life lately

 this week we...

 

life lately

this week we...

 

home sweet home {St.ff.rd, VA - Quan_co}

being in the m means recreating many different houses into your home.

I definitely want to document all the places we've

lived and remember all the great memories we've had there.

{home #3}

Staff_d, Virginia

(Quantico)

October 2011 - December 2012

.TBS.IOC.

we were so busy with the hustle and bustle of packing and moving that I completely forgot to take pictures of the rest of our place. I'll have to go through the some old pictures and to see if there are any good views of our home in Virginia.  

life lately

this week we...

 

california here we come

"California here we come,   right back where we started from...   CALIFOOORNIAAAAA!"  

  this is the song that has been playing in my head over and over and over again since the time we were FIRST supposed to find out our duty station back in March. NINE MONTHS AGO! I was really hoping that we would be headed back home permanently, or at least a few years. Instead we're going to Japan... I really can't complain... I mean how many people can say they've been to Japan let alone live there! I am really excited about our moving there.   but anyway, back to talking about the 'Golden State,' 'The Land of Milk and Honey,' 'By 30 Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda' my good ol' home, California... yes, we are headed there in 2 days! (maybe 3...) I am beyond excited about it.   We plan on driving down this weekend and hopefully we'll be there in about 5 days with a few stops we plan on making. Chris will only be there for about a week and then he'll fly back up to Virginia Beach for Ground Intel training while I stay back with the kids, then we'll be headed to Japan as a family.   so California... here. we. come!   I've missed you, Crystal Cove. I've missed you beautiful mountains. I've missed you city lights. I've miss you, 91 freeway traffic. I've missed you, warm, sunny days. I've missed you, palm trees that don't make me feel Closter phobic. I've missed you, In-N-Out. I've missed you beautiful downtown Riv. but most of all, I've missed you, mommy and all my other family and friends. I can't wait to go home.

 

 

"My Burden Was Made Light"

Could you forgive the drunk driver who killed your wife, two children, and unborn baby?

 

   

how many people died that night?

 

how many people really  died that night?

 

in reality, because Chris Williams forgave Cameron, a life was saved.

 

 

This man is a perfect example of the state or 'condition' we need to be in to forgive.

How can we get into a 'condition' to forgive? :

 

 

PRAY.

He prayed and  Heavenly Father listened to his anger. Then when his heart was ready, He taught him more about how he could heal through his son, Jesus Christ.

 

 

KEEP AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE.

Chris kept an eternal perspective. I love the part towards the end of the clip when he says, "...one day I will be with my wife again, as well as the rest of my family."

 

"Please remember this one thing. If our lives and our faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently  wrong." Elder Howard W. Hunter

 

 

LET IT GO.

Elder Jeffry R. Holland said: Certainly not everything that we struggle with is the result of our actions. Often it is the result of the actions of others or just the mortal events of life. But anything we can change we should change, and we must forgive the rest. In this way our access to the Savior's atonement because as unimpeded as we, without imperfections, can make it. He will take it from there."

• Sinners experience the healing power of the atonement by repenting; victims experience it by forgiving. Same power; different access codes.
• Figuratively speaking, Christ has purchased all of the debt from every insolvent soul who has ever lived mortality. So we have no right to demand repayment from each other. Only Christ does--and he purchased it at an enormous cost.

 

Forgiveness Challenge: "May we have the Spirit of the Master dwelling within us, that we may forgive all men as He has commanded, forgive, not only with our lips but in the very depths of our hearts, every trespass that may have been committed against us. If we do this through life, the blessings of the Lord will abide in our hearts and our homes."

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I know my Savior lives and am so grateful for His sacrifice and the gift of repentance. I'm thankful for the knowledge I have and the peace and surety it brings me. I love knowing that I have an eternal family and that we will always be together even after our time here on earth. I'm thankful for the fullness of the gospel and the scriptures, both the Bible and Book of Mormon; I couldn't imagine life without the other. I know that my Heavenly Father hears my cries, complaints, and rejoices, and will always guild me down the right path. There is no denying what I know and how it makes me feel.

 

(we were taught a very powerful lesson this morning

at church that I really wanted to study

more in depth. In this post, I am quoting a lot of what

our teacher taught and adding some thoughts of my own. I hope by sharing this,

it may also touch some of you the way it has me)

 

Life Lately

this week we...

*photo source

Life Lately

this week we...

 

Exploring the Easter Market

...and admiring DC one last time.

 

I'm so excited about my find!
They're old windows turned mirrors that match my room perfectly.
I can't wait to hang these up next to my bed!

 For dinner we accidentally went to this fancy French restaurant when we thought we were going into a pizza parlor. After squeezing the double stroller in and settling down our three hungry and tired kids, we looked at the menu and didn't understand a thing. Nicole ended up ordering raw salmon on eggs and I don't know exactly what I got but it wasn't too bad.  

a birthday cupcake

This Saturday was my cute little nephew, Brody's, first birthday!

What better way to celebrate than digging

into chocolate frosting at Georgetown Cupcakes in DC.

 happy birthday Brod!

so glad we got to celebrate it with you!