That time I finally blogged about my baby shower...

So..... It's been almost a year! And I just uploaded the pictures to my computer today..... I'm such a slacker! Oops. Oh well! Here's some pictures of the fun day, and I'm so grateful to my mom and sister for hosting it!

That Time My Mom Came to Visit...

My mom was able to come visit March 15 - 21, and we had a blast!

I picked her up on Sunday from the airport. By myself. That's a big thing. I'm so nervous about new scenarios. It's ridiculous. So we came home and had a house tour before I had to go get Jason from work. So, little E got to be left with a "stranger" for 20 minutes. My mom said she didn't cry, but she did keep looking back to see who was holding her.

Monday, little E was still skeptical of Grandma, but a little friendlier, and by the end of the day was pretty warmed up. (She's only pretty much a miniature of me. haha) We went to Costco and hung out at the house.

Still not sure about this Grandma person.

I guess she's okay?

Three generations

Tuesday, we stayed home. We played games, did laundry, and mostly just chilled. I say mostly because we also rearranged the furniture in our living room and organized it so that the couches we bought could be put in their spots. :D

Elie is helping.

Clean floor! It used to be a storage space! :O

Wednesday we drove what felt like all over town. it ended with a trip to Krispy Kreme and then a drive by our church building (which still had a small pile of snow).

Dropping J off at work means I get to see pretty sunrises.

Thursday was Jason's first day off, so we went to lunch with our friend and realtor. I can't thank her enough for how kind she's been to us!

Friday our couches came, and it was really rainy. We did run out after the couches came to IKEA to see if they had any lamps. And they did. 2 floor lamps for 14 dollars, plus tax! It was amazing!

First day of spring, my eye! We got a little bit of snow.

Yay couches!!!

Yay couches with lights!

Saturday, we just kind of relaxed again. Jason did some yard work. My mom packed up. :( And then at  3, we dropped my mom off at the airport so she could fly back home.

Last little bit of time with Grandma.

It was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad little E got to re-meet her Grandma. (Now Grandma just needs to bring Grandpa out! ;D)

A mighty Change of Heart

We gave talks Sunday in Sacrament meeting. This was my talk.

Good Morning! My name is Courtney Lee. My husband, Jason, our daughter, Elinor, and I have been in the ward since the beginning of December. We come from Arizona, where the temperatures last month were in the 80’s and are in the 90's already. Last month, during the snow and cold I missed it, but not so much right now!

As introduction, Jason and I met just over five years ago at a Christmas concert. A mutual friend introduced us, and despite my awkwardness, he thought I was cute. His favorite part of the story is when, as he puts it, I denied him a hug. Within a few days he got my number and asked me out at the beginning of January. We have been together almost every day since. We married July 7, 2010, and added our daughter Elinor to our little family at the end of August last year. Jason is an engineer for Boeing, and I taught 2^nd grade for three years, but now I stay home and take care of Elinor.

We were assigned to speak on the topic “a mighty change of heart.” One of my favorite things to do when I prepare a talk or lesson is to look up what the words mean. These are the definitions I found.

Mighty is an adjective, which in our topic is describing our change. Mighty means “possessing great and impressive power or strength, especially on account of size”. The second definition I found said it means extremely.

Change, in this context, is a noun that means “the act or instance of making or becoming different.”

We all know that a heart is a body part. However, I found the second definition a little more applicable to our topic. Another meaning for heart is “the center or innermost part of something.”

So putting all of the information we just learned together, “a mighty change of heart” is an extreme act of making our innermost selves different.

But wait… I know I haven’t had one extreme event or thing happen to change my whole life and convert me instantly. And then I thought back to the first definition that I read for mighty. “Possessing great and impressive power or strength, ESPECIALLY ON ACCOUNT OF SIZE.” It’s taking into account small, but powerful things. So rewording the statement in even clearer terms, “a mighty change of heart” means that out of a small but powerful thing (like a seed or act of faith) comes us making our innermost selves different. That can happen in an instant, like those grand stories we read in the scriptures about people’s conversion, or it can be a gradual process that takes a lifetime.

We know the stories where people had the sudden change or big event that converted them. Moses, Alma the younger, the people who listened to King Benjamin, or Joseph Smith are all examples of that. I personally know that my story isn’t like that at all. I was born and raised in the church. I have never had what I would call a lightning bolt moment. None of my experiences I feel have been large enough to change me suddenly to align myself perfectly with Heavenly Father’s will for me.

At our last Relief Society activity, our conversion was one thing that we were asked to share in small groups. That night I recognized that I don’t have just one, or even a few really memorable conversion stories. Not one instant stands out in my mind as a time when I just knew I was not where I should be and wanted to change.

As I prepared for this talk, I used the gospel library to search for the phrase “a mighty change of heart.” This scripture caught my attention as I thought about my own conversion.

Helaman 15:7-8 says, “And behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it, that as many of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and to know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them-“

“(8) Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made free.”

That scripture says nothing about the people (they are talking about the Lamanites) having large experiences like Alma. It says they are “brought to the knowledge of the truth” and that the scriptures and prophecies by the prophets have led “them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance.” I don’t know about you, but it takes me a long time to read scriptures and the words of the prophets, especially so that I am able to understand what they and the Holy Ghost want me to learn.

What I have learned about is that whoever you are, it doesn’t matter exactly what experience you’ve had to get your conversion, it just matters that you are being converted to the Lord. Are we making our innermost part of ourselves different and better? Are we aligning our will with Heavenly Father’s? As the scriptures say, do we no longer desire to do evil?

In October 2014, Jean A. Stevens of the General Primary Presidency said just two sentences that really struck me concerning this mighty change. She said, “Each covenant is made one by one. Every mighty change of heart matters to the Lord.” We are accountable for ourselves to God, and every time we change to move closer to Him, he is pleased with us.

Doctrine and Covenants 18:10, 13, 15

“(10) Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;”

“(13) And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!”

“(15) And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!”

Yes, as I was taught in seminary, those scriptures tell us to do missionary work. By doing that, we will be very happy when we help bring souls to Christ. But before we can help others come to Christ, we must go to Him first. We have to be converted ourselves. Looking at those verses another way, we could also say that we work hard all of our lives to live the gospel. Could we say that we ourselves are that one soul that we bring to Christ? Could we be the one soul that we have great joy about in the Celestial Kingdom?

I’m not saying that we should only focus on ourselves. The Lord has stated that we are to be selfless. The scriptures clearly state in the next verse, 16, that if we’re happy with one soul, think how happy and joyful we’ll be when we bring many souls! But we have to be converted.

Somewhere in my past church education, someone told of two people climbing a mountain. There are parts when it gets difficult and they have to help each other. Think about it. Put yourself on that mountain. We can compare it to life. You’re going along with someone, perhaps a friend or a spouse, and something hard comes up. I’m not going to list examples because there are too many, but when you come to a hard part in climbing a mountain, the person who makes it to the next ledge first can better help the person behind them. It’s easier to pull someone up than try to push them above your own head. That’s a truth physically as well as spiritually. You can’t help someone get to Christ as well as you can unless you are already there, or on your way there.

Once we are converted, we can more easily help other people come to Christ. That mighty change of heart that we have, where we want to be better and choose to be better is our conversion. The scriptures are full of examples of both people who have grand conversion stories as well as those who have longer, more gradual conversions.

My own mighty change of heart is different from my husband’s and different from yours. My daughter’s conversion will be different from mine and different from her friends. It doesn’t matter how grand it appears outwardly. Some people see angels or hear God speak. Other people will just get quiet confirmation that they’re already doing what they’re supposed to be doing and to just keep enduring. It doesn’t matter whether your initial conversion happens in an instant or takes a lifetime. Conversion is a process, not an end result.

All the Lord wants and asks of us is to be converted to Him and his gospel.

TESTIMONY, Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Shoveling the walk…

Growing up, we had one Mothers Day where we gave my mom some magnets. They had cute little sayings on them specifically for moms. The one that we all liked was this saying. I don't have a picture of the magnet, though.

I used to think about it as meaning that you should just wait until the kids are grown to get everything clean, because there was no point while messes were still being made. 

After our last snow storm, I realized just how wrong that thinking was. 

I'm from Arizona. I have never had to shovel snow off of a sidewalk until this year. Personally, I found it kind of fun and exciting! Something new to do! But I never fully understood the shoveling a sidewalk part, either, until now. 

During the storm, I went out twice to shovel the walk since we were predicted to receive 5-8" of accumulated snow and I was told it is easier to do it in pieces. The first time I went out, there was maybe 2 - 3 inches of snow. The second time, there was 3 - 4 inches! It was almost twice as much work, and I got tired much sooner, even though there was only about an inch difference!

Actually shoveling the walk changed how I thought about the magnet and quote from years before. Yes, you can wait to clean up until after the mess makers... I mean children... are gone, or you can stay on top of it and not feel like you're floundering under a giant mess at the end. You're more likely to give up or not do it if you wait and keep putting it off. Once you put something off, you always put it off! (Personal experience here.)

So, don't put things off! I'm not saying go obsessively clean something. Unless you're into that. Then by all means... want to come visit me? ;) I guess in life, we just need to not put anything off when we know it needs to be done. We'll feel so much better if we get it off our plate!

I guess that means I need to go clean up now! (Or I'll just snuggle my little future mess maker, since she's too immobile to make messes yet!)

6 months (and a week and a half)

Little Miss E has turned into a 6 month old! Where has the time gone?

Stats:

Head circumference- 16.5" (38%)

Height- 26.5" (68%)

Weight- 15lbs 8oz (33%)

She can roll over, but won't because our floors are hardwood upstairs and concrete for most of downstairs. (Only two rooms have carpet. And "my room" has nasty old green carpet.) 

She chatters a lot. Mostly vowel sounds, but she does say some consonants. 

She sits up like champ, but can't get herself there yet. 

She has decided that no one is quite as good as mommy. (Mommy is less than thrilled with this when I'm trying to do things, but I love being loved so much.)

Not sleeping through the night, but we are working towards it. We are getting down to one feeding a night and then we'll go down to no feedings! (Mommy and daddy are more excited about this than she is!) 

She's getting more and more of a personality. And she gets downright sneaky! 

She got her first cold a couple weeks ago and was absolutely miserable for a while, but she fought it off and is perfectly happy and healthy now!

We are slowly introducing solids. Just little tastes here and there. 

We love her so very much! She's getting so smart and is still super cute! 

I think we'll keep her! 

Enjoying the sunset

"But Mom… it's so tasty!!"

"What is this contraption and why am I not being held?" (First time in her new high chair from ikea)

"I think this is how I'm supposed to use it?"

"I'm so wiggly!"

Chew toy. Not bottle. 

So happy! 

Sunday morning selfies! (20 minute drive to church, 20 minute sacrament meeting, then cancelled because of weather, and a 20 minute drive home.)

"Is that really the price?" Checking out furniture!

Snow

Now that I've got a Facebook pager for my blog, maybe I'll be better about keeping up on it! 

We had the worst storm of the season for our area (meaning neighborhood) two nights ago. Before this one, the most snow we got was maybe 2" deep. This last storm was probably around 5". 

Thankfully we didn't lose power and I didn't have to go anywhere, so I didn't have to deal with icy roads! That means I got to enjoy the snow once again!

It's weird to live in a place that gets snow, but it's nice, too. I can't wait for more seasons!

 

The start of the snowstorm

1:30am - no flash, still light. (The car had been brushed off once by that point.)

The street. 

After the walk was shoveled. 

Snow is actually really pretty, and I'm glad I get to live in it for now. 

Smashing Good Time: a thumb update

It's been almost a week since I smashed my thumb! And boy has it been an interesting week with a half useless thumb. 

The third day after the smash, Jason took his Dremel tool and cut a small hole in the nail to drain the blood pooled under the nail. It felt so much better after that!

I'm still hoping I don't lose it, but only time will tell what will happen. 

From Friday. 

Monday night

At the time of posting.