So much to be GRATEFUL for!

John is gone AGAIN!! Back to Wyoming with my Dad! Poor me. I am so upset with the company that he works for here in town. They haven't had steady work for about 2 months. STRESSFUL!!! And now John has to work 700 miles away in Wyoming while I stay here and take care of the kids and the house and everything else be myself!! I miss him and hate it when he is gone. I don't do well!
This was me for the past week. Mad, bitter, sad, and lonely. About a week ago my Mom told me that we needed to go to the temple, and I needed to pick the day!! I thought, how can I go? Who's going to watch my kids? But I also thought, "I need this." So I told my Mom that I was going to find someone to watch my kids, then I'd let her know. That Sunday, walking home from church the wonderful Katie Clark offered to take my kids for a day. (WOW! I didn't have to find anyone, they found me!) I set everything up for Wednesday. I dropped Jaden off at school, got the boys ready and took they to Katie's and headed to my Moms house. When I picked her up I was venting about John's work and how much I miss him. Of coarse being a Mother, and also missing her husband, she reminded me that I am looking at everything the wrong way. I asked "how am I supposed to look at it?" Her reply was " be grateful, he's working!" "I am grateful!" I argued.
We arrived at the temple and were to late to make the 10:30 session like I hoped so we did sealing instead. As we were doing sealing I reflected on our conversation. I guess if I were grateful I wouldn't be so upset, I thought. Another thing that my Mom kept telling me this week was to be content. Which was frustrating me, because I thought that I was pretty content. I had already decided to not put my house on the market. And I felt really good about that decision. I wondered to myself, maybe I need to be content with were John is work right now, because if he were here, he wouldn't be working. Then the AW HAW came. By this time we were done with sealing and went to the Celestial Room. We sat down and I started to cry. I just miss him so much. On the plus side, my kids are behaving very well and at least we have money coming in to pay bills and put food on the table. And what a wonderful blessing it is that John is able to go up there with my Dad and work. Without that, John would be looking for another job. This whole thing is just as hard on John and the kids as it is on me. Travis is also up there and Leanne is going through the same thing. I have been so selfish! I felt so overwhelmed with emotion and then a calm came over me. And I thought with every blessing comes sacrifice. And this is my sacrifice! What is a few weeks compared to a life time? And hopefully someday an eternity. This is nothing! I can do this!!
Thank you Mom for taking me to the Temple and sharing your motherly wisdom with me. I am truly grateful for the opportunity John has to work with my Dad. I love it when the men of the family work together. I am so very grateful to our Heavenly Father for all he does for me and my family. I am grateful to my family for their support and love. I am grateful to my children for behaving so well and helping whenever they can. I am so grateful to my husband for being so wonderful and willing to work where ever he can to support our family. I am grateful to my friends for their service. And I am grateful to be humbled.