General Conference

I think everyone loves general conference. We have the privilege of being spiritually uplifted and edified and instructed for two whole days. One talk today that kept ringing in my mind was that of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. His testimony of the Book of Mormon affected me deeply and seemed to reach out to the hearts of many other listeners today. I could feel the power of it coming right out of the speakers. So I would like to add the quote from his talk that I felt was simple yet brilliant, peaceful.. yet overwhelmingly powerful. This is what he said of the Book of Mormon: (This is only a small fraction of what he said today)

Quote- Jeffrey R. Holland

"For 179 years this book has been examined and attacked, denied and deconstructed, targeted and torn apart like perhaps no other book in modern religious history, perhaps like no other book in any religious history and still IT STANDS!! Failed theories about its origins have been born, parroted and DIED. From Ethan Smith to Soloman Spalding to deranged, paranoid, to cunning genius. None of these, frankly pathetic answers for this book has ever withstood examination because there is no other answer. Than the one Joseph gave as its young, unlearned translator........
Now.... I did not sail with the brother of Jared in crossing an ocean and settling in a new world. I did not hear King Benjamin speak his angelically delivered sermon. I did not proselyte with Alma and Amulek nor witness the fiery death of innocent believers. I was not among the Nephite crowd who touched the wounds of the Resurrected Lord, nor did I weep with Mormon and Moroni over the destruction of an entire civilization. But my testimony of this record and the peace it brings to the human heart is as binding and unequivocal as was theirs. Like them, I give my name unto the world, to witness to the world that that which I have seen and like them I LIE NOT! God bearing witness of it. I ask that my testimony of the Book of Mormon and all that it implies given today under my oath and my office be recorded by men on earth and angels in heaven....." end of quote

One Dream

This is the newest Sarah McLachlan song rumored to be a theme for 2010 Vancouver Canada Olympics. My sister showed me it today! We love Sarah!

Primary temple service Day

We had a super fun day on Saturday doing service work with our ward primary at the temple. The girls had fun making the temple lights and signs nice and clean with thier little spray bottles. There was a much bigger turn out than we thought there'd be. I thought our president was crazy for thinking that any families were actually going to make the drive out on a Saturday morning at 7 am but I was pleasantly suprised. There were almost 50 kids in total.

Hard at work... I dont' know why Dan and Jesse posed with the kids at this particular moment so we just took a picture anyway.

Poor poor little Maysa got attacked by fire ants while working in the temple trees with Dan. He said she started dancing and crying for dad. He quickly got to her but not quick enough to stop a few ants from stinging clear up her ankles. She has been awful itchy. I had a feeling that I should put socks on with her sandals that morning but forgot and raced out the door as we were running late. In Arizona it is a bad idea to ever walk through outdoor landscaping or desert without shoes and socks. A little pair of sandals can be dangerous.

Went to Imax "Under the Sea" after the activity. I love IMAX and I love 3d, its so much fun. I actually got a little scared when the sea snakes were reaching out to us, I had to take off my glasses. The kids love it, although they had to remove their glasses a few times too...

Rainforest cafe is always fun, I just love watching the kids get freaked out, especially when the "storm" comes in.

How many times have our kids been on a carosel and they still beg to go every time we pass one. How can a parent resist. Sierra looked so joyous that I had to take her picture. My camera sucks....
A day trip to Phoenix is always so much fun. But its nice to come home to our quiet little town at the end of the day.

Our new house... just new to us...

Well we are finally in our new foreclosure house. It is the biggest house we've ever bought and the cheapest mortgage we've ever had. You really can't tell from this picture but the wall is a light green contrasting with the ocean blue. (We thought it would turn out waaaaaaay lighter but after the painters were done, we couldn't believe how blistering blue it was.) However I am getting use to it and I really do love it. No decorations or artwork yet. Dan is insisting we build a better food storage before the frills...... :( Yes I know he is smart. Dang it

We are so happy to be living in this neighborhood and close to alot of real good friends. How blessed we are to be in the situation we are in. We spent a good week cleaning out our rental house and the owner is going to give us our full damage deposit back so we are absolutely thrilled about that. All the hard work has paid off. Next project.... the yard...don't even ask- it is soooo bad. This is the children's loft, which is quite big and just as I thought, they hardly ever play there.


This is our main living room- which is the one room in our house that will always stay clean. A music room as well. A nice airy room with tall ceilings that willbe perfect for the children to practice their piano and violin.

Now I would post some more pictures but all the other rooms are way too messy and I am too exhausted to do any more cleaning today.

We really love the kalahari design that our house is because on the main floor there is 2 offices, a large kitchen and family room and a nice living room. Dan and I can each have our own hobby room/office we can keep locked up away from children's fingerprints and sneaky intentions! Yes! Soon I will post a before and after picture of our yard because it is something else! Can't wait to get started on it once the cooler weather sets in.

On a last note, I am mortified that I found a scorpian in our laundry room. If I find even just one more then I will be on the phone with our pest control exterminators. That was a real downer, the first one I've ever seen in Arizona..... it got squashed.