Today is just one of those days. The wind is howling, the skies are a dull gray, and even the trees are now bare. So instead of doing the usual, I am enjoying the coziness of my home with the sound of clothes rolling in the dryer, while being trapped on the living room floor by the stacks of my homework papers. In the midst of the chaos, I can't help but be thankful, though. As I have discussed in previous blogs, I have the BEST job in the world. One that keeps me on my toes, gives me the opportunity to have days to catch up on homework if needed, and most importantly, allows me to work with my husband.
Time seems to be one of those things that I simply have not had enough of for a long while, but I was able to sneak a five minute adventure onto pinterest the other day and I found the best quote. It read "Great marriages are made when husbands and wives make a lot of every day choices that say "I love you" rather than choices that say "I love me". Truly, how awesome is this?!
Yes, I could venture out of my comfort zone and work in a cooped up office all day. However, if I can have the opportunity to make life even just a little bit easier for Mark, why wouldn't I grab that chance by the horns with all that I've got?! The best feeling in the world is one where you feel like you have made a difference. Mark and I have done many projects together over the last year and a half, and each one has been a stepping stone for us. Yes some days, when it is 88 degrees out and we are stuck on a roof tearing off shingles, dripping in sweat, while watching everyone else getting off of work at 5, are tough. I have found myself thinking about all of the fun things that I could be doing instead of what I am actually doing, then I realize what I am thinking and tell myself to knock it off. Devil get out of my head!
Is it a sacrifice? Maybe. Is it worth it? Everyday. Sometimes you have to work hard for things. Sometimes you get stuck doing the crappy jobs, like picking up every piece of tar paper on a windy day or completely reorganizing the tool trailer after it has been neglected for months. At the end of the day, though, that thankful smile on Mark's face is what's worth it for me. It's that smile that keeps me pushing on and striving to be better, because I want him and Him, to know that I am doing it not because I love me, but because I love them. <3
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
My Mother
As I was thinking about what to make for supper tonight, I thought to myself "Well, I could make that, but I'm going to have to call Mom to see how much of everything to put in." So, what did I do? I called Mom. Everything was so easy when I still lived at home. It's like just being in their house brings me the knowledge of exactly everything thing that I need and how much of it; like Mom's presence is there with me even when she isn't physically there.
It's definitely an adjustment trying to figure out how to cook for two people, instead of five. Even when I call now, Mom and I still need to figure out how much to reduce recipes by to make for just Mark and me.
Another thing that I thought about tonight was how my brother Matt sometimes teases me for saving Ziploc freezer bags. They have their own drawer in my home, and they do in my mom's home, too. I distinctly remember a time in my life two or three years ago, when I told myself that I was NEVER going to save bags like my mother did. Notice how I put never in all caps, bolded, AND underlined it? I was NEVER going to do that because I was NOTHING like my mom. Well, here we are. I'm that woman through and through. I save my bags, recycle, sort dirt clothes into five separate distinct loads, bake buns and bread, grow a garden, can and freeze fruits and vegetables, and many other things that I cannot think of right now.
I feel like I don't talk about my mom enough and all that she had done for me (and Mark). She is a wonderful person, through and through and I love her tons. So, this one's for YOU, Mom. Thanks for simply being you. :) I (and Mark, again) love you.
It's definitely an adjustment trying to figure out how to cook for two people, instead of five. Even when I call now, Mom and I still need to figure out how much to reduce recipes by to make for just Mark and me.
Another thing that I thought about tonight was how my brother Matt sometimes teases me for saving Ziploc freezer bags. They have their own drawer in my home, and they do in my mom's home, too. I distinctly remember a time in my life two or three years ago, when I told myself that I was NEVER going to save bags like my mother did. Notice how I put never in all caps, bolded, AND underlined it? I was NEVER going to do that because I was NOTHING like my mom. Well, here we are. I'm that woman through and through. I save my bags, recycle, sort dirt clothes into five separate distinct loads, bake buns and bread, grow a garden, can and freeze fruits and vegetables, and many other things that I cannot think of right now.
I feel like I don't talk about my mom enough and all that she had done for me (and Mark). She is a wonderful person, through and through and I love her tons. So, this one's for YOU, Mom. Thanks for simply being you. :) I (and Mark, again) love you.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Wife Life
My blog has been the furthest thing from my mind for a while; actually, for a long while. Life has been so busy this year. In May, my brother Drew and Mark's sister Mary, both graduated from high school; Mark's Grandma Jeanette turned 90, so we had a birthday party at the beginning of July for her; both the Kittson and Roseau County fairs were in July; we got married and bought a house in August. Time seems to be going so fast.
So, what's changed? Not a whole lot to be honest. I've done some painting in my house, but most days it seems too exhausting to even think about. Now, I'm Mark's sidekick at work. I play secretary, laborer, accountant, maid, chef, student, and lots of other fun things everyday. WELCOME TO WIFE-HOOD, MY FRIENDS! :)
I love it, though. There isn't a single thing that I would change about my day-to-day routine. Each day is different and that is exciting to me. My life in general is exciting, and most of that is thanks to my husband. The last month and a half has really opened my eyes to him. When you decided to get married (and then actually do it), you feel like you love that person and can't wait to spend the rest of your life with them. That's exactly how I felt. I thought that I knew everything about him that there possibly was to know. I knew that he hates when I remind him to: wear his seatbelt, drive an average speed, cut his toenails, turn the volume on the television down, call his brother Matt back. You get the point. However, what I didn't know is that he: kicks all of the blankets off of the bed every stinkin' night, would get mad about the background on the check blanks that I ordered, hates the idea of having to come home after doing carpentry to do more carpentry to our house, has a weird fetish with three-wheelers, and smells literally everything.
People have said that the first year is going to be the hardest. I believe them, not because it is going to change our love for each other, but because it is going to help us learn to love each other in different ways that we have never even thought about. There is so much that we still need to learn from one another, but we only have ten months and 20 days left to go in that first year. Yippee! ;)
So, what's changed? Not a whole lot to be honest. I've done some painting in my house, but most days it seems too exhausting to even think about. Now, I'm Mark's sidekick at work. I play secretary, laborer, accountant, maid, chef, student, and lots of other fun things everyday. WELCOME TO WIFE-HOOD, MY FRIENDS! :)
I love it, though. There isn't a single thing that I would change about my day-to-day routine. Each day is different and that is exciting to me. My life in general is exciting, and most of that is thanks to my husband. The last month and a half has really opened my eyes to him. When you decided to get married (and then actually do it), you feel like you love that person and can't wait to spend the rest of your life with them. That's exactly how I felt. I thought that I knew everything about him that there possibly was to know. I knew that he hates when I remind him to: wear his seatbelt, drive an average speed, cut his toenails, turn the volume on the television down, call his brother Matt back. You get the point. However, what I didn't know is that he: kicks all of the blankets off of the bed every stinkin' night, would get mad about the background on the check blanks that I ordered, hates the idea of having to come home after doing carpentry to do more carpentry to our house, has a weird fetish with three-wheelers, and smells literally everything.
People have said that the first year is going to be the hardest. I believe them, not because it is going to change our love for each other, but because it is going to help us learn to love each other in different ways that we have never even thought about. There is so much that we still need to learn from one another, but we only have ten months and 20 days left to go in that first year. Yippee! ;)
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Playing Catch Up
It's been a little while, friends! Since the new year started, life has become hectic, crazy, busy, fun, chaotic, etc. You get the point! Here are some things that we have been occupying our time with:
- Our February started a spiral of crappy events. We blew the transmission in the pick-up, the water pipes froze at the house, our car got rear ended on our way to Mary's state hockey tournament, one of Mark's role models passed away, we haven't been able to find a home or land to buy, and the snow cat blew up this weekend while they venturing out on the lake for a fishing derby. It seems like it has been one thing after another, BUT we are thankful for the troubles because it makes the good times so much sweeter!
- On the bright side, we wrapped up the big Prosser shop project last week. I must say that it is beautiful! We could totally live in those conditions: 60 degrees, bathroom, kitchen, and tons of space. I think Mark is jealous of it. It looks like we might be building a shop before a house. :)
- I'm still chugging along with school. Thankfully, this semester seems to be going super fast! I cannot wait to be done, so that I can give this big ol' brain a rest. (Ok, maybe it's just an average brain, doing average things ;))
- My to-be-brother-in-law, Matt, has had the pleasure of working cattle with me a couple times, too. Just kidding! It's been an absolute pleasure for me to be working with him! One day in particular, we were working calves and things had finally started running smoothly around 1 in the afternoon, when we (Matt, Clarence, and I) decided to run inside quick for a bit to eat. (We had been sorting the calves into two different pens, keep in mind.) It was probably 30 minutes later, and we were heading out to get right back at it. When we walked into the barn, we found five or six calves standing in the barn, munching on the papers that Matt had been keeping his records on. While it didn't seem that funny at the time, I can't stop myself from laughing now just thinking about it! At 4 that afternoon, I was supposed to meet with our dear friend Kay, about my wedding dress. Sure enough, it was 3:45 and Matt looked out in the yard, and about 30 of the calves we had already sorted were freely roaming. I turned to Clarence as his dad quickly chased after them and asked "how did they get out, Clarence? You were supposed to be in charge of the gates." He quickly responded with "I'm not really sure. I think that either Lola or Lilah (his bottle calves from last year) got their head in-between the gates and just got them open on their own!" I couldn't help but giggle...I think he had actually left the gate open when he went to get corn screenings for them. :) We did get them back in, though, and I was only a couple minutes late to see Kay.
- Mark is as sweet, kind, handsome, and hard-working as ever. Oh, and I seem to fall deeper in love with him every day. :) He's been busy finishing up the shop and trying to keep everything organized. It seems like there is always something going on, and he has people calling him every week with new, challenging jobs for him to tackle. We love it, though!! He is spending this weekend with his Dad at Rocky Point, and I think that they are having a lot of fun and making cool memories. :)
- While he's been away, I have been doing fun things too! Saturday Mom and I went to Grand Forks to look at fabric for my dress. Unfortunately, they did not have what we needed in the store, but we were able to order it online when we got home. Since this was the last days of spring break for some, and the beginning days for others, some of my good friends from high school were home. We had made plans earlier in the week to get together and do something. I seriously looked forward to it all week. They are some of the coolest, sweetest, kindest people I know. To Derek, Shelby, Blake and Kyle: You made this lady's entire month. Thanks for being such fun, great people to be around. I love you all!
I guess that's about all that I have for right now. Plus, I have homework that I need to get back to.
-Stay classy.
MJ
Saturday, February 1, 2014
And they lived (adjective) ever after.
Wow... I guess that I haven't realized how long it has truly been since I wrote my last blog! Life has been moving so fast during the last couple of months. Seriously, there is always something going on. No joke.
Okay, so where should I begin? Maybe at the beginning of December, I suppose? My birthday was on a Tuesday this year. Real cool, I know! I went home after my class and spent the day with Mark, and we went out for supper that night. It was so nice to be able to just kind of relax and spend some quality time together. As the month wore on, I kept thinking and talking more about what it would be like if Mark and I were to get married some day. Each time I brought it up, he would simply look at me and say that he thought it would be a better idea to wait a couple of years and see where life was taking us then. (Little did I know that he had already bought my ring!)
On December 22, we left after church for a quick trip down to Duluth to visit a cousin of Mark's before the Christmas season hit us with full force. We both had already received our Christmas presents from each other at this point. I gave Mark a 10" Jiffy propane auger, and he got me skis, poles, and boots for cross-country skiing! I think that we were both pretty excited, plus we can use them to do fun things together. I'll admit though, we are not very good at keeping secrets from one another! HOWEVER, Mark did keep on of the biggest secrets EVER from me. How he did it, I will never know because:
At the bottom of the hill was a waterfall. The river was covered in ice, but the water was flowing so fast at the part that the water wouldn't freeze and it was absolutely beautiful. Mark leaned up against a tree and asked me to come stand by him. He wrapped his arm around me and we just stared and it for awhile. He looked at me and said, "Isn't it breathtaking?" I can't really remember what I said, but it was along the lines of "yes, it's so pretty." He then took me by the hand and said "but not as breathtaking as you." He got down on one knee, took out the ring, asked me to spend forever with him, and we lived happily ever after. Okay, maybe not quite, but everything is true up until this last sentence. He took me by the hand and started getting down on one knee when my mouth had to wreck the beautiful moment. "Mark if this is a joke, this isn't funny. Mark seriously, this is NOT funny! What are you doing?!!" Those are some of my exact words at that moment. In my defense though, if your significant other had "faked" asking you to marry them before, would you believe them?!
He just sat there and stared at me the whole time that he reached into his pocket for the ring. His eyes were glistening with tears and happiness (Don't tell him that I said anything about the tears!! He'll deny it.) He opened the box and it was at that point and time that I knew that this was for real. The dream that I have dreamed for the past 20 years of my life was actually coming true. I was going to be able to marry a man that meant everything to me. The man that makes me smile, giggle, laugh, cry, happy, smarter, kinder, sweeter, etc. The list seriously goes on and on.
He looked up at me and said "Will you spend forever with me?" My hands were shaking. My heart was pounding. Of course though, I left him hanging. I didn't give him an answer right away, because I was so shocked and in awe that I just assumed that he knew that I was going to say yes! I did say yes then after he asked me for the second time and I have never seen him happier than he was right there in that moment. It's giving me butterflies and causing tiny droplets of tears to form along the outer corners of my eyes right now as I replay everything in my mind. I also had never been happier in my entire life.
So now, I find myself trying to plan a wedding! Things are going very........slowly. :) I am not good at making important decisions and I feel like there are so many things that I need to take care of and get checked off the list sooner rather than later! Believe me, if you have any tips or suggestions, I'll listen! I do know that we are getting married on August 9, 2014 at the Sion Lutheran Church in Lancaster, MN at 6 PM (for all of you farmers out there!) and our reception will follow at the Kittson County Fairgrounds in Hallock, MN. We have reserved a block of rooms at the Budget Host Inn in Hallock, and you are welcome to make reservations as you like!
Thank you for your prayers, kind words, thoughts, and cards as we begin our journey towards becoming husband and wife. We are blessed to have found each other and to have such loving, wonderful people supporting us. Again, thank you! It truly means more than you could ever imagine.
P.S. Remember how I subtly mentioned before that Mark already had my ring then? He actually had it for TWO MONTHS before he asked me. What a brat. ;) Oh, and when my parents went to tell my brothers that we were getting married, Dad said "so, how would you guys like to have a new brother?" There immediate impression? Crap, Mom's pregnant! Not quite, just a bigger, older, tougher brother-in law. haha
Okay, so where should I begin? Maybe at the beginning of December, I suppose? My birthday was on a Tuesday this year. Real cool, I know! I went home after my class and spent the day with Mark, and we went out for supper that night. It was so nice to be able to just kind of relax and spend some quality time together. As the month wore on, I kept thinking and talking more about what it would be like if Mark and I were to get married some day. Each time I brought it up, he would simply look at me and say that he thought it would be a better idea to wait a couple of years and see where life was taking us then. (Little did I know that he had already bought my ring!)
On December 22, we left after church for a quick trip down to Duluth to visit a cousin of Mark's before the Christmas season hit us with full force. We both had already received our Christmas presents from each other at this point. I gave Mark a 10" Jiffy propane auger, and he got me skis, poles, and boots for cross-country skiing! I think that we were both pretty excited, plus we can use them to do fun things together. I'll admit though, we are not very good at keeping secrets from one another! HOWEVER, Mark did keep on of the biggest secrets EVER from me. How he did it, I will never know because:
- I'm nosy.
- I pay VERY close attention to things.
- I ask questions.
- I always double check bank statements.
- I can tell when he's lying. (Not that he does it often, though!)
At the bottom of the hill was a waterfall. The river was covered in ice, but the water was flowing so fast at the part that the water wouldn't freeze and it was absolutely beautiful. Mark leaned up against a tree and asked me to come stand by him. He wrapped his arm around me and we just stared and it for awhile. He looked at me and said, "Isn't it breathtaking?" I can't really remember what I said, but it was along the lines of "yes, it's so pretty." He then took me by the hand and said "but not as breathtaking as you." He got down on one knee, took out the ring, asked me to spend forever with him, and we lived happily ever after. Okay, maybe not quite, but everything is true up until this last sentence. He took me by the hand and started getting down on one knee when my mouth had to wreck the beautiful moment. "Mark if this is a joke, this isn't funny. Mark seriously, this is NOT funny! What are you doing?!!" Those are some of my exact words at that moment. In my defense though, if your significant other had "faked" asking you to marry them before, would you believe them?!
He just sat there and stared at me the whole time that he reached into his pocket for the ring. His eyes were glistening with tears and happiness (Don't tell him that I said anything about the tears!! He'll deny it.) He opened the box and it was at that point and time that I knew that this was for real. The dream that I have dreamed for the past 20 years of my life was actually coming true. I was going to be able to marry a man that meant everything to me. The man that makes me smile, giggle, laugh, cry, happy, smarter, kinder, sweeter, etc. The list seriously goes on and on.
He looked up at me and said "Will you spend forever with me?" My hands were shaking. My heart was pounding. Of course though, I left him hanging. I didn't give him an answer right away, because I was so shocked and in awe that I just assumed that he knew that I was going to say yes! I did say yes then after he asked me for the second time and I have never seen him happier than he was right there in that moment. It's giving me butterflies and causing tiny droplets of tears to form along the outer corners of my eyes right now as I replay everything in my mind. I also had never been happier in my entire life.
So now, I find myself trying to plan a wedding! Things are going very........slowly. :) I am not good at making important decisions and I feel like there are so many things that I need to take care of and get checked off the list sooner rather than later! Believe me, if you have any tips or suggestions, I'll listen! I do know that we are getting married on August 9, 2014 at the Sion Lutheran Church in Lancaster, MN at 6 PM (for all of you farmers out there!) and our reception will follow at the Kittson County Fairgrounds in Hallock, MN. We have reserved a block of rooms at the Budget Host Inn in Hallock, and you are welcome to make reservations as you like!
Thank you for your prayers, kind words, thoughts, and cards as we begin our journey towards becoming husband and wife. We are blessed to have found each other and to have such loving, wonderful people supporting us. Again, thank you! It truly means more than you could ever imagine.
P.S. Remember how I subtly mentioned before that Mark already had my ring then? He actually had it for TWO MONTHS before he asked me. What a brat. ;) Oh, and when my parents went to tell my brothers that we were getting married, Dad said "so, how would you guys like to have a new brother?" There immediate impression? Crap, Mom's pregnant! Not quite, just a bigger, older, tougher brother-in law. haha
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