9, 10 Talking Floors Again!

We have been moved in for a little over two weeks now and things are coming along.  I think Travis and I have realized the true meaning of exhaustion :) Before we moved to Paradise I was about to study my scriptures one night when I decided to study by topic. As I searched through the Topical Guide I looked for a topic that might interest me that night. I thumbed through the words and I came to Rest. I clicked on the topic curious to see what it would say and this scripture popped up, "Paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles, and all their cares..." Alma 40:12. Although in this scripture "Paradise" is meant to be a different meaning from the "Paradise" where we live I totally felt love from the Lord in reassuring me that this is what we were suppose to be doing. We set out on the porch at night and listen to the sprinklers in the fields while eating Popsicles with the kids and I am constantly shown tender mercies from the Lord.

I had such a great lesson in Relief Society today I thought I would share since it is Sunday. Today's lesson was "With God all things are Possible". We talked about D&C Section 121 (My favorite section in the D&C).  In verse forty-five it reads, "then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God." It is just amazing to me how God is with us all the time and his hand is in everything. I recently had an experience with a close friend of mine who is not active and told her and her boyfriend I was going to send the missionaries to their house, because he had so many questions about the gospel.  I have been praying that things will work out and as I was writing this post a knock came at my door. Who else but two Sister missionaries who were lost. I gave them some water and before they left they asked if there was anything they could do for me. The thought came to my mind to give them her address. So I did and they said they would give it to their mission president tomorrow at their meetings. This is because they live across the globe, but I believe that the Lord works in wondrous ways. Sorry, just wanted to share my cool experience.

Now lets get to those floors that have been bugging me for a while. This is the before, that I really didn't like.

 

And this is the after

 

 

 

It's funny but after all of that work I think all they needed was a little shine. We ended up using polyurethane and not tung oil. Tung oil didn't even make a difference in the shine of the floors, but once we put the polyurethane on it made them look more finished. When I talked to "Carpet Keith" our carpet guy, he recommended using a Satin finish, which turned out perfect. It cleans up nice and shows little dirt.

My project a week ago was painting the side porch. It was an eye soar and this is the door that all of our company comes in, so something had to be done. This is a before picture of the side porch to the house. I just wire brushed the old paint off and painted with an ultra white outdoor paint that had primer in it. I'm too lazy to actually prime before, which is what you really should do, thus I used paint with primer.

 

 

And this is the after. Painting all of the detail was definitely time consuming, but worth it.  I bought the chairs at a yard sale last year, all four for forty bucks, and I think they fit perfect. I just need to add some plants in the pots and flower beds for more color and I think we will have a nice little side porch.

 

 

 

 

I also went crazy and painted the front door BLUE! I love it! Some don't, but that's okay. I think I was feeling a patriotic spirit. I think if I added a door knocker it would complete it. I can just see the front porch this winter with an old sleigh, some skates, and a cute Christmas wreath!

  

Here are some other projects that we have been working on.  



 

 

I originally painted the hallway white and was going to leave it, but it was very boring and dull. So I painted it my go-to color for this house, Smokey Slate. It seemed to make the hallway a lot more lively.  I also got a great deal on the canvas of the kids and it ended up fitting perfectly.

 

 

This is the bench that Travis added in the living room to help with the uneven floors. I have been a little skeptical from day one about this bench, but it is turning out better than I thought.  He does good work! He also suggested as I was hanging the clocks randomly around the house, that maybe I should group them all together. Great Idea! They are a little high but I worried about the kids knocking them down if they were any lower. Once I add the cushions and pillows on the benches I think it will balance out the height of the clocks.

 

This last little while we have had some great helpers come and visit us. Of course we put them to work in the yard tearing down brick walls. Warner and Abi came and visited us for a week and then little Sydney came and visited us for a week. The kids have loved having their cousins visit.  If you look close you can see Ashlyn, she pretty much lives in her swimsuit and rain boots these days. Great farming attire.

 



 

This last Monday we were in Bear Lake so we stopped by the Raspberry patch to check on the berries and pick weeds in the rows. I suggested to Travis that we get up about 5am and go pick weeds so it would be cooler, but he said we would be fine leaving at 8am. So we headed out the patch to pick weeds at 8am. Once we got to about the middle of this 4 acre patch of berries about 11am, I was dying! It was hot and the weeds seemed to never end. I kept telling myself just keep going we are almost done. Luckily my husband is quite the champ, especially after a swig of a 5 hour energy drink.  There were about 10 rows left, when he said he would finish if I cleaned out the shed and the coolers. Love him! It brought back memories of when we cained the raspberries while we were dating. Good times. Who new I would see that raspberry patch every year after that? 

 

 

My battle wounds. This is where we will be the next month so we will see how much we can get done on the house in this next week before the berries come on. I'll keep you posted.

 

Just a little side note: Life and work is a lot more fun when you are living and working with your best friend! Love ya Trav!