Save the Date

Casey and I are getting married
March 21, 2009
in the Washington DC Temple!

The Gift

As I was driving home tonight after a wonderful day spent with loved ones, I was flipping through the radio stations in hopes of finding one that was still cranking out the Christmas classics. The family-friendly Christian station was the only one still playing Christmas music. While they tend to play more jazzed up versions of the classic carols, I still enjoy the feeling that comes from listening to the sounds of the season. That moment, the song that was playing was, "The Gift." I am forever grateful for my Christmas gift. His name is Casey P, and he is amazing. These are the words to the song…so applicable in lieu of recent events…

Sitting by the fire we made
You're the answer when I prayed
I would find someone
And baby I found you.

All I want is to hold you forever
All I need is you more every day
You saved my heart
From being broken apart
You gave your love away
I can't find the words to say
That I'm thankful every day
For the gift.

I told Casey that all I wanted for Christmas was him in a big red bow, but instead, he decided to give me this…

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or anything…

WE'RE ENGAGED!!!

It's the weirdest feeling ever because on the one hand, it feels so completely natural to be engaged to Casey P. We both knew from the beginning that this was going to be something extraordinary. It is amazing how naturally our relationship progressed. On the other hand, I can't believe that I'm engaged…that it's happening to me. This is an event that I have dreamed of and thought about since I was little. Is this really happening? I'm seriously afraid that tomorrow I'm going to wake up and it's all going to be a dream.

I love Dr. Seuss' quote, "You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." I feel like this every night when I have to say goodnight to Casey. I don't want to waste a moment without him. I don't want to fall asleep because I have everything I want right in front of me.

Ok, so I'm guessing you want the engagement story? Case face did such a good job trying to surprise me, but everyone was acting a little…peculiar…and it was evident that something was up. After a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with Rusty's family (Casey's brother-in-law) Case suggested that we go down to the monuments in DC. This is a significant place for us. We went to the monuments on our first date. It's so funny to think back…we went there on a Monday night (skipping out on FHE). We had only met the Friday before at our ward campout. Casey had surprised me that morning by visiting my classroom at school (so cute). After work he suggested that I stop by his house. After a long debate in my head over whether I should stop by his house or just see him at FHE, I decided to stop by. That was the best decision ever because I got to meet Casey's awesome sister and brother-in-law, and their amazing kids. Casey and I had full intentions of going to FHE, we just decided that we were going to eat dinner first. We stopped by Moby Dick's House of Kabob (so yummy!) Case asked where I wanted to sit. I said outside (there's no outdoor seating). I pulled him outside and we sat out on the sidewalk by this restaurant, watching rush hour traffic fly by (one of those people in traffic being my brother who honked at us!) Sometimes I like to live up to the title of my blog (randomness). After dinner Case said, "why don't we go down to the monuments?" We were supposed to go the night before but that didn't end up happening. I was so excited because I love the national mall. After my amazing parallel parking job (mmmhmmm) we headed to the Lincoln. We stood there and talked and laughed and hugged for a quite a while. Looking back, it is so funny that we had only known each other for 3 days at that point!!! It felt like I had known him for so much longer… We slowly made our way from the Lincoln down past the reflection pool, and over to the World War II Memorial. We sat there, by the fountains, for hours. We talked and talked and talked and boy did I fall for that Casey P.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve…we started at the Lincoln and we talked about our first date and how everything has gone since then. We slowly walked down by the reflection pond, retracing our steps, and we ended up at the WWII Memorial, just like before. It was a surprisingly warm night, but there was no one else in sight. It was so romantic with the Washington Monument on one side and the Lincoln Memorial on the other. Casey told me some really sweet things about how he has felt since he met me, and then he got down on one knee and said, "Allison Rhae H, will you marry me?" AHHHHHHHH! "YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!" I believe those were my words. I didn't even look at the ring at first (although DANG did he do a good job!)

Here are some more pictures…




and of course some Christmas pictures…



I love this kid with all my heart and I am so excited for us to start our lives together.

Casey. All I want is to hold you forever.

All I need is you more every day.

You gave your love away, and

I'm thankful every day…for the gift.

Give. Don't almost give.

The other day as I was driving home from work, I heard an ad on the radio. While, as a child, I could remember such jingles as Empire Carpet, or the musical slogan from a radio station, no piece of advertisement has hit me as hard as this one…and they weren't even trying to sell me anything.

"This is Jack Thomas.
Today, someone almost brought Jack something to eat,
Someone almost drove him to a shelter,
And someone else almost brought him a warm blanket.

And Jack Thomas…well, he almost made it through the night."
(see the ad here)

It made me think of all the times that I have passed homeless people in the streets (and there are a lot of homeless people in DC), all the times that I almost put some money in the salvation army bucket, and all the times that I almost gave that extra dollar at the cash register.

I know that I'm not rich. I know that I'm not going to make millions in my lifetime. But I also know that I drive a car, I have a job, I live in a house, I eat nutritious food, I stay warm at night, and I live better than the large majority of people in this world. I am blessed.

That person on the street is no lesser of a person than I. They are my equal. What if I were in their shoes? Wouldn't I want a kind stranger to help me out? How horrible it must be to have your hand outstretched the whole day only to have so many people refuse to help you.

So you say, "Well, they're probably just going to buy alcohol, or drugs, or they're not really homeless, they just do this to look pitiful and make some extra money…I saw an episode like that on 20/20…" All of these statements are completely plausible. All I can ask, is that is it our place to judge? No matter how they got to that place in life, it is not a happy place or a safe place. If the tables were turned and I had my hand outstretched, I would be ever-so-grateful to those few people who decided to give.

There are obviously more (and probably better) ways to give than just out of your pocket on the street. The same council that produced this ad has a website that suggests ideas for giving. It's found at www.dontalmostgive.org. You can bet your bottom dollar that the next time I saw a salvation army bucket, all of my spare change found it's way to the bottom of that bucket.

Even though we are in a recession, even though we are already spending more money than usual at this time of year, and even though your little dollar may not seem like a lot to share; choose to give. Don't almost give.

Team H Conquers DC

I could not have been more proud of my 28 little nippers, yesterday, as we ventured into DC for our field trip to the newly-remodeled Newseum! I was slightly nervous about losing one or more of them due to a) the vast size of the museum (6 floors), b) the "short" principle in tall crowds, and c) the fact that I could only bring two chaperones with me. I made them name tags, color-coded their groups, and was very clear with them about my behavioral expectations. Hallelujah, it worked!

My students really enjoyed themselves. It amazes me how bright these little angels are, and how much they're able to understand and put together. Hmm…I must be in a good mood because I just called my students angels. Well, to their credit…yesterday, they were.

I am so thankful to be a teacher and to be in the right profession for me. I love my students and I love teaching them and expanding their view of the world. I am ever grateful to work with children. They are darling (most of the time). Children make mistakes and misbehave, but at least you can work with them and mold their behavior. I feel like if I were dealing with adults at work, on a daily basis (who honestly have the same issues as my kids), I would get so frustrated because adults should know better. Kids are new at this. Now is the time for great impact.

Now that we've conquered DC, do you think we can conquer persuasive writing? Multi-digit multiplication? Mesopotamia?



I love the fall colors! Luckily they have decided to stick around for just a little bit longer.


We are lucky to live so close to DC and it's wealth of history.

Repeat the Sounding Joy

As I lie awake thinking about life, the phrase that keeps running through my head is, "repeat the sounding joy." I know, I know…it's not Christmas yet…but there's something about that phrase, and that sentiment, that gets me every time.

Repeat the sounding joy. Life is hard, I'll give you that. But how much has the Lord blessed us? We all have trials, hard things to deal with, challenges that we face every day. Every single human being struggles with disappointment, frustration, embarrassment…the list goes on and on. If we choose to write a "life's not fair list," none of us would have a shortage of things to write. That's just it: life isn't fair. And the ironic part about it is that we knew that coming down here. When we focus on the negative, we see the negative.

I remember, way back when, when I first began as an assistant teacher in the Elementary Education program at BYU, I was being observed by my supervisor one day. All of my little second graders were sitting on the rug in front of me and I was reading a book to them. Some boys in the back kept whispering, fooling around, spinning on their bottoms, etc. I started pausing and saying comments like, "make sure that you're sitting on your pockets," "please stay on the rug," or "don't do x, y, z…" The lesson generally went well, but the comment from my supervisor was, "don't point out the negative, point out the positive. If you're looking for the negative, you're going to find it, and you're going to drive yourself crazy. Point out the positive and more than likely, things will fall in line." First of all, let me just say that this principle has saved me in teaching. It is so true that if you're looking for the negative, you're going to find it. A more appropriate comment in the aforementioned situation would have been directed towards a student who was obeying the rules, "Billy, I love how you're sitting up straight, criss cross apple sauce, and how you're listening to the story. Oh and look…(choosing the student right next to the troubled one…) Jill, thank you for doing just what you're supposed to be doing." 9 times out of 10 those one or two students who are horsing around will stop. Looking for the positive instead of the negative changes and molds our whole outlook on life.

So…back to the positive. We are so blessed. The other day as I was trying to accomplish my ward calling, I found myself sitting, alone, in the chapel of our ward building. This building is of high significance to me. Not only is it impressive in it's architecture and uniqueness, but it has been my ward building for my whole life. That is where I sat with my family (generally in the same pew), where I sang up front in primary, where I was a reverence child, where I recited my article of faith in front of the ward when I graduated from primary, where I have spoken and played the violin countless times, where many of my most dear and treasured memories were made. My home ward consists of the most amazing group of people that I have ever known. We are family. Many of them have become my second/third/fourth mother and father, and they have played a huge role in who I am today. Sitting in this chapel, I realized a few things. The Lord loves me. Ok, so I already knew that, but it was reaffirmed. Secondly, I am blessed. We all know that I have trouble with endings (example: end of college). I was afraid of the unknown. I would never have dreamed that my life would have taken the course that it did (although I had hoped for something like this). I moved back home (always the plan) to a place I love, I got a job teaching at one of my top three schools, I have met someone extra special who I hope to spend a very long time with, and now I find myself back in my beloved ward building…back where I started from. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

At institute this week our teacher started off the class by asking if any of us had experienced any tender mercies the past week. It took about 2 minutes for anyone to raise their hand. I must admit that I was actually having trouble thinking of one, myself…then, one came to mind. Then, all of a sudden, a whole barrage of tender mercies began to come to mind. The Lord had really blessed me the past week and because I had chosen not to think about it, I had not recognized them. Once I focused on the positive, more of the positive came into view. "We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance," Elder Bednar.

No matter where we are in life, no matter the level or circumstance or age…the Lord blesses us. He loves us and He is here for us. He sends his tender mercies to comfort us. He sends people to comfort us, and He sends the spirit to be with us. Sometimes it takes a little more effort to see the good, but in the end, that's what it's all about.

Halloween

My kids have been antsy all week. They would literally sit in their seats just shaking up and down with huge grins on their faces. When I asked them what the deal was, they all would raise their voices to more than the "inside voice" level and say, "IT'S ALMOST HALLOWEEEEEN!" Needless to say, I was a little worried about how this day was going to unfold. This is what I imagined...28 uncontrollable ten-year olds all hopped up on crack cocaine (aka candy).

It all ended up being a success = a fun day for everyone. I got slightly nervous when my room parents didn't show up to run the party, but I improvised until they arrived. I really love my kids. I love seeing them in different situations. I love to see their emerging talents and their interests. Not every student loves school as much as I did when I was growing up. Each of my students is different and I love getting to know each of their personalities and strengths, as well as helping them out with their weaknesses.

I really love being a teacher. Every day is a new adventure. Teaching is hard work, and the children are not always pleasant or grateful…but that feeling you get when you reach a child, or when they finally understand a concept is utterly priceless. Every day presents a challenge to help both me and my students learn and grow.

For the record…these are my favorite trick-or-treaters…

and this is my favorite HAMBONE…starring as Indiana Jones.

Casey P

My life has changed a little bit since I last wrote on my blog. I used to wonder when...I used to wonder how...and now I wonder how I got so lucky. And by lucky, I really mean blessed.

Literally every waking moment and some sleeping ones (since September 19th and excluding work) have been spent with a young man named Casey P. Casey is the cheese to my macaroni. A lame metaphor, I know, but it is so true. We complement each other so well. I must admit that I have been experiencing that, "can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world series kind of thing."

Everything we do is an adventure, no matter how great or small. Things are just fun with Case. He takes good care of me, too. He is a dedicated, hard worker and a team player. He is so great with kids. It makes me smile every day when we play with his nieces and nephews. A few weeks ago we both got out our "Bucket Lists" and shared those special things that we want to do before we die. No joke, the first 13 on his list were identical to mine. 'Ironic? Don'tcha think? It's like RAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNN...' Just kidding.

Did I mention that he lives one block away from where I work? Did I mention that we both graduated in April '08? Did I mention that we both love DC and want to live here? We go down to the monuments at least once a week. Life is good.

With all that said, now Case is leaving me for three weeks as he goes on a business trip!! "Three weeks, Casey, three weeks?!" Three-fourths of the time that I have known him, I have to be away from him, now! At least I will be able to be a good friend again (sorry, everyone, that I've been so lame), and I'll have tons of time to get ready for parent-teacher conferences and report cards. (JOY).

Welcome to Allie & Casey.

Love you, babe.


At the Capitals vs. Canucks Game! We won!


British Car Day! Fall is GORGEOUS here!


Hangin' out at the cabin.


Searching for pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.