Marian Weeks Bischoff

 My Grandma Bischoff passed away on October 2 in Utah at the age of 94. Her death was somewhat expected as she had been sick for some time, but it still saddened me when I heard the news. I love my grandma so much and have many wonderful memories of her. When I was younger I only saw her about every two years since I lived in Tennessee and she lived in Utah. We always loved spending time with her and being at her house. I also lived with her for one semester at her home in Smithfield, Utah while attending Utah State University. I will always cherish that time I had with her. Here is the link to her obituary if you want to read more about her life.

my sisters and me with our grandparents (1986?) 

I also wanted to include some thoughts I wrote about my grandma for her 90th birthday celebration:

When I think of Grandma Bischoff I remember all the times I visited her at her house in Smithfield. I always loved going to stay there with my family. I would wake up in the morning to the smells of a wonderful breakfast she was cooking. I remember having casual family meals around the kitchen table and Sunday dinners in the dining room, where the table was set with china. Under Grandma’s direction, we always began these meals with a family prayer, usually kneeling down at our chairs. We also had fun times eating outside at the picnic table and passing food and dishes through the little secret door in the kitchen. There are many foods I make that remind me of Grandma and have become a tradition in my own family.

 

Christmas dinner at Grandma's house

 

I remember listening to Grandma tell stories about her life and ancestors. Whether we were sitting in the rocking chairs in the kitchen or out on the front porch, I would learn about her family, her missions, and many other experiences. I especially liked hearing about Grandpa and how they met and about traditions that have been passed down for generations.

 

Grandma always made me feel good about myself. She liked to listen to me play the piano when I was at her house. I lived with her one semester while attending USU and I had to practice a lot. She never complained, but told me she enjoyed hearing me play. When I was younger, she encouraged me to learn to sing the alto part in the hymns. I starting trying it and got better and better and now I love to sing the harmony in songs. I don’t think I would have tried if it hadn’t been for her encouragement. I am thankful for her support in developing my talents.

 

Most of all, when I think about Grandma, I am reminded of her selflessness. She was a great example to me of serving others, of kindness, love, and humility. She was always thinking about others and how she could help them. I never heard her say a bad word about anyone. I have seen her dedication to the gospel and her unwavering faith and testimony. She never stopped serving, even when she was the one needing help. Thinking of her makes me want to be a better person. I feel like I have the best grandma in the world! I love her so much! 

 

at Grandma's 90th birthday celebration in 2008

 

I truly feel that she is the perfect grandmother!  I was able to attend her funeral a few weeks ago. Katie and I flew out, but Jacob couldn't make it.  All but three of her (living) grandchildren were there.  It was a beautiful service filled with wonderful music and words.  My mom, her sisters, and two of my cousins spoke.  I accompanied all the grandchildren as they sang "Love One Another", a hymn that we also sang at Anna's funeral.  Grandma is now reunited with her sweet husband, Dean, after being widowed for twenty years.  My grandpa passed away Oct. 1, 1992.  I sure would have liked a peek into heaven to witness their reunion!  My parents also pointed out that because of Grandma's Alzheimer's, she was most likely surprised to find out that my sister was there to meet her.  I hope Grandma gave Anna an extra hug for me. :) 

 

I'm thankful for the knowledge of eternal families and feel very blessed to have such an amazing grandma.  She left behind a marvelous legacy of faith, service and love. I hope to be more like her someday!

 

Round two!

 

 

 

We are excited to announce that we're approved to adopt again!! We were approved on September 10.  The application process was still as grueling as the first time, but I haven't felt as anxious.  It feels different now since I'm already a mom.  Having Katie in our home has been such a blessing, and we can't wait to welcome another little one into our home, whenever that time comes. 

 

Please check out our online profile here.  It opens to our letter to birth parents, and you can click on photos and a getting to know us page over on the left side.  We know that many adoptions these days are designated, which means that we find our baby instead of getting a call from our agency.  In order to do that, we need your help spreading the word!  Please share our hope to adopt with your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc.  We are thankful for the amazing support network we have to help us with our efforts of finding our next baby.  Let us know if you have any questions.  We can't wait for Katie to become a big sister!!



I am thirty

Why does 30 sound so much older than 29?  Especially since I still feel the same. :)  So far being thirty has been great, even though it seems so weird to be out of my twenties.  It seemed like that decade stretched out forever. 

I had an awesome birthday thanks to my handsome husband plus a lot of wonderful family and friends who made my day very special.  It was on a Sunday this year and we had stake conference (a meeting where several congregations in a region meet together).  After church we ate lunch at the Cheneys house.  We had pizza, one of my faves.  Jacob said we needed to drop something off at the Kosters on our way home.  He drove there a way that we never go, so I was a little suspicious.  I thought maybe something was happening over at their house.  But no, they weren't home.  So we drove back and as soon as I got out of the car I could hear lots of kids inside our house!  We opened the door to go in and the house was full of our friends!!  Everyone did a great job of keeping the party a secret, cause none of them had even hinted that something was going on. 

My sis-in-law, Rachel, and her family had come in while we were at the Cheneys to decorate and get everything set up.  It was so sweet of them.

Everyone brought a dessert and we had so many delicious treats. 

We got pictures with everyone that was there.

Woods

Calls

Heidi (her husband couldn't make it) 

Cheneys

Noordas

Argyles

Haynies

Adams

Cathryn and Luke

Kosters (love Tylee's face here!)

Just looking at these pictures again makes me smile!  I have the best family and friends a girl could ask for!  My birthday gift is going to be a new cell phone whenever I finally decide on what I want.  I hope that will be soon. :)  My favorite gift was a book of notes and letters from friends and family that Jacob had spent several weeks collecting.  I sat and cried and laughed as I read.  Each one made me feel so special.  It brought back wonderful, funny, and maybe a few embarrassing memories.  I loved it.  Hurray for thirty!!

30 by 30

I turned thirty in September.  Yes, it's true, even though I still look 21.  (Right?!  Although I have no desire to go back to that age.)  I wanted to do something a little more memorable than usual for my birthday and came across a few blogs where people had done random acts of kindness to celebrate their own birthdays.  You can read a couple of them here and here.  So I put together a list of acts of kindness I could do and decided to do one each day for the month leading up to my birthday.  (30 acts by the time I turned 30.)  Most of them were very simple things that didn't take much time or money.  After a few days, I started to really look forward to what I was going to do that day, even with the effort and planning that went into them.  I found myself smiling more and feeling happier and sincerely trying to be kinder to others.  I started looking for even more ways to help and serve.  It really does feel good to be kind!  I'm not sharing this to toot my own horn, but just to show that it is easy to spread love and happiness and anyone can do it!

 

Here's my list:

1.  Made dinner for our friends

 

2.  Accompanied someone on the piano for church with last minute notice

 

3.  Brought in our neighbor's garbage can

 

4.  Left a note and treat for our mail carrier 

(sorry it's blurry)

5. Left diapers and wipes in a changing table

6.  Taped coins to a vending machine

 

7. Babysat for a friend

 

8.  Left positive comments on friends' blogs (I usually don't comment very often!)

 

9.  Gave an extra-large tip to the carhop at Sonic

(my first job in high school, so I know how much those tips mean!)

 

10.  Wrote letters (snail mail) to friends

11.  Donated items to Goodwill

 

12.  Left a couple dollars at the dollar store (would've loved to have seen the reactions of the kids who found them)

13.  Called a couple friends I hadn't talked to in a really long time

 

14.  Donated to a charity (Covenant House- a local shelter which helps homeless children)

 

15.  Gave a friend a ride to the store

 

16.  Visited a neighbor

 

17.  Donated dog and cat food to our local animal shelter.

Katie loved seeing the dogs and cats. 

18.  Returned stray carts from parking lot to cart corral or store

 

19.  Returned misplaced items to their proper place at a store (not hard to find at Wal-mart) :)

 

20.  Took treats over to some neighbors we hadn't met yet.  Actually, they weren't home, but their mom was visiting and we talked to her.  Our neighbors came by a few days later to meet us and thank us for the cookies, and they are super nice and friendly.  So glad we stopped by!

21.  Took Jacob out for lunch 

(Jacob also took a little time to read to Katie at his office.)

22.  Tipped the worker at an ice cream shop (something I never do, but she seemed so lonely and her tip jar was empty).

 

23.  Left bookmarks in books at the library

24.  Picked up trash in our neighborhood (it's really not very dirty- I had to hunt for things!)

 

25.  Left notes throughout the house for Jacob to find.  He loved it!

 

26.  Donated food to a local food bank

 

27.  Had a friend over for lunch

 

28.  Made blessing bags to hand out to homeless people we see while driving.  It has food and hygiene items in it (granola bars, beef jerky, toothbrush, deodorant, comb, etc.).  I had it in the car for a while before I got to give it to someone.  I need to make several more now!

 

29.  Fed parking meters

 

30.  Wrote a letter to my parents and sent them a hug from Katie. :)  (It was a little bit tricky to trace her arms and head by myself, so that's why it looks funny.)  But my parents LOVED it and hung it up on the wall right away.

 

And that's it!!  There were a few of the things I did multiple times throughout the month like babysitting,  having people over for dinner, and calling friends, but I just counted them once for this.  Overall, I loved this experiment and want to do it again!  Most of these took no more than a few minutes and made me so happy!  Has anyone else done something like this?

 

Time Out for Women

I was able to go to Time Out for Women when it came to Houston in September.  I had been once before in Idaho just before we moved to Texas in 2009.  It's a mini-conference for women with uplifting and motivational music and talks.  I went with two of my bosom buddies, Stacie and Bethany. :)  They are both so fun to be around and we had a blast.

 

Bethany, me, Stacie

matching wrist bands :)   (made me feel like a teenager)

I also got to see my wonderful friend, Brooke Brooks, who had driven over from Katy.  We first met almost ten years ago in Idaho after we were married.  She and her family moved here two years ago and we see them occasionally.  She's amazing and I was so happy to talk with her again.

They opened up the men's restroom at the convention since there were so many women.  Bethany always makes me laugh. :)

We were able to meet several of the presenters.  This is Macy Robison, who sang and talked the first night.  I enjoyed listening to her story.

us with Hilary Weeks

She is so sweet, talented, down to earth, and surprisingly, very funny.  She was at the first TOFW I went to as well.  I love listening to her sing or talk.

We also met Kris Belcher, who was probably my favorite presenter of the day.  She is hilarious and has an amazing and inspiring message.  Go here if you want to experience her humor for yourself.  I haven't laughed as hard as I did for a really long time.  Love her!

Me with Merrilee Boyack.  She is a great motivational speaker.  I own her book Strangling Your Husband Is Not an Option, which is great, by the way.  When I met her, she commented on our matching shirts and gave me a hug when I tried to shake her hand.

 

I left feeling uplifted and inspired to be and do better.  It was a wonderful weekend.  I am thankful for Jacob and my in-laws watching Katie so I could go and have my own little "time out".  Have any of you been to TOFW? What did you think?

Showers and Goodbyes

Our close friends, Lauren and Peter Read, moved to Colorado in August for law school.  We were so sad when they left.  They were some of the first friends we made when we moved here three years ago.  We lived in the same apartment complex for a while until we both bought houses, so we saw each other fairly often.  We shared a lot of similar interests and hobbies and a natural friendship was formed quickly.  Basically, they're both amazing and we feel very grateful to call them our friends.  It hasn't been the same without them here anymore. 

 

Lauren had a baby shower two weeks before they moved and I was able to help a little with it.  Her good friend, Sarah, hosted it and Haley and I helped out with food.  We played fun games, ate tons of delicious food and showered Lauren with gifts and advice.

 

Lauren, me and Haley

Sarah (on the left) was a wonderful hostess!

so much yummy food!

with Lauren and Heidi, our other good friend

so sweet :)

 

We had the Reads and Calls over to our house one last time.  Our three families had taken turns hosting a family night once a month, which we stuck to pretty regularly with a few exceptions.  It was hard losing part of our trio!  (There may have been a few tears shed as they drove away.)

Haley and boys with the Reads (Matt came over later.)

BFF's

 

We love you Lauren and Peter (and new baby Mckay!) and wish you all the best on your new adventures in Colorado!!