Blaine Neufeld [00:00:00]:
Welcome back to Change the Odds podcast with Blaine and Adrienne. That's right. You heard us, right? We are hosting this episodey with great guests.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:00:08]:
He's nervous.
Blaine Neufeld [00:00:09]:
The Kevin and the Jenny. The Thompsons.
Kevin Thompson [00:00:12]:
Here we are.
Blaine Neufeld [00:00:12]:
The only one.
Kevin Thompson [00:00:13]:
We got. Jenny Thompson.
Blaine Neufeld [00:00:15]:
We're excited to have you. Jenny. She is here.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:00:17]:
She's here and alive and well.
Kevin Thompson [00:00:19]:
Can you sense the excitement?
Jenny Thompson [00:00:20]:
Can you tell I'm so excited?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:00:21]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:00:22]:
It only took months of convincing to have Jenny here.
Kevin Thompson [00:00:25]:
Exactly. Right?
Blaine Neufeld [00:00:25]:
No, and it's a special occasion, actually, and this is why Jenny is here. What's the occasion, babe?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:00:30]:
We got a big birthday coming up for someone.
Blaine Neufeld [00:00:33]:
Yes.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:00:34]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:00:34]:
Kevin.
Kevin Thompson [00:00:34]:
So Jenny. Jenny's been on to me about what do you want for your birthday? And I said, I want you to come on the podcast. No way.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:00:40]:
Really?
Kevin Thompson [00:00:41]:
Yes.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:00:41]:
That's awesome.
Kevin Thompson [00:00:42]:
This is the birthday card that I played here.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:00:44]:
Okay. Well, this is your gift, so enjoy it. She's off the hook now.
Blaine Neufeld [00:00:47]:
And you. I thought you don't get. You only get your own yourself. Your own gift.
Kevin Thompson [00:00:51]:
Oh, yeah. We don't do gifts.
Blaine Neufeld [00:00:52]:
Yeah. So this is.
Kevin Thompson [00:00:53]:
We don't do gifts. So.
Jenny Thompson [00:00:54]:
Yeah, I'm totally fine with that. Yeah. I'll just get my own gift and be fine.
Blaine Neufeld [00:00:59]:
So a question I think a lot of people have. Kevin is just. How old are you?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:01:03]:
Yeah. Because I would like to say that your style says one thing and your lifestyle says another.
Kevin Thompson [00:01:10]:
Yes.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:01:11]:
But today you look very great for your age.
Kevin Thompson [00:01:15]:
Thank you. For my age?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:01:16]:
I think so.
Kevin Thompson [00:01:17]:
Yeah. So emotionally, 50. Wow. Emotionally, probably 72 is my guess.
Blaine Neufeld [00:01:26]:
Yes.
Kevin Thompson [00:01:26]:
Golf wise, probably 65.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:01:28]:
Really?
Kevin Thompson [00:01:29]:
Oh, I think 48 is the number on Thanksgiving Day. 20, 25.
Blaine Neufeld [00:01:33]:
Why is the emotional. Why is the. Why is that so high?
Kevin Thompson [00:01:36]:
That's a great question. I don't know. And we're here to ask questions. Did I have to grow up a little bit faster than what I should have?
Blaine Neufeld [00:01:43]:
Okay.
Kevin Thompson [00:01:44]:
Did. I was in my upbringing was the idea of don't rock the boat and kind of. Kevin, read. Read the room. Maybe. I don't know.
Blaine Neufeld [00:01:51]:
Right.
Jenny Thompson [00:01:51]:
I've been told. Kevin's dad told him he was eight going on 40.
Blaine Neufeld [00:01:55]:
Oh, eight, like his whole life, like, so right away.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:01:58]:
You've always been an old soul.
Kevin Thompson [00:01:59]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:01:59]:
Do you find yourself in a lot of older rooms with older people, too? Because I know that that's something I've.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:05]:
Yeah, I know. I mean. Yeah. I mean, I definitely would prefer to hang out with the adults if they're. Yes.
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:10]:
So versus the younger. Oh, yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:02:12]:
Great.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:12]:
No doubt.
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:14]:
That's why we're here, babe. We're trying to bring him the youth that he's.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:02:17]:
Keep him young.
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:17]:
He's keeping.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:18]:
Yes, y' all are a decade or more. More than a decade. You are more than a decade younger than us, so.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:02:23]:
No, not Blaine.
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:24]:
So I am.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:25]:
You. Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:25]:
Well, 10 years is a decade.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:27]:
Okay.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:02:27]:
But not more than.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:29]:
Maybe not Canadian.
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:30]:
38.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:02:30]:
I heard the question.
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:31]:
48. So we're 10.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:33]:
Okay.
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:33]:
I don't know if we asked Jenny her age.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:35]:
Nah, we're good.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:02:35]:
Okay, well, she clearly looks like 35.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:37]:
So she's not that much older than I am.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:02:40]:
Are you older?
Kevin Thompson [00:02:41]:
What?
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:41]:
No.
Jenny Thompson [00:02:42]:
Four months. And he acts like it's four years.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:44]:
No.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:02:45]:
Every time.
Kevin Thompson [00:02:46]:
Yes. Wow.
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:47]:
Maturely. Yeah. Maturity, Maturity. I gotta start figuring out.
Jenny Thompson [00:02:51]:
No, no, he's, again, 78. Emotionally.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:02:54]:
Yeah.
Jenny Thompson [00:02:54]:
I don't think I can be older than that.
Blaine Neufeld [00:02:56]:
No, no, I love it. So, yeah, so we. What we. What we want to do today is figure out where you guys kind of came from. We want to hear some of this story of when did you meet? And all these kind of good things, because you guys have a fantastic marriage, and we aspire to do the many of the things in ministry that you guys have done and. And all these good things. Where did it start?
Jenny Thompson [00:03:20]:
Start.
Blaine Neufeld [00:03:20]:
When did you guys start dating?
Kevin Thompson [00:03:22]:
That's my first.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:03:23]:
Or like, how did you meet?
Kevin Thompson [00:03:24]:
Those. Are those competing stories? Okay, so there's a general origin that we both agree on in that my student pastor. Whenever I was in high school, my student pastor resigned and became her family's pastor.
Blaine Neufeld [00:03:37]:
Okay.
Kevin Thompson [00:03:38]:
So. But she was already off at college during that, you know, that four months that she's older than me. So I was a senior high school. She was already in college. So one summer day, he was sick, and he called me last minute and said, hey, I need you to go speak at this thing. Can you do this? And I said, sure. So I drove down there, and Jenny was there, and she went to Oklahoma Baptist University, which is where I was going to go. And so I told a buddy of mine, I said, hey, I want to meet her.
Kevin Thompson [00:04:00]:
And he's like, all right. So he walks over and goes, hey, Jenny, this is Kevin. He's going to OVU next year. And Jenny goes, oh, you'll have a great time. And she walked off. That was.
Blaine Neufeld [00:04:09]:
But you knew. You knew in that moment.
Kevin Thompson [00:04:10]:
Oh, yeah, no. Remember what she was wearing? I don't.
Jenny Thompson [00:04:14]:
Oh, I had a boyfriend at the time, so I'm not so interested in that.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:04:16]:
Oh, yeah, you weren't looking to mingle? No.
Kevin Thompson [00:04:21]:
So Then I go to obu, and maybe a year and a half, two years later, the guy who introduced us, his sister then, is at school, and she knows Jenny, she knows me, and she knows that I want to be reintroduced to Jenny. And then there was a moment in the business center in which Jenny walked in and Rachel could see. Rachel, she could see. Like, here's our moment.
Blaine Neufeld [00:04:43]:
Right.
Kevin Thompson [00:04:43]:
And she reintroduced me, and I was.
Jenny Thompson [00:04:45]:
Dating someone else at the time, so.
Kevin Thompson [00:04:47]:
She blew me off again.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:04:49]:
Jenny from the block.
Blaine Neufeld [00:04:52]:
So. So how old are we at this point?
Kevin Thompson [00:04:56]:
Nine. I mean, Jenny's older. Yeah. The first time we met, 18. And Jenny was 18 and four months. And then the second time, probably 20.
Blaine Neufeld [00:05:05]:
20 years old.
Kevin Thompson [00:05:06]:
Okay, okay.
Blaine Neufeld [00:05:07]:
So Jenny's dating a guy at the time. Second guy. How did that end? Jenny?
Jenny Thompson [00:05:12]:
So I went to do Christian.
Kevin Thompson [00:05:14]:
This is taking a turn I did not expect.
Blaine Neufeld [00:05:15]:
I love it.
Kevin Thompson [00:05:16]:
We're 10 minutes into this podcast. Hey, how did he break up with one of your boyfriends?
Blaine Neufeld [00:05:20]:
I'm curious, because I think it's.
Jenny Thompson [00:05:22]:
Oh, I went. I went to Glacier national park and worked in Christian ministry in the national parks up there my junior. The summer of my junior year in college, and I just discovered a whole different world outside of the Bible Belt and outside of just the bubble that I had been living in and kind of just wanted a lot of freedom. And so I came back and broke up with my boyfriend because I just wanted freedom to go back the next year and then to just really just explore and be independent. I was not looking for a boyfriend.
Kevin Thompson [00:05:54]:
So had we been dating at the time.
Blaine Neufeld [00:05:56]:
Right.
Jenny Thompson [00:05:56]:
It would have been. Yeah, I probably would have broke up.
Blaine Neufeld [00:06:00]:
Same result.
Kevin Thompson [00:06:01]:
Done.
Blaine Neufeld [00:06:01]:
Actually, you. Very similar story to us, right. Where you wanted to have some freedom. You were doing Ywam and you felt this pressure to break up. I said no.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:06:09]:
Obviously, he didn't let me. I tried, just refused.
Jenny Thompson [00:06:12]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:06:13]:
You send in the resignation letter and he rejected.
Blaine Neufeld [00:06:15]:
If I don't change the odds I make.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:06:18]:
I was over the phone because I was in Australia and I was like, I think we should break up. He's like, no. And I was like, oh, great point.
Jenny Thompson [00:06:24]:
Okay.
Blaine Neufeld [00:06:26]:
I remember it differently because we had an idea that when you go away to ywam, they want you to focus on what's going on.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:06:34]:
Yeah. Like, I get it. Take away the distractions.
Blaine Neufeld [00:06:36]:
You're young, fully supporting boyfriend of. Go do this. This is great. There's no sense. Nothing's going to change in these three months before you come back. Let's just not break up. And then let's Talk.
Kevin Thompson [00:06:48]:
Oh, there you go.
Blaine Neufeld [00:06:49]:
When you get back.
Kevin Thompson [00:06:50]:
Smart. Very different slow play.
Blaine Neufeld [00:06:52]:
Yes. Which was ironic enough. When she got back, we broke up.
Kevin Thompson [00:06:56]:
10 days.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:06:56]:
10 days.
Jenny Thompson [00:06:57]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:06:57]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:06:58]:
There's a key point in this. And not that this episode is about making points, but.
Blaine Neufeld [00:07:01]:
No, it is.
Kevin Thompson [00:07:02]:
It's what we do. Yeah. But the idea of Tim.
Blaine Neufeld [00:07:05]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:07:05]:
Within a relationship, that so much. It's not just the right person. It's right person, right time. Yeah. And so, thankfully, another time when I met Jenny, finally, she wasn't dating somebody. And shockingly, I wasn't either.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:07:19]:
Did you have any girlfriends before Jenny?
Kevin Thompson [00:07:20]:
No.
Jenny Thompson [00:07:21]:
Okay.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:07:23]:
Explains a lot.
Blaine Neufeld [00:07:25]:
I mean, we love Kevin. Just so everybody knows when we poke fun of Kevin.
Kevin Thompson [00:07:29]:
Oh, yeah. No, I. Totally fine. So it was a conscious choice I made. I mean, I didn't make it. Other people made it. It was a conscious choice.
Blaine Neufeld [00:07:37]:
So good. So then you guys come back together. You're in this moment. Where was that moment where you see him and you make that decision of, we're dating. Let's go.
Jenny Thompson [00:07:49]:
I was the yearbook editor, and I happened to run across him, I think, on campus, and just said, hey, yearbooks are in. Do you need yours? And I'll bring it by the office to you. Because he was the SGA vice president, and I brought it to him in his office, and I guess there was a little connection like.
Kevin Thompson [00:08:07]:
Like 30 seconds later, really. So.
Jenny Thompson [00:08:10]:
Well, I am very.
Blaine Neufeld [00:08:11]:
I am ahead.
Jenny Thompson [00:08:13]:
I am very expedient and get things done.
Kevin Thompson [00:08:17]:
I'm very intrigued at what this is going to be. So, no. So we met. I was walking out of class, I saw her. We had this little short interaction. She's like, hey, I'll bring this by.
Blaine Neufeld [00:08:25]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:08:26]:
And within the hour, she was in the office, and I'm like, oh, well, this is a good sign. This is far different than the previous two meetings where she. I was still, like, in conversation. And she walked away. Yeah. So I'm like, oh, maybe I got a chance here.
Blaine Neufeld [00:08:39]:
So, Jenny, were you lingering? Were you hoping that he would ask questions or. No.
Kevin Thompson [00:08:44]:
Okay.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:08:45]:
No, not really interested.
Jenny Thompson [00:08:47]:
I was still coming off my Rocky Mountain high. I was still like, single life kind of thing.
Kevin Thompson [00:08:55]:
My guess. We've never talked about this. My guess is there was no conversation. I mean, no thought in your head whatsoever of he might ask me out or I'm interested or.
Jenny Thompson [00:09:03]:
No, but I think just.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:09:07]:
Tina, no.
Blaine Neufeld [00:09:08]:
No. That's a no.
Jenny Thompson [00:09:10]:
But at the same time, I don't know. I just. We had never crossed paths on campus ever before. And so really, we just never had that opportunity to think about it, or I hadn't, so. Yeah, but I.
Kevin Thompson [00:09:25]:
So when I called you, was there any hesitation? Was there any thought of, I don't really want to do this, but okay or no?
Jenny Thompson [00:09:32]:
I think I was just open to just going out. But I was very clear on our first date that I was not looking to.
Blaine Neufeld [00:09:39]:
Where was the first date, by the way?
Jenny Thompson [00:09:40]:
To be in a committed relationship?
Kevin Thompson [00:09:44]:
So we were in Oklahoma. So we drove into Oklahoma City, which is the big city that was nearby, probably 30 minutes in. So we went to dinner, and then we walked around downtown Oklahoma City for. I mean, it was probably three hours is what that ended up.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:09:59]:
That was like your first date.
Kevin Thompson [00:10:00]:
Yeah, but at dinner, unprovoked. Because it's not like I'm sitting there talking about anything. Unprovoked. She told me that she would never marry somebody younger than her. She had no interest in marrying somebody in the ministry, and she would never move for a guy.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:10:18]:
Oh, and look at you. You did all three.
Kevin Thompson [00:10:20]:
All three. Very quickly.
Jenny Thompson [00:10:22]:
Yeah. God liked to humble me because I had a lot of pride.
Kevin Thompson [00:10:26]:
You had some stipulation.
Jenny Thompson [00:10:27]:
Within the year you got married?
Kevin Thompson [00:10:29]:
Well, within the year, two of the three had happened. And within a year and a half or two years, we were three for three. Yeah. Wow.
Jenny Thompson [00:10:35]:
Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:10:35]:
So how long did you date before you got married?
Jenny Thompson [00:10:37]:
About a year and a half or two. Let's see.
Kevin Thompson [00:10:40]:
Yeah. So we got. We would have gotten engaged like, 14 months after we started dating and then married. Yeah, within 18, 19 months.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:10:48]:
Okay. So it's pretty quick from start to marriage.
Blaine Neufeld [00:10:52]:
Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:10:52]:
I feel. Yeah, we did it super slow.
Blaine Neufeld [00:10:54]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:10:55]:
I mean, the theory is always date at least a year.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:10:57]:
Yeah, that's it.
Blaine Neufeld [00:10:58]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:10:59]:
Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:10:59]:
We dated six and a half.
Kevin Thompson [00:11:00]:
That's too long.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:11:01]:
I agree.
Kevin Thompson [00:11:02]:
That's too much.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:11:03]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:11:04]:
Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:11:04]:
Oh, well, a lot of it was long distance. And we started out.
Kevin Thompson [00:11:07]:
Y' all were young. No, no. Okay, let's take that. Whoa. Roll back the tape.
Blaine Neufeld [00:11:10]:
16 to 17.
Kevin Thompson [00:11:11]:
We should roll back the tape. No, no, no, no. Abso. Absolutely. Yeah. You don't want to get married younger than that.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:11:19]:
We don't want to get married at 18.
Blaine Neufeld [00:11:20]:
So you guys get married for a couple years, you make a move early in your marriage. Is that right?
Kevin Thompson [00:11:25]:
So. Well, whenever we got married, I was in grad school, and so, yeah, so we were in Alabama. And what I think is really an influential aspect in our relationship, which is we moved to Birmingham, we know nobody, and that's when we get engaged. That's when we get married. And it Forced us to create what we call the sense of us.
Blaine Neufeld [00:11:44]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:11:45]:
That, you know, had we been back in our hometowns or whatever, I think you would have had a lot of more difficult. This was very easy. Very quickly.
Blaine Neufeld [00:11:53]:
And you guys came from a small town. Ish. Right. Where everybody kind of knows each other. Or like we're like. Because I'm.
Jenny Thompson [00:12:00]:
Everybody's just related to each other.
Blaine Neufeld [00:12:01]:
Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:12:02]:
That same with us. Like that's in Oklahoma.
Jenny Thompson [00:12:04]:
But not.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:12:05]:
But same where we're from. Like, you have people who've married their third cousins.
Kevin Thompson [00:12:08]:
Oh.
Jenny Thompson [00:12:09]:
Because I think I've been dating in high school for a long time. Just because I was so afraid everybody was related.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:12:15]:
Oh, really?
Jenny Thompson [00:12:16]:
So I was just like. I just really was very scared.
Kevin Thompson [00:12:19]:
My hometown's a hundred thousand, so there were people you definitely didn't know, but.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:12:23]:
Oh, that's big.
Blaine Neufeld [00:12:24]:
Okay.
Kevin Thompson [00:12:24]:
So.
Blaine Neufeld [00:12:24]:
But in. In that case. Because I'm finding similarities. But I also think there's a good point there.
Kevin Thompson [00:12:28]:
Where.
Blaine Neufeld [00:12:29]:
Where you unified. Where. Where was it that. What event? Or was it the move? Or where was it where you guys felt like we're in a marriage? Because I know for us there was moments where it's just like you just did the same things. You hung out with the same friends. You did the same. You know, what is. Where's that moment in your guys marriage where you're like, this is a marriage.
Kevin Thompson [00:12:48]:
I mean, I think for me it was Birmingham. I mean, it was this and it was great. I look very fondly back on those early years of marriage. But there was no question it was us. And then what friends are we forming?
Blaine Neufeld [00:13:01]:
Yes.
Kevin Thompson [00:13:02]:
There just wasn't any other ties or attachments to really have. Which I think was really good. I mean, I'm not saying a couple has to move. No. But there is a power in that. And if you don't do that, then you do have to, I think, have a much more difficult conversation of how do we create this sense of who.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:13:18]:
We are now to be more intentional about it. But with that unifying, oftentimes there's struggle because moving is hard and making new friends is hard. Did you guys have a hard time?
Jenny Thompson [00:13:31]:
I don't have a problem moving.
Blaine Neufeld [00:13:33]:
No, you enjoy a change?
Jenny Thompson [00:13:34]:
I like change. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:13:36]:
You're not afraid of what's on the other side?
Jenny Thompson [00:13:38]:
No.
Blaine Neufeld [00:13:39]:
What do you like about it? What do you excite getting excited about?
Jenny Thompson [00:13:42]:
I just. I like to see new places and. And hear new people's stories and. Yeah. It just isn't. I mean, I went from Oklahoma to Montana For a couple of summers, and then went to Alabama for three years. And then when we went to Arkansas, we were in Arkansas 19 years. And I'm kind of like, man, we've been here a long time.
Blaine Neufeld [00:14:05]:
Right, Right.
Jenny Thompson [00:14:06]:
Time for a change.
Blaine Neufeld [00:14:07]:
Yeah. We've moved every two years to a different house, whatever the area is. And we're coming up on two years. And she's like, are we moving?
Kevin Thompson [00:14:15]:
Do you sense it?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:14:16]:
Yes. Yeah, I like it. Kind of the itch, you know, like, let's change it up.
Kevin Thompson [00:14:20]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:14:20]:
Which is interesting because she.
Kevin Thompson [00:14:24]:
I wonder where you're going with this, Blaine.
Blaine Neufeld [00:14:25]:
Where I'm going with this is you're ready for an adventure.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:14:28]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:14:29]:
You're a fine gentleman, would love security, stability. Stability.
Jenny Thompson [00:14:33]:
Everything the same. Every meal the same. Every restaurant the same. Every. Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:14:37]:
Let's talk about your eating habits, Kevin.
Blaine Neufeld [00:14:39]:
Oh, we'll get there. Jenny, are you concerned about the amount of coke he drinks or are we getting.
Jenny Thompson [00:14:43]:
Yes, I am.
Blaine Neufeld [00:14:43]:
Okay, let's put that one in there.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:14:45]:
But anyway, as long as you're aware. That's great.
Kevin Thompson [00:14:47]:
Make sure that we clarify.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:14:49]:
Coca Cola.
Kevin Thompson [00:14:50]:
Yes, thank you. That I drink.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:14:51]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:14:52]:
Not zero, but in that. Do you find, like, does he follow along? Does he make it difficult to make the move? Like, is he. What is he like in those? Is he resistant? Is he not a baby? But, like, is he.
Jenny Thompson [00:15:07]:
Wow.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:15:08]:
Not like a child?
Jenny Thompson [00:15:10]:
Well, I mean, we moved to Birmingham, but we weren't married yet, so we didn't.
Blaine Neufeld [00:15:16]:
Yeah.
Jenny Thompson [00:15:17]:
And. And he wanted. It was for him because he was going to grad school.
Blaine Neufeld [00:15:21]:
Okay.
Jenny Thompson [00:15:21]:
So that was one.
Blaine Neufeld [00:15:23]:
So he was the motivator.
Jenny Thompson [00:15:24]:
I was more kicking and screaming because I didn't want to. Like, I had three job offers going a lot of other great places. I was going to end up in Birmingham, and I was like, is that really where I want to go? But. But I went. And it. It all turned out great because I got a company that I got to travel all across North America for a couple years. And so God still kind of answered all my dreams anyway through that. That's cool.
Jenny Thompson [00:15:50]:
And then when we moved here to California, I never thought he would move at all.
Blaine Neufeld [00:15:57]:
And yet here we are.
Jenny Thompson [00:15:58]:
He was not kicking and screaming. It was just the right time, and he was ready to go.
Blaine Neufeld [00:16:04]:
And maybe that's a bit of a common theme. You talk about God's timing and then just, like, how beautiful it is when both. And, Kev, you can speak into this, too, of marriages, how beautiful it is when you're both in sync with a major decision Versus kicking and screaming.
Kevin Thompson [00:16:20]:
You have to be.
Blaine Neufeld [00:16:21]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:16:21]:
To me, we talked about this on a previous episode of Even Spiritual Leadership. What does that look like? It can never be. It has to be my way. It is. On the big issues, are we unified? If we're not unified, we're not moving forward until we find that spot, in my opinion. And we haven't had that experience other than man. Yeah, we're totally on board. Let's go.
Kevin Thompson [00:16:44]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:16:44]:
Yeah.
Jenny Thompson [00:16:45]:
I'll give you a hint. Into Kevin becoming a married life pastor.
Blaine Neufeld [00:16:51]:
Yes, please, please do.
Jenny Thompson [00:16:52]:
So I was in Montana for my second summer and he was in Arizona as a youth pastor, if you can believe it. For one summer.
Blaine Neufeld [00:17:03]:
Cool and hip.
Kevin Thompson [00:17:03]:
I get the best three months of those kids lives.
Jenny Thompson [00:17:08]:
And he sent me three books on marriage. We have not even said I love you Right. Yet. Because I refuse to do that.
Kevin Thompson [00:17:15]:
One of us might have same.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:17:17]:
Very similar.
Jenny Thompson [00:17:19]:
He sent three books on marriage for me to read. And we would go through it and then we would use calling cards because there were no cell phones. You would have to pay, you know, per minute.
Kevin Thompson [00:17:29]:
Yeah.
Jenny Thompson [00:17:29]:
And go through our answers on stuff. And. And then he came out for a week and visited and we went through stuff there too. But the fact that he's sending me books on marriage when we're not even to that point yet, and I don't know, I just kind of blew my mind and to think that that's where it went.
Blaine Neufeld [00:17:49]:
Yes.
Jenny Thompson [00:17:51]:
And we also wrote out letters. I always find this interesting. We wrote out what we wanted in that time. We wrote out what we wanted in the future. Right. Kind of that here's where I want to be in five years or whatever. And we found those letters later. And God had answered every single prayer because I wanted to travel.
Jenny Thompson [00:18:09]:
And then I was like following him to Birmingham, which is not what my flesh really wanted to do.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:18:16]:
And then.
Jenny Thompson [00:18:16]:
But God answered all those prayers in there and it all worked out. Wow, that's really cool.
Kevin Thompson [00:18:21]:
I think what's so, so important in that is there, there are times in our lives that we are more likely to meet a potential mate and spouse. And so we have to be intentional about those times and that. I mean, so when we're in college to date. Yeah, that's great. I mean, have a good time, all that kind of thing. But after we move out of college, I know she's about to head into a career. I'm looking at grad school. Then I'm going to head into career.
Kevin Thompson [00:18:48]:
All right. This is not a moment, quote unquote, just to have fun. This is a moment to figure out, do our lives align in such a way that we think we're going to be better together? And so let's go through a process. It doesn't mean that you rush it by any means, but let's be intentional along the way. So those books, those conversations, to me, it just made total sense that we don't want to waste each other's times, especially this specific time of life where you're figuring out what the rest of your life is going to be. So I see that a lot with people where the relationship isn't going anywhere. And that's if you're in high school. Great.
Kevin Thompson [00:19:22]:
Don't, please do not let your relationship go anywhere. But, man, if you're in your 20s, this is an integral time of your life. Let's be intentional about what's happening instead of just, oh, well, we'll see what happens.
Blaine Neufeld [00:19:33]:
Right, Right. And that was one of the thoughts and questions that I kind of was going to go into is in that 20 to 25 year old age. And now you've kind of answered it for you, but for Jenny, what if you look back at yourselves and you start to talk to your old couple selves? What would you say to that couple? Would you. How would they focus on the things that matter? Or live your dreams? Maybe disagree with Kevin? Please share that if you do. But you know what I'm saying. What would the wisdom there be of.
Jenny Thompson [00:20:06]:
What would I say? I felt like we did everything pretty well. Like, I don't have regrets from.
Blaine Neufeld [00:20:12]:
And what did you do? Well communicated. You learned early.
Jenny Thompson [00:20:14]:
Being able to be away early was an important, like, just to form that unity. Yes. I don't know that I would have seen it that way until he verbalized it.
Kevin Thompson [00:20:24]:
Okay.
Jenny Thompson [00:20:24]:
But I can look back on that and say, yeah, that's definitely a key part. That first year of marriage, learning how to argue. Because he didn't. And I tried to engage it.
Kevin Thompson [00:20:37]:
Oh.
Jenny Thompson [00:20:38]:
And I was like. I was like, well, well, come on. Like avoidant. Come on. I want to. Well, I don't know if it was avoidant or just keeping the peace of, I'm not going. I'm not going to engage and level this thing up to where I wanted it to be. I was the oldest.
Jenny Thompson [00:20:55]:
I was used to bossing my sister and brother around. I just kind of had that mentality that I'm always right. And he was just kind of like, I'm not going there.
Blaine Neufeld [00:21:06]:
Really?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:21:06]:
Wow.
Jenny Thompson [00:21:07]:
And so I was like, so frustrated because he wouldn't go there. I'm like, no, I want you to engage in this. And he just wouldn't. And I'm like. And it wasn't like an avoidant with somebody who shuts down. I don't feel like that's what it was.
Blaine Neufeld [00:21:20]:
It was like wisdom.
Jenny Thompson [00:21:21]:
No, this is not what we're doing. This is not how we do this.
Blaine Neufeld [00:21:23]:
Right.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:21:24]:
So how did you get over that? Did you just.
Jenny Thompson [00:21:27]:
It took a while because my emotions were very high, and I just wanted some kind of response, like, show me you're human. Give me something.
Blaine Neufeld [00:21:35]:
Jenny, we understand.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:21:38]:
Well, that is very interesting. So you felt his kind of even demeanor in other areas of marriage as well?
Jenny Thompson [00:21:47]:
Yeah, I mean, he just. He. He doesn't bring a lot of emotion, which I think sometimes you want that emotion. Just seem to get up or get down or do something like just don't be. But he. He's just so stable. And then I'm not terribly emotional, but. But I can get there.
Jenny Thompson [00:22:07]:
And. And so. And I was wanting that. And so I think from there, we learned how to. That's not how we go into a fight or disagreement or anything. We take time to bring it all together and put it out on the table and discuss it.
Blaine Neufeld [00:22:24]:
I love that.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:22:25]:
I think, Blaine, you had a question or, like, what is it like to fight?
Blaine Neufeld [00:22:29]:
Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:22:29]:
Well, you guys fight, but clearly you don't.
Kevin Thompson [00:22:31]:
The fight club. What is our fight club?
Jenny Thompson [00:22:33]:
There is no raised voices ever. There is no.
Kevin Thompson [00:22:38]:
Adrienne sounds disappointed.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:22:39]:
Me neither.
Blaine Neufeld [00:22:41]:
Would you guys like to hear about our morning?
Jenny Thompson [00:22:44]:
And I raise voices with my children and every. You know, everything else, but it doesn't.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:22:48]:
Do me any good because he doesn't.
Jenny Thompson [00:22:50]:
He doesn't.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:22:51]:
Which is great. You don't, like, elevate each other with it. That's awesome.
Jenny Thompson [00:22:54]:
No. So because of that, it keeps it all very.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:22:59]:
So it's more of a discussion. You have discussions.
Kevin Thompson [00:23:01]:
Yeah. And I do think. I mean, obviously, it's the way I prefer. No doubt. But there's downsides to that as well.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:23:08]:
Okay.
Kevin Thompson [00:23:08]:
So Jenny is. Has to try to predict far more. What does he feel in the moment? How important is this to him? All those kind of things. So this is not. We are not laying this out as here's the way you should do it. And if you don't, I mean, you two have failed this morning because you raised your voices. It's not. It's not that at all.
Kevin Thompson [00:23:29]:
At the same time, I mean, I'm not aware that I look back and go, oh, we said these things that we regret or Anything like that in my memory. I only remember one time that she ever raised her voice to me. And I'm just like, this is not how I want to be. This just. I'm highly uncomfortable with this, and I don't like what this does within me, and it's not going to produce the outcome that we desire. So let's find a different way.
Blaine Neufeld [00:23:59]:
And we talk about this a lot. Like, you know yourself well, so you're analyzing yourself and you're like, I don't want to. I know where this road goes and I don't like it. We're just gonna stop it here. But as you get to know yourselves, you also. You guys have very individual jobs. Right. Where Adrienne and I, we're very intermixed with what we wanna do.
Blaine Neufeld [00:24:20]:
And it's interesting where, how. And how you guys have both been very, very successful, but you're very, very connected. And I can see that you guys are very aware of what the other person is doing. You're very much cheerleaders. How did that develop? Because now we go back to after college, we got the job, and we're well.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:24:38]:
And I think we should say, what, Jenny, what you do just so people know you're in marketing.
Jenny Thompson [00:24:43]:
Yeah. So, yeah, I started out in trade show marketing. Then I worked for an ad agency for about 12 years, and then I started my own ad agency out of my house. So for the last 12 years.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:24:59]:
Okay.
Jenny Thompson [00:24:59]:
Marketing. And. Yeah, ad agency. So you run just a handful of clients. So that I can kind of control what I. Yeah. How much?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:25:07]:
Yeah. So you run your ad agency, you pastor, preach, speak.
Kevin Thompson [00:25:12]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:25:13]:
So many things.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:25:13]:
Write books, I think.
Kevin Thompson [00:25:14]:
Oh, really?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:25:15]:
Yes.
Kevin Thompson [00:25:16]:
Wait, what? Adrienne?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:25:17]:
Actually, Kevin, do you have a new book coming out?
Kevin Thompson [00:25:20]:
It's possible that Quick plug.
Blaine Neufeld [00:25:21]:
Gosh. I really thought we'd be smoother on that.
Kevin Thompson [00:25:24]:
It's possible. Just this week, actually, Love Styles has come out a book on attachment. But I do think. I think for me, with Jenny, where does that connection come from? It was always a frustration of mine. Whenever you would look at a pastor's family and realize that every move, every decision was based on his career and never on hers. Whereas I would always look at that and go, look, there's sinners everywhere. Like, why couldn't her job dictate where we go? And then I can just minister there? And so that was always a mindset of mine, of every move we have made has been for me. So it hadn't worked out that way.
Blaine Neufeld [00:26:04]:
But you were open to it.
Kevin Thompson [00:26:05]:
You were open. And even the idea Whenever we moved from Birmingham back to Arkansas, we were not going to move from Birmingham to Arkansas until she had a job offer she loved.
Blaine Neufeld [00:26:15]:
Interesting.
Kevin Thompson [00:26:16]:
And so what's interesting about that to me is. And so we just said, look, we're not making this move. I had a job offer I liked, but there were other offers as well. We could have stayed in Birmingham. We could have gone to New Jersey for grad school, for PhD work. We could have gone to Oklahoma to work there. And so Arkansas was the one I liked. But I said, look, it's a small town.
Kevin Thompson [00:26:35]:
There may not be advertising opportunities. So Jenny had got three job offers that all three were pretty good that she would like. So we agreed we're going to move. Moving truck shows up, we get in the car. We're going to drive now from Birmingham to Arkansas. It's a 10 hour drive. Jenny's going to start now. She's going to call and accept the job and then call the other two and decline them.
Kevin Thompson [00:26:57]:
Calls the first one and hey, this thing's fallen through.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:27:01]:
Oh, no.
Kevin Thompson [00:27:01]:
Okay, okay. Well, you know, not a big deal. We got these two others. By the time we reach Arkansas, all three officers fall away. So it's interesting to me of here we kind of have this line of we're not moving unless these offers are here. All right, here are the offers. And now we make the decision and all three of those fall through. And I would say that was one of the more difficult times for you, at least within our marriage, is to get to Arkansas now to not have a job.
Kevin Thompson [00:27:27]:
We're living with my mom. My mom's great, but it's just a radical change and just the sense of identity for a few weeks of who am I now in this new stage?
Jenny Thompson [00:27:38]:
Jenny, did you identify with work a lot? And my identity was in work and that ended up causing me to leave my job 12 years ago because I was still finding my identity in work and I had to kind of just make that switch and realize he's God and I'm not and control of stuff and then I'm his and not works.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:27:59]:
Did you ever, in that time where your kind of identity was maybe not in the thing it should have been in. Did you resent Kevin a little bit?
Jenny Thompson [00:28:07]:
No, I was just ready to have a job so then we could know how much we could buy a house for and get into a house quickly and then. And so I could have something to do. But I didn't feel resentful.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:28:18]:
That's good.
Jenny Thompson [00:28:19]:
I just was. I just hate not working.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:28:22]:
Yeah. I just feel like because being a pastor's wife and you kind of don't identify maybe as, as a lot of pastors wives, you can talk about that, but there's a lot of sacrifice involved. And this clearly would have been a sacrifice for you to like leave your job and move and kind of pursue Kevin's dreams, but you kind of don't. How do you feel about that or what would you say?
Jenny Thompson [00:28:46]:
I didn't feel like it was too much of a sacrifice because we were moving back to within an hour of my family.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:28:51]:
Okay.
Jenny Thompson [00:28:52]:
And then close to his family. And so yeah, we would. We would be moving back into an area I was familiar with.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:28:59]:
And.
Jenny Thompson [00:29:02]:
I liked the job offers that were really close. They were intriguing to me. And I was kind of ready to stop traveling at that time because I was traveling two or three times a month and just all the time. And it was just kind of like I'm ready to wake up in the same time zone every day for a little bit. Kind of got the travel bug out so ready to buy a house and do those kinds of things.
Kevin Thompson [00:29:23]:
And so did 911 play into that at all or not for you?
Jenny Thompson [00:29:26]:
No, I don't feel like 911 bothered me with, with any of that. No. I think I just.
Kevin Thompson [00:29:33]:
She was travel. She was traveling on 9 11.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:29:35]:
You were.
Jenny Thompson [00:29:36]:
I was in a plane on American Airlines and landed in dfw. And it was completely empty ghost town when we landed. And I never saw videos till that night because it took us that long to get somewhere.
Kevin Thompson [00:29:48]:
I was. I was sitting in Clousdon Seminary. So there was. There was a. There was a time frame in there where I couldn't get a hold of her. And. And you know, rumors back then were flying of what was going on. So it was an interesting.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:29:57]:
That's kind of crazy.
Jenny Thompson [00:29:58]:
Well, and it slowed down the trade show industry for a while.
Kevin Thompson [00:30:01]:
Sure.
Jenny Thompson [00:30:01]:
Right.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:30:02]:
Because no one was traveling and the.
Jenny Thompson [00:30:04]:
Everything was going on. Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:30:06]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:30:07]:
Wow. I was gonna ask because I. I sense Jenny and I are very similar in this. When I have been in a season with no job. I love efficiency. I love moving the needle. What was it like sitting in that window waiting for the next thing?
Jenny Thompson [00:30:21]:
I mean, I was coming up with all sorts of ideas. Like, could I create a cookbook? What could I do here? What can I do here? Like, what am I gonna do? And then I'm just in my mother in law's house, like, like, what am I gonna do here? Like. So it was. And we were probably three years into marriage or so Two and a half to three years at that time.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:30:41]:
So I feel like even that's a sacrifice. You're not even living in your own space. You're not working hard.
Jenny Thompson [00:30:46]:
Because I'm very independent.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:30:48]:
Yeah. So you are sacrificing things. Maybe you don't even see it because it was just like. Well, you know.
Jenny Thompson [00:30:53]:
But I mean, that was temporary. She was gracious to host us, and she's great. Like, positive.
Blaine Neufeld [00:30:59]:
Yeah. The tough thing about these guys is they don't just dwell and feel sorry.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:31:05]:
Yeah, I don't either.
Kevin Thompson [00:31:07]:
Yeah. I mean, so, I mean, this is something about Jenny, I think. I think she lives such a sacrificial life all the time. I don't think she understands how much she is actually.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:31:18]:
I don't think she sees it.
Kevin Thompson [00:31:19]:
Yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree. And so even, you know, raising a child with special needs, I don't think Jenny sees that at all.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:31:29]:
She's just so good at giving her.
Kevin Thompson [00:31:31]:
It's just life.
Jenny Thompson [00:31:32]:
I had parents who all they did was sacrifice constantly for the church and for family, for everyone around them. And so they taught us that. So I think that is modeled for you only what I know. And yet they were happy. And yet they were good.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:31:47]:
And I. Oh, yeah. I'm not saying sacrifice is bad. I just, you know, it.
Jenny Thompson [00:31:52]:
And so they didn't complain. And so I don't. I just don't see life that way.
Blaine Neufeld [00:31:56]:
No. And I love it because I think the mentality here is when you realize that that's not yours anyway, what are we sacrificing?
Kevin Thompson [00:32:03]:
Right.
Blaine Neufeld [00:32:03]:
It's God's. It's God's gifts in us. It's God's money. It's God's dreams. It's like when we're living that. And this is beautiful because I think it's a positive that we're striving to. And of course, there's days where you want the job and you want to be purposeful and, you know, I can relate with that. But when you get into a season where you start to recognize.
Blaine Neufeld [00:32:23]:
And that's cool that your parents were able to model that out of a young age to know.
Jenny Thompson [00:32:27]:
Oh, yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:32:28]:
That. That is.
Jenny Thompson [00:32:29]:
Well, I mean. And my brother and sister feel the same way. And they sacrifice.
Blaine Neufeld [00:32:32]:
Right.
Jenny Thompson [00:32:32]:
I would say more than I do on any given day.
Blaine Neufeld [00:32:35]:
Yeah.
Jenny Thompson [00:32:36]:
And again, I think it's just because of the lifestyle. Lifestyle we were. We lived in.
Kevin Thompson [00:32:41]:
Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:32:42]:
Okay, so let's talk about kids. Now you've been married. How long have you been married? And then you have. Is Ella's oldest, right?
Kevin Thompson [00:32:49]:
Yeah. So four years. I mean, almost. Almost four, five years.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:32:53]:
45.
Kevin Thompson [00:32:54]:
Yeah. Okay.
Jenny Thompson [00:32:55]:
Because she's 20 this year, and we had 25 years.
Kevin Thompson [00:32:59]:
That math does work.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:33:00]:
Okay. And you have two kids. We have Ella and Silas. And tell us a little bit about. Well, I don't. I think most people know, but Ella has Down syndrome.
Kevin Thompson [00:33:10]:
Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:33:11]:
And you guys didn't know, Right. Until she was born?
Jenny Thompson [00:33:14]:
About four hours after she was born.
Blaine Neufeld [00:33:16]:
Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:33:16]:
Four after.
Kevin Thompson [00:33:17]:
Yeah.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:33:18]:
So what was that like?
Kevin Thompson [00:33:19]:
Yeah. So at that time, the technology was just there where they. There were some tests where you could have picked it up, others where you couldn't. The ultrasound technology had just been developed to where the gynecologist, OB GYN Actually apologized to us for not picking it up.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:33:34]:
Oh, wow.
Kevin Thompson [00:33:35]:
Because his thought was, well, you know, you should have had options. And we're like, no, no, this is great. Like, we try to pastor him. Yeah. And we changed anything. Not at all. Matter of fact, what this did is actually made the pregnancy less stressful. I still remember when the doctor came in and, you know, said, hey, she doesn't have this.
Kevin Thompson [00:33:52]:
Doesn't have this. Doesn't have down syndrome. So we were a false negative.
Jenny Thompson [00:33:56]:
They gave us a blood test and said, she doesn't have down syndrome. She doesn't have. You know.
Kevin Thompson [00:34:01]:
So.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:34:01]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:34:01]:
So it wasn't until after birth. So. Yeah, it was. It was.
Jenny Thompson [00:34:05]:
Because the pregnancy was completely healthy.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:34:07]:
Yes.
Jenny Thompson [00:34:08]:
Everything was healthy until it was time for the epidural that I had expected. And they're like, her heart. Heart is not eating just right, so you don't get that epidural. And that was hard for me to wrap my head around because I had not planned.
Blaine Neufeld [00:34:21]:
Yeah.
Jenny Thompson [00:34:21]:
On that.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:34:22]:
To do it naturally.
Jenny Thompson [00:34:23]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:34:23]:
Jenny didn't quite figure that was a possibility like that.
Blaine Neufeld [00:34:27]:
That was.
Kevin Thompson [00:34:27]:
Nobody ever said, hey, by the way, there could be scenarios where you can't get enough. So I just remember her, and she.
Jenny Thompson [00:34:35]:
I mean, I haven't had time to wrap my head around.
Kevin Thompson [00:34:37]:
She probably wanted to punch me is my guess. But I just remember her saying, I can't do this. And my refrain became, you can and you will.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:34:46]:
Yes, I said the same thing.
Blaine Neufeld [00:34:48]:
Exact same thing.
Kevin Thompson [00:34:48]:
20 or something.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:34:50]:
I was like, I'm not doing this anymore. Yeah, I'm done. So I'm just gonna go. Someone figure this out.
Blaine Neufeld [00:34:55]:
I'm tapping out tmi. But she got an epidural, and half of her body didn't work.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:35:00]:
It only worked on half.
Blaine Neufeld [00:35:01]:
So all the pain was in one hip.
Kevin Thompson [00:35:03]:
Oh, my Goodness.
Blaine Neufeld [00:35:04]:
Anyway, back to the story.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:35:05]:
Yeah, we don't need to talk about birthing, but.
Blaine Neufeld [00:35:08]:
And I love it because you guys have such a opportunity and beautiful story and there's chances to pastor and you know, coach people in a scenario that we're not familiar with. But I remember we're standing on a golf course and you shared with me her moment of strength and courage. When can you share that and remind me?
Kevin Thompson [00:35:30]:
Yeah, yeah. So, you know, we get the diagnosis, all those things. Our pediatrician, who literally was my pediatrician, which is hilarious. And he did such a masterful job of explaining what this means, what this looks like. Yes, there's a sadness here because it is going to impact the rest of her life. But there's so much joy and possibility, as you all know, Ella well. And what that looks like. And so all that is done.
Kevin Thompson [00:35:55]:
It's late Friday night after Ella's been born. Jenny's been in basically labor for 24 hours. So I walk him out, they take Ella to the nursery, I walk back in and I walk over and. And Jenny's first words to me regarding this diagnosis was, well, this is a road we never would have expected to go down, but I bet we never regret going down it.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:36:13]:
Oh, wow.
Kevin Thompson [00:36:14]:
And that to me just typifies kind of Jenny in her heart and just this open handedness with life itself that we're not in charge and whatever God hands to you, you take it and appreciate it as a gift that it is and then make the most of it. And I think that kind of set the course for me from that moment forward of here's how we're going to look at this.
Blaine Neufeld [00:36:36]:
Yeah. How did you guys see God show up in peace and strength and different moments along raising children. And Jenny, you thoughts on that or.
Jenny Thompson [00:36:47]:
Definitely. He liked to reveal my sinfulness through raising children.
Kevin Thompson [00:36:50]:
Okay.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:36:51]:
I feel like you don't have any. You're just like sacrifice. That's just life.
Blaine Neufeld [00:36:56]:
We get the good.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:36:57]:
I'm learning a lot. Yeah.
Jenny Thompson [00:37:00]:
This is where. Yeah. You don't want to follow in my footsteps. Probably. Yeah. No, I. Yeah. I feel like parenting has been the hardest part of the journey and that's probably what challenges me the most.
Jenny Thompson [00:37:14]:
And then also brings out my selfishness and my pride and my. I like things done my way and control. And there is no controlling these children for real.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:37:28]:
I mean, can someone just help us out?
Kevin Thompson [00:37:32]:
Our viewpoint. And we love our children.
Blaine Neufeld [00:37:33]:
We love.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:37:34]:
Of course we love them.
Kevin Thompson [00:37:36]:
But our general conversation is marriage is great. Parenting sucks.
Jenny Thompson [00:37:41]:
Parenting is hard. Marriage is easy.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:37:43]:
Parenting that's going on a shirt. That's going on a shirt with Kevin's face on it.
Kevin Thompson [00:37:47]:
I kind of like those. Let's go with Kevin. But again, the kids are great. Love the kids. And we always knew that in all likelihood, our biggest challenge would be parenting, because. So, I mean, here, let's break down our fight club. Right? So you're gonna have Jenny, who's an agency. N word.
Kevin Thompson [00:38:04]:
Right? Firstborn mom, girl, raised her siblings in part. I mean, not that they needed raising, but was the boss. So a very clear, here's how life needs to go, and I can help you figure out what you need right here. You have me, right? Certainty, dyadic, laid back. They'll figure it out. It'll be okay. It'll work out, right?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:38:28]:
She's shaking her head.
Kevin Thompson [00:38:30]:
I always say to doctors, look, you got the easiest job ever, because every condition your patient would ever have will clear itself up except for the last one. And so even doctors, most of the time, you don't treat it, the patient's gonna get better. So that's kind of my parenting style, which is, they'll figure this out. And so now you have these two very contrasting styles.
Blaine Neufeld [00:38:51]:
Yes, it's fine.
Kevin Thompson [00:38:51]:
Of we better lead them, or they're gonna end up screwed up. And me saying, it really doesn't matter what you do, as long as let's feed them. Let's make sure we come alive, love each other well, create a climate. We'll see what happens. And I think what's interesting to me is what I thought was gonna be our biggest clash and has been a clash at times, no doubt. I think has turned into one of the greatest benefits of when my way doesn't work to go, oh, hey, Johnny, my way's not working. Do yours now.
Jenny Thompson [00:39:19]:
And then my way doesn't work either.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:39:22]:
We leave it up to the Lord. Yeah.
Jenny Thompson [00:39:24]:
Yeah.
Blaine Neufeld [00:39:24]:
Because it's interesting. You guys have a healthy marriage, but some don't. And some would be more reserved and laid back and just whatever goes, I can relate. And you want structure and all these other things. How do you not make her the bad guy in the story? Right? Because it's like, you're the fun dad or I'm the fun dad. And it's like, give them candy. Who cares? They'll figure it out.
Kevin Thompson [00:39:48]:
I just think you have to have this mindset in all things in life as a human being that, look, I have strengths, but those strengths are incomplete. And so I bring something to the table. But if all of it is just my way Then we're in serious trouble. And so to then appreciate in your spouse how the differences that are there are her strengths as well, and she needs to bring those to the table. So there have to be times I lean on that because her way's gonna be better than mine. And then there's other times my way's better than hers, and then there's a lot of times in which neither of our ways are gonna work. And we'll see.
Blaine Neufeld [00:40:22]:
So you see it as our way. Like, you see her talents and gifts as your gifts? Because it's a team.
Kevin Thompson [00:40:28]:
Right.
Blaine Neufeld [00:40:29]:
And I'm just trying to pair it up for people where I have an opinion. She has an opinion. No, no, no. You both have two opinions as one. You can use them both weapons at different times. They're both yours. Your approaches are both yours.
Kevin Thompson [00:40:43]:
Both cars in the garage belong to us, and we can use either one. Now, yes, there is one. I tend to drive. There is one. She tends to drive. No doubt. But if mine isn't going to work and hers is going to be better, then. Okay, let's go that direction.
Kevin Thompson [00:40:57]:
Because then I think, one. It helps you recognize your own limitations. For one thing, I think a lot of division in marriage, a lot of division in parenting becomes. Well, if you just do things my way, everything would be okay. Really. How's your life going? Well, that's not working well for you all the time. So it's just a foolishness, I think, that then turns the spouse into the enemy, and then we end up literally judging the very gift that God has given us to help us.
Blaine Neufeld [00:41:22]:
Totally. I love that. Do you have any questions I can keep going here.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:41:27]:
No, but, I mean, we are around 40 minutes if you want to keep going.
Blaine Neufeld [00:41:30]:
I got a question.
Kevin Thompson [00:41:31]:
We're fine.
Blaine Neufeld [00:41:32]:
We got plenty of time. I got a good question.
Kevin Thompson [00:41:33]:
This is going to be a Thanksgiving extended edition. People might be driving.
Blaine Neufeld [00:41:36]:
Yeah, you know what?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:41:37]:
Let's give them what they want.
Kevin Thompson [00:41:38]:
Kevin, people might be driving.
Blaine Neufeld [00:41:39]:
Let's talk about the family galaxy.
Kevin Thompson [00:41:41]:
It is my birthday. Let's go longer.
Blaine Neufeld [00:41:44]:
This is for Kevin. So, Kevin, you're a very smart guy. You have lots of content, and I love walking around and listening to you because you just keep telling me things. Do you go home and tell Jenny things to do in marriage to make her. You know what I'm saying?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:41:59]:
Oh, yeah. Is he analyzing you? Oh, you're being so anxious avoidant right now, honey.
Jenny Thompson [00:42:04]:
No, no, I. But I attend enough things that I know almost regurgitate it all to you.
Blaine Neufeld [00:42:12]:
Right.
Jenny Thompson [00:42:14]:
And I preview and read and his writings and.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:42:16]:
Okay, let's.
Kevin Thompson [00:42:17]:
Let's ask this question in a deeper way. Do you ever get sick of the constant content generation and information?
Jenny Thompson [00:42:28]:
No, I think I get sick of it.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:42:30]:
You cannot explain yes or no?
Jenny Thompson [00:42:33]:
No. I mean, I don't see a reason to get sick of it. Like, wow. Because he's not telling me when he comes home. He is tired of his own voice. Yeah. He will tell me. I am just tired of hearing my own voice.
Jenny Thompson [00:42:45]:
I don't even want to talk. So it's not like he's coming home and. But he loves to share interesting factoids and stuff with me.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:42:55]:
And you, like, do you find it interesting? You listen? Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:42:58]:
Whenever we're watching a show or a movie or something, Jenny will say something out loud just with the expectation, I'm going to research it.
Jenny Thompson [00:43:06]:
Yeah. I don't want to look it up myself.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:43:07]:
And I'll be like, encyclopedia.
Jenny Thompson [00:43:09]:
You're like, that actor is. And I'll just leave it out there. And then five minutes later, he's like, well, that actor's 58.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:43:16]:
That's so funny.
Kevin Thompson [00:43:17]:
Cause she knows I can't stand the not knowing.
Jenny Thompson [00:43:20]:
Really don't care that much to look it up, even though I could.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:43:23]:
You're so funny. Cause you're, like, super laid back, but yet you do, like, control.
Kevin Thompson [00:43:27]:
Yes.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:43:27]:
It's a very odd combination.
Kevin Thompson [00:43:30]:
Talked to my co workers about that. Yes. And my bosses.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:43:33]:
Yeah. Okay. So you clearly have great respect for each other. That's just clear. And you guys are great friends. You're partners. I'm not gonna get into the lover thing, but I'm sure it's there.
Blaine Neufeld [00:43:43]:
That's why I come in.
Kevin Thompson [00:43:44]:
Jenny's like, I'.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:43:45]:
Yeah, but when he's writing. When he's writing a book, is he different at home?
Jenny Thompson [00:43:51]:
He's always writing a book. Oh. Cause I know it has been the last probably 15 years. He's always writing a book.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:43:57]:
Because if I'm ever trying to, like, work on something, I'm, like, super agitated. I can't handle any stress because it's constantly.
Kevin Thompson [00:44:04]:
I think that's the Saturday. Saturday me. Is that.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:44:08]:
Oh, when you're prepping for a sermon.
Kevin Thompson [00:44:09]:
Prepping for the sermon. I think. I think the agitation level goes up especially. And I mean, we've never talked about this. I don't think.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:44:16]:
But.
Kevin Thompson [00:44:16]:
But I bet you Jenny can tell on a Saturday when he doesn't have clarity on what the sermon is, because then my agitation is much higher.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:44:26]:
Do you kind of avoid him?
Jenny Thompson [00:44:27]:
Then I will be in the kitchen or cleaning or something. And I will just come up with a question, and then he answers it. And then 10 minutes later, I come up with another question. He's just kind of, like, trying to focus here. Yeah. It's like, don't talk to me. But he won't say that. He will just answer it, but not answer as.
Jenny Thompson [00:44:43]:
As generously as he usually does. So I'm like, oh, yeah, okay, we're just gonna get into space mode or whatever.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:44:48]:
Yeah.
Jenny Thompson [00:44:49]:
But I will say, like, so we always had the. I mean, he'll tell the story, like our first Saturday after we got married, and I'm like, ready to get up at 8 o', clock, and it's a work day. We have to mow this yard. We have to do the laundry. We have to get all this stuff done. I'm in town this weekend, you know, all this stuff. And he's like, well, I wasn't gonna get out of bed for a while, and then I was just gonna watch sports all day. And I'm like, what? This is Saturday? And he's like, yes, it's Saturday.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:45:19]:
Exactly.
Jenny Thompson [00:45:20]:
And so we had to learn how to navigate that. And I think that's where our first fight came from. And I was kind of like. And so he figured out a way to make me not so irritated that he's not doing chores on Saturday because he's always working with this laptop out for, like, 20 years now. I am writing a blog, I am writing a book, I am working on a sermon.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:45:45]:
And so the laptop's in front of.
Jenny Thompson [00:45:47]:
Him while all the sports are on. And I'm like, well, he's being productive.
Kevin Thompson [00:45:52]:
Is he?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:45:53]:
Does your. Does his love of golf affect you?
Jenny Thompson [00:45:56]:
No, it really doesn't.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:45:56]:
Okay.
Kevin Thompson [00:45:57]:
You're like, oh, Blaine, you want to dig into this a little bit more.
Blaine Neufeld [00:46:00]:
By the way, Blaine, I think, because.
Jenny Thompson [00:46:03]:
When the kids were young, he never golfed on, like, Saturday or Sunday or anything. He was just always, always home when I was home, because I was also. And so he only took, like, Fridays off. I do like that, because that was his Friday was his day off. But I'm still working. And so it wasn't like I was missing him to help with the kids or. So when the kids were younger, when you don't. When you want both spouses there and you're like, I need a break.
Jenny Thompson [00:46:31]:
He never left during this time.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:46:32]:
He's aware that's wise. The hard part about being married to a golfer is when you have little kids. I mean, if your kids are Older, like, whatever. It's. It's when they're young, that's when it's really tricky for the non golfer in the relationship.
Kevin Thompson [00:46:47]:
I mean, that was one of the, the fortunate parts about being in the ministry, about my job. Right. We were off on Fridays. Well, the kids were in school on Fridays.
Jenny Thompson [00:46:54]:
Totally.
Kevin Thompson [00:46:55]:
So I could go play Friday morning.
Jenny Thompson [00:46:57]:
They already had daycare scheduled for Fridays when they were little. Yeah, things like that.
Blaine Neufeld [00:47:01]:
And you're very aware of making sure everyone's needs are met before you figure out, I'm going to go fill my own needs.
Kevin Thompson [00:47:08]:
Yeah, no, I think so. Yeah. And it was just, I mean, it was always a commitment of mine, of, look, we're going to live a different rhythm and pace than what it would look like in other scenarios. And so when the kids were little, one of my co workers from back in Arkansas laughs at me all the time. He's like, I just, he would keep on asking, hey, let's do a pastor retreat. Let's go away for two nights. And I just wouldn't do it.
Blaine Neufeld [00:47:34]:
Right.
Kevin Thompson [00:47:35]:
My kids are little. Your kids are little? No, our kids are little. And now he looks at the schedule that we run, where. I mean, from a travel standpoint. I mean, I travel more now than I ever have in my entire life, but my kids don't care for sure. And so that's just a thought that I had at that time. I think it's very important, what season in life are you in? And I think where it becomes dangerous is when somebody looks at the season of life that we're in now with a young adult in college, one in high school, and we have such flexibility now. And if they have little kids and the husband's looking at me going, well, I should be able to play golf as much as Kevin plays.
Kevin Thompson [00:48:11]:
No, you shouldn't.
Blaine Neufeld [00:48:12]:
No, you shouldn't.
Kevin Thompson [00:48:13]:
That's not the season that you're in exactly.
Blaine Neufeld [00:48:15]:
But as any couple, because it's relatable, what is the thing that they should do, and that probably would be learn how to communicate needs and expectations so that you're meeting them and then if there is time on the Saturday or whatever. Like, we've had many breakthroughs when I know I have completed the tasks in her brain. I don't know the things in her brain until she tells me the things in her brain. And this has made us better partners and lovers. I'm gonna say it, guys. We made better lovers because we are able to figure out and communicate. So what is it that you would recommend? No matter what your job, no matter what your dreams are. What's your advice for those kind of things?
Kevin Thompson [00:48:57]:
Yeah, I think. And I think Jenny brought this to the table. Is. Our mindset has always been whenever we have competing desires, it's always been a question of how can we do both. Let's start with the mindset that we can actually make both of these happen.
Blaine Neufeld [00:49:12]:
How?
Kevin Thompson [00:49:13]:
Instead of getting in the mindset of, all right, let's say it is a Saturday. I want to go play golf. And Jenny's like, I want to do these things. And we got little kids at the time. Instead of, oh, my goodness, those values are at odds. Only one person can get to do what they want or neither one will. Instead, it was, all right, what would it look like? All right, how about if I got up really early and I went and played and the kids were kind of sleeping, and then you did breakfast and all that, and then I came home. And then from that moment on, then you had all the way till dinner to do whatever it is that you wanted to do.
Kevin Thompson [00:49:41]:
All right, well, now we've made this day work for both of us. Instead of seeing it as competition, let's see it as collaboration. How can we make this happen for each other?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:49:50]:
I like that comment. Collaboration. And that's just like, the essence of submitting to each other, which is what we're called to do.
Blaine Neufeld [00:49:56]:
Yeah. And we. We want the joy for each other. I want you to be happy. I want me to be happy. Right. So what you're saying, Kevin, is when she's mad, you don't double down and just continue to golf? Is that. Well, that's something you should.
Kevin Thompson [00:50:08]:
I. Yeah. There are certain pastors here at Bayside who might follow that advice.
Blaine Neufeld [00:50:14]:
One question, and maybe we can end in this area, but. But I would love to know you've kind of said some things, and Jenny, start thinking about this for Kevin. But we love to raise the bar on marriages. We love to aspire to be power couples, super couples for Jesus in our mission. Kevin, talk about Jenny. What are her superpowers? What makes you guys this dream team?
Kevin Thompson [00:50:38]:
Well, yeah, she does. I mean, clearly. And it is this idea of this very humble, consistent, sacrificial love that flows into everything that she does with a sense of service to others, the clients that she has. It's not about making money. It's about man, how can I help their business to the best of my ability, knowing that if I do that, I'll be fine. I'll be taken care of. Where her heart really lies. More than anything is she loves to sit in a living room with other people, women specifically, and see their heart come alive for Jesus.
Kevin Thompson [00:51:12]:
And so, I mean, she respects what I do, no question. But why do you not see Jenny on stage? Because in all honesty, Jenny probably thinks as good as that is, it's not that meaningful. What's meaningful is to rub shoulders with each other. And that's where she would rather spend her time, where meaningful ministry is happening instead of me just gabbing on stage in some way. And so I think the key to our relationship, I deal with this all the time. Where on one hand I wonder, is marriage just that easy? Just do what I say, right? That's why I write the books. But then on the other hand, I think I shouldn't write anything because Jenny is just that easy to be married to. That's what really makes it.
Blaine Neufeld [00:51:53]:
But you have great examples of how to be married.
Kevin Thompson [00:51:55]:
So you can write about it. Tell us. That's true. That's true.
Blaine Neufeld [00:51:58]:
What about you, Jenny?
Jenny Thompson [00:51:59]:
Well, I mean, he talks about me being in small group, but I just was not called to. To be on stage or be in the spotlight. That is not what. Where I feel my comfort and not where I feel I am called to. And he obviously is because his communication and being able to narrow down complex ideas into simple pieces of understandable language that people can apply practically and every day. So all of that wisdom and him being able to communicate it so well is such a gift to. And I probably just look at. Well, he's got that covered.
Jenny Thompson [00:52:37]:
I don't think he needs me coming in. I will just bring, I will bring it all down.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:52:41]:
No, you make him. You make him great. There's always a great woman behind a great man.
Jenny Thompson [00:52:47]:
Yeah, but me on stage would bring it down because his communication's so fine tuned and dialed in. And then he has just, always just treated me as though I was royalty. Even though I would always like, even early on in our marriage, I was like, don't compliment me. I don't like it. Keep it to yourself. So now I have to beg for compliments because I told him he trained.
Kevin Thompson [00:53:14]:
Him very well trained, he listens well.
Jenny Thompson [00:53:18]:
But no, he has just always respected me so much, which I value a whole lot. I want to make sure my voice is heard and that you see me as equal. And he has always done that. If not putting me above and for a pastor on stage and all the words that you say and not every word is perfect. He has never, ever made me feel like told a story or Made me come across as less than. In fact, when people meet me, they're like, oh, you're that Jenny. And I'm like, well, not really. He kind of makes me better than.
Jenny Thompson [00:53:51]:
Aw, that's so sweet. And a lot of pastors, wives especially, can't say that. And so I really. It means a lot to me that he will. He always gives me that respect wherever he goes. That's great.
Blaine Neufeld [00:54:06]:
I love it. You guys inspire us. We were talking about this the other day, but it's like you get you. You are you no matter what stage, what. It's not a performance. It's just you guys are you, and you've embraced what God has designed you to do in the best way. You're fantastic partners, and I love it. So we want to be more like you in our own ways.
Blaine Neufeld [00:54:28]:
Right. And you have, I would say.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:54:30]:
Is there anything else you want to share about your book?
Kevin Thompson [00:54:32]:
It is a thing. So. All right, so here's. Here's what I want.
Jenny Thompson [00:54:37]:
The best gift you can give Kevin.
Kevin Thompson [00:54:38]:
For his birthday is to buy my book.
Blaine Neufeld [00:54:40]:
Is buy his book.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:54:41]:
So here you go, guys.
Kevin Thompson [00:54:42]:
Adrienne, here's the thing. So I dedicate every book to Jenny, right? With the idea that one day I will write something that will make her cry. So I want to read through a few books, please. The dedications. Just this brief dedications. And I want you to tell me, Adrienne and Belain, what you think. So this is U turn. Many people don't know about this.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:55:03]:
Okay. Hoping people. Hoping Jenny cries.
Kevin Thompson [00:55:05]:
Got it.
Jenny Thompson [00:55:06]:
Okay.
Kevin Thompson [00:55:07]:
So I dedicated a U turn to actually four women. The first was to. The first one to read to me, my mom. The two who taught me how to write. Those were my teachers in school. And then finally to the one for whom no words adequately describe my love. Jenny. Jenny, that was your turn.
Kevin Thompson [00:55:26]:
She said, thank you. Okay, so friends, partners, and lovers, here we go. To Jenny, this book is a feeble attempt to help others experience what you have given me. Okay, that didn't work. To happily, her dad had just died, so I dedicate it in his memory. And to the memory of her mom, the honor of her mom, who faithfully modeled these commitments to one another. And to Jenny, whom I happily call my own, she goes, oh, that's kind. Thank you for dedicating that to my guy.
Kevin Thompson [00:55:56]:
All right, so, fearless families. To Jenny, you woo me beyond where I'm comfortable and into a far greater adventure.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:56:06]:
Oh, I like that one. And she said, thank you.
Kevin Thompson [00:56:11]:
So stay in your lane. Great book for Jenny. I don't know Anyone who worries less, loves more and gets things done better than you. It's an honor that you are in the what's mine column. Aw. She said thank you. So now we have the dedication of love Styles.
Jenny Thompson [00:56:31]:
He brings these to me, like, right after work.
Blaine Neufeld [00:56:34]:
You gotta read the room, Kev.
Jenny Thompson [00:56:35]:
I have to be in a mindset.
Kevin Thompson [00:56:37]:
To have you read.
Blaine Neufeld [00:56:38]:
I've been.
Kevin Thompson [00:56:39]:
Have you read the dedication?
Jenny Thompson [00:56:40]:
I haven't to love stuff.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:56:41]:
Here we go.
Kevin Thompson [00:56:41]:
But you read the book.
Jenny Thompson [00:56:43]:
I read it before it was put into book.
Kevin Thompson [00:56:45]:
Okay.
Blaine Neufeld [00:56:45]:
Yes. I love that.
Kevin Thompson [00:56:46]:
It's available on Amazon.
Blaine Neufeld [00:56:47]:
I love that word, by the way.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:56:48]:
Will Jenny cry tonight? Today?
Kevin Thompson [00:56:50]:
No. So love stops. It's about attachment, right? To Jenny. God keeps pouring his love through you. And that love keeps healing me. Oh, my gosh.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:57:01]:
One single tear.
Kevin Thompson [00:57:03]:
Very sweet.
Blaine Neufeld [00:57:03]:
We got a very sweet. That is better than. Thank you.
Jenny Thompson [00:57:07]:
Now, Jenny, I, I, I don't cry very often and I have to be. It has to be a whole emotional.
Kevin Thompson [00:57:13]:
Setting, which, by the way, I'm very grateful for.
Blaine Neufeld [00:57:15]:
Yes.
Kevin Thompson [00:57:16]:
Can you imagine me.
Blaine Neufeld [00:57:17]:
Yes.
Kevin Thompson [00:57:18]:
Can you imagine me with a highly volatile, emotional wife? Like that would be Kevin.
Jenny Thompson [00:57:24]:
And I have no heart, remember?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:57:26]:
Yeah.
Kevin Thompson [00:57:26]:
Heartless head heart.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:57:28]:
Kevin Hartless.
Blaine Neufeld [00:57:29]:
Kevin Hartless. That's the new bar. Kevin Hartless. That is funny.
Kevin Thompson [00:57:35]:
Hey, we love you guys. We're grateful. Grateful for both of you.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:57:38]:
Same to you guys.
Kevin Thompson [00:57:39]:
And thank you, Jenny.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:57:40]:
Yes, thank you, Jenny, for everything you.
Kevin Thompson [00:57:42]:
Do change the odds. We'll see you next year.
Adrienne Neufeld [00:57:46]:
We will.
Blaine Neufeld [00:57:48]:
Yeah, we'll see you next year, Jenny.
Jenny Thompson [00:57:49]:
I bring so much.
Blaine Neufeld [00:57:50]:
You do bring so much. And we have so much to learn. And when we learn and, and put those things into practice, babe, what happens? What happens to that?
Adrienne Neufeld [00:57:58]:
You know what, Jenny? We change the odds in our marriage.
Blaine Neufeld [00:58:02]:
Totally land that. But we love you guys.
Kevin Thompson [00:58:04]:
But we'll see you next time.
Blaine Neufeld [00:58:05]:
Next time.