Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving! While staying at my aunt's house I discovered my seven year old cousin, Mazie's journal. I came upon it while cleaning up and did not know what it was until I read the open page. At the top of the page was written, "How many time I said thank you today." Tally marks followed. It was so sweet that I had to show my aunt.

This was a great lesson to me to recognize my many blessings and the things that I am thankful for, and to remember to give thanks to my Heavenly Father for my blessings. I have a desire to write letters to the many people who have contributed to my life for the better. The problem is, I get a letter written and then add someone else and my list never gets any smaller.

I suppose that is a good thing, at least it means that I recognize others to be thankful for. I truly have many blessings in my life and the most important of those are people. I hope that I will remember my blessings more than my trials in the coming days. I love life, family and this beautiful holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving!

Fun Times

Occasionally Nathan will get a burst of energy and be able to wrestle the kids for a long time. This was one of those times-he went for a while and did not even complain about his back hurting later. You will see why his back may have hurt after seeing the photos. The kids really enjoy times like these and I am glad I had the camera ready. Thanks Nate!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Halloween-I Know It's Late

I finally got my pics downloaded and could post them-better late than never. We had a good Halloween. We went to Licanos with my mom for her birthday dinner and then off to trick or treat. We met Tiffany and Justin and the kids. Nate and Justin went home with the babies while Tiff and I took the others. My mom and Mike and the kids came along. After doing the door to door thing, I can appreciate the Trunk or Treat more.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our 7th Anniversary

Tomorrow is our seventh anniversary-amazing. I used to think that people who were married for ten years were so old and had been married forever. Seven years went by so fast, I regret feeling that way. I also am amazed at how much we are still learning about each other and maturing as time goes on.

Nathan got a hotel room for us tonight and made arrangements for our children-all on his own. This was really sweet-he surprised me-sort of. He still had to clear a couple of things with me, but I was so happy to see he had wanted to do something sweet for me. It will be nice to spend time with only my husband and remember what he is like-without all the distractions.

I really love my husband and all his little quirks. He twirls his hair, loves to laugh, loves to cuddle, likes extra mayo on his sandwiches, likes his underwear rolled-not folded, likes his toothbrush on the left side of the holder, loves basketball, loves St. Johns, loves his mom, loves his children, and treasures me.

He is a simple man and enjoys life's simple pleasures. He has really made me appreciate the little things in life. I am a better person because of him. He recognized potential in me that I did not know I possessed. I am truly grateful for him. I love you Nathan Alton Tanner! Thank you for loving me.

Here We Go Again

Okay, so now we really have everything situated. We are back in St. Johns, I know, how many times are things going to change with us. We are glad to be home and in our own environment. So this is how it all happened.

We came up on Tuesday to take care of some things in St. Johns and so I could go to school. While we were in St. Johns Nathan took his certificate for substituting into the school district and talked to the head of security person at SRP.

The school called him the same day and asked him if he would be willing to start subbing as soon as the week of Thanksgiving. The guy at SRP said that there are new projects starting soon and he would be looking for more help and would be in touch. Between working with my dad and subbing, Nate will be able to take care of us.

A big deciding factor for us was that Preston will be able to start school next week. He has really been wanting to go to school again. He was on a waiting list in the valley and we didn't know when he would be able to start. He is really excited!

We are thinking of turning our garage into an apartment and renting it out. We would be able to get quite a bit since we would include utilities. My dad would help us do the remodeling-he is a really handy man. This would make things financially easier and we could stay in St. Johns. This is just an idea, but we will see what happens. If Nate can pay the bills without doing this, we would prefer it. We just have to see how much work he will be getting.

Nathan's dad always says that there are many ways to do the right thing-or something like that. Being in St. Johns looks like it will work out for us now, but the valley would have too. As long as we are taking care of our responsibilities as parents and trying to better ourselves, I guess it doesn't matter where we are. There are people to serve where ever we are. As long as we are serving others we are serving the Lord and the Lord will provide for us.

Life in motion!

It has been really crazy lately in the life of the Tanner family. We have been everywhere lately. The kids are wondering why we have so many houses-inconsistency has been our only consistent thing lately. We still don't really know what our plan is.

We are currently living with my aunt and uncle in Apache Junction. Nathan has been substituting at a charter school here and I have been trying to help out as much as I can with household duties. I will be traveling back and forth to Show Low until my semester at NPC ends. Tiff and Justin have been so good to watch the kids and let us stay there when we need.

The bishop of our ward in AJ offered Nate a job with his company as an in-home care provider. It doesn't pay much, but has benefits. He is awaiting a call from the HR department now. In the meantime, he is keeping his resume active and is constantly trying to find work in the White Mountains.

I do have to admit that I feel like we are in the right place at the right time. My uncle is out of work at the moment so this is a fix for both families for the time being. My aunt and uncle are also really good at keeping the Spirit in their home and that is reflected in my childrens' behavior and my patience with them.

We really enjoy spending time with their family and are very appreciative of all they are doing for us during this difficult time in our life. My testimony has really been tried during these last couple of months. I love to think of President Monson's talk on the morning session of the Saturday conference that just passed. He said "Never let a problem to be solved be more important than a person to be loved." I think that is so perfect for my life right now. I also have been thinking about the quote the feed store in St. Johns has up occassionally that says "Faults are thick when love is thin."

Financial stress can be hard on a marriage, but I am trying to keep these things in mind. I want to take advantage of the time that we have as a family right now and make positive memories. You never know when the last day you spend together is going to be. I want to end my life knowing that I told my husband and children that I love them. Everything else does not matter.

I went to the temple last night and for the first time realized that Adam and Eve had strength unimaginable to us in today's society. Adam partook of the forbidden fruit to stay with his wife and fulfill the commandment that the Lord had given him to "multiply and replenish the earth." He stood by his wife's side after she went against the Lord's counsel. Marriage is and always has been a sacred covenant. I am blessed to only have financial struggles with my husband as our major issue and not something as serious as Adam was dealing with.

I have been thinking lately aobut the Depression and what the divorce rate was during this time. I am sure it was much lower than our rate now, even when the economy is booming. I guess that I am trying to say that my testimony about marriage has been strengthened. Financial stress is not an excuse to let your marriage fail. I know this and know that the Lord will bless my family if I exercise my faith in my Savior. I am thankful for all my many blessings and especially for my husband.

Veterans Day

I just got back from taking my children to the parade in AJ this morning. I have never been to a parade on Veterans Day-sadly. I have many relatives who have served in the military, including my brother Garett and my father-in-law.

As I was waiting for the parade to start, many older people came to sit by us. Many of the men were veterans themselves and were wearing clothing to represent themselves. It was really neat to see them all come out.

The parade started with three jets flying overhead-low and loud (sorry Kelci). The boys were so excited! It was really neat to watch their excitement. I started to get emotional at this point and it was all down hill from there.

Leading the parade were soldiers-vets-carrying the flags. Everyone stood with their hands over their hearts as the flags passed, but what was really touching was the veterans saluted when they passed. It was the neatest thing to witness men from all different branches,scattered in the crowd, simultaneously saluting the flag.

I started thinking about the turnout present at the parade. Although it was a large crowd, it was no where near the crowds I have seen on the 4th of July. A sadness and a truth hit me as I thought about this. If it weren't for veterans, there would be no 4th of July.

I decided today that I will always make sure my children attend Veterans Day events to teach them the importance of the people who make our freedom possible. I was so impressed with all those in the crowd who would thank the veterans. I want my children to grow up with a respect for these people.

It was so refreshing to see support,regardless of political party, for our country and those who have made it what it is today. I am proud of my family who have done this as well. There was a float of wounded vets that passed with the crowd standing and thanking them. It was a beautiful site to see. To any who have served, thank you. To any who have died, you are not forgotten. To my children, I am proud to be an American!

My bakers dozen list of why I love my wife Terra. By Nathan Tanner

1. She loves the Lord more than anything, including more than she loves me and I love that about her. The Lord should be everyone’s first love.
2. She is always concerned about other people and their well-being, even those that she doesn’t know. She is truly a Good Samaritan.
3. She wants to be the best mother and is. She is always relating things to the gospel when teaching our children.
4. She is super smart. Very intelligent! She is a great problem solver because of it. I am in love with her mind. Unfortunately for her, because of that attribute, I rely on her making most of the decisions, and that is one of the things that is on her “13 things that she does NOT love about me” list.
5. She is very spiritual and really wants a husband who is too. I hope to grant her that wish someday.
6. She is beautiful! And I love that she is beautiful even without makeup.
7. She has some really quirky things that I love about her too. For instance: She is scared of all the water drying up, scared of our drought to death almost; She stays scared after scary movies, kind of like back in Jr. High; The way she rocks side to side when she is nervous (okay, that one I only love when I am not around it); The way she jumps out of her skin when you walk into the room and say something. You can walk in as loud as you can and it still startles her.
8. I love how she wants to have lots of kids, and even has a desire to do foster care, and even adopt. She really wants to bless children’s lives.
9. I love that her political beliefs are based on her social conservatism. That her moral beliefs shape her political choices. And that she and I almost always agree politically.
10. I love that her testimony is built upon the feelings of the Spirit and not based upon the teachings of man. She knows how to confirm her beliefs based on the Spirit and not on blind faith.
11. I love that she is a small town girl with small town values. She doesn’t have to have expensive things. She is just a humble person who looks for ways to help out where she can.
12. That when she has had jobs, she has always been at the top in her field. Like when she was in the top 5 in sales for Carnival Cruise Lines, or when she was one of the tops on her team, which always battled the top teams for first in for the University of Phoenix. She is a sales person, as long as she believes in the product.
13. That she chose to love and believe in someone like me. I love her with all my heart. She is a wonderful woman. I hope she never questions my love.