramps in her legs are not the most fun that she has had. The homework is harder and takes up more of her time and she is not sure that she likes that either.

Jack is excited about being in middle school. And we have another musician in the house - if Mom and Dad can take the noise - Jack is becoming a percussionist, he is learning to play the drums. The house will never be the same, and we are not sure that the walls can take it. (We know our ears can't.) Actually, we are excited that he has decided to follow in the footsteps of his older siblings and is interested in music. His birthday is on Friday and he takes every opportunity to remind us that it is coming. He is really excited.

Jason is still trying to get all the paperwork together for his mission. It seems that every time we think it is all finished and everything is ready to submit them, something gets misplaced or there is a line that was overlooked. Hopefully he is finishing the last interview tonight and all will be together and can be finalized. If so, we should know when and where he will be going in a couple of weeks. We will keep all posted and let you know as soon as we do.

Earl is taking some much needed time off before the busy holiday season starts and is looking forward to having time to do some things around the house. Dianna is envious and wished she could be at home with him to help, but this is a very busy time for her at school. Next week is Homecoming week and she will be going nonstop trying to get everything done along with teaching classes. Like I said: Busy, Busy, Busy.

Family - What's Up

I am looking forward to having a place to keep the distant (in miles only) family members up to date on what is happening with this branch of the Bowen Family. We are holding our own. Although, we do miss having Dorothy around. There are times when I wish I could make her a young girl again because I miss her so much, but I can't so I must let her be her own person. But that is very hard. Jason is anxiously waiting for his mission call to come. (Actually, I think Mom is more anxious about it than he is.) We all know that he is going to be a dynamite missionary. He has grown so much spiritually in the past three years. His knowledge and understanding of the scripture is awesome. Jennifer is getting into high school life but sometimes wishes she could go back to middle school. The workload is already beginning to overwhelm her but she will do just fine. Band is also taking up a large portion of her life these days. Jack is anxiously waiting for his birthday to arrive. He can hardly wait. Everyone at church is also watching the calendar because he will be 12 this year, able to receive the Aaronic Priesthood , a deacon. It has been a while since we had a deacon in the branch. Earl and I are still working hard and trying to keep things running smoothly.

Changes

You may have noticed that the focus of my blog has changed. It is not that I have abandoned learning. Learning is a continuous thing. I have just decided to change to a family oriented blog. My hope is that this will be a way of keeping family and friends updated on the events taking place in our family. The weather is getting bad due to the remnats of Hurricane Ike so I am going to end this and shut down my computer.

Learning from Presentations

The presentations in class yesterday were all wonderful and inspirational. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing everyone's WebQuests, Websites, and Movies. As I was watching the presentations I would find myself thinking of ways I could adapt what they had done to my class setting. Some people think that if a project is planned for an elementary classroom it cannot be used in a secondary setting, but it can. Just as an example, one of the WebQuests (sorry I cannot remember the name of the classmember who presented it) on Shopping Spree Winner was designed for an elementary school math class but I can see how it could be used in my clothing or finance class with high school students. The idea of being able to spend money and on clothing would definately appeal to my teenage students in the 9-12 grades. There were also a couple of the movies that I wish I could use in my classes. Teachers must continue to be learners in order to keep their classes exciting and inspirational for their students. I am hopeful that utalizing some of the technology tools that I now have in my teaching file will help make my classes more interesting for my students.

What I Have Learned

This has been a very interesting experience. Doing a blog and setting up a facebook account. One thing that I have learned that I am not sure was an objective of the course is how my students feel when I make one of those assignments that seems to be just a way to keep them working. Don't get me wrong. I understand the reason for having us write messages on the wall and inbox for all the members of the class is the show that we understand how to use the technology and that we get comfortable with it. I also understand the reason for posting to the blogs. It is just that, when you are sitting at the computer trying to come up with something to write to someone you know little about, it gets very time comsuming and a little frustrating. Like I said, I understand how my students feel. But sometimes you have to do an assignment just for what you can get out of it, not because it makes any sense to you. Please don't take any of this personally, Dr. H, and I hope it doesn't hurt my grade. :) The assignment was to put our thoughts and feeling into our blog and that is what I have tried to do. Does anyone out there understand?

The Learning I Teach

Someone ask what I teach. I teach Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS). For the "older" generation in the audience, that is Home Economics in the modern age. My students are getting the FACS of life in my classroom. I start the beginning of the year telling my students that I am the only teacher who can, without reservation, tell them that everything I teach is something that they will use for the rest of their life. This is the reason many of us who teach FACS cannot understand why there are people in education and government who are trying to make our program extinct.

The way I explain it to my students is that everyone is going to have to intereact with other people (Interpersonal Relationships unit). We all love food and must eat (Foods and Nutrition), and we all wear clothing (Clothing Management). We are all going to live in some type of dwelling (Housing and Interior Design) and we will all use money in some way, either money we make or spending someone else's money (Personal and Family Finance). Most will have children of their own (Parenting) and even if they do not have children they will have to interact with them in some way (Child Development). These are truely "life skills" that everyone needs to be successful in every other aspect of their lives. Why would we not encourage students to take these classes rather than trying to throw the program away. Hopefully you can tell that I am passionate about what I teach.