Website Updated...

This may not be exciting to anyone but myself, but I thought I would still share. I recently redid my website to make it a bit more simple. I have yet to get out taking pictures this year so it only has last years portfolio. Hopefully I'll get out to take some soon.

Here's the website
Good Day Simon Studios
If you have already been there, you might have to hit the RELOAD button to get rid of the cached version on your computer.

Yes I can...

Do you ever have a feeling of inadequacy? I have to admit that when I began teaching seminary the beginning of this past trimester this was not an unfamiliar emotion. I would ask myself "Am I really cut out for this?" and have thoughts such as "I don't think I am helping anybody make a difference in their life." These are thoughts I believe many people are acquainted with in their various roles in life.

Some days would be spectacular. There would be a great general feeling of edification throughout the lesson. Those days I have treasured and used to propel myself forward. Other days I would take hours to prepare the lesson and still feel that the day went terribly and that the students left with little or no desire to be better. Throughout the trimester this has been the see-saw I have ridden.

After one particularly wild day (where the kids were bouncing off the walls so much so that the Holy Ghost didn't even have a chance to give them a bear hug or hand shake) I came to the conclusion that I could improve. "If my wife can do hard things, so can I" was my train of thought. Besides, what is better than improving oneself and making changes for the better. Only happiness results.

Things have progressively improved. I have come to enjoy even the bad days, because they too are good, and even if the lesson goes awry the students still know I love them and enjoy the upward struggle we're all in together.

To add to my happiness, in a recent class I had asked the readiness question, "When is a time in your life where you have felt the Lord either Provided for, Protected, Guided, or Preserved you?" As we went through some of the students experiences the kids shared things such as family being protected from an ex-spouse and having help on tests. After a few comments I said, "Does anyone else have something they have been blessed with by the Lord," to which a student named Shawn said, "Brother Cutler." I have to admit I was taken aback. After gaining my composure I further questioned, "Shawn, what do you mean by that?" With a smile on his face he said, "Well before seminary I didn't really try to pray and read my scriptures." He went on to say that he felt happier and that he had more help in doing what was right because of being in class.

This experience lifted my spirits to such a degree that I felt greatly humbled. In all my struggling and trying to help them see the amazing happiness there is in striving to understand and live the truths of the scriptures and restored Church, I found help. The one thing that can truly help us understand is the Spirit and somehow it reached them. Needless to say, I have been bettered myself and now have an increased desire to teach seminary.

I have at least two more semesters left in my own schooling before I am in a position to be hired. I have been invited back to teach the next trimester, but at a different school now. I will be teaching 1st hour rather than 5th and it will be at Rigby rather than Sugar Salem. There are less student teaching positions available this trimester, so I am grateful to be invited to continue. Who knows where this will all lead, but with whatever happens it has been worth it for what I have learned. I have a tendency to avoid the things in life that I fear I might fail at, but I am learning to risk.

Here's to leaving comfort zones, loving others, and being no longer inadequate with the Lords help.

Fishing with Trey

Lately Chris has had some serious cabin fever, so for his birthday he got a fishing license (and some board games-we had a mean game of scrabble!). Since today was a day off we decided to go ice fishing with our 3 year old nephew Trey. It was a lot of fun and definitely a learning experience since we don't have a 3 year old yet. He's such a fun kid with a lot of energy!


Here is Trey with the first catch of the day. He reeled it in all by himself.


Here he is working at bringing in a big one!

It was a fun day for us-a little weird since it was the longest we have ever left William with anyone, but it was fun to be able to be outside especially because it was such a nice day. Chris is going to try to go a lot more before the ice melts. He is just trying to find a fishing partner that can help drill the holes in the ice!

A favorite picture

I love this picture of William! I think he has the cutest mouth and eyes I've ever seen! I suppose maybe I'm a little bit biased, but oh well. I sure love my family

Respect To A Wonderful Man

President Hinckley was truly an amazing man. We love him and miss him already. His example, teachings, and love have changed our lives deeply and eternally. Our gratitude will always remain for not only a prophet, but a friend and brother.







I think I speak for both Bita and myself when I say, I hope I can be as much of a blessing in the little spheres of my life as he was in his. President Hinckley, we love you and thank you for your service.

He's found his voice!

In the last week or so William has really found out that he has vocal chords, and that he can make a myriad of different sounds with them. It's so much fun because he will sit there and have conversations back and forth with you. One of my very favorite times is when I put him to bed. I used to give him a bath every night and then let him be free from his diaper for a while and give him a rubdown. Now I don't give him a bath every night because he has very bad eczema, but I still take all of his clothes off and give him a rubdown with lotion and hydrocortizone in the really bad places. It is during this nighttime ritual that he just talks and talks and talks and talks. It is as if he just wants to tell me all about everything that happened in his world during the day.

Here is a picture of him just before his bedtime rubdown ritual. Notice the hands in the mouth (he's starting to be very slobbery) and the feet pushed up together . He is in this position a lot. We think his feet are the cutest ever!

Of course, finding his vocal chords has its drawbacks as well, as he has also discovered how to scream if he isn't getting something (food, one on one attention, diaper changed, attention, he's tired, attention etc.) quite fast enough. Sometimes he lets out these yells we have dubbed "primal screams" and they seem to be mostly just to get our attention. Sometimes I think that he just likes to hear himself yell, since he will do it even if we are doing everything he could possibly want us to do. Most of the time his yells don't get to me, but sometimes after a while they make me a little frazzled. But of course, when I'm pushed about to the edge, he smiles at me and makes some cute cooing noise and the universe rights itself.

Another thing I've noticed is that not only does he like to hear his own voice, but he really enjoys music. He usually loves it when I sing to him or when I'm playing music on the stereo. I play lots of classical music for him and the other day I started playing a Prokofieff Cello Sonata for him during one of his yelling sessions and as soon as the cello came in he stopped yelling and his eyes got big. Whenever music comes on that interests him he tries to crane his head around to see where the sound is coming from. I've decided that I think it would be great if he wanted to play the cello-but of course, I'll let him choose what instrument he wants to play. :) Chris says there is no way he is going to play the flute but sometimes I wonder because he really really likes it when I whistle.

Speaking of Prokofieff cello sonatas, I guess I must have something wrong in my upper story because I have agreed to accompany a girl playing the cello this semester. At first I just agreed to accompany a piece for the Concerto competition last week because her accompanist dropped out a week before the competition. But after that insanity--I got the piece, not short I may add, a week before the competition--for some reason I agreed to accompany her for the rest of the semester, under the impression that she was just going to play the rest of the movements from the piece we had already done together. She called me a couple of days later and said that she and Bro. Tueller had decided to do the Prokofieff instead and was that okay with me? Let me tell you--a Sonata has a WAY harder and integral piano part than the concerto did. Insanity again--I said yes! I'll probably be kicking myself in a month or so, but right now I am actually excited to get the chance to play the piano again. Now I just have to figure out how to practice in a practice room with a 3 month old who craves attention. Any suggestions?

Sacked Out!!

Chris sneaked in and took this picture on Sunday afternoon while Will and I were taking a little siesta. We were both up way past our bedtime on Saturday night because we were spending time at some friends house in Idaho Falls. Then we got up for church in the morning and by the time we got home I was exhausted, so I lay down, put the pacifier in his mouth and we both zonked out for a couple of hours.