A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend my brother's Christmas band concert. They did a very good job and performed a fun variety of songs. One song even had them dropping several sets of cymbals on the floor! It was so awesome to be able to see him play! He did a great job and I was very proud of him.
While we were there, I happened to run into my old band teacher! His name was Mr. Shook and he is now a college professor that specializes in student music teacher education! It was kind of funny because I remember him being very strict and mean but he was actually a super nice guy. Maybe he just wasn't meant for teaching annoying little middle school students. He was even nice enough to let me take a picture with him. (I know, I'm shameless...) All in all, to attend a band concert and see my old school again was awesome, and had me being very nostalgic.
I hope you had a great Christmas! I will probably be spamming your feed for a little bit, sorry about that!
So, I had a few questions about my current life situation and decided to make a quick update post. Cameron and I moved to Spokane last summer. There were a few reasons behind it, mostly it just felt like the right thing to do. When we moved in, the kitchen sink wasn't working correctly. At first it was just the faucet wasn't hooked up correctly. Then it devolved into many, MANY problems. Basically, we had to rip out the entire kitchen that is shown in the picture below, except the top left cabinets. Thanks so much to Anton for helping us rip it out! He was such a great help!
This was what it looked like before.
A bigger shot of the before. You can see that the counter-top space was VERY limited.
Due to all of these repairs and serious problems with the plumbing, we were out a kitchen sink for a little bit. The worst part was that we couldn't even wash dishes in the bathtub because the shower won't switch over to the bath faucet. That was super fun...
This is what it looked like afterwards. As you can see there is lots more counter space and more cupboards. (Please excuse the messy stove, they decided to store all the tools there.)
Everything is mostly fixed and it's wonderful!
As far as employment goes, I am working for a temporary agency. It may sound weird, but I actually really enjoy it. It's fun to work in different environments and with different people.
1. Cats! Sorry, I know that I am such a crazy cat lady... I am just so grateful for my sweet little kitties! They bring so many messes, oops I mean joy into my life.
2. Lylah. I just love this girl so much! She is such a sassy, sweet little girl who never ceases to make me laugh!! Also, the way she sings along to songs on the radio... So freaking cute!!
3. Dance parties. You may not know this about me, but I love impromptu dance parties. Especially when they involve the kiddos! We have a few choice songs we really love to boogie out to! During a dance party, nothing can go wrong!
4. I'm so glad to live in a city that actually has fall weather! There are leaves everywhere and the crisp air is so delightful! Our backyard is so pretty, it takes your breath away!
5. Welp, you knew this was coming! I am super grateful for my husband. He has helped me in so many ways.
6. Perhaps my body isn't perfect, but I am very grateful that it is healthy!
7. Today, I am super thankful for books. They provide a necessary escape from the stresses of life. Reading brings joy and new knowledge into my life. I am so grateful that my Mom instilled a great thirst for reading into my life at a young age. I was super excited to find these books! They were my favorites as a kid. Although, this particular collection has a different illustrator than the original so beware!
8. Even though this election has been kind of a stinker, I am still very grateful for the opportunity to vote. (I know this picture has little to do with the election, but I really like it! Patriotic colors? I don't know...)
9. This might be silly for some people, but it is so amazing to have a Costco so close! It just makes everything easier.
10. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of my class because of privacy reasons, but I am still super grateful for them! They stretch me and teach me so much. (Also, super thankful for all the lesson resources that can be found online!)
11. Truly thankful for our service men and women who dedicate their lives to the protection of our country. (Don't really have an appropriate picture for this!)
12. It has been so awesome to have my sister so close! I am so grateful for her ability to always make me laugh and know what to say to make me feel better.
13. I am so thankful to be able to have such good relationships with my extended family. A lot of people do not have the opportunity to have such experiences with their relatives because of distance or other factors. I was lucky enough to be able to make these relationships happen because my parents clearly valued these people in their lives. So grateful for that!
14. Even though there are some negative things about social media, I am very glad for the positive aspects. Being able to see a little snippet of the lives of relatives and friends means everything to me.
15. Also thankful for Instagram making me feel the need to document everything! (As if I didn't have that compulsion already...) Without my crazy need to take pictures of all activities, we wouldn't have these gems posted above.
16. Even though these two can drive me crazy sometimes, I am grateful for them. It's like a little mirror that can look back to my past with. It really does make me thankful for the sibling relationships I have built now. I remember never believing my Mom when she told me that my family would be my best friends in the world.
17. This move has been a very bittersweet experience. It has really made me so thankful for the relationships I have cultivated with Cameron's family. They have been so wonderful in including us in every possible way we can be while being hours and hours apart.
18. I have been feeling so lucky to live in an age where information is right at our fingertips. If you want to learn about something, you can with little effort on your part. What a blessing! (TBT to when I did nail art those few times. I've been thinking about doing it again but I'm not sure...)
19. My Mom has been a super big help to me in many ways. She diligently helped me work on a project that I truly screwed up three separate times. I will post a picture of it here later, once it has been gifted to the receiver. Love you Mom!
20. It has been SUPER HARD to have Jeremy gone on a mission. BUT I am still grateful for the opportunity he has to serve and have such personal growth.
21. We finally have a semi-working kitchen!!! It is so nice to have running water and actual kitchen cupboards to use!! It allows me to make yummy meals as pictured above. I never realized how much of a blessing a kitchen is!!
22. Today, I'm thankful for Christmas music. I know, I know it's not after Thanksgiving yet, but this year I'm trying something new. Christmas music is so uplifting and brings back such happy memories. The songs are full of hope and joy, what more could you want?
23. The blessings of the temple are truly eternal, so thankful for that.
24. This challenge always brings such insight into my many blessings. I am going to cheat today and post a video of someone else, but this song is what I am thankful for today.
****I just want to say that my vote was not cast for either of the mainstream candidates. That said, these election results REALLY stress me out. Nothing in this post is meant to be offensive, but if you are a hardcore fan of either candidate, this post might not be for you.*****
This post is really just for me. It is meant to remind me of the good in the world and what I can use my energy for. To remind me not to dwell on the negative, but to find ways to prevent this from ever happening again. What follows is a list of videos that bring me (that's me personally folks) peace. If they bring you peace as well, then awesome.
I love this video because of the point he makes about us needing to try and understand other's perspective. That really hit home for me.
I love this non-political political video! Stick around this channel for some clean, witty humor.
This video has nothing whatever to do with the election, but it makes me happy so.....
Cute animal videos make everything better, right?
The part about poison in this video is profound. **some bleeped out language**
I know this video has been posted on Facebook a lot, but there's some gold in here! Don't say something until you can say it with love. Dang... If everyone did that Facebook would not be a minefield right now.
I honestly don't know why, but this video is so relaxing!!!!!!!!
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This song makes me happy!! Try to watch this video without smiling, I dare you!
This video really reminded me that with God, we can do anything. So much peace and comfort from that thought. The most peace can be gained from studying the scriptures and being close to the Spirit. I'm so thankful to have the Gospel in my life.
Love,
Courtney
PS-Note to self: Stay off Facebook!!!!!!!
PPS-I hope this post didn't offend you! I really did just sort of make this for myself!! Have a great day!
This week, I have been seeing people put their gratitude posts up on Facebook. It made me realize how much I miss blogging!! So I reopened up my blog, dusted it off and saw all the people that I love to read are still out there!! Through this writing adventure, I've received so much love and support and it's also great for a journal type thingy. So, even though this blog has been started and restarted about a million times, will you stick with me through one more?
Love,
Courtney
PS-Look forward to a little bit different type of grateful post this year! It will be all in picture form with a small caption.
