About Jake

This afternoon a woman from church came over to drop by a late birthday gift (She's been trying to bring it for some time, bless her.). Anyway, she asked how renovations on the house are going, so I took her upstairs to look at them, and as we walked around, I kept telling her that Jake had done this or that to different parts of the home. After she left, I spent some time thinking about his home-improvement talents and feeling so grateful for him and all he does for us. He's pretty amazing. I thought about how he has so many practical skills that so many people lack today (We're quite specialized in what we do, and we hire other specialized people to do all the things out of our skill set.). I think I recall Pres. Hinckley encouraging us to learn basic skills of self-sufficiency, and I think Jake has those down. I do not - on the feminine side of things, I can't sew or do many domestic tasks that would be helpful in helping us to be able to really take care of ourselves should the need arise.

But, here are the things that Jake has done to the house since we have been married:

• Cut out some of the driveway cement, install a drainage pipe and re-pour cement.
• Pull up old carpet from the upstairs.
• Paint most of the rooms in the upstairs.
• Weld a bed frame for us.
• Lay laminate flooring (which includes measuring and cutting pieces, putting down quarter-rounds on the edges, laying transition pieces from laminate floor to carpeted and tiled rooms).
• Lay sticky tiles in the bathroom.
• Replace bathroom faucets.
• Replace toilet.
• Rip out old shower and plumbing.

He is in the process of replacing the shower wall, and he will probably tile the bathroom walls. He is going to re-do the kitchen, among other projects. The only thing we have paid someone to do is install carpet into the upstairs' bedrooms. Not only does he have all of these handy-man sort of skills, but he can run a tractor and use it for different functions. He can sew a button onto something, cook, play the piano, and even braid. :)

Anyway, I am so blessed to have him in my life. I feel like our marriage yoke is so unequal - he can do so very much more, but maybe little by little I can work on developing my own skills.

Thank you, Jake.