Our Trip to Denver day 1, 2

Wow what a trip.. We left on Sunday at about 7:30 in the morning and headed to Denver. Todd's work sent about 18 guys down to Denver to a Fireman Training and their families were invited to go. I had never been to Denver so what a great opportunity not only to see Denver but to also get to spend some much needed time with Todd. The company Todd works for paid for everything except our gas to get there which was way awesome. We decided to go down through Utah on the way down and then come back through Wyoming on the way home. For the most part the trip down was pretty good we had rain most of the way but it wasnt too bad. It was a very boring drive from about the time you get off the freeway at Spanish Fork till you get to Rifle Colorado. I was excited to see what Grand Junction looked like but lets be honest I was not impressed at all. Once we got to Rifle it was BEAUTIFUL.. It was little ski towns from there almost all the way to Denver. We also got to go through alot of tunnels on our way there. I have no idea why I am so fascinated with tunnels but I am. And the one below was very cool. I bet it was almost a mile long.

 We got to Denver almost two hours before everyone else got there so we got checked into our hotel and decided to venture downtown. It was a HUGE eye opener. It was alot different that little IDAHO!! We parked the car and walked around we walked over to Coors Field which is where the Colorado Rockies play. It was so pretty in Denver all their Flowers and Trees were bloomed.

 On Monday Todd had to go to his training so I was all on my own so I decided to drive out the the Denver Colorado Temple. It took me forever to get there cause technically it isnt in Denver its in Centennial which is 35 miles SW of Denver. It is a very Beautiful Temple. I then went all the way across to the other side of Denver to The RED ROCK AMPHITHEATER. I had seen the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform here on TV and I had always wanted to go there, It was breathtaking. At the top of all the seating you can look out and see all of Denver and the surrounding areas. I couldn't get a very good picture because it was raining and the haze was settleing in. Later that night we went out to Famous Daves and ate. Todd's work bought us all dinner there was about 40 of us. It was alot of fun.

Our house is starting to feel like a HOME!!

Also while Todd was home we started to paint our home. We went into Burley on Monday to get new tires for our trip to Colorado and after we got tires Todd said lets go to Ace and get the paint you want. I was so excited I have wanted to start painting ever since we moved in But I knew we had to wait till we had OFFICIALLY signed the papers well that happened in the middle of February. So we got the red that I wanted to paint a wall in my living room, my front door and my bathroom. So when we got home from Burley we went to work and we got the living room wall done and the front door. I LOVE IT!!! It is amazing what a little paint can do to a home. It was a lot of fun to get to do this with Todd. I thought for sure he would not want to help but he jumped right in. I love my Husband so much and am so grateful for everything he does so for me. This first picture is how it was before we started BORING WALL!!!

 Here we are in the process Todd had no idea I was taking pictures ha ha:)

 And the finished Project. I LOVE IT!! Every time I walk back into this room I just say wow because it turned out so freak 'in good. I can not wait to do the bathroom...

Yard work is done!!!

Todd was home this last weekend and I knew it was suppose to be good weather so I really wanted to get all our yard work done. So Saturday morning we headed out and we got it all finished. I am so happy to have it all done now I can concentrate in planting flowers and a garden and getting our grass green again. We got all the pine needles under the pine trees cleaned up. I could not believe how many were under there and all the owl crap it was disgusting. Todd also leveled out the two flower beds in the front of the house where the bushes use to be. It looks so different and so good now I love it. On Thursday when I was packing up my car to head to twin I noticed that I had flowers coming up. I didn't even know there were any flowers. So on Saturday I decided to make a little flower bed. I had tulips coming up in that one. And then after Todd got the flowers beds out front all leveled out we had some daffodils start coming up. I am so excited for these little signs of spring..

Flying Kites

On Wednesday while I was babysitting the girls my mom and I took Madison out to fly a kite. Madison was not sure of it at first but then she realized that it couldn't hurt her and she was having so much fun with it. She especially loved the tail on the end. We also took them down to the grade school to play on the toys. I did this with Madison last year and she just loves the slide. I forgot my camera when we went down to the school.. I am just grateful that I get to watch these two cute girls. They remind me every time I watch them just how sweet little kids are and how important our families are.

The Power of the Relief Society

“Relief Society has always been a strength to the Church,” says Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “It has always helped provide what was needed in each stage of the Church’s development. Today its contribution becomes more poignant because of the difficult times in which we live. It’s not a program per se. It is the gospel—the gospel in action in the lives of our remarkable women. In difficult times we realize it offers its members, and by extension the whole Church, just what we need to help us right now.”

“My dear sisters, we believe in you,” says Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “We believe in and are counting on your goodness and your strength, your propensity for virtue and valor, your kindness and courage, your strength and resilience. We believe in your mission as women of God. We realize that you are the emotional (and sometimes spiritual) glue that holds families and often ward families together. We believe that the Church simply will not accomplish what it must without your faith and faithfulness, your innate tendency to put the well-being of others ahead of your own, and your spiritual strength and tenacity. And we believe that God’s plan is for you to become queens and to receive the highest blessings any woman can receive in time or eternity. . . . Never lose your precious identity by doing anything that would jeopardize the promised eternal future your Heavenly Father has provided for you.”
Elder Ballard then says that a woman who knows her identity as a daughter of God can have great influence. He says, “Every sister who stands for truth and righteousness diminishes the influence of evil. Every sister who strengthens and protects her family is doing the work of God. Every sister who lives as a woman of God becomes a beacon for others to follow and plants seeds of righteous influence that will be harvested for decades to come. Every sister who makes and keeps sacred covenants becomes an instrument in the hands of God.”

The purpose of Relief Society as established by the Lord is to prepare women for the blessings of eternal life by helping them:

1. Increase faith and personal righteousness.
2. Strengthen families and homes.
3. Seek out and help those in need.

As each sister in the Church does her part to ensure that the purposes of Relief Society are fulfilled, angels will be our associates and we will be participants in amazing miracles.

If our membership in Relief Society is so important, we need to know what sets us apart from every other woman’s group or organization. Everything we do in Relief Society matters because Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, visited Joseph Smith and, through him, the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth. Relief Society is part of that restoration. The Prophet Joseph Smith defined the purpose of the Relief Society and instructed the sisters in their purpose, just as he taught priesthood leaders in Kirtland and Nauvoo their priesthood purpose and work. Ours is an organization that continues to be led today by prophets, seers, and revelatots.

I just love the Relief Society orginization. How lucky are we all to be able to be a part of this amazing gift our Father in Heaven has sent here to this earth for us. I miss Relief Society so much the spirit that is felt every Sunday during the lessons in beyond words; The sisterhood that is formed is indescribable. I am grateful for my calling as a Primary Teacher but I do miss Relief Society.

Prayer..

I have wanted to start posting every week something Spiritual for the longest time. But with us moving I have not had Internet so I have not been able to do this. But this is my goal now that we have the Internet. Evey week I am going to try and do this.

In the November 2011 Ensign Elder J. Devn Cornish Of the Seventy talked about "THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER." He begins his talk by saying:

God our Father is not a feeling or an idea or a force. He is a holy person who, as the scriptures teach, has a face and hands and a glorious immortal body. He is real, He knows each of us individually, and He loves us, every one. He wants to bless us.

In the Bible Dictionary it reads: “Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them”.

He goes on to say, " When we truly believe that God rules His kingdom and that He has all power and all glory, we are recognizing that He really is in charge, that He loves us with a perfect love, and that He wants us to be happy. I have found that one of the secrets to a joyful life is to recognize that doing things the Lord’s way will make me happier than doing things my way.

There is a risk that a person may not feel good enough to pray. This idea comes from that evil spirit who is the one who teaches us not to pray (see 2 Nephi 32:8). It is as tragic to think we are too sinful to pray. We must not imagine that any kind of prayer, no matter how sincere, will be very effective if all we do is to say the prayer. We must not only say our prayers; we must also live them. The Lord is much more pleased with the person who prays and then goes to work than with the person who only prays. Much like medicine, prayer works only when we use it as directed.When I say that prayer is a sweet privilege, it is not just because I am grateful to be able to talk to Heavenly Father and to feel His Spirit when I pray. It is also because He actually answers and speaks to us.

Sometimes we seem to get no answer to our sincere and striving prayers. It takes faith to remember that the Lord answers in His time and in His way so as to best bless us. Or, on further reflection, we will often realize that we already know full well what we should do.

He concludes by saying: "I cherish the counsel of our beloved prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, who said: “To those within the sound of my voice who are struggling with challenges and difficulties large and small, prayer is the provider of spiritual strength; it is the passport to peace. Prayer is the means by which we approach our Father in Heaven, who loves us. Speak to Him in prayer and then listen for the answer. Miracles are wrought through prayer".

I know there have been more times than not in my life that I have taken prayer for granite. There have been numerous nights when all I want to do is crawl in my bed and go to sleep and I don't want to take the time to get down on my knees and talk to my Father in Heaven. But these are the times that I need to talk to him more than ever. I need to make the time in my life to communicate with my Heavenly Father. Prayer is such a powerful tool that we have been blessed with. I am so grateful that I have the privilege of being able to talk to our Father in Heaven whenever I want to and I am thankful for the countless times that he has been there and heard the pleadings of my heart and answered my prayers and comforted me when I have needed him. I wish that I could say that I am strong in saying my prayers every morning and night but I cant but I know I need to become better and make it a priority to talk to my Father in Heaven every morning and night. 

MAJOR YARD WORK!!!!

With all the warm weather that we have been having lately I have been taking full advantage of it and have been outside nonstop trying to get our yard to look somewhat presentable. I can not believe how much work it is going to take. But I honestly feel like I have made a small dent. There is so much that I am wanting to do with the yard and I have to remind myself that it cant all be done right now. We had five big bushes right outside our front door and I knew that they were one of the first things that had to go. So Todd and I chopped most of them down to as far as we could get them and then this last Saturday my Dad, Mom and Uncle Charlie came over and we were able to pull them out with my dads truck I am so grateful to have them gone.

Also on Saturday I wanted to get these pine trees tuned up.. You surely could tell that no one had lived in this house last summer this yard was very neglected. So my dad and uncle charlie brought over the chain saw and away we went grooming up the pine trees. I honestly think they look 100 times better. I am now trying to get the 3 inches of pines needles removed from under these trees and the 30+ years of owl crap lol... I also raked all of my yard to try and get as much of the old grass, pine cones and everything else that has accumulated over the years.

I have also been attempting the flower beds they were horrible. Right out off of our back door there is a flower bed that had two really big shrubs and once again I am not a fan on shrubs. And every time I walk past there or I take Abbey out to go potty I can hear a mice over there so I knew these shrubs just had to go. It has been a lot of work so far on just the few things that I have done. But I love working in the yard and being outside.