Fall

Halloween has come and gone and along with it, all of our leaves have dropped to cover not only our yard, but the side yard of our neighbor's as well. We are certain our leaves cause stress to our neighbor. As soon as the leaves begin to drop into his yard, he starts up his leaf blower and send those unwanted, crispy, colorful beautiful leaves back to our property. As the days of falling leaves pass, the pile of leaves blown from his side yard becomes increasingly deep.

Our grandchildren love falling into the leaves just as I did when I was a child. I clearly remember raking the leaves into a floor plan of a home. The outer walls of the rooms would be about a foot wide and about five inches deep. My friends and I would take blankets and pillows to our newly created bedrooms. We would neatly place the blankets and pillows into a position to resemble a freshly made bed. In the "kitchen" we would arrange a little table and chairs. Imagination was fun; leaves are fun...so why are we in such a rush to clear them from our yards?

Back in School

Summer is officially over for me; school has begun. This year I have a new teaching assignment. I am teaching students with a variety of syndromes from Autism to Prader Willey, William Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy (with Intellectual Handicaps), Down Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injury and a variety of other conditions that caused Intellectual Handicaps. I am responsible for 15 students who are at Riverton High School. I am able to use a lot of music therapy in my classroom. I feel fortunate and blessed to associate with these very special young people.

Before school started I took a quick trip to see Caitilin, Kurt, Gavin and Ryan Summerhays. Gavin and Ryan are beyond darling as are each of my grandchildren. Caitilin and Kurt amaze me. They are fantastic parents. It is hard having them so far from the rest of the family, but they are making valuable contributions in their community.

End of another year of school

My 18th year of teaching will be completed on June 4. How well I remember my first teaching assignment which was at St. Thomas Moore in Omaha, Nebraska. I would hate the measurement of my teaching skills to be described by that first novice year. I was teaching by day and singing at the Swinging Door Saloon by night with my partner Dave Webber. We were Dave and Colleen. We had a good deal of success in that adventure and continued singing for two years.

Marrying Doug, my sweetheart, ended the Dave and Colleen era, but opened a new and wonderful phase of my life. After bearing 8 incredible children, teaching voice at BYU Hawaii and then in Orem, Utah, I entered the public education system as a teacher as a Special Education teacher working with students with very mild learning disabilities in math, reading and/or writing. I taught at Canyon View JHS in Orem for 2 years and Oak Canyon JHS in Lindon, Ut. for 15 years. Now, for the past two years, I've been teaching Sp. Ed.(Resource) at Riverton High School in Riverton, Ut..

Next year I'll embark on another phase of my teaching career. I will be teaching the Intellectually Handicapped students at Riverton HS. I look forward to this new adventure. I am so thankful for the preparation, through education, that led to this new opportunity.

Currently I am working on a teaching endorsement (through BYU) in reading, which is still another adventure. I'll finish this preparation in another year and a half. Education is very important to me. It is good to know that we take with us into the eternities those things we have learned here in mortality.

Anniversary Time

Doug and I will have been married 39 years on May 24th. Good years, good love, not much money, but a lot of joy.

Birthday News

Quinn Curran will be turning 38 on May 14, 2008. It is hard to imagine this guy has gone ahead and aged while I sit by. I can take being a mother of a teenager, a 20 year old and even a 30 year old, but this nearly 40 year old stuff is wayyyyyyyyyyyy too much. I've told Quinn that when he turns 40 I am dis-owning him. All the Fitzsimmons Family can remember the floppy-haired first grand child, Quinn. Can we too be aging?

Mother's Day May 2008

I was overwhelmed by the love I felt from my family yesterday. Uncle Dick Curran was in town and so he joined in the fun of the Curran Clan overwhelming me with their musical abilities. Conn, Erin, Shane and also Owen and Aidan, recorded for me (they did the singing) my favorite song, "Christopher Robin." I collapsed into an emotional, joyful puddle of tears as I listened. Conn recorded several other songs and Erin gave me a CD of her singing several Spanish favorites. Sean did all the recording and mixing in his studio. Shane presented me with a cd full of Super Flow recordings. I loved it.

Not to leave out Sean, I play his CD daily in my classroom. My math kids work harder when they listen to "Definit." Quinn gave me a gift certificate for Dad and me to go to dinner at La Cai (sp). We'll really have to dress up for that one. Shannon, the darling girl, was out taking photos (earning some bucks) and couldn't be in on the recording session. Our Sharon and her sweet boys completed the day. Have I mentioned that I love this daughter-in-law of mine. Shannon's Ryan was missed; he was home sick. Ryan is incredible! Caitilin, Kurt, Gavin and Ryan were in Hawaii. Caitilin spent Mother's Day suffering with a horrible sun burn. What a nice guy Kurt is; he took Caitilin and the boys to Hawaii to have a real family vacation. Love that guy. Megan, Kalin and Kai were in Houston and they too were missed. My sweetheart, Doug, gave me a wonderful book by Gordon B. Hinckley. Darlene learned three guitar chords and spent part of the evening singing her Maori songs and playing the guitar.

One more wonderful thing. Doug and I were out on Saturday for our regular late Saturday breakfast at noon. While we were out, Shannon and Erin came over and cleaned the upstairs so things would be spotless for our Sunday gathering. Such a thoughtful gift! It is such a joy to be a mother.

Aidan's Birthday

What a dolly-boy; Aidan had his 2nd birthday on the 11th of April. Note the video of Aidan on his birthday; the reluctant 2-year old. Go to the youtube post below:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=egcLX56Ofjc