My Missionary

As I sat home alone tonight, I had quite a bit of quiet time to reflect on my past.

The week before I turned 19, my now husband, left on a two year mission to teach the people of Vera Cruz, Mexico about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I remember the first few months (well maybe more like 6 months) he was gone I cried like a baby each night. The advice my older brother Ryan gave me was, "Shannon, it's not like he is dead. Get a hold of yourself." My little brother Russ would tease me by spraying on Polo Blue (Ty's signature cologne) which would always bring back a surge of memories and tears.

As the months wore on I grew stronger. I was able to continue my weekly correspondence with Tyler via letter and enjoy a fairly superficial social life with the zoobies of BYU. During this time I managed to tear apart everything I thought I believed, reach a point of utter confusion, and slowly build a thicker and firmer foundation of beliefs.

While Tyler was gone I tried to fill the void with a variety of things. I was passionate about a new outlandish thing each week. I'll never live down the time I claimed to my family that I wanted to be a granola. According to them, that would mean I couldn't shop at Nordstrom anymore. Whatever it means, it didn't stick.

After two years, Tyler came home and I was freaked out. At this point I was tired of waiting. I wanted to know the moment he got off the plane if we still had that teenage, romantic, dying love for each other. Things were a little rough at first. He was weird, I was scared and it was quite awkward.

Luckily that only lasted a month or so. The first week of August I met him at his family reunion at Current Creek outside of Heber (I know I must sound brave, but his entire family is really kind and I really had nothing to fear). We went on a 4-wheeler ride together and after a two year absence, thoughts and feelings fell right back into place.

I have now been married to my missionary for almost two years. I won't lie. It hasn't been the fairy tale I imagined it would be while he was off serving the Lord. But without the pains of trial how could you truly feel the rewards of success?

While Tyler was on his mission, he often found ways to encourage me and make me smile. One week he sent me some lyrics. These lyrics continue to give me comfort and encouragement.

Tell me what you thought about when you were gone
And so alone
The worst is over
you can have the best of me
We got older
But we're still young
We never grew out of this feeling that we won't give up

I am so grateful that I married my missionary.

Summer Memories from California

Here are a few pictures from this summer.

This pic was taken down at Solana Beach where we spent some days in the sun with the Conley Family.



The lovely couple we spent most of our time with is now engage to be married! Hooray Aubrey and Joe! we can't wait for the big day . . . when you move up to Utah! (jk love you guys)




We also got to meet our niece Audrey for the first time.



Max exhausted us with his energy. He sure is fun!


And what is a trip to California with the Johnson's without a little sailboat action? (Even if it is just to take a family picture at the dock)

Great Grandma and Lori Come to Visit Provo!

Last week we had a wonderful visit with Tyler's great grandmother and Aunt Lori. Thanks for coming to see us and for the thoughtful gifts! We love you both.




This picture is with Great Grandmother and all her grandchildren/great-grandchildren in Provo. Although technically I am an in-law, they let me into the picture anyway! :)

Hunting Fever!

My hubby's most recent obsession. Do not worry though. There will be no dead stuffed animals in our house while I'm still alive!

Birthdays! Jennifer, Ron, Kate and Leah

Many birthdays occur between September 18th and 19th, so Ty and I wanted to publicly wish all our loved ones a very happy b-day!

The first b-day shout out goes to my favorite sister, Jennifer Proffit. My sister is pretty much the best sister anyone could have. From a young age she looked out for me. She sang me primary songs when I was afraid at night, she told me when it was time to shave my legs, and continued to help me grow up by teaching me all about boys and even having children. She always has good advice and is there to listen and care. I love you Jen and hope you had a GREAT B-day.

The next shout out goes to Ronzo-Ponzo (Ron Ellis, Tyler's father). "Well this should go out to my old man, but seeing as how he's getting up their in years, he probably can't make out the fine print. Seeing as how he can't read this I could take this time to say terrible things about him for everyone else to enjoy. But the truth is that there is nothing terrible to say about him. He has been a model husband, father, career man, and disciple of Christ, and I love him more than a birthday shout out can express." --Tyler's first contribution to the blog. Can you feel the love?

The final shout out goes to Kate and Leah Scoville. Kate and Leah have been beacons of joy over the last year. It is impossible to be negative or unhappy in their presence. In addition to the happiness they so naturally bring, they are pretty amazing too. They can feed themselves frozen peas, dance hip-hop and even walk across a room without any help! We love these girls and are so glad we live close so we can watch them grow up. Not to mention the regular baby time keeps us content as aunt and uncle, rather than mom and dad. ;) Happy Birthday Kate and Leah! We love you!







Kate and Leah got the picture space...sorry Jen and Ron, you just can't compete with a 1 year old!

Pictures of the Duckies

I believe many of you have heard about the pet ducks we housed for a short time while Kerstin, their mama, lived in the dorms. These pictures were taken last April when they were still cute little duckies. They are now full grown and loyal companions to Kerstin's father and mother. Who knew ducks were one of the most loyal pets? :)

The Teachers Side of Parent-Teacher Conference - Stream of Conscience

I can't believe we have already been in school long enough for midterms and therefore Parent Teacher Conferences. I just spent the last 3 1/2 hours meeting parents and discussing the grades of their "little darlings". Although I am exhausted, I am actually pretty grateful for Parent-Teacher Conferences. It gives me a chance to talk up my good students and make them and their parents really happy, or to help my students who need to do a little work to improve.

Although, sometimes, like tonight I wonder if I am too nice. I want all of my students to succeed and often bend over backwards helping them to get there. With 200 students who should probably be learning the cruel rules of the real world, I should probably not help them SO MUCH. But it is a hard balance, because as a teacher, I feel it is my responsibility to know how they are doing and be there to tell them and help them when they need improvement.

I just can't escape my nature to people please. I want to please the student by helping them succeed. I want to please their parents, by bragging to them about how much their student has improved or how great they are. And I want to please, I guess, the administration by showing them that I am a good teacher and care about my students. In addition to being a people pleaser, I am afraid in my job I am a bit of a perfectionist. I cannot relax and even sleep if I know I haven't given my student every opportunity to succeed. This does not mean all my students pass with A+'s in my class. All it means is I often spend my lunches and after school helping students catch up on missing and absent work.


I guess I just feel that these students are at such a crucial stage in life. I can help determine whether or not they gain confidence in their ability to succeed and therefore set a standard for what they expect of themselves throughout high school and college (even if it is just for history). This is a huge responsibility. If they leave my class and know very little about history, I will be a little disappointed. But if they leave my class feeling like they are "bad" at history or "bad" at school I will feel like a total failure. How else can I boost this confidence if it is not through regularly knowing how they are doing in my class, giving words of encouragement and discussing their grades and behavior with their parents?

I guess I will keep doing what I am doing because I know it is right. :)