Gratefuls from 2018, In no Particular Order, and Long Overdue

OK Guys, so I know we're well into 2019 at this point, but I'm feeling this empty hole in my heart from not writing about the best parts of 2018 in a blogpost. So I'mma right this right now.

Here's my gratefuls from last calendar year, in no particular order:

My 3 year anniversary with the love of my life, Kevin J 😍
My baby boy's 1st birthday
Visiting Washington D.C. with my parents and brothers. My appreciation for the freedoms I enjoy, and my respect for all those who have sacrificed so much to offer those freedoms to me, increased tremendously. Plus, late nights playing Codenames in our hotel and enjoying Larry's ice cream in the Reagan Building food court were pretty awesome too. Love my family.
The first Christmas in a long time where I gave gifts I really put a lot of time, thought, and sweat into; and received beautiful gifts of the same kind.
Finally reaching a weight and status of activity/health that made me feel comfortable and happy in my own skin.
Starting this blog :)
Turning 26 years old
Finishing my 2nd year teaching, and all of the dozens of incredible students and colleagues I was blessed to meet and learn from
Taking baby boy on his first camping trip!
Trying bran muffins for the first time. And thereafter becoming hooked to bran muffins in the most delightful way.
Celebrating the life of my Great-Uncle Keith Renstrom, who passed away on the 4th of July. He was an amazing example of patriotism and forgiveness. He was in his late 90's and even spoke at his own funeral (via a video that was recorded several years ago!). I'm grateful for him and what he taught me.
The loveliest of extended family trips to Bear Lake (with the Johnson Clan) and Mirror Lake (with the Boren bunch).

Those are the ones on my mind for now, I'll add more later. But boy, was it a great year.

-Mikayla.

Day #316

Comments

The Problem with Chick Flicks.

I really, really, really enjoy a select few movies that I willingly watch over and over again. Pride and Prejudice is one of them. You see, Elizabeth's defense of her family, her sense of self respect, her ability to admit that she was wrong and to appreciate Darcy despite all his quirks, and quizzical brow-ness... it's marvelous. My husband doesn't share the sentiment, could you tell? ... and that's okay. There's rare a chick flick I enjoy near as much as I enjoy Pride and Prejudice or A Walk To Remember , and I wanted to explain why. You see, there's more than just a few problems with (many, not all) chick flicks: (and if you have a chick flick that escapes many of these pitfalls then please oh please leave it's title in the comment section!) The heroine (or suitor) is less than honorable. I have a hard time rooting for a girl to get a gentleman when she's spending her time being scandalously loose with other men ( #thenotebook) . An...

What you hear vs. what you say

Have you ever misheard somebody? For the longest time my old seminary teacher thought that the primary song said “shalminnow” instead of “by this shall men know ye are my disciples...” He was convinced that The song was referring to the Jesus fish some people plaster to their bumpers. My brother Austin used to sing “I almost want to be with my own family” instead of “always...” And I had a long debate with my old roommate about Michael Buble’s hit song “Met you yet.” She was convinced he said “I guess it’s half time-in, and the other half luck.” Like time-out time-in in a football game. Do any of those mistaken lyrics make any logical sense to anyone but the mistaken? Of course not. But that’s what makes them hilarious!! I’m particularly guilty of mis-hearing and mis-reading people. Just because I speak English with other English speakers doesn’t always mean that we communicate effectively. From this I’ve gathered a few things about talking with people: 1) ask ...

Have You Ever Read a Book That Made You Grieve? Rejoice? Weep?

Have you ever read a book that spoke so deeply to your soul that you wept while you read it, couldn't put it down even for the pain, and thought about it for days after you finished? I have. I've been fortunate to wander upon many books that have done such for me, but the most recent literary treasure of this variety in my life has been "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys. I don't want to give much away, but I will say this: this book brought to my awareness of the WWII era histories of many Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian people. Previous to this novel I was aware that Jews (and other persecuted groups alongside them such as gypsies, the intellectually disabled and homosexuals) were victims of holocaust crimes under Hitler. But I was not aware that Stalin held his own "cleanse" and subjected millions of people to labor, cruelty, and death. The reason why I loved this book was because of the humanity and true charity many victims chose ...

God is Good to the Johnsons

Search This Blog