A little inspiration..

I was listening to Joyce Meyer today, and I think she had a great message. I would like to share this message with you. Her message was about the goals we set for our lives. She talks about how when we get older, as adults, we begin to lose our ambitions, we lose our dreams and feel that we are no longer able to chase them. We spend our time getting by and not going for the things we want in life. She says that God made us to have dreams and ambition. He made us to yearn and have needs. He made us smart and through him we have great strength and can accomplish anything. She told the audience to figure out what you want for your life and where you want it to go and to strive for those goals. Joyce then went on to talk about contentment. A lot of times we refer to dreams and contentment as opposites or enemies. I know a lot of times I feel when I am focused on the future and my goals and dreams, I lose track of the right now. I get stuck in that, "well, when I do this..." or "when that is done...", and that leaves you with a longing feeling on a day-to-day basis. However, she says we must chase our dreams, dreams that we have for our lives, our families, our homes, our spouses, etc., but we must also cherish the now, the act of chasing those dreams. We must be content with our lives as they are, but continue to strive to make them into the lives that God has planned and wants for us! This message resonated deeply within me as I am always setting goals and I am definitely a dreamer. I am always looking for tomorrow and next year, or in five years, and then I will be content. I felt as though if I was just content now, then I had given up. However, now I can see that I can be excited and content with my life as it is, but also be working towards my personal dreams and ambitions. And if they are meant for me, God will lead the way! WE CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS US (Philippians 4:13)!

Teaching Blog

Take a look at my teaching blog...Kindergarten Monsters

Things I am Totally Adoring

Okay, so I thought I would tell you some of the things I am super in to right now! I hope you will comment and tell me some of the things you like!!

1.  Okay, so I went to this "purse party" last week and I fell in love with the product.  Usually I am unsure of these parties and do not like to feel the pressure of buying, but in this case I had to contain myself.  The company is Thirty-One, and it is based on scripture in the bible.  When I heard that it was a Christian company, I was already sold, but then I saw the product. At first glance it looked a little "mom-ish" and i wasn't sure if it was for me.  After hearing the product descriptions and seeing the catalog, I fell in love.  It is a lot of "totes", and all kinds; totes for shopping, picnics, lunches, travel, etc. There is also a lot of organizing products.  I wanted to get everything.  The products are super cute with super cute designs and are completely geared for the woman on the go.  They show ways to organize kid's things, the car, your office, closet, and for me, my classroom.  Take a look! mythirtyone.com

2.  Joyce Meyer.  I have always liked Joyce, but lately I have become obsessed!  I read her book 100 Ways to Simplify your Life.  I highly recommend it.  It is an easy read, each chapter is only a couple pages long and explains one of the 100 ways to simplify your life.  She is so practical and right on...It totally changed the way I looked at things.  I also started reading Living Beyond your Feelings, thank you Brittany for getting it for me, and it is awesome, especially because women have a tendency to live based on their feelings!!

3.  My new paddle board! I finally got a paddle board! We have only been a few times, but it is so much fun! The funny thing about it is that I got it awhile ago.  However, the guy talked me into getting the biggest one, because of my football playing seemingly enormous husband, and we wanted one we could share.  So I got this huge thing that weighs 50 pounds spread out in 10'6".  I cannot lift if above my head to get on top of the car.  After being embarrassed by this in the parking lot, I was scarred.  Now I will not go without Jordon, but luckily he has had some time to take me :)! hehe

4.  The next thing I love is dark cchocolate covered Goji Berry Raspberry candies(they have acai berry and pomegranate, too).  They are amazing and have a tiny health benefit too.  They are made by brookside...you can get them at Costco :)!

5. The last thing I am obsessed with is these two guys....I just love them :)
Charky(Champ and Sparky)

xoxoxo Chels

Greetings from Kauai!

Good morning...Oh my goodness, it has been like...forever since I last blogged! I am sure you blogoids have totally written me off!  But, fhew, I am back.  The simple truth is that I do not have a lot to write about.  So, instead of trying to think up these totally awesome blogs and then falling short each time, I thought I would tell you the boring stuff! So... I decided that since people are always asking me about what it's like in Kauai, I thought I would start there.  Kauai has majors ups...and then lets not forget that with ups comes downs...way down.  The first down starting with the idea that there is no Target!  I have to have a a Target.  And although Kauai has been my Target rehab and the withdrawals have ceased, I still dream of Target and could not imagine living for the rest of my life without one! Next...birds.  Yes, like the movie.  I recall a night where me and a few friends, who will remain nameless, watched the movie on the "big pillow" in the living room and screamed throughout the whole thing.  We were 10.  However, the past has come back to haunt me and I am reliving "The Birds".  They are everywhere.  Chickens, doves, roosters, ducks, mutant chickens with weird fur on their feet that live at the end of the road that freak me out, did I mention ducks, oh and lets not forget the bird-like mutant mosquitoes, in which I could do a entire book on the beasts, chicks, cardinals, hummingbirds(which I like), cranes....birds are everywhere and make every noise possible!!! I wake up to a foul party every morning! Unfortunately, my husband has trained our killer dog to be nice to the birds, so he welcomes them with open arms...I wish he would get them out of here!!! And last but not least for the "downs" of Kauai...the driving.  Driving here is a nightmare.  If you come to visit, do not go anywhere in a rush, because you will not make it.  People here call it "staying on Hawaii time"....and that is how they drive. I think it originated a long time ago when people started driving here they went on drives to see all the beautiful views, so the fastest they went was like 20 MPH...and that was speeding.  That stuck, and now, even in 50 MPH zones(the fastest speed limit on the whole island) you still have people going about 20 MPH.  Add in the tourists who stop in the middle of the road to take pictures, and the construction that has been going on in the same zone since April 2009 and you are not getting anywhere-fast!!! Then again this relaxed "Hawaii time" is what brings me to my first "up".  It is extremely relaxing here. A different pace of life.  I would highly recommend it to anyone who is stressed, overworked, and tired.  Come to Kauai for a few weeks and feel rejuvenated.  Even after going to Honolulu, the difference is immeasurable.  You step off the plane in Lihue(Kauai) and boom, life takes a halt.  It simply slows down.  There are not a lot of places to go, or things to do, so people are not rushing around like chickens with their heads cut off.  Which leads to the next "up".  The people are so incredibly nice here.  They are always welcoming and will help anyone with anything at the drop of a hat.  And while sometimes I get the "Haole" girl  tourist stares and attitudes, it is not anything like Jordon said, hehe, who would say basically white girls are hated! He was just trying to freak me out.
xoxo~Chelsea

This whole teaching thing

Is going really well. My kids are doing so much better! They crack me up everyday! I feel good that at least I have a job where laughing takes up a majority of my day.  So the other day some of my boys were having a hard time sitting still on the carpet.  I was doing some word blending, I would say /f/ /irst/...and they would say "first"...words like that.  I started doing words that were about them like their "name" and then /n/ /eeds/, /t//oo/ , /s/ /it/, /d/ /own/...like that...I had them roaring laughing so I said, after I did a good one, "oh, Mrs. Dizon is on fire" ...I meant like on a roll...They wanted to do one for me...so I did /m/ /ises/ /d//izons/ ....and two boys call out "on fire!!!" ...all day I heard "Mrs. Dizon's on fire!"....then the next morning, I let them do their own journal entry in their journals and one boy wrote, MSDIZONESNFYER, and drew a picture that was of me on grass on fire! Good thing I have a good sense of humor! Then....we are writing and we are doing a thank you note to someone in our family.  I modeled one first and did mine to my brother, Clay.  So I showed them by writing "Dear Clay,".  When they were finally ready to do it on their own I put up on the board, Dear______, and they copied it, each putting in the person who they were writing to, "mom", "dad", "ante", etc. Then I wrote "Thank you for _________.
Love, ___________".  When we were finished I went back in and wrote my letter to Clay.  After I did this I went around to approve their final copy so they could decorate it.  I was surprised to see about half the class had "Dear Mom Clay," "Dear NT Clay," and some had even erased their writing and then wrote "Dear Clay," it was hilarious.  I had to have everyone freeze and tell them, if you wrote "Clay", please erase it, you don't have a brother named Clay! hahah

2012! A new year, a new you!

Wow, that sounds so cliche'! Then again why not, don't we always deserve a fresh start. Why do we wait until New Year's to make goals and resolutions, most of which have already been broken or thrown out by now? Everyday is the first day of your next year.  And everyday you can choose to be the best version of you and choose to honor your goal for that year! I absolutely love that new commercial, I believe it is for a restaurant, and the woman says something along the lines of "...this year I am going to treat myself & have it all...".  I thought to myself, what a great resolution! While I do not recommend having all the dessert you want if you want to lose weight, I do think we need to change our goals to be positive. Don't limit yourself, or say, I will not do this or that.  Change the wording and make it happen.  Instead of saying I will not do this or not eat that, say "I vow to live healthier this year". Then each morning repeat it to yourself.  Each night see if you made some choices that helped you make those changes! Trust me, using positive language and revisiting your goal everyday will have a tremendous impact on your life!!

Mary did you know?

I have this slight obsession with a particular Christmas song..."Mary Did You Know?" ...I have been singing it for a good solid three weeks now.  For those of you know who my singing, you know that it is the bomb dot com...so Jordon should be thrilled...but you can only listen to a song so many times before the very tune makes you want to vomit.  Welp, I am not through with the song yet...but I'll let you guys listen for a while...

Pogo it!

I'm back and still have nothing to write about. Let me tell you about something. My brother, Clay, and my cousin, Drew, are extremely talented movie makers. Last year they brought you "Pogo it", this year they are making the sequel. Even the teaser look hilarious...

What to write about?!

SO, unfortunately since I am on a break nothing super exciting is happening in my life that sparks a topic to blog about.  Since this is the case, I will write about life.  Life can be extremely hard.  Life can also be extremely easy. Take for example my day.  When I woke up this morning I had lying ahead of me a day of cleaning.  I have a small place here in Kauai, and it does not take long to tidy.  But to clean, folks, let me tell you that is another story.  Mold, bugs, mold, and dirt, lots of it. I had to sweep three times today.  The thought of having a day where I only planned on cleaning was enough to make me wanna curl back up in bed next to my 75 lb red furry baby and never wake up.  However, in the midst of my moaning and groaning inside of my head, I heard noises on the porch and out in the backyard.  It was a beautiful morning, so I figured if nothing else, I should awake for that reason.  I looked out and in the yard was my three favorite ducks (only ones) and my favorite little kitty.  Champ got up and ran outside with a shoe.  I sat on the porch and watched all of these so-called enemies romp around together in the cool morning air.  Then came my husband with coffee.  "And I think to myself...what a wonderful world"...okay no me and Jordon did not break into song and dance...but it would have been a good moment...It was perfect.  And to think, I didn't even wanna get up! So, yes I ended up scrubbing my house...about three times, and yelled at Champ for getting mud on just about everything, but lets face it....without those problems....I wouldn't experience perfection and God's amazing world!

Going for it!

I was listening to Joyce Meyer today, and I think she had a great message. I would like to share this message with you.  Her message was about the goals we set for our lives.  She talks about how when we get older, as adults, we begin to lose our ambitions, we lose our dreams and feel that we are no longer able to chase them.  We spend our time getting by and not going for the thinkgs we want in life. She says that God made us to have dreams and ambition. He made us to yearn and have needs.  He made us smart and through him we have great strength and can accomplish anything.  She told the audience to figure out what you want for your life and where you want it to go and to strive for those goals.  Joyce then went on to talk about contentment.  A lot of times we refer to dreams and contentment as opposites or enemies.  I know a lot of times I feel when I am focused on the future and my goals and dreams, I lose track of the right now.  I get stuck in that, "well, when I do this..." or "when that is done...", and that leaves you with a longing feeling on a day-to-day basis.   However, she says we must chase our dreams, dreams that we have for our lives, our families, our homes, our spouses, etc., but we must also cherish the now, the act of chasing those dreams.  We must be content with our lives as they are, but continue to strive to make them into the lives that God has planned and wants for us!  This message resonated deeply within me as I am always setting goals and I am definitely a dreamer.  I am always looking for tomorrow and next year, or in five years, and then I will be content.  I felt as though if I was just content now, then I had given up.  However, now I can see that I can be excited and content with my life as it is, but also be working towards my personal dreams and ambitions. And if they are meant for me, God will lead the way!  WE CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS US (Philippians 4:13)!

OMG, what have we been doing?!

So, let me tell you-- Christmas time in Mrs. Dizon's classroom was crazy! In a never-ending quest to give my students the complete holiday experience, I went overboard with the decor and festivities..but I think my kids loved it!! My own head, however, was so full of Christmas cheer that  could not even think! It looked a little like this...

And that's only half of it!! hahah
Anyways...I am on break now and it is so nice to relax!

On Thursday we went to Honolulu and me and Jordon had an amazing time in Waikiki together! Then we went to the Big Island with our friends RJ & Rikki and had the most incredible vacation there! It was so nice and relaxing....let me tell you there is not a lot to do on the Big Island besides take in the amazing ocean view and veg out! Best vacay ever :)! Pics to come!! 

Furthermore...I have two weeks off, so I am forseeing a lot of blogging going on! Super excited...and you should be too!

The Simple Things...

Sometimes we deprive oursevles of the little pleasures in life.  Sometimes I know I stress over the major things and get so caught up in life that I do not allow for life's simplest pleasures.  The easy things. Our attitude is go hard, work hard, then vacation.  This leaves us stressed, broke, and tired.  Our vacations are taken so infrequently that they end up becoming lavish, fit as many activities in as you can, stressfull events.  We often are left depleted when we come back, almost needing a vacation from our vacation.  We leave so little time between our vacation and our return to work, determined to fill in the time with as many things as possible that we begin our next work week tired and continue down this path...looking forward to our next vacation.  The answer is so simple.  Take the vacations you need, have fun, live well. But take part in little pleasures too.  Instead of spending your day off at the mall, spend it reading your favorite book and drinking your favorite warm drink in your favorite mug.  Not only will you save money, but you will be equally as pleased, and better rested.  ..."be quick to listen....slow to speak....and slow to become angry..." James 1:19... is a powerful verse I refer to in  my mind often.  When you are tired and stressed, you will not be those things! Take a stand :)

Sometimes the simple things...are the best ;)

TurkeyTime!

Ahhh...Thanksgiving is over, already!!!! It is crazy how we build holidays up so high and then they are over in a flash!!! I wish they lasted forever. We had an amazing Thanksgiving, thanks Nt Darla!! It was full of family, friends, and lots of food!! Most families just have one meat for Thanksgiving:Turkey...not Hawaiians! We had Turkey, Prime Rib, Pork & Peas, and a bowl of Chili! crazy day!!! Me and Jordon have so much to be thanksful for this year!! Bring it on Christmas!

Also...in my class we kind of wore out the whole Thanksgiving thing..but the kids loved it. We made both Indian and Pilgrim hats...we made homemade butter for our bread. We made two different turkeys and a thankful for tree!

 Thankful for...

 Dog

 Video Game...

Can you read Kindergarten: Why do shark have sharp teeth? I was proud of this!

All school walk!

Walking two miles with my class today for an all-school evacuation! If you thought you were gonna have a hard day...

One of those days...

Hi y'all! so yesterday was rough.  Just one of those flippin days where nothing is going right and everything feels wrong.  However, after a bottle of wine I mean a glass of wine, I realized that really the things that I thought were a problem were really pretty minor and most of them had nothing to do with me.  Funny how we can never see that why in the midst of the tornado.  Sometimes I wish we could get some perspective while we are withstanding the chaos.  Then we would see that we do not need to sweat the small stuff....but thus is life! Anyways...we have had some pretty boring weeks which has made it difficult to figure out what to blog about..but I can always just tell you about the boring things! yaya!

SO here goes....SO C has been so overwhelmed at work because it is pretty much impossible to fully care about 20 kids and yourself and still have a life.  However, after a lot of hard work and no pay, she has managed to work out some sort of in class system and was doing good and then came Halloween....C&J had a fabulous Halloween with 3 costume changes, may be C's most ever!...it was supposed to be two but J decided right as they were walking out of the house to switch his costume....C, not wanting to be red riding hood without a wolf...changed too and gave J an extremely hard time....Little C was also involved in the festivities and had 3 costume changes of his own....but however, as you can imagine...back to the classroom....dum dum dum..  20 four year-olds on a week long sugar rush is enough to make a person jump off of well anything...not too mention..with the added sugar, she had her first puker. Yes a girl puked next to C's desk and then well C, along with two other students, stepped in the puke.  After almost vomiting herself, she was able to regain composure and get the girl to a safe place.  The kids could tell yesterday afternoon that she had just about had enough, so they decided to be extra naughty and fight with each other, and yell, and whatever else kids will do.  Furthermore, C had three students spill in the water paint area making a brown mess all over the place!.... She made them clean her library, so hopefully they got the point!

*Oh and Taryn and I did a triathlon! It was so much fun...we had a swimmer, taryn biked, and I ran!! We came in 2nd!!! yay!