Derek's temple day, and first day of snow on the ground in the valley

Derek was kind enough to pose for me.  He got up very early this morning and went to the temple. We went to the church at 5:15 am!  What a wonderful blessing to live so close to a temple and to have leaders willing to give up their sleep to go with the youth.  I am so proud of him to give up his Saturday sleeping in time not for something "better", but for something "BEST"!  I love you son!

Derek's Sacrament Meeting Talk

Good morning brothers and sisters today I have been asked to talk about how to be spiritually self-reliant. What does it mean to be spiritually self-reliant?  Well, when we are self-reliant, we use the blessings and abilities God has given us to care for ourselves and our families and to find solutions to our own problems. As we become self-reliant, we are also better able to serve and care for others. The Lord wants us to become both spiritually and temporally self-reliant.

My talk is based on Elder Bednar’s general conference address from October 2012.

He says, “Seeking for and obtaining a testimony of spiritual truth requires asking, seeking, and knocking  with a sincere heart, real intent, and faith in the Savior. Fundamental components of a testimony are knowing that Heavenly Father lives and loves us, that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that the fullness of the gospel has been restored to the earth in these latter days.

True conversion brings a change in one’s beliefs, heart, and life to accept and conform to the will of God and includes a conscious commitment to become a disciple of Christ.

Samuel the Lamanite identified five basic elements in becoming converted unto the Lord: (1) believing in the teachings and prophecies of the holy prophets as they are recorded in the scriptures, (2) exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, (3) repenting, (4) experiencing a mighty change of heart, and (5) becoming “firm and steadfast in the faith.” This is the pattern that leads to conversion.

Testimony alone is not and will not be enough to protect us in the latter-day storm of darkness and evil in which we are living. Testimony is important and necessary but not sufficient to provide the spiritual strength and protection we need. Some members of the Church with testimonies have wavered and fallen away. Their spiritual knowledge and commitment did not measure up to the challenges they faced.

The Lamanites that the sons of Mosiah taught never did fall away. They surrendered “the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more.” To set aside cherished “weapons of rebellion” such as selfishness, pride, and disobedience requires more than merely believing and knowing. Conviction, humility, and repentance, precede the abandonment of our weapons of rebellion. Do you and I still possess weapons of rebellion that keep us from becoming converted unto the Lord? If so, then we need to repent now.

A testimony is spiritual knowledge of truth obtained by the power of the Holy Ghost. Continuing conversion is constant devotion to the revealed truth we have received—with a heart that is willing and for righteous reasons. Knowing that the gospel is true is the essence of a testimony. Consistently being true to the gospel is the essence of conversion. We should know the gospel is true and be true to the gospel.”

I am grateful for Elder Bednar and his words of wisdom. I am grateful I can strengthen my testimony by: going to seminary, going to church, reading the scriptures, and many other things. I know the gospel does not make my life easy but gives me tools on how to get through tough times. I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN.

I sure do love Derek, I loved having the opportunity to help him prepare for this talk.  Thank you for sharing part of your precious testimony with me, it helps to strengthen my testimony.  I am proud of you and I love you Derek!

More remodeling, hoping to finish soon

The start of the second phase of the original remodel back 2 years ago.  Yay!  This is the master bedroom.  I painted a couple of different colors to see which we should go with.  Pale Honey won. In later pictures you will see the end result.  I hope the pictures do it justice.  I know that yellow is a very personal color and some love it and some hate it.  I would not have gone with this color years ago but it has come to mean something to me in later years. 

Sunkissed yellow

 yellow kissed yellow

Pale Honey

Honey Moth

Sunkissed yellow and pale honey

This is Pale Honey with the Tiffany Lamp in front of it.  As with what usually happens with pictures and real life, this picture does not look as good as it does in real life, but it is close of course.

Here are my BASEBOARDS!  At least some.  And this is pale honey.  I didn't realize that the picture turned out a little fuzzy , wish it was sharper.  I will also take pictures of when the carpet gets laid and the furniture gets put back.  This is November 10, 2014.

Here is the front entry way, again, BASEBOARDS, I LOVE YOU!  Now, I can't wait til the crown molding comes in!!!! Oh, please, oh please, oh please . . .

I can't wait until the carpet is laid.  It is Monday night.  We just have to wait til Wednesday morning.  We are so anxious for it.  For one, our old carpet was WAY past it's prime, about 23 years old, ugh.  And two we have no place to sit.  So it will be a big wahoo when it comes in!

Here it is next to the brick and the big south windows. (smile)

Woa, this is Derek's room, hmm, it didn't look like this on my phone.  Well, it is a bright and cheery blue.  We need that and I love it!  He wanted to have the Yankees colors in his room.

Just another view of the bright and cheery Yankees color for my bright and cheery son!

Just the other side of Derek's room.  More smiles.  Baseboards!

A view of his open closet.

Kitchen view

Better view with the kitchen and the counter top

Living room view without the furniture.

Another view of the living room.

A view with the brick.

View of the stairs

The new door

In my room.  And, yes there are 2 different draperies in here.  The one on the far left is the one that will stay in my room and the one on the right goes back in the dining room.  I LOVE it with the yellow paint.  Hannah said it looks very "happy", just what I need.  It is interesting to look at the difference in lighting in the color of the wall in the photo above and below.  They are both in the same room.  I think the one on the top is the best of what it looks like in real life.

Just another view over by the door.  I think it looks better in real life.

In Derek's happy room

Just another view of Derek's room.
So glad this is done.  Wow.  It is wonderful!

So this is with my bed in the room.

With the furniture, wow, not good focus! I'm going to add decorations soon.

Hmm, not sure which is better for focus.

Now comes pictures with decorations.

This is on the tallest dresser.  I was going for candle holders (with of course candles but I bought these instead and put little electric tea candles in the bottom).  I have 30 days to decide if I want to keep them.  I think they are quite pretty though.

This is on the shorter dresser and I think it is stunning!  I am really trying to create a . . . hmm not quite sure of the correct word, but place of peace and beauty in my room.  Hope to do that over time.

This one I love as well.  It is hard to see it properly in a photo.  I can put different items in it as I want depending on the season.  This is potpourri and smells fantastic.  It is on the lower dresser, but I'm not sure if it should go on the lower or the taller dresser.  You will see later with the photos coming up from a more distant view.

Not great focus again!

I am not sure of the taller dresser and the decorations . . . I'm also not sure of my phone camera.  I think I need to go back to using my regular camera that takes better pictures.  It is just so easy to send the pictures to myself by email.

Moving the bowl up to the taller dresser.

Again, up on the taller dresser.

Moving the clock to the lower dresser.

Showing the clock on the lower dresser and the bowl up on the taller dresser