I'm so thankful for Thanksgiving. I try to remember to be thankful for the many wonderful blessings and opportunities I have, but this time of year helps you focus on them a little more closely. I have so much to be thankful for but here is my list of ten. Not top ten because it's too hard to narrow it down exactly.
10. Friends
These are the only two pictures with friends that I have, but I have so many great friends and acquaintances to be grateful for.
9. Stories. Mine, my siblings, my ancestors...any story I can learn from and share with my kids!
This is Mary Ann Darrow Richardson and one of our favorite stories about her:
Mary Ann Darrow Richardson was a pioneer woman. One day she dropped a flat iron on her toe. It made her toe very, very sore. Nothing she tried made the sore toe get any better.
She went to the doctor. The doctor wanted her to give him $100 to chop off her toe. Mary Ann couldn’t give him that much money.
The toe kept hurting. It turned black. She knew it would make her very sick unless it was removed.
Mary Ann knew what she would do. She took a chisel and went outside. She put her toe on a block of wood. She put the chisel on the toe. Then she hit the chisel with a flat iron. This, of course, cut off her toe!
Pioneers like Mary Ann Darrow Richardson had to do things that were hard for them. They needed to be brave.
8. Modern Conveniences
I'm so thaknful to live with wonder convinces like:
My Kitchen Aid
Indoor Plumbing
Electricity
Cars
7. The Gospel and everything that goes with it.
6. Health for me and my family
5. Good heritage
My grandma, Barbara Lorena Tietjen
My great grandparents, Barbara Lorena and Amos Teitjen
Jared's grandpa, William Alma Miller
My grandma, Mary Elizabeth "Beth" Stanford
4. Abilities. To walk, cook, think, talk, drive, etc.
3. My body
I upped my healthy food intake and began a new exercise regimen last year. I've toned up and lost a little weight.
When your husband is a bishop, he gets a new insight into the struggles couples go through. It really opens his eyes (and yours) to see why you have such a great marriage and what little things you can do to improve it.
We have a good friend who often expresses frustrations he has with his wife. They are both tired, overworked and in my opinion, a bit too sensitive when it comes to the follies of their spouse. After months of this, one day Jared finally told him that he cannot remember the last argument he and I have had. That doesn't meant the opportunity hasn't presented itself, we have just chosen not to take advantage of that opportunity. And to me, that is one reason we have a successful marriage. We just don't care to waste our time on the small stuff.
*I feel that our marriage also works because we make time for each other. The other night some friends were telling me that Friday night is their family night. They order pizza and watch a movie as a family. For a split second a felt a twinge of guilt for not doing something fun like that with my kids, but then realized that wasn't something my family needed. Right now they need happy parents who are connected.
I look forward to our Friday night date more than some people look forward to Christmas! It's the most important thing I do all week.
*We support each other. We are in a very busy season of our lives. Small kids, hefty church duties for Jared and busy school duties for me, a busy season for our business and more. When Jared has to drop everything or leave the house with short notice to attend to church duties, I don't flinch. Not because it's easy, but because I support him. I support the direction he is headed in life- since it's the same way I am headed. And he does the same for me. Every second Thursday of the month is my Power of Moms Learning Circle where I get together with a group of ladies and we discuss an assigned article. He knows it's important to me so he tries his hardest to be available to keep the kids.
*We laugh as often as possible. At each other, at our kids, at ourselves, at anything we can possibly laugh at.
*We do things to support each others interests, even when it's not that interesting to the other person. I can't count the amount of time I've spent at a car lot while Jared walks around eyeballing the new trucks. And I can't tell you the number of hours he has spent following or chauffeuring me around to stores picking up this or that for projects I need or things for our family.
*We don't freak out when someone throws a curveball. I'm taking off to Idaho at the end of the month. And Jared didn't even flinch. In fact, he encouraged me to go. The mom....leaving.....for four (maybe five) days.....over Halloween....while he works out of town..... Can you see why a husband might have trouble with this?
*We encourage each other. Speaking of traveling, he has had the chance to take a few out of state trips lately. When he told me he wanted to hike Mt. Whitney in California, I said yes, do it! And when he paid a lot of money for a hunting tag in Colorado, I was excited for him. I could have very easily protested and given all of the reasons it's terribly inconvenient, but who cares! He will always remember those trips, he will never remember just another day at work.
*We recognize that we are both spread very thin. And we are understanding about it. There are weeks that fly by and I feel like we hardly get a hello in before 11pm. And there are days when dinner is nothing more than waffles and syrup. But nobody gets worked up because: a) this is not a permanent busy season b) we are both trying our very hardest c) worse things could happen.
*We are on the same page. We feel the very same about the key parts of life; religion, family, home-life, finances, etc. We don't make major decisions alone, we discuss important topics, we work through issues quickly and know that not every thing in life merits a debate. Discussion maybe, debate no.
*We give each other credit. We both know that neither of us would intentionally do something to hurt the other person. Jared knows I would never say something just to cause him frustration. And I know he would never purposely act in a way that would cause me heartache. We know that each of us are human beings who are trying our hardest to always do the right thing. Unfortunately, our actions are not always right, even if our intentions are.
*We never bring up past issues. Having said all of this doesn't mean that we don't have hiccups now and again. We most certainly do, but we move past them as quickly as possible and we never ever remind each other of past incidences or challenges.
We were raised very differently but we have brought the positives and negatives to our marriage and I feel we have done a great job forging a successful path to eternity. I don't open up often about how much I adore Jared because I hold those feelings close to my heart, but he is everything I never knew I needed, everything I knew I wanted and everything the Lord felt I deserved. On a weekly basis we agree that our life together is so far from where we pictured it, and so much better than we could imagined.
I usually roll my eyes when people write "when did they grow up?" or "what happened to my baby?" But this time I'm dead serious! What happened to these girls? Fourth grade? Second grade? And so darn cute!
Lucy wasn't headed to school that day but she wasn't about to be left out.
However, today was her day! I reluctantly joined a rotating preschool group with some friends. I don't care for how loose the curriculum is or that I have to teach, even if it is only once every five weeks, but Lucy needs some time with kids her age.
We are always so grateful to Ryan and his family for letting us enjoy time at their cabin in Colorado. We've created such wonderful memories there over the years but I think this trip takes the cake. Considering the fact that this trip happened the last week of July and it's now September, the pictures will have to speak for themselves. I just don't have time to explain everything in detail!
There's just something about the wheel on the old grill.
We shared a few days at the cabin with Burt and Sarah and their kids.
We watched some crazy young adults cliff jump. My heart raced the whole time. I just knew one of them would break their neck while I was watching! (check out he guy on the middle right)
We made a stop up the road from the cliff jumpers to see the natural hot spring. So fascinating!
Sunday night was the end of our "family" vacation and the beginning of vacation for Kobie and the kids. The Priests showed up that night so Jared's focus shifted to them. It was still a great vacation, nonetheless. It forced me to get creative and get around town! I looove being chauffeured and not really having to care about where we are or which direction we are headed.
We spent a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather.
We found a new favorite place to visit in Durango. Thank heavens for the Discovery Museum! Worth. Every. Penny. Can you tell by the amount of pictures?
They had a section just for the little ones. Best thing ever!
Once I was able to peel my kids away we headed outside to enjoy more fun and take a peek at the Animas River.
We took lots of Ranger rides. I'm too chicken to go very far by myself so we spent a lot of time down by Lemon Lake. Pajamas, BB Guns and all.
I about killed me to leave. Six days just wasn't enough.
We made a trip to Four Corners. Once was enough for our family.
Colton isn't the best traveler we have. I attribute that to the fact that we make very few trips to the Valley these days. We did keep him quiet for a short time with Peanut Butter Oreos. (And let it be known that I am not an Oreo fan but I did eat about a sleeve and a half of Peanut Butter Oreos! That was after I insisted they would be disgusting and I would never eat one. Never say never!)
I'm Kobie. I'm a wife, a mom, a sister, a friend and a Mormon. I started blogging in 2007 on a family blog then started blogging here in 2008. What began as a family journal has transformed into a personal journal of sorts. I share less about our everyday family life and more about my own experiences.
In September of 2016, I was called to serve in Young Women. As part of my time in this calling, I am working on completing my Personal Progress. As part of a value project, I have chosen to write regularly and share uplifting and {hopefully} inspiring messages.
