2018 Goals & Prayers

January 16, 2018 / katiemjenks / 2 Comments

“The beginning is always today.” -Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

It is 2018! A new year, a new gift of time, the gift of refreshment & new beginnings. Hooray!

Looking back over my year of 2017, I can truly say that some beautiful things happened. If you read my last post which broke down our year I think it is pretty rad to see how many GOOD THINGS were woven into the threads of our daily life! We are blessed, friends, that’s without a doubt. 2017 was not a perfect year, it still held lots of hard days & moments that were full of tears & frustration, lots of moments with feeling raw. However, even on those days, beauty came. Grace came. Hope came. It showed up. And when hope arrives, it is a welcome breath of fresh air, a lifeline to grab onto & so we do! We get up, grateful for life abundant, even with the hard days & sadness that is unavoidable in this journey on earth. Hope arrives & we say YES. We say yes & THANK YOU JESUS. I am so grateful for the King of Heaven who scoops us up on the hard days & shows us that beauty really does come from the ashes. I don’t know what life would be like without Him, without hope, without looking up & seeing beauty. It is so redemptive, so necessary!

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“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

With that, I wanted to reflect back on my goals & prayers for the year of 2017 & how it all panned out. My theme for the year was INTENTIONALITY. I can say that that theme carried throughout the year, in all areas of my life. It called me to a higher standard of using my time wisely & operating with intention in my relationships, with the work of my hands, with my prayer life, with the way I had conversations with my kiddos & husband, etc. It was important to me, so I made sure to focus on it. To live with that as a foundation of my days. Another goal of mine was to read through the entire Bible in the calendar year again. I did not do this. I made it through 3/4, but didn’t complete this goal. To be honest, this was hard for me. It was hard because I am a goal oriented person & because I was able to do this the year before. I started to beat myself up about this in about October until I brought it before the Lord. I felt a release & freedom once I laid it at His feet. After that happened, I continued to read the Word with joy, even though my goal was not met. What I love about the Word is that it is food, it brings life. It isn’t designed to be something we trudge through or simply put on a list to accomplish. It is SO MUCH more than that! I am grateful for all of the hours I did spend getting fed, they are never wasted. Another goal for me was to speak encouragement daily over my tribe, which I was consistent with & want to continue to be. I also wanted to do yoga weekly & eat more raw foods, which I also consistently did & went beyond that with my physical fitness both while I was pregnant & after. I am proud of myself for taking care of my body & being consistent with fitness & eating raw foods. I feel great, I know that my body is healthy & I am so grateful that I was capable of working out all the way until Sebastian was born. That level of fitness helped me after I took a 2 month break to recover from giving birth by getting back into shape quickly. I am strong & I am so glad that I am healthy! Smiling more was another goal & I’m not sure I totally succeeded at that either. I know that I smiled, but I definitely could have smiled even more. I was successful with doing preschool consistently with Eliana & Cora & we are enjoying getting back into our second semester this last week! I also wanted to have a healthy pregnancy, delivery & baby in 2017 which I did! Sebastian was definitely the top highlight of our year. We moved into our new home & made it a haven, which was another goal. I am continuing to do this, even being in it for 10 months now, it is a work in progress. I also wanted to spend more time playing with my littles. I can happily say that I did prioritize this! At the beginning of our school year, I felt like the Lord gave me the word PLAY for our school year. That has been foundational in all of our school days & beyond. Making date nights a habit & going on a babymoon were two goals that we didn’t fully accomplish. We did date, but not enough. This year that is a top priority for us. We also chose to forgo a babymoon, because we opted to save our money to go towards a trip to Cabo San Lucas this summer. Woo Woo! We are thrilled. The last two goals I had for 2017 were to journal & to learn to knit. I don’t think I touched my journal once. So that was a fail. BUT- I did learn to knit!! I am very proud of myself for accomplishing this goal. As I sit here typing this, my knitting bag is sitting right next to me with an almost finished hat for Noah in it. I successfully knit an infinity scarf for my girls to share, a newborn hat to put on Sebastian at the hospital & now this hat for Noah! It may not seem like much, but I have spend hours & hours & have grown into a knitter. Even the students at the school where I sub have watched my skills improve as the year went on! Yes, I am that teacher who pulls out her knitting while her students are doing independent work. I even had some students start bringing their own knitting or crocheting gear & join me during free time. It was fun. I have to give a shout out to my amazing friend Aimee who taught me with her master skills. Thank you friend! My verse for 2017 was Philippians 4:8, which could truly be a life verse for any & all people. It is excellent.

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When I reflect back on 2017, there are countless things to be thankful for. Just a few that I want to share are as follows:

-Growing our tribe (yay SEBASTIAN!)

-Moving into our new home

-Health for our family (& celebrating being 5 years cancer free!)

-Cora potty training so easily

-Jobs we love

-Food on the table

-Learning to knit

-Family trips & adventures

-Lots of walks & hikes

-Dance parties

-Laughter

-Yoga, working out, staying fit

-The funny things my kids say

-Our cozy wood burning stove

-Staying stress free

-Family worship nights

-Having my sister & her family home for 5 months

-Watching my kids learn & grow & thrive

-Deepening friendships

-Preschool with the girls

-The unrelenting love of the Father

-And so so so so so much more.

“Celebrate what you want to see more of.” -Tom Peters

Now for:

2018 Goals & Prayers

-Smile more.

-Stay unoffended, keep my heart clean & light.

-Have better posture.

-Read my Bible as my daily bread.

-Be in more pictures with my family.

-(Re)Learn how to sew.

-Date my husband.

-Read the Little House on the Prairie series.

-Waste less.

-Travel nationally & internationally.

-Have monthly individual time (dates) with my kiddos.

-Maintain my healthy habits with nutrition & physical activity.

-Have a garden.

-Deepening peace, love, grace, kindness & understanding.

Word/Theme for 2018

RIVER OF LIFE

Verse for 2018

“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love.” -Psalms 33:18

“Your success & happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, & your joy & you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” -Helen Keller

Cheers,

Katie.

Merriest Christmas & Happiest New Year from the Jenks Tribe

December 28, 2017 / katiemjenks / Leave a comment

Processed with VSCO with f2 preset Merry Christmas & Happy New Year dear ones!

The time has come once again, to celebrate as we reflect on this year of 2017 & look ahead with bright eyes towards this next year of 2018. It has been such a BEAUTIFUL year! We are so grateful for all that our little tribe has gotten to experience as we have grown & continued to watch the glorious King of Heaven bring light & life to all around us. We hope that you have also tasted beauty & embraced happiness as you have journeyed through your year!

The beginning of our year brought us snow & rain, & therefore lots of bundling up & playing outside along with tea drinking & book reading inside. It also brought us lots of time with family. One wonderful thing that the winter season brings is more time together inside playing & snuggling. We are big fans. Noah & Katie’s dad finished up our incredible fixer-upper home remodel, & on February 1^st, we moved into our NEW HOME! It is gorgeous, you guys. A dream come true for our family! Noah has continued to lead worship at our church once a month & our family worship nights are a regular part of our evening routines. On March 15^th, Katie was declared 5 YEARS CANCER FREE! We have been doing a happy dance for 5 plus years & we are nowhere near stopping! On March 29^th, Eliana Marie turned 4! We celebrated with family & friends at a park, she got a giant balloon & requested chocolate cupcakes with strawberries so that’s just what we had. It was simple & perfect.

The spring brought us more rain & exploring, we enjoyed frequenting parks (swing are Cora’s favorite), visiting local trails for hikes, playing in local places like Columbia & our favorite, Pinecrest, & enjoying daily walks in our amazing neighborhood. Katie continued to make our Jenks Abode into a haven for our family with baby numero 3 on the way & Noah coached spring track. The girls played outside in our backyard & did lots of painting & crafts. We played music together as a family each night (usually including at least one rendition of Old McDonald prior to worship) & took the girls blueberry picking. On May 30^th, Cora Kinsey turned 2! We celebrated with our family & some close friends at our home with a moon & star theme because Cora loves the sky! It was a sweet time. We also were able to visit with Eliana’s birth family & had the honor & joy of meeting her biological grandma for the first time! We love adoption, it such a beautiful thing.

June brought us the end of the school year for Noah with his 7^th & 8^th graders as well as the end of our first year of preschool with the girls. It also brought us one of the best gifts in the whole world. On June 20^th at 2:16pm, SEBASTIAN WILLIAM JENKS was born! He weighed 8lbs .09oz & stretched out at 20in long. He came earth side after being flipped the right direction 5 times, multiple bellybands & being induced. It was an intense 22 hour labor & a natural delivery, bringing us our first SON! We are so grateful he is a part of our family! The remainder of the summer called for rest for our little tribe along with trips to Santa Cruz, Oregon & of course lots of time up at our family cabin in Pinecrest.

The fall has brought us more time settling in as a family of 5, Katie started her second year of homeschool with the girls & has continued to sub at the high school & Noah began his 5^THYEAR of teaching! Woot Woot! We have taken trips to Texas, San Diego, Monterey & surprised the girls with a visit to Disneyland. As the days have gotten progressively colder, we have enjoyed daily fires in our wood stove, walks to collect the beautiful fall leaves around our neighborhood & enjoyed baking together in the kitchen. By the time you read this letter, our children will be 4 ½, 2 ½, and almost 6 months old! We are absolutely smitten with them & the way our life is FULL of snuggles & our house is covered in books, princess dresses, collections of rocks, & pinecones. We are blessed beyond measure with a roof over our heads, food on our table, jobs that we love, children that we adore, & a God who loves us relentlessly, even when we don’t deserve it. Day in & day out we sing praises for the beautiful life we have been given, with all of its ups & downs because He is worthy of it all! We are so grateful that HE IS GOOD & has given us the ability & privilege to love people well, to BE KIND, & to bring light & life to those around us.

With that, CHEERS to you & yours! We are so thankful for you & the role you play in our life, whether it is near or far. May you find more reasons to REJOICE this Christmas season than you can count, so that you can continue with your thanks all year long. May your heart be light & your home cozy. May you be surrounded with people that you love & may you love others well. Be kind. Love well. Bring life. We’ve got this! Lets bring light to this world during this holiday season & all year long. May your 2018 be sweet & full of ABUNDANT JOY. We love you. Happy Christmas!

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Love,

Noah, Katie, Eliana, Cora & Sebastian Jenks

5 Years Cancer Free

March 15, 2017 / katiemjenks / 2 Comments

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13

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Highest praises!

There are endless words of gratitude that pour off of my lips straight from the deepest wells of my heart after each & every 6 month check up. But THIS one. 5 YEARS! You guys. 5 YEARS! That means so much. The recurrence rate drops significantly, my check ups go from twice a year to just once a year & it means I am halfway to a “full” recovery from my cancer journey. HOW RAD IS THAT?! HOW GOOD IS OUR GOD?! I am FILLED with thanks. Filled with praise. Thank you Lord.

So much has happened in our lives in the last 5 years. We have LIVED. We have chosen to be intentional & make our lives valuable for the world around us & well as rewarding for our own joy. There is something weird to be said about going through a very near death experience & the way it highlights the extreme beauty of all areas in life. With that, it is easy (most mornings) to wake up & smell the roses, to notice the birds singing in the trees. 5 years in & I still feel BRAND NEW because I am healed! I am alive! As much as I don’t want a single person in the world to go through cancer, there is so much beauty that comes out of it. I AM GLAD it is part of my story, part of my journey. It has helped shape my outlook on life, given me scars to rejoice about as my little ones trace over them with their fingers, given me a testimony of healing & of the King’s hand in my adventure. It has reminded me again & again how fragile & therefore how special, how significant the gift of health & life really is.

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Not every day has been peachy, that’s for sure. We have continued to go through suffering & sadness as the years unfold, but who doesn’t? Suffering is a guaranteed part of being on earth. Even with that, our FOUNDATION is made up of joy. It is solid because of the Rock we stand on, the hope we have for this earth & for heaven & the peace we carry gets us through even the toughest of times. After shipwrecks we still end up on land guys. We brush ourselves off & get up with breath in our lungs!

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For today, I am choosing to focus on the beauty of being healed. Of having a healthy body & a happy heart. I am grateful to my Jesus, to my incredible team of doctors at Stanford Medical Center, to my mom & dad, to my husband. To everyone else in our family & community who walked through the fires with us for 6 months of chemotherapy treatments & homeopathic care leading up to that moment in time 5 years ago when I was declared cancer free. THAT, my friends, was a sweet sweet day. I couldn’t have done it without everyone who fought alongside me, without the prayers of people from across the globe, without strength from the Holy Spirit, without my own stubbornness & positive attitude. So thank you friends, thank you for being a part of my story! Today is a celebration for you as well! Go fist pump & jump around, go tell the world that there is GOODNESS on this earth, that HEALING still happens. That we are not forgotten, or insignificant, or just one of many. Each of our stories matters & I am so glad to say that today I am shouting my healing from the rooftops because it is GOOD TO REJOICE.

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