Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Fear Not!

A while ago I was reading my scriptures and I had one of those aha moments. You ever had one? Well, I have had many in my life, but this moment of quiet reflection was really something that I needed to get me through this very time in my life. Heavenly Father really was giving me the tools I would need to help me build my testimony and strengthen me in times of great need.  It is amazing how He works.  Anyway, I was reading about faith and I came to a realization...

Faith is the OPPOSITE of fear!

The scriptures constantly exhort us to have faith, faith, faith, and more faith. Why? Faith is the key to God's power. It is everything. It is what fuels us. It is the means by which the world was created. It is the means by which all miracles are performed. It is why we are here. We are having a mortal experience so that we can exercise faith, strengthen our faith, and rely on our faith. The first principle of the gospel is what? FAITH.

Fear is the exact opposite of faith. It is ugly, and dark, and counter-productive. It is a tool of the adversary.  Fear makes us digress. It withers our spirit and pulls us away from God.

At this point in my life, I have made a conscience decision that I will make choices from a position of faith and not of fear. I will not choose things because I am afraid.  

Look where I am now, for heaven's sake? I am in Reno.  I am here because I prayed about it, fasted about it, thought about it using my intellect, and then took the steps I needed to take based solely on faith. I have no earthly idea why I am here.  It is not easy to pick up and move a large family to another area of the country.  But my decision was made solely on faith.

Moroni taught, "perfect love casteth out all fear." (Mor. 8:16) I can think of only one person who ever lived on this earth that had perfect love, and that was Jesus Christ.  When we exercise unfailing faith in Him and in His perfect love, ALL fear is cast out.  It doesn't say some fear, but all fear!

I have loved ones in my life who struggle and it makes me sad.  I want them to be happy and find joy in life. Circumstances may not be ideal, but there is always joy in life, no matter what trials and challenges you have.  But the saddest thing is to see people I love enshrouded in fear.  Trust God utterly and completely, no matter what crappy stuff happens to you, with total faith, and the fear will disappear. Where light is, darkness cannot abide.

With God, all things are possible.

Don't be afraid!

FAITH! FAITH! FAITH!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

St. George Triathlon

Rinar is hooked on triathlons. He even has his little triathlon group.  It is a lot more fun to do races like this when you do it with other people. He completed on May 22nd in St. George, Utah. It was a perfectly beautiful day to race. I went with him early and while he was setting up, I went for a nice run.  Then it was time to take some pictures of them in action.

Bart, Rinar, Rich, Johanna, and Scott gearing up for some friendly competition.

It is time to swim. Every other person was wearing the same wetsuit. It is hard to pick someone out of the  crowd when they all wear the same thing.

39 and under Olympic men started the race first...Rinar, Rich , and Bart.

Let's just say that it is Rinar out there swimming...oh, close enough!

Transition!

Rich came out of the water first, but Rinar's transition was much faster.

Girl power! Johanna even posed for me as she got on her bike.

Bike is done.  Now it is time to get the run on!

Rich was feeling pretty good when he started to run. He was a few minutes behind Rinar.

Rinar has about .8 left to go.  He looked a lot better than his first tri in August on the same course.

Raef and Zach came at the end to see the big finish.  Way to go, Dad!

The big finishers.   Bart was overall #1 for their little group. Now it is on to the Boise half Ironman in June.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Look What the Rain Brings

When there is a lot of rain, it brings out the critters.  And look at what my boys became fascinated with while we were in St. George.

Snakes and SNAILS and puppy dog tails...


 They were bringing them in the house and wanted me to touch them and such.  Ew! But I kept my cool.  They really liked the snails.



 It also rained when we went to see Lindy and Bryn play in their little softball game. It was pretty miserable, but they kept on playing.  There team had a ferocious name...Lucky Clovers.  I think that was it.





 Angie and Lyf were the coaches.




 Bethany, Kate, and Mary Jane played on the playground and waited in the car.





Thursday, May 26, 2011

From 70's Blah To Today's Tah-Dah!

Well, it has been about a year since Rinar and I bought a condo in St. George. Every time I visit, I usually do some kind of project. My goal is to decorate the whole darn thing with give-a-ways, thrift store finds, and yard sale acquisitions. I have been doing pretty good so far.  I was in St. George for about 10 days, and after about 5, I was really feeling sorry for myself. No friends, just me and my kids all alone. I was going crazy. So, Wednesday night I was at Wal-mart getting paint.  I find that the best way to stop feeling sorry for yourself is to get to work.

And look at these tragic cabinets. My little kitchen was screaming 70's dungeon chic.



Not anymore!


I painted it with Glidden's Pistachio Ice Cream, and a Deep Aqua for the walls. The deep aqua really makes the cabinets pop.  I also spray painted all the hardware to match the walls.


 I got the accessories at Deseret Industries. They had a ton of good stuff.  I got really lucky. I like to get fake flowers at Tai Pan Trading, at it really adds a nice touch to any room for just a few dollars.

The decals over the sink were gold, but it just wouldn't go in this kitchen, so I painted them white. I only had flat white spray paint. I will probably hit them again with a gloss finish the next time I am there.



I also found some other cool stuff at DI and the Hope Chest.  The bureau in the middle of the wall was a give-a-way from my good friend form Atlanta, who now lives in Bloomington.

Lucky me, huh?  The boxes on either side were in the back of DI. They were ugly brown and cover in dirt and twigs, but I saw the potential.  I am in love with them now.  There is wire mesh on the back, so I got some 's' hooks at DI and it now makes a perfect frame for small art and also as a place to hang my purse and keys and such.


I found some fantastic prints that went perfectly in this room. The two prints to the right are from Hope Chest, original art from a Hawaiian artist ($3 each), which I put in some frames from DI, that I spray painted green and procured for $1 each. Above are the cheesy 80's houses you see everywhere that are usually brown with forest green and rose.  I spray painted them colors to go in my room. I have my eye out for more of those.  The shape is cool.  But there is an adorable 50's print of a baby on the right that I just love. It was at a consignment store. It cost a little more, but I really love it.




I got this print at the consignment store as well. It is a classic golf print  I got the little framed mirrors from my Grandma's estate, as they were just going to donate them to the thrift store. No way! I knew I could use them  and I actually really adore their southern charm.


 Rinar hates the afghan on the back of the couch, but it has the right colors and adds some homey charm to my room.


I didn't take pictures of my bedroom because I am not done with it, but it is pretty sweet as well.  I probably won't get back there until next year, but when I do I will have lots of projects to keep me busy.

Downtown St. George

A few years ago St. George redid its downtown center. They bulldozed the library and relocated it around the corner. It was way too small, so the new one is much bigger.  The cool thing is that where the library once stood, they put in a little water park.  One feature is a river that cuts through on beautiful red rock.  It is quite a place now, lots of fun to visit. The kids have the best time when we go.



Plus, I had to take them swimming. Julia got a new suit.


Eli was practicing his Kung Fu Panda moves.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A Nutty Sunday

 I was at home, with my kids, all afternoon and we were going crazy last Sunday. There was nothing to do and  it started to be a miserable experience. So,  I packed them all up in the car and went for a drive. We stopped at a park out in Green Valley, on the Virgin River, and they got some fresh air. Eli fell asleep in the car, so I just left him there.  






She discovered her bellybutton.


He discovered a grill cleaner. He was really happy for about 5 minutes...and then I took it away. Poor Harry.

Megan's Wedding

Jeff's daughter Megan got married last Saturday. Since my house is just around the corner, I decided to go over there and take some pictures of the wedding party. I ended up taking a lot of pictures of Lani's little girl, Jessica. She is about 6 months younger than Harry and Julia, so they have a cousin just their age to play with in the future.


Jessica, Jazon, Lani, and Jazon's girlfriend. I can't remember what her name is.

Jeff and Jessica.


Megan and her little sister. 


We went to the wedding reception in the evening. I had purchased a wedding present for them, but then I forgot to bring it because I didn't drive. I got a ride with Rinar's parents.  So the wedding present stayed in the back of my car for a week.  Grrr....  I also forgot my camera. But the reception was beautiful. It was outside in Santa Clara at the historic Relief Society building.  The gardens were tranquil and lovely. It was the perfect night for a reception.
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