Our Thankful Tree

We started a really fun tradition this year for the month of November- Our Thankful Tree

We took turns each day of writing down what we were thankful for and tying it on the tree and it was so fun to see it fill up with all of our wonderful blessings. It made Rob & I really think each day about what we are thankful for. I found that it improved my prayers too- I thought more about my blessings and less about what I wanted or needed. 

For Drake, it was just a fun thing to look forward to everyday. He got to color on the leaves and then we'd ask him (on his day) what he was thankful for. Most everyday, he said "thankful tree!" Haha! He didn't quite get the whole thing, but some of the days he said "shoes", "mickey", or "grandma". 

It was a fun tradition to start and we plan on doing it again every year!

I want to remember all the things we wrote down, so I'm going to record them here-

11/1- Grandparents (Drake)

11/2- The best wife in the world (Rob)

11/3- My boys (Linds)

11/4- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Drake)

11/5- Good entertainment (Rob)

11/6- Uplifting music (Linds)

11/7- Shoes (Drake)

11/8- Family (Rob)

11/9- My Nursing Education and Job (Linds)

11/10- Temples (Drake)

11/11- Catching up with old friends (Rob)

11/12- Sundays- a day of rest (Linds)

11/13- Trip to St. George (Drake)

11/14- A New Job (Rob)

11/15- Our family's health (Linds)

11/16- My Toys (Drake)

11/17- Play time with Drake (Rob)

11/18- Chocolate (Linds)

11/19- Our Home (Drake)

11/20- Church and the people I work with (Rob)

11/21- Relief Society (Linds)

11/22- Living close to Family (Drake)

11/23- My church calling (Rob)

11/24- My life and heritage (Linds)

11/25- Aunts and Uncles (Drake)

11/26- Technology (Rob)

11/27- The gospel (Linds)

11/28- Baby Jesus (Drake)

11/29- Christmas Lights (Rob)

11/30- Christmas Spirit (Linds)

Now, referencing back to 11/14 up above and back to my thankful thought weeks ago when I said we had received a huge blessing and surprise. I am now allowed to announce that Rob has a new job!

Insurance just wasn't for us (for many reasons- talk to us if you want to know the whole story), and we are thankful for the experience and what we learned from it, but so excited to leave it behind and begin this new chapter. 

Rob was hired as the Area Manager for Ensignal, which is a Verizon Wireless retailer. Their corporate office is in Kansas, with stores all over Kansas and in the surrounding states. In Utah, they have 4 stores and are hoping to grow. Rob was hired as the area manager for their 4 Utah stores (Pleasant View, Brigham, Logan, and Tremonton -only 30 minutes from us in each direction- awesome!). He started last week and is already loving it. He used to have almost this exact same job with a different Verizon company several years ago and it was there that he discovered how much he enjoyed cell phones and other "techy" things. He is excited to be back into something that he loves. And the pay isn't too bad either! (Always an incentive!) There is room for advancement in the future and overall, we hope that it will be a wonderful career for him and our family. So far, so good!