Our Missionaries

I am grateful for our wonderful, hardworking missionaries. We've been able to get to know them very well. We take them out to dinner, watch General Conference with them, and host lessons with them for a man that is interested in the Book of Mormon.

We had donuts while we watched General Conference.

They are wonderful teachers and I love spending time with them.

Pictures

I am grateful for the photos of the adventures Jonathan and I have had. Jonathan has our photo albums set up on our TV when the chromecast is idle. A few weeks ago, a photo that I took at the Manti Temple a few years ago popped up.

Seeing that picture brought back a lot of memories including the weird guy that Jonathan ended up talking to while I wandered around the temple grounds taking pictures. It is wonderful to have a reminder of times we've spent together.

Calm

I am grateful that both Jonathan and I were able to feel a quiet calm during his unexpected job search at the beginning of this year. It came with a certain amount of work on our part, but it came.

I read a talk given by David A. Bednar called Therefore They Hushed Their Fears. It really helped me rely more on my faith rather than waste energy worrying.

Additions

I am grateful for all of the new additions to our extended families this upcoming year. Between weddings and another nephew joining the bunch there is a lot to celebrate.

Together

I am grateful for all the time that Jonathan and I have had together and will have in the future.

Funny unrelated story. That watch Jonathan's wearing in the picture would make a small beep on the hour every hour. At some point while we were dating, he lost the watch. Years later, it was found deep in my parent's couch. It beeped, but we couldn't figure out where exactly the beep was coming from.

A few weeks ago, I made a comment about life a decade ago and realized that I've known Jonathan for almost an entire decade. It stunned me that we have been together for so long. It doesn't feel like we've been married for much longer than 4 years, but we'll be doubling that in just a few months. I love the life we built together. It hasn't been easy, but it has been more than worth it.

Primary

I am grateful for all the years I've been in Primary. Since the summer of 2014, I've had a calling in Primary. There has been a few small breaks in between each of our moves, but otherwise I've been with lots of wonderful (at times crazy) kids. Being around them reminds me of my relationship with Heavenly Father. I know there are times that I keep doing what I want to do even though I know it's not what He wants me to do. It helps me find much needed patience with the kids in my class. I am so impressed with them and the things they already know. I'm grateful for all that they teach me and how patient they are with me.

Texcellent Adventures

I am grateful for all the adventures we've had in Texas. Some were unexpected like having snow on our car and stumbling upon the Alamo, but we've really enjoyed finding new things here.

Finding rainbows out in the country.

I love seeing Texas longhorns!

Thanks to my mom, I made it down to the Silos.

It's still hard to believe that the Houston temple was under water after the hurricane last year.

I love how warm the Gulf of Mexico is!

I love that the San Antonio temple is basically the same floor plan as the Sacramento temple.

Texas didn't want us to forget what snow is.

I'm glad that we've been able to help improve our community.

I still can't believe we were at the qualifying session for the United States Grand Prix.

Our first trip to downtown San Antonio involved us stumbling on the Alamo.

We've made it to two of the three Presidential libraries in Texas.

We've had our fair share of trips to Ikea.

We've been seranaded while eating delicious Mexican food.

We've enjoyed driving through downtown Austin.

We've had an awesome time karting.

We explored University of Texas at night.

We found the most delicious tacos in our neighborhood.

We found lots and lots of bluebonnets!

We've gone on lots of walks in the park.

We found the most gorgeous beach either one of us have ever been to.

We bowled.

We visited a wild flower farm.

We explored downtown Fredericksburg.

We found a really cool military museum in Austin.

We love the art throughout the city.

Thanks to Home Depot, we played even more.

We slowly are exploring Austin.

We went out to a ball game.

We found the perfect place to get cowboy boots.

We love seeing the capitol building.

We finally tried and enjoyed Top Golf.

We enjoyed our trip to Florence.

We are slowly eating our way through the restaurants in our neighborhood.

We went to our first hockey game and really enjoyed it.

We've hardly scratched the surface of all the different trips we can take here in Texas and I can't wait to to do even more!

Prepared

I am grateful that we were prepared when IBM couldn't approve the funding for Jonathan's contract with them. We were shocked and not at all expecting it, but before we even moved to Texas we were participating in self-reliance courses through our church. (All of those materials are available online for anyone for free here.) Naturally, Jonathan took the course that focused on finding a job since he was looking to start his career since he graduated a few months before. I was drawn to the personal finance class. Jonathan was a bit too good at his class because he got his contract with IBM within just a few weeks later. He joined my class and we ended up moving to Texas abruptly so we weren't able to complete it. A few months after we settled into our new life, we started the class over again. Soon after, Jonathan found out about the lack of funding. While it was overwhelming, we felt financially prepared and Jonathan was able to focus on finding his next job rather than worry about how to pay our current bills. 

This is the same day we found out about the funding.
Jonathan's talking to a headhunter about finding a new job.

I think things would have still worked out, but there would have been a lot more worry and stress that we were able to avoid because we took the time to be prepared for an unexpected job change.

Heritage of Faith

I am grateful for the heritage of faith that my wonderful ancestors as well as my parents left me. It is so valuable in my every day life. I don't know if they were thinking about how their decisions would impact the generations that followed, but they did think about their children and the future they would have.

They were willing to make the necessary changes in their lives to truly live their faith. I have a feeling that some changes were easy, but others we far greater. Many of my ancestors immigrated to America because of their commitment to follow the prophet. At that time they were encouraged to join with the rest of the saints that were in Utah. They gave up everything they knew to start a new life with their new faith. It couldn't have been easy, but they did it and were blessed for generations.

I am grateful that my faith can be traced back through them and know that when they face hardships and challenges they did not give up. I can follow their powerful examples.

Two For One

I am grateful to live in Texas. It's different living in a place where people are equally patriotic for the country as well as for the state they live in. Though you can argue that Texas was it's own country for a time so they are proud of the heritage of where they live. Years ago when we were still living in California, we talked about different places we would like to try living. Texas was towards the top of that list and now that we've been here for over a year we can honestly say that we love it here.

I am grateful for nature. Every so often I see butterflies in the flowers and I am struck by their simple beauty. Their wings are paper thin and yet they can fly around.

I'm also grateful that I can catch up!

Technology

I am grateful for technology and it's ability to keep us connected. I was able to FaceTime my mom today while Garrett, Charlotte, Spencer, and Amy were over at her house. It was wonderful to see them and talk more directly to them than just a normal phone call. It was a sweet highlight to my day.

100 Years

I am grateful for the men and women that serve to protect our freedoms today as well as in the past. It's hard to believe that 100 years ago the armistice was signed and ended World War One. My great-grandpa Patterson served as a medic during that war and was stationed in the United States.

I am grateful to have so many selfless men and women in my family in times gone by as well as today. I have a brother that graduated from the Marine Officer Candidate School earlier this year as well as a cousin that is preparing to join the Marine Corps. While I don't know what is in store for them, I know that they will become better and stronger men because of their service.

Time

I am grateful for the time I get to spend with Jonathan. Many times, it's just us sitting on the couch together and I love it. It doesn't really matter what we are doing, I just enjoy being with him.

Here's to thousands and thousands of more days spent together!

Why Do We Do What We Do?

Today I am feeling grateful for the question "Why do we do what we do?" This week I have been preparing to give a talk at church this Sunday and the topic is feasting upon the words of Christ. For the past few days the question why do we do what we do keeps popping into my head.

Throughout my life (and I'm sure I will continue to hear it in the future) I have heard my dad ask that very question. You could take it as a rhetorical question or think that he's being snarky, however he is genuine each time he asks it. The ultimate answer to the question is we do what we do to have eternal life or to live with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and our families for eternity after we die. He uses that question to as a gauge to determine whether activities or traditions bring us closer to that answer. I am planning on sharing that question in my talk on Sunday.

I am grateful for a father that asks a necessary question and then follows through with the answer. He has taught me by his example far better than by sitting me down and lecturing me. Without realizing it, I have been making adjustments based on that question. It wasn't until this very week that it clicked that I've been changing things in my life that help me better answer that question.

Grandma

I am feeling particularly grateful for my Grandma Machen. There are so many things I could share about her and still barely scratch the surface of the amazing and strong woman she is.

This is by far my favorite family picture.

Last night, I was washing and pressing our temple clothing. While I was in the middle of it, I thought of how my mom and grandma would talk as grandma washed and pressed her and grandpa's temple clothing. There were points that I was really struggling with ironing and I felt like she was right there with me helping me. I was able to stay far more patient than I tend to. Grandma is never forceful or demanding. She leads with her quiet and unwavering example and I was able to feel her peaceful spirit last night.

I don't believe that any of us in the family feel like we got very many of Grandma's qualities because we're all kind of loud and a bit wild at times. The more that I think about the kind of woman she is, I start to see little by little some of her qualities in myself and other family members. They aren't particularly obvious, but they are definitely there.

Bookworms

I am grateful for libraries and the availability of so many different books and resources. During the past few months, Jonathan and I have been frequenting the library. We both have been reading a wide variety of subjects and genres. I am grateful that I don't have to purchase every single book that I might be interested in reading. I'm also grateful that I live in a community that values a wide range in opinions and has books that share differing view points.

Jonathan looking at the Spanish audiobooks.