Back to WORK

Not a whole lot to report the last couple of days. I have returned to work Monday and am trying to get back to the swing of things. Amazing how two weeks off can completely mess with one's ability to function normally. I find myself pretty good at multi-tasking, but the last couple of days I have been struggling. It is rare for me to leave work with anything to sign, review, e-mail, etc. The last couple of days have most certainly been an exception. I have to go to work tomorrow and sign about three documents, approve a half a dozen orders, and send multiple e-mails. Okay, maybe it doesn't sign like a big deal but this is in between meeting after meeting, discipline after discipline, and conversation after conversation. AWWWWW!! Welcome back to work Emily !! I wish everyone a GREAT week!!

Dad's Birthday

Today is just a picture blog. Brandi and I surprised our Dad with a birthday celebration. We (Brandi) made him his favorite recipe as a child and made (Emily) him a slide show of new and old photos, so he could take a walk down memory lane. We started at Woodranch BBQ for lunch and then went back to his place to continue our celebrations. We had a GREAT afternoon. Happy 60th Birthday DAD!! WE LOVE YOU!!

What's a birthday, without the birthday song!!!! Happy Birthday DAD!!

Another Year Behind Us

2009 ends, and 2010 begins in the blink of an eye. 2009 was a great year, but I am very much looking forward to the year to come. Here are some of the DEVOR 2009 highlights:

-Brad was recognized as the Chaplain of the Year by his company. With this, we were provided a fully paid 4 day trip to South Beach, Florida. This trip was nothing like we have experienced before. Our vacations generally consist of AAA discounts, packed lunches, and free/inexpensive fun. Being the trip was paid, however, we were provided a Town Car and driver to/from the airport and hotel, room at the Ritz Carlton ON South Beach, and amazing food each morning and night. Thank you VITAS!! (PS Brad and I went on this trip without Juan. It was great to have some couple time!)


-Summer vacation included a camping trip to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. This is a beautiful part of the country and we were in awe during the whole trip with the amazing scenery. Jerel, Nieta, Lori and her girls, and Craig and Joy's kids were able to join us and spend some great family time together. We look forward to going again sometime.

-We had several camping trips around Southern California, also. We enjoyed camping near San Simeon (home of Hearst Castle), San Clemente, and Doheny. We always enjoy these trips as an opportunity to get away from real life for a few days. Many times these trips include some friends and their families. This is always fun!!

-Emily (me, but I feel like I shouldn't write in first person here??) became an Elementary School Principal this year. She is so lucky to be working with an amazing staff, students, and families. This has been a great beginning to her Administrative career.

-Juan joined a Club Soccer team this year. This has required some additional money, time, practice, and commitments. He is the youngest team member, while playing against and with mostly 18 - 19 year old boys/men (They had mustaches and were 6' tall---scary). His skills have greatly improved with this great soccer experience.

-Juan began his High School life in 2009. He quickly discovered how high school is MUCH different than his last several years of school. The pacing and requirements of high school have certainly challenged him, but he is trying to find his way. Luckily, he continues to look forward to college and discuss his future plans as an adult. I am excited to see what he finally decides to do in the future. I am confident he will be great in whatever he chooses.

I know there have been many more things which happened in 2009, but these were just some highlights. 2,010 wishes to everyone in 2010!!

Life with a Teenager

Life with a teenager can be very challenging. You have a person looking to find who they are, the direction they want their life to run, while all still just trying to be a kid. With these challenges come the parents trying to allow the teenager to find who they are, guide them in the right direction they want their life to run, while still wanting them to be a kid.

Yesterday, I was blessed with a moment of kids just being kids. I have a friend, Tracy, on Facebook and real life, who recommended a Wii game called Just Dance. This game looked like a lot of fun on her video on FB, so Juan and I ran out to go get it. We played together for a couple of hours, and then some of his friends came over to join in the fun. See the video below for a great teenage moment. I love you Juan...stay a kid!!!!

Thank you Tracy for the recommendation and the opportunity to watch my baby just being a kid! GREAT MEMORY!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brERSotj_ME

Snow in So Cal

From Palm Springs to Winter Wonderland in less than 30 minutes. Amazing! Many think of Southern California and they imagine beaches and sun. There is plenty of this, however, the best thing about living in Southern California is you can generally see a beach or snow within an hour or so. Sunday, Juan and I (Brad was sick in bed and couldn't go...BOO!) joined the Elamparo Family (Juan's girlfriend's family) to the Palm Springs Aerial Tram which took us up to the San Jacinto Mountain Park. You take a aerial tram, which holds about 80 people, up to the mountains. Once you arrive, you step out to 14" of snow. It truly is an amazing site, not to mention COLD!!!!!

We spent the day sledding, having a snowball fight, and sharing lots of laughter. It was really a GREAT time, and I look forward to going again in the Summer and Winter.

Thank you Southern California for offering such great weather diversity.

Make a Smilebox photobook

Christmas 2009

The Christmas celebration began with my annual California Christmas celebration on the 19th. I look forward to this event all year long. It is great to have all the California family get together to celebrate the year and the Christmas season. It often includes lots of planning, cleaning, and stress. But with these things it results in a GREAT time.

We begin with visiting and cocktails and then move to the food. This is always yummy! Then we start a game of Christmas Bingo. This is a Christmas tradition from the Devor side of the family which I have adopted as my own. This is always a Christmas tradition we all look forward to each year. The most prized BINGO prize is a bottle of Brut. This may give you an idea of what kinds of prizes are part of this game.

I was excited to have 19 people (including Rachel from Kansas) come and pile into my itty bitty house this year. It was great to have everyone together. Maybe someday I can have a combined California/Kansas Christmas.

Christmas Eve Brad had to work. After work, we went out to dinner, played games, and got ready for Santa. I may have a 15 year old, but we still put out cookies and egg nog for Santa. Never stop believing.

Christmas Day we opened presents, had Hawaiian French Toast for breakfast, and went to opening day of Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes stars Robert Downey, Jr., which is one of Brad and my favorite actors. We both feel he has such great talent and enjoy most movies he makes. Brad was quite a trooper. He came down with the flu on Christmas Day, but went along with all the plans for the sake of Christmas. Gotta love him!

I hope everyone had a GREAT Christmas and are blessed in 2010.

Who am I to speak?

I haven't added to my blog since September. Since then I keep looking at some old friends' blogs and wonder why aren't they blogging. I have e-mailed, facebooked (a verb now), and pestered them about updating their blogs. They since have and I have enjoyed every moment of hearing about their lives. However, here I am not blogging myself. So, I am going to give this another whirl. I will not throw out any promises, but I will give it my best effort. I learned on Shannon Albert's blog (www.shannonalbert.me) the best bloggers have their own domain name, pictures, and regular updates. I will look into these Shannon, I promise.

So, 2009...it is coming to an end. Today is Christmas (well, 12:20 a.m. December 25th) and I can't seem to sleep. Maybe I am waiting up with the hopes I see Santa. HA!! We'll see. Anyway, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the year. Here are a few of the lessons of 2009 for Emily Devor:

Having a teenager is a sure route to cardiac arrest: Juan is 15 years old and a freshman in high school. Without going into a great deal of detail (to protect his privacy), Juan has created some challenges for me this year. I am trying to remember what it is like to be a teenager and be respectful of what he is going through right now, but SERIOUSLY!! Is this age completely necessary...can we just go from 12 to 27. I am sure my insurance company would approve, by not having to pay for any more blood pressure meds.

I will never lose my passion for teaching:
I have been so lucky this year to go from pink slip to Principal. There is a long story. But in the end, I was assigned my first Principal position this school year. I love the position and continue to learn everyday. People often ask if I miss teaching. The answer is always YES. I was born to be a teacher, wanted to be nothing else but a teacher. So, to say I don't miss teaching wouldn't make any sense. This is NOT to say, however, I don't enjoy being a Principal. It is just now I have to be more creative in finding ways to "teach." One of my commitments is to take a grade level a week to teach intervention to a small group of students. This has helped class sizes during intervention, but selfishly has given me opportunities to directly work with students each day.

I love my husband:
I remind myself of this lesson everyday. Brad and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary earlier this month. I love him more each and everyday. Do we drive each other completely crazy somedays, weeks, or monhts. OH YES!!!!!! But when all is said and done, Brad has taught me so much about myself while letting me grow into who I am. Brad has given me nothing but support for anything I want to do. Brad has taught me to calm down during stressful situations. Brad has taught me I can't control EVERYTHING. I love you Brad!!

I love reality TV:
My guilty pleasure revealed. I love all types of reality TV. I am so entertained by the lives of others...real of not. They make me giggle and reflect on us as a society. It's hard to believe there are actually people out there who would put their lives on TV, and I love watching every second of it.

Those are some of my lessons for this year. It is know 12:40 a.m. and I really should get some sleep. I will make every attempt to update my blog for 2010. Fingers crossed! MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!