Month: January 2017

A New Year

/ katiemjenks / Leave a comment

“You don’t climb mountains without a team, you don’t climb mountains without being fit, you don’t climb mountains without being prepared & you don’t climb mountains without balancing the risks & rewards. And you never climb a mountain on accident – it has to be intentional.” -Mark Udall

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Today I want to share what my prayers & goals are for this new year of 2017. I think one of the best ways to do that, however, is to REFLECT a bit on this past year of 2016 & look at how my goals & prayers were accomplished & answered. About a year ago I sat down & did the same thing with thankfuls for the previous year & wrote out new ideas for the new season. I highly recommend it! I have shared the importance (in my head) of this practice with various students on days that I have subbed. I think most of them just nod along, sadly, but I have had a handful approach me later & share that they decided to put what I shared into practice & that they are glad they did. I know that this annual activity has been beneficial for me in several different ways, but mostly, it has been GOOD for my soul.

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There is something really REALLY beautiful about reflection & seeing all the wonderful things that life has shared with me. In this last year of 2016, I have to honestly say it wasn’t one of the “best” years of my life. But it also wasn’t bad. It was just crazy, with lots of highs & lows, lots of exhaustion & long days. But it also held some truly beautiful things that have impacted my heart & GROWN me as well. My girls, my sweet girls, were definitely a gift for me this last year. Don’t get me wrong, they definitely add to my exhaustion & help grow patience & grace in me on a regular basis, but they were a SERIOUS highlight for me. My time, my life, this past year was prioritized by being their mama. It was grand. I will share more things below, but first I wanted to revisit my goals & prayer list for last year.

2016 Goals & Prayers

-Joy & peace for Noah, Eliana, Cora & I.

-Patience & grace in my parenting.

-Excellence in what I put my hands to.

-Prioritizing my health- being whole with food & exercise.

-Read through entire Bible this year.

-Leave the country, have a kid-free vacation with Noah.

-Have our house ready to sell, be open to move.

-Get pregnant. Stay stress free & well rested.

-Blog regularly, keep sharing the good news of Jesus.

-Make art, woodworking, photography.

-Pre-school with Eliana.

 

My word for the year of 2016:

Kindness.

My verse for the year of 2016:

“Let the words of my mouth & the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength & my Redeemer.” -Psalms 19:14

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Overall, looking back over what last year held & all the craziness that it held, I am pleased to say that I feel that my goals were met! (More or less. 😉 ) I did have peace & joy, my patience & grace in my parenting grew, with plenty of failure as well. But I do feel that I have grown & hope to continue learning how to be more patient & full of grace with my kiddos this year & every year after this. I ate well, did yoga, the Insanity program & ran (way further & faster than I have ever done in the past!) & had dance parties & tickle fights with the girls. A biggy goal for me was to read through the entire Bible in the year & I am proud that I stuck to my goal all year long & even finished a few days early! I’m also going to have this as a goal for this year. We spend 3 weeks in Europe with my parents, Noah & I got an absolutely perfect 2 night getaway in the Bay area kid free, we got our house ready to sell & SOLD IT within a month of listing it, BOUGHT a huge fixer-upper, & spent the last 6 months of the year remodeling it (& are ALMOST DONE! Praise. The. Lord.). We got pregnant, WOO-HOO!, I stayed  more or less stress free & well rested, which was miraculous & such a gift because of living with my parents. Thank you Mom! I blogged at least once a month & did art, as well as pre-school with Eliana. It is really RAD to look back over that list & see that so much of it came to pass. I couldn’t have done it without my amazing tribe or incredible Jesus. I am so so GRATEFUL.

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Here we are now in January of 2017. 2017! I can’t believe that. I distinctly remember 1999 & the weirdness of going into 2000. I remember thinking ahead & not being able to wrap my head around what the year 2005, 2013, 2017, etc looked like, sounded like, would be like! Now here we are. Crazy. So, for this new year, I am going to share my goals & prayers below.

2017 Goals & Prayers

-Do life with intention. Be intentional. Use my time wisely.

-Read through the whole Bible.

-Speak encouragement & life daily over my tribe.

-Do yoga weekly, eat more raw foods.

-Smile more.

-Consistent pre-school with Eliana & Cora.

-Choose rest, stay stress-free.

-Have a healthy pregnancy, delivery & baby!

-Move into our new home & make it a haven.

-Spend more time playing with my kiddos.

-Make date nights a habit with Noah.

-Go on a babymoon.

-Journal.

-Learn to knit.

 

My word for the year of 2017:

Intentionality.

(One of) My verse for the year of 2017:

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” -Philippians 4:8

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I want to spend 2017 being intentional, with the Lord, with myself, my husband, my littles. I don’t want the days to go by wasted on things that don’t matter. I want to spend my time focused on what brings LIFE & breaths GOODNESS. I want to invest my life doing things that matter. I feel like that is why after waiting & waiting to solidify what my word for the year was, this one, intentionality, just covers it. I have great expectations for what this year holds, some obvious, some totally unknown. But I want it to be a GREAT year, whatever happens. The two major things that I am looking forward to the  most are moving into our new home & having baby number 3! Besides that, the year is mostly a blank canvas that I am excited to see it filled up with memories.

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I hope you are looking ahead with hope for this new year. I hope that you have had some time to sit down & focus & think about what matters to you & why. If you haven’t had the chance to do that, I strongly encourage you to do it. Find a word or phrase for the year! Find a poem or a song or a quote that makes you COME ALIVE & make it your mantra for the year. This year is a gift. Be encouraged.

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“Gratitude is where every positive attitude starts.” -Michael Hyatt

 

Cheers,

Katie.

 

2016 Recap

/ katiemjenks / Leave a comment

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” -Abraham Lincoln

I want to share our Christmas letter with you. It has been 7 years of writing these letters & I love how it is a concise (in my opinion 😉 ) way of recapping what the year has held for our little family. These past weeks have been a whirlwind of holiday-ness, lots of family, intentional time spent together playing, eating, creating, enjoying time with one another. It really was a sweet, perfect way to end the year of 2016!

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Merry Christmas & Happy New Year dear ones!

The season has come again in which we share with one another the good things that this last year of 2016 has held for us, where we focus on the GLORY of BEING ALIVE in a world where each & every day there are blessings to be seen & experienced. It has been quite a year for our little Jenks Tribe! We are overwhelmed with GRATITUDE for the grace that the King of Kings has shared with us in this last year & we hope that yours has been one of goodness & that you are looking forward to 2017 with joy & anticipation along with us!

The beginning of the year & the spring were definitely the most “normal” for us, as we enjoyed our little abode, prepared & researched for our summer trip to Europe, watched the girls grow & spent time with one another. In February, we celebrated Katie being declared FOUR years cancer free! It is always such a gift to hear that declaration & then to shout it from the rooftops. We went on hikes on warm days, puddle-jumped on the rainy ones & spent the cold days inside reading piles of books by the fire & dancing to music on the record player. Our travels including flying out to Texas to visit family, where we had a grand old time going to the zoo, lots of parks & eating delicious chocolate chip cookies. We also took a few trips to southern California to visit family & friends as well as spent time at magical Disneyland.

Eliana turned THREE in March & we celebrated her by spending the day blowing bubbles, eating chocolate cake & lots of singing. Also in March, we found a true fixer-upper & decided that it was worth changing what our projected year looked like because of its future value & fit for our family & after a crazy few weeks of getting things in order, we bought the house, got our house ready to put on the market & by the first weekend of May our little abode was listed! Within days we had multiple offers & by the time we left for our trip to Europe a month later, we had sold our first home! It was INCREDIBLE seeing how it all worked out & the peace we were able to leave for Europe with. Also at the end of May, Cora turned ONE! We celebrated her birthday with Riah Joy her cousin, being they are only 12 days apart. We had good friends & family come eat cake & celebrate our little May bébés with their wildflower crowns & beautiful faces. It was a perfect party.

In June we spent 3 weeks traveling with Katie’s parents across Switzerland, northern Italy, Austria & England. It was most definitely, one of the BEST parts of this year. This trip was absolutely perfect. We stayed at great places, didn’t miss a single train, ate gelato (or “belato” according to Eliana) at Lake Como, stood at the base of a waterfall in Lauterbrunnen, rode on a gondola in Venice, saw the Crown Jewels in the pouring rain, sang folk songs with a few Austrian grandmas in the forests outside of Vienna, ate schnitzel in Salzburg & had simply a marvelous summer tour. It was incredible & we wouldn’t change a thing about it. In June we also celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary while abroad which seems to be the way it happens for us! The rest of the summer brought us fully into our season of remodeling our new home, with trips to Pinecrest, Oregon, Bodie & southern California in between.

The fall continued to be very BUSY & BEAUTIFUL for us with Noah in his 4th year of teaching 7th grade English as well as working on our new house each day alongside Katie’s dad. Katie is subbing about once a week but is primarily home with the girls & enjoying it greatly. She is continuing to blog about our family adventures at thejenkstribe.com & doing pre-school with Eliana, who is growing up way too fast. Cora is growing up way too fast as well & is keeping us on our toes with her enthusiasm & joy. Both girls are TRUE GIFTS & their blossoming sisterhood brings our hearts such pleasure. The fall has brought us daily walks, nature exploration, tea parties, princess dresses, dancing & singing, parks, library visits, baking & lots of outdoor activities. Becoming parents (next to being married & loving Jesus) is the best thing that we could have ever chosen. It is rewarding beyond measure. We are so grateful.

Each & every day we have a simple choice to CHOOSE a life for ourselves full of happiness. We try to practice that especially in years like this that has had seasons of chaos & busyness. It is valuable, keeps us healthy, makes us stronger & ultimately builds our foundation of peace. We know that the hope we carry, not just in the holiday season but all year long, is so much SWEETER when we choose to experience it each day. This year has most definitely been one of establishing our foundation. We have chosen joy, chosen kindness & chosen to enjoy our lives day in & day out. We will REJOICE & be glad!

May this season of coziness, of family & community & friends, of hot cocoa & Nat King Cole, bring your spirit more than just good feelings. May it establish within you a DEEP sense of happiness that will last all the year through. We wish for you a truly MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR today & for all of 2017! From our little tribe to yours, we are thankful for you being a part of our lives & hope your heart & home will be filled to overflowing with blessings in this season. Peace to you!

With love & cheer,

Noah, Katie, Eliana & Cora Jenks.

P.S. Baby Jenks #3 coming in June 2017!

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There you have it! I will share more soon about what my goals & prayers are for the year 2017 & what my heart is singing about as well as how my goals for last year panned out. Peace & Joy to you friends! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Cheers,

Katie.