General Conference--October 2011

The first weekend in October was the General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Twice a year, everyone has the opportunity to hear the living prophet, apostles, and other general authorities (Primary, Sunday School, Young Men/Women, etc...) speak to us.  It is a wonderful weekend and I always feel so happy long afterwards!

Here are some of the highlights I found listening to the church leaders:

~Great power can come from memorizing scriptures.
Elder Richard G. Scott

~Seek for wisdom instead of for power.
Sister Barbara Thompson

~Do the right thing, at the right time, without delay.
Elder Jose L. Alonso

~You are never far from the side of your Heavenly Father.
Elder Boyd K. Packer

~Jesus uses a very different scale to measure the worth of a soul.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

~Motherhood is not a hobby--it's a calling.
Elder Neil A. Anderson

~We are all given the same amount of time to use each day.
Elder Ian S. Arden

~It is better to look UP!
~God wants us to be happy.
Elder Carl B. Book

~Sometimes we do not recieve an answer to prayer because the Lord knows we are not ready--but we will recieve an answer here a little, and there a little.
~We pray for patience, and want it right now!
~Everyone of us is more dear to the Lord than we can possibly understand.
Elder Robert D. Hales

~The most important thing a father can do to raise his daughters is to love his wife.
Sister Elaine S. Dalton

~Teach people, not lessons.
Elder Matthew O. Richardson

~It is never too hard or too late to make correct choices.
Elder Randall K. Bennett

~Heavenly Father loves us so much that the things that are important to you becomes important to Him--because He loves us.
Elder J. Devn Cornish

~Heavenly Father is mindful of our challenges and loves each of us individually.
President Thomas S. Monson

We Are Alive...I Promise

We are still alive!!!  Since I have run out of "free-space" and haven't yet decided to buy more, I can't upload pictures.  I've noticed I like writing when there are cute pictures to go with it.  Of course, since I haven't yet learned how to get pictures off my new camera, I shouldn't blame it all on memory space!!!

I can't believe it's almost Easter!!!  March seems like a total blur.  We found out I was pregnant and then the morning sickness arrive with a vengence.  So, life here has mostly been about survival.  We did manage a day-trip to the Jacksonville Zoo with Grams.  When Grams and Grandpa went on a long canoeing weekend, we stayed at their house and took care of the dogs.  The kids and I went to Silver Springs and had a great time.  While I was gone, Spencer burned down the kitchen.  So...we ate out alot in April.

 Morning sickness + no appliances = eating out!!!

We've been gone every weekend in April.  The first weekend, we headed to Jacksonville (where their is a stove, microwave, and toaster oven).  We had a great time fishing and going to the County Fair.  Mom entered the quilt I made her (10 years in the making!) and it won first place in it's catagory!!!!  I am now the proud owner of a blue ribbon and prize money (3 whole dollars!!!).  It was really neat to see the quilt on display.  It was also cool to hear peoples comments as they discovered the handprints along the side.

The second weekend in April, we headed down to Tampa for Luke's baptism.  It was SO much fun to see all our olds friends and hang out at the beach with Katie.

Then...the kids and I headed up to Spartanburg and took over the Thomas household for a week.  Jeanne was in New York and Kelly was in Florida and I got to be the single mom to 7 kids!!!  Suprisingly, we all survived!!!

This weekend, we are heading to Atlanta to take the kids throught the LDS Temple Open-House.  Then we will continue up to Spartanburg, spend Easter there, Spencer will work at Xytel on Monday, and then we'll head home Monday night.

So...as you can see, I haven't found much time to sit at a computer and type!

I'm crossing my fingers that the morning sickness ends soon and that maybe I can find time (closer together than 2 months) to keep everyone updated on our happenings!!!

We love you and miss you all!

Happy President's Day!!!

This has been a WONDERFUL weekend!!!

On Saturday, Spencer and Makenzie participated in the annual Bridge Run.  A 5K (3.1 mile) run over the big bridge here in Brunswick, GA.  Makenzie rode on Spencer's shoulders up the bridge, but ran down.  I stayed at the bottom with Hailey and Isaiah.  It was so cool to watch Spencer and Makenzie leave with the crowd, and even cooler to watch them running across the finish line.

Sunday, we massaged Makenzie's legs and gave her lots of Motrin!!!

Monday, Spencer had the day off work.  Hooray.  Luckily, a co-worker mentioned in passing that Pinova took the day off because Spencer was planning on heading into work as normal!  We both went to the gym first (it's been 3 weeks for me...so I'll need massaging and Motrin tonight!!!).  Then we all headed to the beach.  The weather was BEAUTIFUL.  The water was COLD!!!  Lots of our new friends from church came and all the kids ran in and out of the waves and built lots of sand castles and dug lots of holes.  It was so nice to just sit, relax, and enjoy the beach.  I love the sea breeze and the sound of the waves.  SO MUCH FUN!!!!

So...Happy President's Day to Everyone!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone.

Heavenly Father loves me and sent me sunny skies for Valentine's Day!  The kids and I took a walk around the apartment complex, climbed on and around the little rocks in the "creek", and then had a picnick outside.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day!

Doctors...Doctors...Everywhere...

Man...I hate finding new doctors.  To me, it is one of the most tedious parts of moving.  Today had been doctor-finding day.  The earliest appointment they have for the kids is in April...and the practice doesn't allow 3 children to been seen in the same day...so that means we get to go 2 different days.  I was a little frustrated, until I realized that after this trip...by kids never need wellness exams at the same time.

Since I was doing stuff...I finally contacted the Early Intervention program here in GA and they've put me "in the system" to get an initial interview.  That person should be able to help me with re-applying for Medicaide, so I will continue to ignore that for a little while longer.

Now that I've actually dealt with a federal medical system (thanks to Isaiah and Medicaide), the idea of the federal government running the entire system TERRIFIES ME!!!!!  Isaiah has Medicaide...a federal program...and yet when I move to a new state within the federation I have to REAPPLY!!!!!  I bet if I didn't, we could remove personal, paperwork, and decrease the national debt!!!!

Ahhh...it felt good to vent.  I hope everyone else is having a smooth week.

6 Years???!!!

Today is Makenzie's 6th Birthday.  WOW!!!

We are having a princess party and have invited all the girls from church and a girl we met at library storytime.

I'd love to post pictures, but I've run out of free space on the blog.  I'm currently debating deleting old posts or spending money and buying storage.  So...no pictures for awhile.  But I may start just adding word-only entries even though they are not as much fun.

Stake Temple Trip

We are now back in the Orland Temple District.  This is the first temple I ever saw, the first temple I ever entered, and the temple where Spencer and I were sealed for time and all eternity.

Saturday was the Stake Temple Trip...and since the temple is now 4 hours away, they rented a bus.  So...Spencer watched the kids while I spent the entire day at the temple.  WOW!!!!

I totally needed this kind of day.  I felt happy and peaceful all day long.  I received some very comforting answers.  It was simply amazing!

In the temple, I saw this quote and just had to copy it down:

I promise you that all who faithfully attend to Temple Work will be blessed beyond measure.  Your families will draw closer to the Lord, unseen angels will watch over your loved ones when satanic forces tempt them, the veil will be thin, and great spiritual experiences will distill upon this people.

--Vaughn J. Featherstone