Seriously, so blessed ; )

Thurm & I have been working on our house trying to get the basement ready to rent. We were hoping to have it done by September, but we were kidding ourselves about our remodeling skillZ. We tried tiling the basement bathroom on Saturday. Its a huge mess, I don't think I measured one tile right and chipped the corner of every tile I cut. I caused a huge fight because I was so mad and frustrated over how completely lacking I am at something I thought looked easy. I hate tiling. And we still aren't done. There are a few more tiles to lay and grout and caulking to do. Oy Vey! After that is done we just have a bit of painting, installing some flooring in the kitchen, and carpet in the bedrooms. My sister-in-law scored us a free fridge so we will be good to go. Shauna is amazing when it comes to hunting up cheap or free stuff. She is the one to go to if you are looking for ANYTHING. Thurm needed a job a few years ago, she found him several to apply to. We recently needed a mattress...done. Want tickets to Disneyland for 75% off...done. Ask and ye shall receive. Its an amazing gift. I've been racking my brain for more things we are in need of.

We have been feeling the love from all our family, friends, and neighbors. Numerous people have brought us welcome gifts and told us how glad they are to have us in the neighborhood. Our neighbor Jim tilled our garden with his tractor and brought us 25 pounds of ground beef from his cows. Our new friend, Marie, a horticulturist came over and told us what every plant in our yard was, which was no small task. My brother did an inspection on our house and went through every nook and cranny and told us what was wrong and how to fix it. My mother has spent many, many days here helping us paint and taking care of us. My dad brought us supplies and is drawing plans for our attic. Thurm's parents came and helped us plumb two shower heads, fix some electrical, and hang wallpaper. My friend Danalin, knows how much I love her bathroom, so she bought me everything it will take to copy hers...the shower curtain, towels, rug, even the wall paint color!!! And Shauna is going to hunt down everything we need and get it for free. Thank you, thank you!!!! We love you all.

Quinn playing the harmonica

Doesn't everyone have a picture of their kid in a drawer. But its so cute every time.

My little Calvin and Hobbes

Marriage Advice (in the Sept Ensign)

-Never say anything negative about each other in public.
-Put your spouse's wants before your own.
-Never let a day go by without saying "I love you"
-Never let a day go by without praying together
-An accomplishment for one person in the marriage is a victory for both.
-Don't discuss important issues after 10pm (I can testify to this!!! arguments escalate when your tired.)
-Do common household tasks together (cooking, dishes, making the bed)
-Attend the temple as often as possible
-When you can either be "right" or have "peace", choose peace.
-Keep the marriage within the marriage (don't turn to others before you turn to each other)

Our stake president's advice when we got married was "don't put anything but the Lord before your spouse, not even children."

What was the best marriage advice you received?

Today I fixed a leak in our main water shut off valve. I'm so proud of myself. I'd like to thank my father and brother for their knowledge and example. I'd like to thank the helpful people of Home Depot. And lastly I'd like to send a shout out to the world wide web, without which, I'd have no idea what a main shut off valve was.

Thank you.

just figured out how to use iMovie...

Dancing must just be inherently human because we never taught him to dance. He has amazing rhythm and sings on tune. This is Thurm & I's new favorite song.

Big Ol Bear

Quinn went to his first concert last night, Iron & Wine. He stayed up the latest he's stayed up since he was born, 10pm!!! I have to admit, I was trying really hard not to think about him getting off his schedule and to just enjoy the concert. It was an awesome concert, I love his music. But I think Thurm & I both felt like that scene isn't as appealing as it once was. It made us appreciate that we are happily married and living the family life. I think we got our fill of being single, hanging out with all the hip people of SLC. But I do love a good concert. Especially at outdoor venues.








I went to Thurm's school a couple times this week to help him set up his classroom. And I realized that I'm a little disgruntled that his occupation requires me to forever be apart of high school. I couldn't wait to be out of high school and never looked back when I left. Only recently have I even been in contact with friends from high school. Not that I had a bad experience, but I was just biding my time till I could forever be done with petty girls, popularity contests, flirting with silly boys. A few years ago in college I ended up hanging out one evening with a couple of football players from high school. They both reminisced about high school being the "best days of their lives" and how they wished they could go back. I laughed out loud. That's just crazy. Thank goodness there are good teachers out there that are willing to put up with the silliness and arrogance of teenagers.

AFTER photos::Living Room

We had this room done the 2nd day we moved in, I don't know why it has taken me so long. I have been meaning to order pictures for our walls, but haven't. So I guess thats why I didn't want to post pictures yet. Oh well, just imagine a huge, gallery wrap family photo in the middle of the dark wall.

I had this room planned out long before we moved in. I knew I wanted walls in silver, dark grey, and damask wall paper so I could use them as photography backdrops. This room has lots of light so it'll be great. The rest of the house I have no ideas and no money for, so that will be for later. Oh, and I even have a wreath for our front door to make it officially our home.

Tonsil Update: Still sucky, not sleeping as much, the scabs are supposed to be falling off any day now (gross!!!!), one week of recovery down, possibly three more weeks to go : (

I know this blog is funny and ironic and sarcastic, but it still makes me mad because there really are women like this. I'm friends with some : ) (nobody you know).

http://www.seriouslysoblessed.com/

I feel the way about this blog as I did about Napoleon Dynamite, its too real life to be funny. The first time I watched Napoleon it was like NOT WATCHING a movie. It was like living a day of life.

It would be more funny if I knew less women like this.

While you were sleeping....

I had multiple ENT surgeries on Thursday. I've been awake about 10 of those hours since. Take lortab, sleep, sleep, eat popsicle, sleep, sleep, take more lortab. This is the most coherent I've been in four days, but I should probably have Thurm proof read this before publishing it. I remember how crazy my dad is on lortab (very chatty).

I got my tonsils & adnoids removed, a deviated septium fixed, mucus something or others removed from my nose, and my esphogus stretched.

While I've been sleeping, my mom & niece have been here to take care of us. While Thurm is an excellent chef, capable nurse, and a wonderful daddy, he is glad to have the help I'm sure. They've also helped us paint a bit of the basement and found two layers of wallpaper underneath two layers of paint. I haven't seen it, but I've heard there were lots of flowers and teal. So I'm not sure if we are just adding another laying of paint on top or ripping it all down.

Thurm undertook tiling the basement bathroom all by himself. He put up the waterproof sheeting and backerboard and its now ready to tile. I wonder what else they will get done while I sleep for a few more days?

Quick Post

Just a quick post...we've moved and are in our new house. We've been here for two weeks, but we've been crazy busy. We still aren't totally unpacked. But we've painted five rooms, installed two shower heads, and changed out a couple electrical outlets. We've also bought everything to tile the basement bathroom. So we've been busy, but we have SOOO much more to do! Its actually pretty fun having stuff to work on everyday (Wendover got PRETTY boring). But Thurm & I drop into bed every night at 11pm and realize we haven't hardly talked to each other about anything but the house, but are too tired to do anything but say goodnight.

Above are the BEFORE pictures of our living room. I don't have all my pictures hung on my walls, but when I do that, I'll post AFTER pictures.

I'm getting my tonsils out on Thursday and supposedly its a month recovery time for adults. Sort of bad timing for the house, but I wanted to get it done while Thurm was still out of school. He only has two weeks of summer left!!! Sad, sad, sad.

My Baby Boy is One Year Old

This year has gone by so fast with little Quinn. I always heard how much babies change in the first year, but it is so true. I am so blessed to have been able to stay at home with him for his first year of life. It would have broken my heart to have missed out on everything. Thurm and I were just looking at some newborn pics and thinking we can't remember a time when Quinn was just a quiet & small baby. He just seems like he came out of the womb with a huge personality, loud, and wise. He has been so expressive lately. Now that he has walking down to a perfected art, he has been concentrating on his actions. He loves to do patty cake, peek-a-boo with his own hands. giving "five", rubbing his head (I think he likes the feel of his buzzed hair), patting his chest. He has such a great sense of humor. It amazes me how smart he is! He totally gets jokes and when we are teasing him. He is a sweetie and so much fun.



I took a "what's your real age" quiz on facebook because the other day I decide Thurm & I live like a couple of retirees. We've eaten out twice this last week. Once we ate at one of the casinos because we had a 2 for 1 coupon to use. And the other time we ate at Coachman's Diner in SLC. Both times we ate at about 6pm because Quinn's bedtime is 7pm. Both times I looked around and noticed we were the only people under the age of 55. We were eating at places only seniors eat, we were eating at a time when only seniors eat, and we used a coupon. Also, my husband is home with me all day and we don't have much to do because we are just biding our time till we can close on our house. I now know what it will be like to be retired. Its a good life lazing around wondering what we are going to eat for our next early bird special.

We close on our house Tuesday and we are moving on Thursday! YAY!

My Sister-in-law & Family

Go to my photo blog to see more pics of Rachel's family. Click here www.natalieheiner.blogspot.com

Quinn's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday Quinn!

Quinn's 1st Birthday

Posting a new blog has been hanging over my head because solider boy Ben is sick of reading about "our refined heavenly homes." Guess we know where Ben is going.

Thurm, Quinn, & I have had a busy summer so far and its going to get busier! Mid-June we went to Bear Lake for a week with my family. We celebrated Quinn's first birthday by grilling hamburgers and breaking a pinata (photos to be posted soon). We thought the pinata was fitting because the first year of Quinn's life was spent in Wendover and that's the only culture he's ever known. I'll have to post pictures later. He wasn't that excited about the cake. I thought since I don't give him sugar that he would go crazy. When my niece, Elise, had her first taste of sugar during an Easter egg hunt, I thought she would claw someone's hand off if they took her cookie away. Quinn is more of a salty boy. He politely ate his cake but was more interested in the carrot shaped bat we bought for the pinata.

On our way home from Bear Lake we stopped in Logan and took some photos of my best friend's baby (photos to be posted soon). I set my camera down on her table within reach of Quinn and of course he pulled it off the table. The flash mount broke off and now I can't use a flash with that camera. The good news is I bought a NEW camera! So Thank YOU Quinn for providing the motivation to buy a new camera. However, I just took my sister-in-law's family photos (photos to be posted soon) and apparently I don't have a handle on the auto focus. It's a 12 point-system and half my photos turned out fuzzy. So I have to get that figured out before Monday. I have three sessions lined up for this Mon & Tues.

After Bear Lake we went to Pocatello for a week. It's always fun to go home. We helped do some yard work, ate lots of good food, watched a couple movies, and just hung out. My mom is collecting all my stuff that has been hanging around her house for the last decade and can't wait get rid of it. She thinks it will be about 2 truck loads of crap : ( We went to Idaho Falls for a night to see our niece, Emma, baptized. While we were there we got to attend the temple. This was only the second time since Quinn was born that we've gone! It was SO great! We went to the Rexburg temple and it was gorgeous! I wish I could live inside the temple. Now we are in Rupert for the 4th of July. We've gone to the "square" for 4th of July festivities. We've played lots of games. It's been nice to be in civilization so we can get some of our errands done. We save up all our shopping, fixing cars, going to the bank, etc. for when we visit our families. Can you believe we've lived in a town for two years doesn't have our bank!

But our BIG NEWS is that we finally bought a house!!! WOOHOOO!!! We committed! So hopefully next week we will be moving to Tooele! My brother did our inspection and said "it's a dump" and he "personally wouldn't buy it." But he also thought it could be a good investment and we potentially could make money on it. So with that encouragement, today was the last day for us to back out and we didn't. Wish us luck : )

Our Refined Heavenly Home

I really liked this talk out of the June 09 Ensign. I like his idea of how we should live life and I especially like his idea of heaven.


Our Refined Heavenly Home
By Elder Douglas L. Callister Of the Seventy



If we could part the veil and observe our heavenly home, we would be impressed with the cultivated minds and hearts of those who so happily live there. I imagine that our heavenly parents are exquisitely refined. In this great gospel of emulation, one of the purposes of our earthly probation is to become like them in every conceivable way so that we may be comfortable in the presence of heavenly parentage and, in the language of Enos, see their faces “with pleasure”(Enos 1:27).

President Brigham Young (1801–77) said, “We are trying to be the image of those who live in heaven; we are trying to pat[t]ern after them, to look like them, to walk and talk like them.”1 I would like to peek behind the veil that temporarily separates us from our heavenly home and paint a word picture of the virtuous, lovely, and refined circumstances that exist there. I will speak of the language, literature, music, and art of heaven, as well as the immaculate appearance of heavenly beings, for I believe that in heaven we will find each of these in pure and perfected form.

The nearer we get to God, the more easily our spirits are touched by refined and beautiful things.

Language

God speaks all languages, and He speaks them properly. He is restrained and modest of speech. When God described the grand creational process of this earth, He said in measured tones that “it was good” (Genesis 1:4). We would be disappointed if God had used “awesome” or other exaggerated phrases.

Britain’s Ben Jonson said: “Language most shows a man. Speak, that I may see thee.”2 Our language reveals our thoughts, virtues, insecurities, doubts—even the homes from which we come. We will feel more comfortable in Heavenly Father’s presence if we have developed proper habits of speech.

I suppose that the language of heaven, properly spoken, may approach a form of music. Did C. S. Lewis have this in mind when he wrote, “Isn’t it funny the way some combinations of words can give you—almost apart from their meaning—a thrill like music?”3 At the birth of Jesus the angels appeared and spoke, not sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). We now try to capture that beauty in song, but the original angelic utterance was in spoken words.

In his biography on Ralph Waldo Emerson, Van Wyck Brooks relates that Emerson was invited to speak at the commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the great poet Shakespeare’s birth. After proper introduction Emerson presented himself at the pulpit and then sat down. He had forgotten his notes. He preferred to say nothing rather than words not well measured. For some, it was Emerson in one of his most eloquent hours.4

Refinement in speech is more than polished elocution. It results from purity of thought and sincerity of expression. A child’s prayer on occasion may reflect the language of heaven more nearly than a Shakespearean soliloquy.

Refinement in speech is reflected not only in our choice of words but also in the things we talk about. There are those who always speak of themselves; they are either insecure or proud. There are those who always speak of others; they are usually boring. There are those who speak of stirring ideas, compelling books, and inspiring doctrine; these are the few who make their mark in this world. The subjects discussed in heaven are not trifling or mundane; they are sublime beyond our most extended imagination. We will feel at home there if we are rehearsed on this earth in conversing about the refined and noble, clothing our expressions in well-measured words.

Literature

Is Friday evening a frenetic flight to see where the entertainment and action will be? Could our society today produce an Isaac Newton or a Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? Can 85 channels and uncountable DVDs ever fill our insatiable appetite to be entertained? Do any unwisely become addicted to computer games or Internet surfing, thereby missing the richer experiences of great reading, conversations, and enjoyment of music?

I don’t know whether our heavenly home has a television set or a DVD player, but in my mind’s imagery it surely has a grand piano and a magnificent library. There was a fine library in the home of President Gordon B. Hinckley’s (1910–2008) youth. It was not an ostentatious home, but the library contained about 1,000 volumes of the rich literature of the world, and President Hinckley spent his early years immersed in these books. To be well-read, however, it is not necessary to possess expensive collections of literature, for they are available to rich and poor alike in the libraries of the world.

President David O. McKay (1873–1970) was inclined to awaken daily at 4:00 a.m., skim read up to two books, and then commence his labors at 6:00 a.m. He could quote 1,000 poems from memory. He referred to the grand masters of literature as the “minor prophets.” He was a living embodiment of the scriptural admonition to “seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” (D&C 88:118).

My wife and I recently spent four years on Church assignment in Eastern Europe. We often traveled on the Moscow underground subway, called the Metro. We noticed the bowed heads of the Russian passengers, for they were reading Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dostoyevsky, or Pushkin—and, sometimes, Mark Twain. The people were poor, but they were not obsessed with their poverty. They possessed the rich tradition of Russian literature, art, and music.

President McKay noted: “As with companions so with books. We may choose those which will make us better, more intelligent, more appreciative of the good and the beautiful in the world, or we may choose the trashy, the vulgar, the obscene, which will make us feel as though we’ve been ‘wallowing in the mire.’”5

Of course, the scriptures stand paramount among good literature, for they are not founded on the opinions of men.

Music

If we could peek behind the heavenly veil, we would likely be inspired by the music of heaven, which is probably more glorious than any music we have heard on this earth.

When some music has passed the tests of time and been cherished by the noble and refined, our failure to appreciate it is not a condemnation of grand music. The omission is within. If a young person grows up on a steady diet of hamburgers and french fries, he is not likely to become a gourmet. But the fault is not with fine food. He just grew up on something less. Some have grown up on a steady diet of musical french fries.

This would be a good time to sift through your music library and choose primarily that which uplifts and inspires. It is part of the maturing process of your eternal journey. This would also be a fine time to learn a musical instrument or improve musical skills now partially possessed.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “We … live in a world that is too prone to the tasteless and we need to provide an opportunity to cultivate a taste for the finest music. And likewise, we’re in a world that’s so attuned to the now. We need to permit people to be more attuned to the best music of all the ages.”6

Recognizing the penetrating influence of great music, Oscar Wilde had one of his characters say, “After playing Chopin, I feel as if I had been weeping over sins that I had never committed, and mourning over tragedies that were not my own.”7 After the first performance of Messiah, Handel, responding to a compliment, said, “My lord, I should be sorry if I only entertained them—I wish to make them better.”8 Haydn “dressed in his best clothes to compose because he said he was going before his maker.”9

Some events in life are so sublime that they cannot be imagined without the companionship of beautiful music. We could not have a Christmas without carols or a general conference without sacred anthems. And there could not be a heaven without music of surpassing beauty. President Young said, “There is no music in hell, for all good music belongs to heaven.”10 It would be punishment enough to go to hell and not hear a note of music for all eternity.

Art, Appearance, and Attitude

What I have shared about bringing great language, literature, and music into the home may be said with equal truth of great art—perhaps tastefully displayed in our heavenly home. It may also be said of our physical appearance and manners, the order of our homes, how we offer our prayers, and how we read God’s word.

I once visited briefly with the great actress Audrey Hepburn while she was making the movie My Fair Lady. She spoke of the opening scene in the movie in which she depicted a modest, unpolished flower girl. Her face had been besmirched with charcoal to make her seem part of her surroundings. “But,” she said with a twinkle in her eye, “I was wearing my perfume. Inside I still knew I was a lady.” It doesn’t take expensive perfume to make a lady, but it does require cleanliness, modesty, self-respect, and pride in one’s appearance.

Many years ago an associate of mine decided he would please his wife by sharing with her a specific compliment each night as he arrived home. One night he praised her cooking. A second night he thanked her for excellence in housekeeping. A third night he acknowledged her fine influence on the children. The fourth night, before he could speak, she said, “I know what you are doing. I thank you for it. But don’t say any of those things. Just tell me you think I am beautiful.”

She expressed an important need she had. Women ought to be praised for all the gifts they possess—including their attentiveness to their personal appearance—that so unselfishly add to the richness of the lives of others. We must not let ourselves go and become so casual—even sloppy—in our appearance that we distance ourselves from the beauty heaven has given us.

Some flippantly say, “How I look has nothing to do with how God feels about me.” But it is possible for both earthly parents and heavenly parents to have unspoken disappointment in their offspring without diminished love.

President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918), sixth President of the Church, owned few things, but he took care of them. He was fastidious in his appearance. He pressed his dollar bills to remove the wrinkles. He allowed none but himself to pack his overnight bag. He knew where every article, nut, and bolt of the household was, and each had its place.

Would this be true of the environment in which you live? Is it a house of order? Need you dust, clean, and rearrange before you invite the Spirit of the Lord into your home? President Lorenzo Snow (1814–1901) said: “The Lord does not intend that the Saints shall live always in dens and caves of the earth, but that they shall build fine houses. When the Lord comes he will not expect to meet a dirty people, but a people of refinement.”11

David Starr Jordan, former president of Stanford University, wrote: “To be vulgar is to do that which is not the best of its kind. It is to do poor things in poor ways, and to be satisfied with that. … It is vulgar to wear dirty linen when one is not engaged in dirty work. It is vulgar to like poor music, to read weak books, to feed on sensational newspapers, … to find amusement in trashy novels, to enjoy vulgar theatres, to find pleasure in cheap jokes.”12

Your Father in Heaven has sent you away from His presence to have experiences you would not have had in your heavenly home—all in preparation for the conferral of a kingdom. He doesn’t want you to lose your vision. You are children of an exalted being. You are foreordained to preside as kings and queens. You will live in a home and environment of infinite refinement and beauty, as reflected in the language, literature, music, art, and order of heaven.

I close with the words of President Young: “Let us … show to the world that we have talent and taste, and prove to the heavens that our minds are set on beauty and true excellence, so that we can become worthy to enjoy the society of angels.”13

Even more, may we become worthy to enjoy the refined society of heavenly parentage, for we are of the race of the Gods, being “children of the most High” (Psalm 82:6).