Spring Projects and General Conference

Sometimes I get into a mood where I want to start a bunch of new projects so I get stuff to do them and they never get done. The last few weeks I have been itching to get them done and I am well on my way.

We have been wanting to paint our living room/entry way/hallway for a long time since the builders here won't allow the painters to use anything but flat paint (more like primer) on the walls. Having small children makes that really fun because any time they touch, rub up against, or look at the wall wrong there are marks that you can't clean off without scrubbing the paint off too. They even used flat paint in the bathrooms and kitchen- who does that? Adam repainted those areas soon after we moved in but the living room was a daunting task because of the vaulted ceilings and lack of a ladder. We decided to just do it last week and so we borrowed a ladder from our friends (thanks, Mitchells!) and painted for a few hours every night after the kids went to bed. I think it took 4 nights and it was done. Most of the walls are a dark beige (see picture) and then the two accent walls by our couches is chocolate brown. I really like the way it turned out. Now we just have to finish hanging pictures again.

Another project that I completed was my St. Patrick's Day blocks. I know it's a little late, but at least they will be ready for next March! I have been making blocks like this for every holiday. I really liked the LOVE blocks for Valentine's Day but the EASTER ones I made weren't so cute. Next up is LIBERTY for July 4th. I am pretty excited.

I got this "L" at Michael's and decided to cover it with patterned paper (from Stampin' Up obviously) and then I sponge inked the edges. It's really simple but I like how it looks in our entertainment center.

I have been trying to make the boys' room a little cuter since it has always been so plain and boring. I can't spend a lot of money so I have been looking for things that are easy to alter. I got $1 frames at Michael's, painted them, and then cut out pictures from a Curious George book to put in the frames. Then I found these plain letters at Michael's for a dollar or two each and covered them with paper and embellishments. I still need to make Bridger's but at least Brody's are done.

I have been working on scrapbooking lately since I have fallen ridiculously behind. I know everyone says that but I am so far behind that I couldn't catch up with an entire team to help me scrapbook. I have started to just put my pictures in albums and whatever pictures I don't get into scrapbooks (most of them) will just stay in the albums.

Lastly, I really enjoyed General Conference this past weekend. My friend Rachel came over for the Saturday morning session because our husbands were both working. It was the session that our new Prophet and First Presidency were sustained. It was really neat to see all the difference quorems and auxiliaries stand one by one to sustain our new leaders. When it was time for everyone to stand together, Brody stood with me and raised his hand in sustaining President Thomas S. Monson. It was so sweet to see him looking at the prophet and raising his hand (mostly because I told him to, but still). He knows our new Prophet's name and what he looks like. For the Saturday afternoon session, I said, "Brody, it's time to watch conference again!" and he said, "I don't want watch my prophet" in a very polite voice. At least he's nice about it.

One of my favorite talks was by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, who is an Apostle in our church. He talked about gaining a testimony of Jesus Christ and then sharing it with others. He gave the steps we need to take to do this and talked about the blessings that would come from gaining and strengthening our own testimonies. I am thankful to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and to have a Prophet and Apostles to provide us with new revelation that applies to us today. If all people knew what General Conference really was- hours and hours of modern-day revelation from Heavenly Father straight to us- I think more people would be interested in it. I love it and I am thankful that we have the resources to be able to watch it in real time every 6 months.

As a side note, I'm also thankful for my mom, who always made General Conference weekend something a little more special by making us yummy cinnamon rolls every time. I have continued the tradition and I know it will be something my kids will look forward to.

If any of you are interested in watching Conference, you can go here and click on a talk that you'd like to listen to.
This is our new First Presidency: Presideny Henry B. Eyering, President Thomas S. Monson, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.