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Look For the Good & Stick With Your Values

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My grandma, Cherill Hyde Johnson Gilbert, is a classy lady. She has a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and has shown great faith and patience in the face of life’s many trials. She loves her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren very much. She is a talented pianist. At large family gatherings she commonly brings a case of Gossner’s flavored milk (i.e. rootbeer, strawberry, banana, cookies ‘n’ crème) which I entirely support. I’ve always referred to my Grandma as Grandma Johnson even through for the majority of my life her last name has actually been Gilbert. Grandpa Johnson passed away two years before I was born. When I was 4 years old, my grandma married a man named Barlow Gilbert. Together they lived in Preston, Idaho for 20 years before Barlow passed away in 2015. I never referred to Barlow as Grandpa, probably because I always heard my father call him ‘Barlow’ and not ‘Dad.’ Now that I’m writing this blog, however, I wish I would have called him ‘Grandpa,’ because my gr
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5 Outdoor Outings During COVID-19

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Hey there, couples! How are you holding up? Kevin & I have our up days and down days, each week throws new changes and regulations at us and it’s all we can do to keep up with the news and try to make sense of how to responsibly move forward. Who would have ever thought that visiting your grandparents would be a socially irresponsible act? It bugs me. We’re treading unprecedented water here. I hope that each of you is doing the best you can to give yourself grace and understanding, and give your spouse grace and understanding, too. My response to this pandemic has ofttimes been one of stress, discomfort, tears, worry and grief--whereas Kevin’s response has been one of peace, hope, and calm (he has LOVED working from home and takes change like a champ). That difference between us has caused us some hiccups in communication, and we’ve had to take time to chat and cope together as we learn to re-understand each other and press forward in our growth as a couple, even amidst a pandemic.
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Couples & COVID-19

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Hello Friends! Okay. So we've been gone for a minute. Like all of you, our lives have been turned topsy-turvy by the implications of Coronavirus. As you are, we are also facing and navigating through a trial that has surprised us as a couple and presented some confusing and unprecedented waters to tread in our marriage journey. There are hundreds of varieties of ways this global pandemic is impacting our lives, and our marriages.  The most grave and serious challenges include loss of life and serious illness (from COVID-19 and other conditions), unemployment, domestic abuse, and more. If you are facing any of these varieties of challenges, we sincerely pray for you and also urge you to seek the help you need. Other challenges facing us might be less dire, and are also painful and hard, from parents learning to homeschool, to piqued anxiety and depression, to working from home, to working overtime (healthcare and other essential professionals), loneliness in separation from
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Budget-Friendly Date Series: Episode 2: Bob Ross Painting Night

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Because keeping to a strict budget is a necessity for our family at present (as it is for many couples!), I've created this mini-series of posts highlighting dates that that are economic, can often be done at home after the kids are in bed (which saves money and anxiety over babysitters) yet still maintain a romantic and relationship-enriching atmosphere.  Episode 2: Bob Ross Painting Night So the credit for this date night really isn't mine. I'd like to send a shoutout to our dear friends Scott & Amanda Larsen, who hosted the first "Bob Ross Painting Nights" I've ever attended. Here's a pic from our "Happy Trees" birthday gig for Scotty a few years back: If you're not familiar with him, Bob Ross was a wonderful man. He was an artist and television host on the show "The Joy of Painting," which aired from 1983-1994. Some of his noteworthy characteristics include his blonde/brown fro, the squirrel in his pocket, an
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Interview #1: Swalberg Love

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**This post is the first of another series we will regularly host on this blog. These posts are written from interviews we've conducted with couples whose marriages we admire, and from whom we can all learn.** Mikayla and I started this blog with the hopes of promoting strong marriage relations. As a part of that we wanted to learn how others have made their marriages work and found joy along the journey. I took some time to interview my grandpa, William Oscar Swalberg to see what his experiences were like. My goal going into the interview was to find out what kind of relationship he and my late grandma had together (I've summarized the interview below for those in my family or friends that care to read more). My Grandpa Swalberg is a wonderful man. He is in his 80's and is still kicking. He is a diligent crossing guard who gladly helps elementary kids cross busy streets no matter what mother nature throws his way! My grandmother, from what I remember, was always kind-n
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Win-Win

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Mikayla and I have both been listening to the audio version recording of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, and it is really good. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has never read it (or if it's been a while, this book is worth reading again!). One of the habits that really calls to me is the Win-Win section. Everyone should live by a win-win mentality, especially husbands and wives. Just to summarize, whenever two parties have an interaction, there are 3 basic outcomes: win-win, win-lose, and lose-win. Win-win - both parties benefit Win-lose - I get what I want because you don't get what you want Lose-win - I don't get what I want because you get what you want When Mikayla and I got married, we expressed to each other that we didn't want to ever get in a fight. Now, depending on your definition of a fight, we are still good--but we've had our fair share of disagreements, and tears shed because someone did something stupid (...pretty
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Couples that Care, Share.

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Mikayla and I, along with countless other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are studying along with the Come Follow Me study guide. I love this study guide so much because it encourages everyone to read in the Book of Mormon at a similar pace. This allows families and friends to share what we learn together. Mikayla and I have a group text with a few others where we share our daily scripture study thoughts. I highly recommend this, because it keeps you accountable to study God’s word and also gain the perspective and insight for what others in the group learned as well. It’s a win-win situation. Something that really stuck out to me in this week’s reading was how much Lehi the prophet cared for his family. In 1 Nephi 8:11-12 it reads: “11  And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the  fruit  thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to ex
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