Ebelskivers and Backseat snuggles

General Conference mixed with ebelskivers, sink bathes, and plenty of snuggles makes for a great weekend. And we topped it off on Sunday night by driving to the Bountiful Temple.  We sat in the back of the car with the back door open for a gorgeous view of the temple, cozied up in lots of blankets and sipped on hot cocoa while we watched clips from the Mormon Channel app on Adam's iPad. That last little family portrait (minus Ava, she was asleep in her carseat) made Adam and me laugh so hard when we first saw it! And still does. ;)

you are loved beyond measure

Yesterday I spent a little time painting that sweet message on a wood plaque for my Ava girl, to go on her bedroom wall. I really like its variations and imperfections. And I hope she and my son Brooks both know that I love and adore every bit of them, imperfections and all.

Like that love for my children, today I have felt the love of my Heavenly Father, even with my many imperfections.

Snuggling with Adam and Ava, while Brooks played with toys, we watched and listen to leaders of our church share messages of hope and faith and love. Tomorrow we will listen to more. :)  Oh how I needed this General Conference weekend! If you'd like to watch or listen go here.

Happy weekend everyone!

Conference Weekend...full & happy :)

This weekend my body, spirit, and heart were fed :)

So today I'm feeling pretty good!

We ate bacon waffles, berry/spinach smoothies, summer vegetable chicken chili, quiche, giant mugs of hot chocolate, nutella on toast, a delicious pork chop dinner brought over by a neighbor, and homemade cinnamon & orange rolls (brought over by friends). My stomach was basically full all weekend, full and happy :) Oh and there were lots of naps, which always does a body good :)

My spirit was uplifted by messages from the leaders of our church. Elder Ronald A. Rasband's talk (you can watch it here) is still touching my heart the more I think and ponder on it. He talked about how our bodies are incredible gifts from God...a truth I've witnessed when each of my children were born. Yet many of God's children have extreme physical infirmities and ailments. But no matter our physical condition, "...the worth of souls is great in the sight of God," (D&C 18:10). And physical limitations of others, be they permanent or temporary, give us opportunities to serve and become more like our Savior. I need to do better at not just simply offering to help, but to just. do. it.

And my heart smiled as I watched my husband play with our little boy, and snuggle our baby girl. The moments at home sweet home with my little family are precious to me. Oh how I love each of them.

One more thing...my wonderful Mom spent the weekend down in St. George with my brother Justin's family :) We missed her!! And I'm grateful she'll be back tonight for another week (she has been an immense help to me...and I've soaked up our time together!). Yesterday we did some FaceTiming and Skyped a bit too. I took some screen-captures of my phone when we were calling her and waiting for it to connect. Can you tell Brooks was excited when I told him we were going to talk to Grandma?? And yes, that's peanut butter all over his cute cheeks ;)

Corrie came for Conference

This past weekend was pretty lovely.

My sister Corrie came into town...being with her make any weekend extra fantastic!

Saturday we started the day off enjoying omelets filled with tomatoes, green peppers, and gouda cheese...got dressed from our PJ's later that afternoon only because Corrie and I went and got pedicures (the memory of which will always make me smile...my feet are incredibly ticklish, but the guy working on my feet basically got me to lose control and had me laughing so hard I cried. and laughed more. and cried more. We made quite the scene)...we stuffed ourselves with leftover lasagna throughout the day...and later that night headed over to the Kjars for a delicious spaghetti dinner...followed by staying up late talking (oh how I love late night talks with my sisters). Sunday we slept in...cooked and ate the most amazingly delicious breakfast stratta that Corrie and I prepped the night before...we lounged around in our PJs some more...then headed over to the Kjars for the afternoon, Brooks loved playing in their backyard...and we came back to the house that night to enjoy cinnamon rolls (courtesy of Pillsbury;) while we video chatted with my family before saying goodbye to Corrie as she left back up to Rexburg. Oh the weekend wan't long enough!!

And while all of those wonderful memories put the biggest smile on my face still...the sweetest part of the weekend was soaking up the messages of General Conference. We listened to our inspired prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and many other church leaders who touched our hearts with their words. I loved taking notes of the feelings and promptings I received while listening to their messages...my testimony was strengthened of God and my Savior, and I was reminded of what I need to do to return back to them with my family. Overall, I feel that my feelings can be summed up in the last verse of the incredible hymn that was sung Sunday morning by the Tabernacle Choir...

"I Believe in Christ" by Bruce R. McConkie and John Longhurst

Fourth Verse:

I believe in Christ; He stand supreme!

From Him I'll gain my fondest dream;

And while I strive through grief and pain,

His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."

I believe in Christ; so come what may,

With Him I'll stand in that great day

When on this Earth He comes again

To rule among the sons of men.

You can read, watch, and/or listen to any of the sessions or individual talks here. I'm so grateful for technology so that I can review it all over and over again :)

Pure Love and Desires

I mentioned a couple times in my last post that we were able to enjoy General Conference...I look forward to the months of April and October every year to be able to hear words of wisdom and hope from the wise men and women who lead our church.

Two of the talks that really touched my heart were by Elder Richard G. Scott and Elder Dallin H. Oaks.

Elder Scott's message was filled with emotion and love.

He spoke of his beloved late wife Jaenene who he misses with all of his being. Yet he has hope, and finds happiness, because he knows that he will be with her again, and they will never part because of the sacred covenants and promises they made in the temple on their wedding day. Elder Scott shared some sweet stories of how they wrote notes and messages of love for each other all through out their marriage...and how after the death of his sweet wife, he found all of the notes he had written her, kept safe in plastic coverings. He knew that she treasured his love for her.

"Pure love is an incomparable, potent power for good."

It was an absolutely beautiful message. And I'm grateful I get to walk hand in hand with my Adam...growing in love, forever, a united power for good.

{ one of my favorite photos from our groomals, April 2008 }

Elder Oaks spoke about desire.

It was a beautiful message, encouraging us to

"...search our hearts for what we really desire, and how we rank our most important desires. Desires dictate our priorities. Priorities shape our choices. And choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and ourbecoming."

What a statement!

After listening to his inspiring talk, Adam said that he wanted both of us to write down our desires...then we'd talk about them and discuss how we'll help each other to achieve them. We've talked about what we want in life numerous times...it's always such a comfort knowing that I have my Adam who is with me every step of the way to reach my/our goals. But when Elder Oaks put it in the context of desires, it was put in a different light for both of us. We're going to reach deep down, and express even more our hearts' desires...personally, and as a united couple. We worked on them last night, and tonight we're going to discuss them. I cannot wait :)

You can watch Elder Oaks' talk here, and Elder Scott's talk here.

And if you want access to all of the general conference talks (video and audio), click here.

I'm so grateful for technology that makes it all so accessible! :)

scenes from a wonderful weekend

F*R*I*D*A*Y

Park with cousin Ashton and friends

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wrestling tourney

(Adam's team took 6th at Districts!!:)

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celebration dinner for South Davis Junior High at Texas Roadhouse

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one fantastic Friday

S*A*T*U*R*D*A*Y

German Pancakes covered in cinnamon syrup, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries

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General Conference (world wide broadcast of our church leaders giving uplifting and inspiring messages)

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watching Sharla (sister-in-law) sing in Conference choir!

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me & the boys in PJs til' 4pm

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spaghetti feast at the Kjars

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piano and the harp...i love a music filled home :)

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one stupendous Saturday

{ Sharla is in the green shirt...middle row, 3rd from the left }

S*U*N*D*A*Y

mint herbal tea

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another day of uplifting conference messages

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baby blessing

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incredible hail storm

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dress up with cousin Kalia (Harry Potter anyone?)

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snuggles and sweet dreams

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watching family home videos

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one super sweet Sunday

It was so fun watching old family videos of the Kjars!! From Christmas morning 1988 to the Kjar sisters in clogging competitions. Such wonderful memories that I was so glad to get a taste of. I couldn't help but capture/record this part of my sweet husband...Adam was just 2-years old, kind of bashful, but cuter than cute as he sang "Jingle Bells" with his beautiful Mama!!! And he looks so similar to Brooks! Oh I can't wait for next Christmas...maybe Brooks will be singing carols with us :)

But it's spring time now, so bring on the SUN!