My kitchen

Yesterday, I was still in super cleaning mode. I was trying hard to NOT pack anymore of my kitchen. So, instead of turning to boxes, I turned to Tim's caulking gun :) Yes, I used a gun :) I scraped the chipped caulk off of the tiles on the kicthen counter and then recaulked the whole thing. Now, my kitchen tiles look so nice and fresh. They didn't look bad to begin with, but there is a new gleam and shine going on there :)

These tools are my new favorties. They helped to clean out the old stuff and spread the new stuff without making a mess. They worked wonderfully.

I love that I learned something new to improve my home for the showing tomorrow. This family is so sweet....although they are looking at other houses as well as ours...which is what should be done. I pray that they can find the right house for them whether it's our house or someone elses house. Tim and Brandon home teach this family...Tim tells me about some of the things the kids say when he goes home teaching. When Tim asks if there is anything he can do for them, the oldest boy says "cake". He wants cake.... It's too cute.
This is just one corner in the kitchen that I caulked. Doesn't it look lovely?
Now that I'm done caulking my kitchen and bathroom I need to figure out something else to learn...all in trying to avoid packing more of my kitchen....what I wouldn't do for an opportunity to sell my house :)

HPA

House Packers Annonymous..... My name is Gina Hallam and I've become obsessed with packing my house.... Yes, it's true, I've packed the spice cabinet before we even have an offer on the house..... Why the spice cabinet???? Well, because everything else is packed...

My boxes are packed, I'm ready to go..... I'm leavin in a uhaul....don't know when I'll make it to Idaho.... you get the idea :) (sung to Leavin on a jet plane)

I told myself that I wasn't going to pack anymore of the kitchen, but those small boxes in the garage were just staring at me and were in my way, so I had to do something with them. And my spices were just sitting in the cupboard...just sitting there, most of them not being used, so why not pack them and have less to do later.

It may seem that I'm in a desparate plight, but really, I'm not. I'm very anxious for the house to sell, but who wouldn't be if they were separated from their husband and only saw him on weekends....and spending a fortune on gas...which thank goodness it went down, but still it's painful... My feelings right now are the same feelings you get when you're 81/2 months pregnant and you've had your bags packed since you found out you were expecting???? That's the feeling right now..."when's this baby going to come" no, i'm not pregnant, but the same though only about the house :)

Okay, so I've rambled enough, I just had to share my little obsession for the day.

Lesson topic

I am giving the lesson in RS this sunday. I'm the fourth sunday teacher, which means that I get to give the lesson out of the Conference Ensign. All of the selections for the lessons so far have been wonderful. This past conference was wonderful so what can you expect to have a lesson on, but something wonderful.

The lesson this month is Pres. Bednar's talk "Pray Always".
In the talk, Pres. Bednar lists three principles that will help our prayers become more meaningful.
Principle #1- "Prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord in all our doings". As he explains this principle, he states that prayer is communication between our Heavenly Father and His children (us). We are God's children. When we understand that, we can speak to Him more naturally as we speak to our earthly parents. I love how Pres. Bednar likened prayer to the creation of the world. He said :"The patterns used by God in creating the earth are INSTRUCTIVE in helping us understand how to make prayer more meaningful". As with the creation of the earth, everything was first spiritual. Everything was created spiritually before it was created physically. Just like our days, we need to create the spiritual part of our day by having our morning prayers. This helps to create the foundation for our day and allows us to thank our Father in Heaven for our blessings of the day and to ask for help and forgiveness with our shortcomings.
Principle #2-"Prayer becomes more meaningful as we express heartfelt gratitude". The story he shares about his wife and family is so touching. A General Authority was staying with the Bednar's. At this time, the Bednar's had learned about an unexpected death of a dear friend of theirs. Sister Bednar was asked to offer the prayer. The Apostle had suggested that she "express only appreciation for blessings received and ask for nothing". That would have been so hard to do, especially after such tragic news. She showed great faith and did as she was counseled and asked to do. "pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all things"-Mosiah 26:39
Principle #3- "Prayer becomes more meaningful as we pray for others with real intent and a sincere heart". "Petitioning Heavenly Father for the blessings we desire in our personal lives is good and proper. However, praying earnestly for others, both those whom we love and those who despitefully use us, is also an important element of meaningful prayer." The Savior was the perfect example of praying for others when he offered His Intercessory Prayer. He prayed for His Apostles and for the saints..."I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou has given me; for they are thine..."-John 17:9
Do our loved ones hear us pray for them? Do they feel the power that comes through our sincere prayers for them? As we pray we can be guided by the spirit what to offer in our prayers. We can have that connection with our Father in Heaven.

My favorite cleaning tool

It's been a few days since posting. As I was cleaning this morning I thought I would share what I absolutely love to have with me when I am cleaning.

I absolutely LOVE my scentsy room sprays!!!!! They are so wonderful to have with me when I'm cleaning...especially the boys rooms. Sure they have their warmers and plug ins, but the room spray can fit right into my pocket and I can spray it anywhere to help eliminate odors.

One room spray that I use most is call Odor out...it works the same as febreeze does, but smells much better :) Odor out neutralizes the odor and makes things smell clean and fresh.

My other favorite room spray scent is Sunkissed citrus. So clean and fresh smelling...it's like a breath of spring.

Okay, there is my shpeel about scentsy :) I do love being a consultant and sharing such wonderful smelling safe candles with everyone.

I've still got more house to clean so I better get back to it.

Had to post this

I received this email from my mom today and had to do more than leave it in my inbox, so I'm posting it here for others to see it. I've read this story before, but it's a great story and a wonderful reminder of what's important.

Thank you mom :) I love you

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family.
The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room.
Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement.
As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied,
"Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife.. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels
found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole
income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.
"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.

"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it."
"Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead.
Things aren't always what they seem."
Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage.
You just might not know it until sometime later..

Some people come into our lives and quickly go..

Some people become friends and stay awhile....
leaving beautiful footprints on our hearts....
and we are never quite the same
because we have made a good friend!!

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That's why it's called the present!
I think this is special...live and savor every moment...
This is not a dress rehearsal!

My "Boo"

I have been thinking about doing this for quite some time and had to share it before the time was over and passed. Our children grow up so fast so we need to capture the precious moments and remember them and preserve them somehow. This blog is my way of sharing and preserving our family's memories :)

I don't have any little girls but I do have a "Boo". You know, the little character on Monsters Inc. Kyler is my "boo". Why? He has so many of her characteristics in his actions. When Kyler goes to the bathroom you can tell he's in there.... He sings just like "Boo"... It's so precious to hear him sing....well, Kyler sings ALL the time... He loves to sing everywhere he goes.

While Kyler is singing in the bathroom, occassionally he gets quiet, then you hear "Love you mom" That just melts my heart. He is such a precious, sweet little boy so full of character.
When we were camping at the coast this summer; I had taken Kyler to the bathroom before going to bed. We were the only ones in the bathroom and he was in the stall...singing of course. Then a lady came in and he was still singing. Kyler got quiet and quit singing for a brief second and guess what??? "Love you mom" The lady that had joined us in the bathroom was at that time washing her hands and made the comment of how precious that was. It was truly a special moment that Kyler had shared with someone else.

I love my "Boo" and all of his sweet person. His singing brightens my day.

Christmas break pictures

Here are some pictures of the boys during their extended Christmas break...there aren't too many as we were all having too much fun to take pictures :)

An Idaho Christmas

Our Christmas break started a few days early. We had some massive winter storms come through so we had oodles of snow. The boys had a great time playing in the snow while I dreaded the roads and the travel that was going to happen.

We left a couple days early between storms...so we didn't get the house clean like I had hoped, but we did make it to Idaho safely so that's a good thing :) I had to drive as Tim was already in Idaho. Aaron and Brandon were great side seat helpers looking out for other cars on the side of the roads and other things. The younger boys were great at behaving while I was driving.

While we were in Idaho, we had some wonderful visits with friends and family. We have missed Idaho, but enjoyed the time we spent there this past two weeks. We were even able to house shop...look anyway as our hands are tied until we have a buyer for our house in Hermiston.

Christmas was simple but was so filled with loved ones. We had Christmas eve dinner with Kaylena and Richard Frates and some of their family...There were babies there so I was in heaven :) Tim worked Christmas day so we helped Grandma and Grandpa until dad came home from work, then we had our Christmas. Christmas night, we went to Higley's and Brissettes to play games. We spent a lot of time playing games and enjoying company.

New year's eve again was spent in Emmett with Higley's and Brissettes.

We were all sad to have to leave on New Year's day, but all the fun had to come to an end so we can get on with things and sell our house. We have several showings this weekend so we're working on cleaning the house more and getting it ready to show again :)

This Christmas was a truly blessed Christmas and will be remembered always. I shortened the details of what we did while in Idaho, but you get the point :) We look forward to reuniting with those friends and family soon.