What a great guy!

I am surprised by how quickly Thanksgiving is approaching. I have enjoyed the grateful themed blog posts and facebook statuses, the holiday pins on pinterest and the cheerful how- to- cook- this and how- to- decorate- thats on the news stations. This morning I am especially grateful for my husband; I am so proud of him and so happy to be his wife!

He is an incredible father. Our little girl cries when he has to leave, lights up when he comes home, and laughs the big belly laughs when he stretches out on the floor to play. He’s helpful too; takes his turn at spooning baby food into her moving target of a mouth. He changes diapers, and responds to my elbows and nudges by waking up in the night to comfort her cries. 

The morning of her baby blessing back in April.

She's Daddy's little helper!

He is enjoying school very much and really applies himself. I am so grateful that he moved our family here because I can see what an inspired program BYU – I is. Last week, he went prepared to a mock interview. He looked so handsome; I would have hired him on the spot just for that! According to the interviewer who staged himself as an HR rep for corporate Wal-Mart, my husband did really well in his responses. The interviewer  gave him some really good feed back; complimented him for being “real” and even sent him home with a video recording of the interview! What an awesome resource to have! It can be reviewed and his responses improved upon before future interviews for actual jobs.

My husband also attended a meeting with two BYU – I alumni that are currently employed by corporate Wal-Mart. One has been employed for seven years, the other about six months. Their presentation was very encouraging; they spoke highly of the community in which their jobs require them to live in and also of the company they work for. Wal – Mart’s motto respect for the individual is apparently upheld consistently. I was encouraged to know that the company pays for the expensive move when you relocated to work for them. Graduation is a little more than a year away, but I am so glad that my husband is being proactive now in setting his sights on good jobs.

My husband doesn’t only go to school full time, he also works 30 hours a week. My friends, who find themselves in similar situations, and I joke that we are married single moms because our men have to be away from the home so much. Not that we are resentful in the slightest, we’re all proud of their accomplishments and grateful for their hard work and financial support. Work is going really well for my husband. He changed departments and left jewelry/ apparel behind (good riddance) to work in the electronics department- just in time for the HUGE black Friday sales! He has been assigned the very important, over night job, of keeping the line for televisions orderly. His annual review went incredibly well, it is so nice to know that he is appreciated for his good work ethic, and starting in January he will be receiving a fifty cent an hour raise! We know that this is a direct blessing to paying our tithing and we are humbled and grateful to know that our loving Heavenly Father hears our prayers and takes care of us financially.  

Last week, my husband came home feeling very inspired by a lesson he learned in his History class. The topic had been the Law of Consecration and how we can apply it in our lives today. He has taken on a fresh outlook toward our life and all of our many blessing. This isn't our car, it is the Lord's car, where would he have us drive? This isn't our home, it is the Lord's home, what would he have us do with it? These aren't our clothes, they're the Lord's clothes, we should give our excess to who needs them more. He is such a good example to me! I am keeping that in mind today since going to church with a baby is such a dreadful chore, I will be saying in my mind: This isn't my day, it is the Lord's day, and He would have me attend my Church meetings.

I am grateful that my husband is inspired by good things. Grateful that he is humble enough to see the Lord's hand in our lives. Recently, we were watching Extreme Makeover: Home edition on tv. In this particular episode, a new home was built for a single dad raising his three teenage sons. They had gone without so much, because they gave away so much. The dad is very involved in the impoverished community. He tries to bring reading and education, even paying out of pocket to take kids, whom would otherwise be involved in drugs and crime on the street, on field trips to museums. This man is the only male role model and father figure to the majority of the kids in their neighborhood! It was one of those episodes that I couldn't get through without a few tears. And, even though it has been a few weeks now since we watched it, it comes up frequently in conversation. My husband often says that he hopes we live our life like that. He hopes we too can have a positive impact on the lives of others and especially kids. We look at our daughter, and it breaks our hearts to think of other children who are just as innocent and perfect as her, trying to survive in poverty or love-less homes.

I'm going to wrap this up since it's getting quite long! (But not before I add some more daddy/ daughter pictures that I just found on my computer; taken around 8 weeks old.) Thank you dear for being so good to us. I love you!