3 Decisions

I subscribe to Creating Keepsakes. I used to scrapbook a ton, but life is busy and it doesn't happen as much as I would like now. In many ways, my blog has replaced my scrapbooking. Anyway, this month is their top ten issue. One of the articles especially caught my eye. Ten layouts that are missing from your album and shouldn't be. Basically, ten things you should record about yourself in your scrapbook. As I read it, I thought, if I'm being honest, I will probably never get these things scrapped, but they would make great blog topics... so that is my goal for the next month or so...to blog about these 10 topics. Some of them will really make me think. The first one is to record 3 of your most important decisions, decision that have really changed your life.

So what choices have really shaped who I've become? What choices have made me the person I am today? This is hard to narrow down to just 3. And do I pick the obvious ones or the less obvious ones? Hmm... I've been thinking about this since Friday, and for now, here are the ones that stand out.

Decision 1: Marrying Alfredo. Of course, choosing who you will marry is the biggest, most important decision you will make. This person will be the person you will spend life, and eternity with. This person will be the father of your children and your partner and friend. Alfredo and I met in a singles ward in West Valley. We were friends and hung out with a big group for about two years. I had lived in that singles ward for about 3 years at the time, and I was feeling like it was time to move, meet some new people, make some changes. I prayed about it and I won't go into all the details, but I knew I shouldn't move. Just a few months later, Alfredo and I began dating. We dated for 4 months, got engaged and got married six months later. While we were friends for about two years before we began dating, I'm fairly certain that if I'd moved, we wouldn't have begun dating. I know he is the person I am meant to be married to. He is a hard worker, a great father and a good man. This was definitely the very most important decision. And as a result, I am fortunate to have three beautiful girls that I adore.

Image from scovilleclan.com, found on Google images

Decision 2: Going to BYU: I was a good student and loved school. I looked into a number of colleges and applied for scholarships and received scholarships to NAU (Northern Arizona University), BYU (Brigham Young University), and Weber State University. Then I had a decision to make: which school should I attend? I wanted to move away from home and I wanted a school that had a good education program. Any of these qualified. I flew to Utah to tour Weber State and BYU and went to Flagstaff to tour NAU. Then I made lists of pros and cons and I prayed. And prayed. Finally, I chose BYU. I have no doubt I would have had a great experience at any of those universities, but BYU was the best for me. I was able to take religion classes that strenghtened my knowledge of and commitment to the gospel and my Savior. I got a degree in education, a career that I love. I had wonderful fun and made fabulous memories. But most importantly, I made lasting friendships. This fall marks 15 years since I started my freshman year at BYU and I am still in close contact with my college roommates. They are among some of my dearest friends. I sometimes reflect on this decision and wonder how my life would be different if not for Cyndie, Mon, Kristy, Cory, Mel, Rachel, Lori and Tasha. We are spread around the country now, but we have a website that we post to and many of us have blogs and are on Facebook. These are women that I know and love and trust and who I have turned to when I had trials and needed help as well as to share my joys and blessings. How would my life be different without them? I don't want to know. I hope we are still just as close in 15 more years and even 15 years after that. These are incredible women and I am blessed in countless ways by knowing them.

Top row: Cyndie, Kristy, Mel, Cory Bottom Row: Monica, Me Taken in 1995 or 1996

Decision 3: Training as a literacy coordinator with CELL/ExLL in California. I debated exactly what to put as my third decision. Should I choose having children? Should I choose becoming a teacher? And actually I debated about listing my marriage to Alfredo, primarily because marrying him and having children are what I almost always write about. So I really wanted to write about what else shapes who I am as a person and what matters to me. And besides being a wife and mother, probably the biggest other factor of who I am is my role as a teacher. I am committed to education, committed especially to literacy. I don't know everything, but I try to learn as much as I can to make myself a better teacher. My third year of teaching, my school was adopting a new literacy program. Everyone would receive 5 days of training in Salt Lake but then each school would train two teachers more extensively. Those two teachers would spend a total of 5 weeks in California being trained. Then they would come back and provide ongoing training and support to the rest of the faculty. My faculty was asked for recommendations of who they thought should be trained and I was recommended by several people, so the principal asked if I would do it. It was a big decision...it was only my 3rd year of teaching and this was a big responsibility. But ultimately, I decided to go for it. I've never regretted that decision for a moment. It taught me how to be a better teacher, especially in language arts. It started a passion for learning about how kids learn to read and write. It helped me develop more confidence in myself as a teacher. It allowed me to see many amazing, incredible teachers at work. This training brought job opportunities, even greater passion for literacy, knowledge about what works and what is important in teaching children to read, and a better understanding of myself as a reader and a learner. I made some mistakes as I began training my staff and I am still not a perfect teacher, but I am a committed, passionate teacher with a lot of knowledge. And for eight years, I have lived and used what I learned. This year my school adopted a new language arts curriculum and while I am using it, I am better equipped to look at the program and determine what will work and what won't work based on what I know about research and how kids learn. I am a better teacher and a better mother because of what I know. Thank you Karen and Adria and the CELL Foundation for teaching me so much! It has truly changed my life.

These are some of the amazing teachers I trained with. We took an evening off and drove into San Francisco and went to Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square.


Molly (left) was the other teacher from my school that trained--she trained for the lower grade, I trained for the upper grades. Sally and Sue are from Salt Lake and trained in the upper grades with me. And finally, Karen was our trainer and one of the most amazing people I have ever known. She flew in from CA for my wedding reception.