Every Life Matters Q&A - ME!

OK... So I slacked and didn't get my questions sent out in time to the person I wanted to be this weeks Q&A guest. So... I decided I might as well do it myself.

Here's my E.L.M. Q&A...

Tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi. I'm Katie. LDS. Wife. Mama. Utah girl. I grew up in the most beautiful little town in Southern Utah. Have you heard of Panguitch? Chances are you have because I am always meet people who know someone who has lived there or you have driven through at some point. I love that lil town. My childhood was a dream living in such a great place.  Because I grew up in such a beautiful area I grew to love the outdoors and the beauty that is Utah! I love to go on adventures with my little family and explore our awesome place we call home. If you have read my blog or follow my on Instagram you know that I am married to the most amazing man and that I am blessed to be the mama to 2 gloriously awesome kids. I love my family! I love being a wife! My husband is so important to me and I just love our relationship. I also love being a mama! When I was little I only wanted to be 2 things when I grew up... A mom & a singer! Looks like I got my wish. I don't get paid lots of money to sing all over the world but I do get paid in loves and smiles and snuggles and kisses to sing to and with my babies in our home and the car. I say that's a much better deal. Something else I want to share about myself is that I have struggled with depression and confidence issues since... Well... For a long time. Only recently have I really been able to break the walls down that I had up and truly learn to love myself. My depression is something I know I will never get rid of but instead I have learned to cope and live with it. Learning about myself and who I am has helped me more than I could ever say. I haven't really wrote about it on my blog because I don't want to focus on it. But I know I will end up writing about it when the time feels right. The purpose for my blog is to spread love and happiness. I love life! And hope that by sharing my thoughts and doing this Every Life Matters Q&A series that I can help others find their happiness and know that they matter. A couple other things to know about me are.... I love music!!!! I am always listening to music or singing a song in my head. My dream world would be like a musical where everyone just burst out into song and dance. I hate microfiber rags and cotton balls! The thought of just touching them makes me cringe. I love love love to laugh! And I absolutely love to be a dork and dance and lip sync! I guess that's about it... for now anyway.

Who matters to you?

I have so many people in my life who matter to me. Of course at the top of my list is my family. But my husband matters to me more than anyone else. Our relationship matters more than anything. He came into my life when I had decided to just be a single mom cause there wasn't going to be anyone out there right for me. I was happy where my life was at and was kind of worried that a man might mess that up if I dated. To be honest... I didn't think I was lovable. I had been divorced for 3 yrs and my previous marriage and the divorce had done a lot of damage. But I wasn't able to keep my mind off of that guy after a friend of mine tricked me into meeting him. I fell so madly in love with him and I am so thankful that he is my love. He matters to me more than words can say!

How do you show him that he matters to you?

I try to take care of him. And not just by cleaning and cooking. I actually suck at that! He does most of the cooking and our house is not magazine worthy. I try to take care of him emotionally and tell him that I love him and a reason why. And although I know he isn't ever excited about it when I want to "talk" about our relationship and lives, I know he is thankful for it afterward. He matters to me and our marriage matters! Sometimes I get caught up in my own crap though and forget that I need to give him more time and thought.  I think too many couples forget to put the time that is needed into each other and their marriage. I pray for him so many times a day that he will be able to know through my actions and efforts just how loved he is. I love how embarrassed he gets when I compliment him or get all cheesy. He's gonna love this! LOL

Tell us about a time in your life when someone has made you feel like you mattered.

Well I don't want this to become a "my husband is awesome" interview... although he is... And he has really done so much for me and my healing. I felt very worthless before he came along. But other than all the times my husband has made me feel like I mattered and all the times my kids have made me feel the same... So the first that comes to mind (that isn't my husband or kids) happened last July. I had gone to an event called Bright Night Event and to be honest I was so nervous. I had been working so hard on my confidence and self image problems for a few months but I was nervous to go to this event with so many amazing impressive women. Normally I would have just kept to myself and not let anyone get to know the real Katie. But on my way I decided to just be silly goofy dorky self and to put myself out there and be sociable. I ended up having the time of my life and truly having a breakthrough with my journey of finding and loving myself. The women I met that day were interested in ME! The real ME! They opened their circles of friendship and welcomed me into it. I left that night feeling pleasantly shocked. And since then a lot of those women have come to be close friends that mean so much to me.

Tell us about a time in your life when you haven't felt like you mattered.

Gosh... I didn't realize this one would be so hard to answer. Hmm... Well I have had times here and there in my life when I have had someone be unkind to me... Lots of memories from my school years. And there have been times in my adult life. But the first that really stands out and I think was a factor in my problems of low self esteem and all that is when I was in elementary school. I wrote about it before in one of my first post on the blog. There was a girl that was very mean and unkind to me and she said things to me that were untrue but that I believed. She went out of her way to make me feel badly throughout my childhood and into my teenage years... It sucked. That is one of the reasons I was so nervous to have my own daughter. Because girls can be so mean! And even if you raise your daughter to be kind and loving... She becomes the target for the mean girls...

                                         

 

 How did you overcome that?

Honestly, I don't think I fully have overcome it. I am in the process.... But not all the way. I have made a lot of progress by being happy with who I am and realizing that all the things she said and the way she made me feel were not my problems but hers! I'm 32 years old and it is finally clicking that I wasn't less important and the things she told me about myself were not true. This is why I want to do what I can to teach moms, dads, kids... everyone that EVERY LIFE MATTERS and that EVERYONE deserves KINDNESS! As a mom I know how important it is to give my kids these life lessons and teach them kindness and compassion for one another.

What matters most to you?

My religion and faith in Jesus Christ. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Throughout my life I have come to know of the importance of the gospel in my life and I am so grateful for it in my life. My testimony has grown stronger and stronger throughout my life and all of it's ups and downs. I know that without my relationship with my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ that I would not have been able to rise above my trials. I would not be who I am today. I can't even imagine my life without the knowledge of Their love for me. Everything I have... My family... My individuality... My interests... it is all because God loved me enough to send His only begotten son to be crucified for us. I know of it's truth and I am so blessed.

Life can be pretty crazy and sometimes what matters most can get lost in all the day to day things to do and worries of life. How do you keep what matters most in the forefront of your life?

That is a hard thing to do. Sometimes I get caught up in the world and what it thinks should matter. Like i said in my last post, I know where true happiness comes from and when I lose sight of that them I get lost and forget. I know that I have to keep prayer at the top of my list and doing all I can to live a Christlike life. I also know that I have to keep my family and our needs at the top as well. The happiness of my family will not be determined on how big our house is or how popular we are or even how many followers my blog has. Our happiness can be eternal if we live a kind and loving life centered around the teaching of Christ and His gospel.

If you could give one message to those reading this what would it be?

Be kind. That's it. Our words and actions create what the future will become. There is a huge "kindness movement" going around and I am loving it! But how much are you really doing to help it along? Are you saying one thing but doing another? What do your children see you do each day? What are we teaching the next generation? I think we need to really focus on teaching our children to be kind and loving to all. And we need to teach them that EVERY LIFE MATTERS! Even if someone is different or wants different things than us it does not mean that they are weird or that something is wrong with them. Everyone has a story and deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. And the only way to do that is by example!!! Let's teach our children what really matters in life.... Each other!!!

XOXO

Katie