March, April, May 2011

I'm playing catch up here since I haven't posted since April.

Right before we left Washington, our sweet bakery friends threw us a going away party. 

We miss Washington, but are also happy to be here.  One morning not too long ago, Sam woke up crying inconsolably, and when we asked him why he was so sad, he said that he missed our old home.  Apparently he had had a dream of the three of us walking home from our old bakery just like we did just about every single evening after closing the store each night.  That got him thinking about his old friends there.  He often will say at random times, "I miss so-and-so" or "I miss our bakery" or even "I miss the jack-in-the-box that was at our old church."   

At the same time, it's really great to be back near family.  It's fun to have Sunday dinners again with family.  I'm so happy that Sam can grow up so close to his grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles.  We've also been very blessed with our jobs here which will help us get out of the debt we have from the bakery.

Anyway, moving on.  This spring Sam, Christopher, and his dad went fishing.

In May Christopher's brother Jordan got married to Kelli.

Here are Christopher and Kierstin trying to steal Jordan's keys so we could decorate inside his car.  Jordan was not too happy about that.

 Our friend Troy came to visit.

 This is Sam at the sidewalk chalk festival.

More catch up to come soon!

Immersion Schools--Why French?

A local news station did a report on immersion schools a couple months ago, so check it out if you want to see how it works.

According to the Center of Applied Linquistics (CAL), learning a second language at an early age:

• has a positive effect on intellectual growth and enhances mental development
• leaves students with more flexibility in thinking, greater sensitivity to language, and a better ear for listening
• improves children's understanding of their native language
• gives children the ability to communicate with people they would otherwise not have the chance to know and encourages cross-cultural friendships
• opens the door to other cultures and helps children understand and appreciate people from other countries
• gives students a head start in language requirements for college
• increases job opportunities in many careers where knowing another language is a real asset

I have told a lot of people about my new job teaching kindergarten in French, but they all have the same questions--why French?  Wouldn't Spanish be more useful?  Yes, Spanish is spoken more than French locally, but for those who do not plan on living in Utah forever, here are some benefits of learning French:

• French is not just spoken in France, but in over 50 countries--it is spoken on every continent by over 125 million people
• There are almost as many people in Africa who speak French as people living in South America who speak Spanish
• French is an official language of the United Nations, the Olympics, and many international organizations
• It is considered a business language
• After English, French is the most commonly taught foreign language in the world
• About 50% of all English vocabulary comes from French
• In many scientific fields, most American universities require a reading knowledge of French in order for scholars to be able to conduct research.  France continues to be a leader and innovator in science and technology.  Civil engineering, space/aeronautics, medical technologies, and telecommunications are just a few areas in which France is a world leader.

There are currently only six French Immersion schools in all of Utah, but that number is growing rapidly (Utah currently has French, Spanish, and Chinese Immersion schools).  About a month ago, I observed three Immersion classes where my mission friend works as a kindergarten teacher.  When I went into the 2nd grade classroom, the teacher allowed the students to ask me questions in French to get to know me.  I was blown away at how well they were able to understand, speak, and form questions. 

Sam has received a lot of French exposure already just in our home, but I am so super excited for him to be fluent.  This is the age to learn a second language because their brains soak it up so quickly!  Really, starting in middle school and high school doesn't make as much sense compared to starting at a younger age!  When I taught middle school French three years ago, my students' comprehension and speaking abilities were far below what I observed from that 2nd grade immersion class. 

Anyway, there is my plug for Immersion schools and for the French language specifically.  I'm sure I will have lots of fun stories to tell once school starts again next fall!

The Move, New Jobs, Etc.

For our dear friends in Washington, just so you know, we are not dead!  We made it safely to Utah without any problems.  We moved into our new apartment, bought new couches (we sold the old green futons), and have pictures on our walls.  It feels like home here, though we miss our old home terribly.  We miss our friends, our neighbors, our ward, the Puget Sound area.  We are happy, however, to be so close to our families.  They have helped us out tremendously as we have gotten settled and found our new routine.

Tomorrow marks three weeks that we have been here, and so far things are going really great.  Chris is enjoying his new job managing the bakery.  He is happy to be back with his old friend Jeff who is a much nicer boss than the Olympia bakery owners. 

I was incredibly blessed to find a full-time teaching position for next fall.  I didn't expect to go back to teaching immediately since my teaching license had expired last June.  My plan was to work as a leasing consultant somewhere while I took classes to renew my license, and then hopefully find a job the following school year.  When I announced on Facebook that we were moving down here and I was looking for a job, one of my old mission friends suggested I apply for an elementary French immersion teaching position since I had my degree and I was fluent in French.  When she told me about this opportunity, I knew in my gut that I would get the job.  During our last few weeks in Washington I had my first two interviews over the phone, and then a week after we arrived here, I had an interview with the principal and district immersion director.  The interview went great and the principal offered me the job right during the interview! 

So I will be a kindergarten teacher in a North Salt Lake public elementary school.  I will have a morning kindergarten class and an afternoon kindergarten class.  Because my classes are part of the Immersion Program, half of each session will be taught in French.  The 1st grade teacher will be a girl I knew from my mission--her family is from the states but they were living in Grenoble, France for her dad's work.  Since both Chris and I served in their branch in Grenoble, he knows her and her family too.  In fact, November 2002, both Chris and I had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner at their house (they had all the missionaries over from our whole district).  She and I will be the only immersion teachers for this school since they are just starting the program this fall.  I am absolutely thrilled and thankful for this opportunity.

Because Sam will be starting kindergarten next year and because I will be the immersion kindergarten teacher, he will be in my class.  I'm nervous to see how well he will behave with his mom as his teacher; I am hopeful he will learn quickly that he will be treated the same as the rest of the class.  On verra bien!

In the meantime, I have been substitute teaching in the Salt Lake School district.  I have been lucky to have a subbing assignment just about every day of the week.  So far I've done every grade in elementary school, a middle school math class, and a high school French class.  Some days are challenging--being a sub and having your own class are two different things entirely.  Overall, I am very happy to be back in the classroom.  Teaching and the French language are my two passions, and it feels so incredibly good to be back!

Presidents Day

We spent Presidents Day weekend in Olympia with some friends of ours who made the trip up from Oregon.  We wanted to get together before our big move back to Utah (in case you missed the announcement on facebook, surprise!  We're moving back to Utah the end of this month).  We had a fun time playing at parks, visiting Washington's state capital building, swimming, and visiting.  Chris and Teri have adorable kids--in fact, Sam calls their little girl, Anna, his girlfriend. 

After visiting the capital building, we decided to walk about half a mile to visit a small Japanese garden.  While there, Sam slipped and fell into the pond.  It was pretty cold and windy, and we had to carry him all the way back to the car.  Poor guy.

Sam Reading

Here's a video of Sam reading.  If you get these posts in your email, go directly to http://camillataylor.blogspot.com to see the video.

The Christmas Post

It was our first Christmas alone with just our little family, and we had a nice cozy holiday.

We made cookies for friends, and Chris had to leave this note over the bowl so I wouldn't snitch the cookie dough.  Great idea!  It actually worked!

Our first real Christmas tree.

Here are some pictures of us acting out the Christmas story.  Since there are only three of us, we had to enlist the help of Sam's toys.

I was Mary, and Sam's dog Zoe was Jesus.

Chris, the bunny, and the lizard were the wise men.

Sam was a shepherd, and his sheep were his trucks and his dog Zoe (who, if you recall, was previously Jesus).

These are our Christmas jammies.

Sam in his second pair of Christmas jammies.

Here is a short video of Sam decorating cookies for Santa as well as bits of our Christmas morning opening presents. 

Movie Recommendations

For those who like watching French films (or those who would like to try), here are a few I've watched in the last little while that I've really enjoyed. 

 

Coco Before Chanel

I love Audrey Tautou!  When I was student teaching, I had a student who looked just like her.  Anyway, this is the story of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.  It chronicals her life from her early beginnings as a seamstress and singer to her entrance into the fashion world as she uses her talents making hats for France's high society. Rated PG-13.

 

 

 

Moliere
I really loved this movie!  This movie is loosely based on two of Moliere's plays, "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme" and "Tartuffe."  It was funny (actually made me laugh out loud) sad, and sweet.  It's similar to the movie Shakespear in Love as it takes the playwright's life and weaves it into his work.  Go put this on your Netflix queue. Rated PG-13.

 

 

 

Avenue Montaigne

Both of the two previous movies I mentioned were period pieces, but this one is set in modern day Paris.  It's about a young woman out to discover Paris and life.  She gets a job as a waitress and becomes aquainted with a professional pianist, a famous actress, an art collector, and others who introduce her to the luxerious life her grandma always told her about.  It made me dream about one day going to Paris.  Although I have lived in three different French speaking countries, I hate being a French teacher and who has never been to Paris (besides the airport).  One day I'll get there...  Rated PG-13.

 

 

 

La Moustache

It has been years since I've seen this one, but I remember really liking it.  It's about a man who decides to shave his moustache that he's had his whole adult life and waits to see if anyone says anything about it.  When no one notices, he starts to get upset, so he approaches his wife about it who claims he has never had a moustache.  It's a psychological drama a bit like the Twilight Zone.  Not rated.

 

 

 

Mr. Bean's Holiday

Now this one is not French--it's British.  But most of it takes place in France as Mr. Bean travels to Cannes.  It's fun, silly, and completely family friendly! Rated G.

Testimony of Dave Ramsey and Prayer

A few months ago I was telling my in-laws how blessed we have been in the past couple years that we have lived here.  Money had been so extremely tight, and we were blessed in not having any expensive emergencies--none of us have been sick requiring a doctor visit and/or perscriptions, and neither of our cars have had any serious problems requiring expensive repair. They said that they have experienced similar situations.  As soon as you come into a little bit more money, that's when the expensive emergencies arise. 

Now that Chris has started his new job, we were able to put a portion of his first paycheck towards our emergency fund.  For those of you not familiar with Dave Ramsey, I strongly suggest you get to know him.  Whether you are in debt or not, following his Baby Steps will surely give you and your money direction in your personal finances.  I have been a fan of his for probably the last five years, but not until a couple weeks ago have Chris and I become "gazelle intense" in becoming debt free.  I'm so excited for Chris's next paycheck to begin knocking out our debt snowball.  It brings so much peace to know that we have a plan to get ourselves out of our little hole the bakery left us with.  There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyway, the first Baby Step is to put away $1000 emergency fund.  I am so glad that we were able to do that because not even a week and a half later, our poor little 1997 Jimmy started giving us trouble and we had to dig into that account.  We have had that car since before we were married, and it has been good to us for the most part, but recently it started having problems. 

Sam and I were driving the Jimmy running an errand to the credit union during my lunch break.  When I tried to start the car again, it wouldn't go.  I was so frustrated and didn't know what to do.  Chris was in Olympia working so he couldn't help.  I was on a strict time frame where I had to drop Sam off at a friend's house and get back to work since I was the only one running the office that day.  Sam recognized my concern, and he started to get scared too.  He started saying that we were going to be stuck there forever!  A little dramatic, but for a little guy, he didn't know better.  We had our hood up, and people kept passing us by ignoring or possibly just not hearing Sam's sweet little plea, "Please will you help us?"  Sam suggested that we say a prayer so Heavenly Father could help us find someone to help us.  What a sweet little guy!  I recognized that this would be a good teaching moment, so we said a little prayer, and shortly after were blessed to find a nice person willing to help.  It was a temporary fix that helped us get to where we needed, and with our emergency fund that we just put away, we were able to fix the problem (we hope!) without having to go into more debt. 

For those unfamiliar with Dave Ramsey, please go check out his book from the library, The Total Money Makeover.  You can also check out his radio show weekdays at KNRS 570 AM from 7-10pm (if you live in Utah) or  KCIS 630 AM from 3-6pm (if you live in Seattle area).  It will change your financial life by enabling you to support yourselves, bless your loved ones, and to become generous to to those in need. 

Seriously, stop reading this and go check him out!  Now!  :)

Turkey Days

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, Glen and Julee (the previous GH owners) invited us to their "Turkey for a Turkey" dinner.  It was party to celebrate Thanksgiving as well as Glen's birthday.  We had a great time with them as well as several of our former employees!

Glen in his amazing costume!

Good ol' Dandy

Julee and her tasty green bean casserole

On the real Thanksgiving day, we celebrated with just the three of us.  It was our first time ever to do Thanksgiving alone, and it was really nice and relaxing.  Christopher and I made the dinner together, though he did most of the turkey--I get extremely squeamish when it comes to sticking my hands inside a dead animal!  Blegh!  I'll get over it one day, I hope.  We made all our family's traditional recipes and had an enjoyable day together!