making a house our home

Thank you to everyone for all the good wishes for the baby! We are very excited! I am excited to be able to start decorating and making the room cute for her! It'd be nice if I could get to that point where everyone says I'm supposed to feel good and have lots of energy though! I'm thinking people just say that to help you hold on a little longer and have something to look forward to!
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I've been on a kick lately to make our house more homey! Since we moved in - last July - our walls have been pretty bare, except for the nasty flat white paint and the black marks from any time anything touches them! I'm starting to find pictures to hang and make the walls a little nicer - and now, thanks to my sister-in-law, I finally found something to do with our 'Mother Mary'-looking wall arch!

When we moved in all we could do was joke about putting a picture of Mary or the crucifix in this stupid thing but Natalie cut some vinyl for me and now, other than it being a little crooked, I think it looks alright! (it'll be better once we get to paint the walls!)

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We had the Elders over for dinner a little while ago, Mike's dad came because he was home alone - Mike made some awesome steaks! As they always do, the Elders left us with the question "do you know anyone we could visit with?" They went on to explain about member missionaries and how we could use our home to introduce people to the gospel. One elder then told us that our home would be a great place to have people over because he could definitely feel the Spirit in our home. Since we've been married my number one goal has been to make our home a place that the Spirit could always be. When Elder Cox said this I think it was the greatest compliment anyone has EVER given me! To know that our home is a place where people can come and feel the presence of the Spirit is such a great feeling!

I love the quote found in the Bible Dictionary - and know that it is SO true - "Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness"! That's a pretty big deal! It takes thought and effort but it is worth it to know that your family is protected from the world in your home! This has also strengthened my testimony of being a wife and a mother and a daughter of God - to know that it is in my power to create such a sacred and safe place for those I love!