For the first 19 years of my life I lived in the same ward. I attended the same church building. It was the same building that my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents attended. In fact, my great-great-grandfather helped build it after crossing the plains by handcart. In my hometown it is known as the Rock Church. Whenever I see it, I think of home.
Home is an interesting thing. The structure doesn't matter. What really matters is that the Spirit of the Lord is felt there. It is where the gospel is taught. I want my home to be a place of refuge for my family. A safe place to go where they are not teased or hurt. Most importantly, a place where they can feel loved. A place of peace and happiness.
In reality, that doesn't always happen, but at least it is a goal and something we are willing to work towards. Over the years I have learned that home really can be a heaven on earth when we are willing to put forth the effort to make it that way.
I packed her purse back up and sent her on her way. The problem comes when I need a paper clip or pencil sharpener. We have to hunt down one of the many purses (you'd be surprised where we find them). I still haven't found my stapler. There are perks however. That drawer of mine has remained clean & organized for weeks, of course there's nothing it it but that 's okay.
I realize it will only be like this for another 3 or 4 months. In the meantime, I like long hot showers so I can turn it into a sauna in no time.
I decided to show you all virtual tour of our house.
We had the piano only a few months when Vanessa scratched it up. You know the wire in silk flowers, well, 
This is what it often looks like. I try to keep it clean and usually it is but, every once in a while......
This is our Texas room. My aunt gave me this couch and chair. They belonged to my grandparents before that. In fact, when my mom took my dad to meet her parents for the first time, my grandparents went out and bought this furniture before they arrived. My grandparents were trying to impress my dad. I don't know if he was impressed but, I am. 
We have a little sitting room at the top of our stairs. I love the built in bookshelves. We are a reading family so the bookshelves are a big plus. We are always checking the used books for sale at our local library. We are always buying books for 25 - 50 cents. The chair was my grandpa's and the rug was made by my great grandfather whom I never met. This is also our multi-cultural room with things from Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela.
We have an extra room upstairs that is our guest room. Esteban lived here when we first moved into the house. He decided after a month or two he would rather be downstairs so he shares a room with AJ. I call this my green room.
The bed is from my bed and bedspread is from my cousin. The bed frame is the frame my mom used when she was growing up. The desk in the corner where I use my sewing machine was built by my grandpa. The rocking chair in the corner is from my other grandparents. The painting on the wall was painted by me. All of my crafts are organized in the closet. It really is one of my favorite rooms in the house. 
We also have our storage room. It is nice for the empty boxes I like to collect. We keep our food storage that we are working on building up down there. 
This is Ethan's room. The bookshelf was built by my grandpa. Ethan seems to enjoy having his own space. I think some nights he stays up pretty late reading. 
Esteban and AJ share this room. They don't seem to mind the bunk beds. I think bunk beds just part of growing up in a big family.
The girls like their room. It doesn't stay clean for very long either. This bedspread is one that my grandma made for me and my sisters when we were little girls. The girls want me to paint their room pink. I don't know how I feel about that. As you can see they like to keep 
Our room has 
Alas, as the summer progressed fewer and fewer people came to see the house. We haven't showed the house for weeks. I think the weak economy and horrible housing market has kept people from buying homes. We knew it was bad timing to sell the house but we also felt that it was right for us to give it a try.
The kids don't mind. In fact, 
This is our new home. We feel like this house was built for us even though, the original house was built in 1903. In the late 70's, an addition was added to the back. The important thing is that it has enough space for our big family.
The thing that got us most interested in the property was the big yard with a pond and a barn. Yes, come spring we will have ducks and geese once again.
When we first moved to Texas the nearest temple was 10 hours away in Dallas. Later, we only had to drive 6 hours to Houston. The last year we were there, it was a 4 hour trip one-way to San Antonio. Now, we can see the Logan Temple out of our back window. Since, that is where we were married, it means so much to live nearby.
In fact, it has looked like this for several days. I strive to keep a house of order and cleanliness, but every once in a while, this happens. I've noticed that for some unknown reason people only "drop in" when my house is a disaster. Nobody just happens by when it is clean. I guess this is one of life's many mysteries.
