Our Weekend

Part of blogging  for me is journaling. We had a great weekend and I want to remember it.
A few things of note happened.

First, Coop Dawgy Dawg finally cut his first tooth. I am so happy for him. He also had a cold, but has been an absolute champ.(Cooper just started doing this hammy closed mouth smile-he is such a little nerd)

 Second, Shane and I managed to 1. Go on a date-sans children, and 2. get our taxes done(and we even got an awesome return-yee-haw!)

Our date consisted of getting our taxes done-ha, then rushing off to see then Hunger Games. A couple years ago I read the Hunger Games series and it pretty much blew my mind. I loved every minute of it. Shane read it last year and epically we both wanted to see the movie and LOVED the series. The movie was fantastic. I was not disappointed at all. In my mind Katniss was an amazing literary character-among the likes of Atticus Finch and others I hold to high esteem. I was so happy that the movie portrayed her in a way that was so true to the books.

 I had two of my sweet Young Women from church watching the boys and all went well. One of the girls' name is Winter. I thought it was so cute when she told me Hudson was calling her Snow.

Saturday and Sunday we had General Conference. Conference weekends are some of my favorite times of the year. I was humbled by many of the messages, and truly came away from the experience with a renewed resolve to work on me and not worry about anyone else. One of my favorites was Deiter Uchtdorf's talk. Here are some of the highlights.
 
“We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children,” said President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency in his address Sunday morning.
“This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon,” he said. “When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm—please apply the following: Stop it!”
 “I imagine that every person on earth has been affected in some way by the destructive spirit of contention, resentment, and revenge. Perhaps there are even times when we recognize this spirit in ourselves. When we feel hurt, angry, or envious it is quite easy to judge other people, often assigning dark motives to their actions in order to justify our own feelings of resentment. Of course, we know this is wrong.”
President Uchtdorf said people can so clearly and easily see the harmful results that come when others judge and hold grudges. And they don’t like it when others judge them. “But when it comes to our own prejudices and grievances, we too often justify our anger as righteous, and our judgement as reliable and only appropriate.”
President Uchtdorf said the minute “we judge others, we condemn ourselves.”
He asked members of the congregation to forgive so they can be forgiven. “Because we all depend on the mercy of God, how can we deny to others any measure of the grace we so desperately desire for ourselves?”
Forgiving, he said, is not easy. “In fact, for most of us it requires a major change in our attitude and way of thinking—even a change of heart. But there is good news. This mighty change of heart is exactly what the gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to bring about.”
He said in a world of accusations and unfriendliness, it is easy to gather and cast stones. “Brothers and sisters, let us put down our stones. Let us be kind. Let us forgive. Let us talk peacefully with each other. Let the love of God fill our hearts. Let us do good unto all men (Galatians 6:10). ...
“Let us, as disciples of Jesus Christ, return good for evil. Let us not seek revenge or allow our wrath to overcome us. …” (see John 13:35).
President Uchtdorf said there is enough heartache and sorrow in this life without adding to it through stubbornness, bitterness, and resentment.
“We are not perfect. The people around us are not perfect. People do things that annoy, disappoint, and anger. In this mortal life it will always be that way.
“Nevertheless, we must let go of our grievances. Part of the purpose of mortality is to learn how to let go of such things. That is the Lord’s way.
“Remember, heaven is filled with those who have this in common: They are forgiven. And they forgive.

 On Saturday Evening our little family got to attend a special luau!  Auntie Cherie threw a 40th Birthday Party for Uncle Clint. It was Hawaiian themed, and tonnes of fun! The food was incredible and the decorations and games were awesome. Both of Shane's parents came up and we got to have Grandma Jan stay with us Saturday night(Hudson was in Heaven having her here).

 Last but not least my antique chandelier got hung!It is unreal how 30 dollars can make someone so happy. I am in love with this sweet little fixture that I picked up at the Antique Mall a couple years ago. I bought it for Piper's nursery, and it had just been another treasure sitting in my basement since we didn't use it. I decided to put it in my bedroom, but it has literally taken 2 months for me to get around to it. Things like sick boys, laundry, naps and groceries have taken precedence. It  really only took 10 minutes to hang, I guess I just thought it would be a bigger job. I can thank Hudson for  a couple shocks that I received during the process-ha.(he totally flipped the switch on when I left the room-I guess that is why they say turn the breaker off-hahaha) So here it is(note:it is hard to get a decent picture of a light).

What a fun weekend!