A Touch Of Tyrell

*** Jake wrote this post *** Here is the part where I tell my side of the story…    Tyrell wrote a great post that described some of the struggles we’ve had in our marriage recently and over the years. I’ve always appreciated her honesty and spiciness.  One of the greatest parts of her writing that post was the affect and influence it had on so many others.     One of the hard parts about marriage  life is that you often feel that others don’t have hard times. I think it’s important for people to know that life is hard for everyone. EVERYONE has struggles.     Sometimes it’s helpful to learn about the hardships of others. Not because we get joy from their pains, but because it helps us learn and grow from each other. So, as I said before, it was amazing to hear from so many friends that appreciated Tyrell’s post and took something from it.       There is however a major correction that I needed to add. Tyrell told me that she w...

I have been floored with how much love I've received since our anniversary.  I posted pictures of us (on Instagram/FB) on our anniversary announcing that we had made it 14 years :) I posted pictures of us in Switzerland (last July) because I really didn't have many pictures of the two of us this past year. Things had been rough and we didn't have any pictures together.  In fact, the last family pictures we took was one of my toughest moments with Jake.  So I posted older pictures (on Instagram/FB) with a link to where I wrote about the tough things and how we've decided to work on our marriage.  And the love I've received since people have read that post has filled me so completely.  I had been feeling so alone and defeated. I had no idea that opening up in that way would bring me so much love and support. Jake has mentioned how important it is to him that I've been opening up more because it allows him to know where he can improve and do better.  I know I'...

 If you're in for a long story about the good/bad or our marriage (and lot of pretty pictures of the trail up to Ice Lake in Silverton Colorado... then this is a post for you.  But first, I must post this quote (that I found on Instagram) that I just love:  Not that I think I'm the coolest for telling the truth, but I do think it's pretty important to be more transparent than not. I don't need to share EVERYTHING to tell the truth... in fact, I don't need to share anything at all, but I find that the more real stories I hear, the more I am satisfied with my life because I discover that everyone has baggage. So, if you can relate, I guess this is for you.  It's a long story, but I have tons of pictures, so it should work out :) I have talked with Jake and he has given me permission to share this part of our story/journey. We are just shy of being married for 14 years. We are both the 3rd of 6 kids growing up #middlechild and I have always been used to compromises...