HODGEPODGE

Life at the DeGooyer home keeps on keeping on....  Life is fun!  Life is busy!  And life sometimes isn't so much fun....  Here's a snapshot of the past two weeks....

Two weeks ago, Scott got free tickets to a Louisville Bats baseball game.  We enjoyed being outdoors, eating gourmet hot-dogs, and watching the game.  Unfortunately the Bats lost.  We decided to leave at the 7th inning to go see the new Independence Day movie.  It was fun, but not impressive.  Luckily we can still enjoy the movies for free since Key Lime Pie works there...  I wouldn't have wanted to pay for that one.  We still enjoyed being together though.

Key Lime Pie and Kotten Kandy had a total BLAST at youth conference two weeks ago.  (They had so much fun that they forgot to take pictures.  Which was sad for mom!)  I did get one photo of their roommates together.  They had such a good time with these beautiful young ladies!  Both girls said that youth conference was truly a spiritual experience and they had moments of great fun too!  They really liked hanging out with these girls and Asparagus and Taffey too....

We also had another teen party at our house on Friday.  This group of teenagers is so awesome!  They are wholesome and fun!  They played silly games like What If...? and Family.  They searched for Pokemon.  They sang songs at the top of their voices.  And they made s'mores.  Again... I only have a picture of them searching for Pokemon....  Silly kids!

This week, Kotten Kandy, Key Lime Pie and I decided to paint our bathrooms.  We chose a coral color.  I LOVE the color and the makeover!  And both girls were SUPER helpful.  (Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Key Lime Pie and I... and the picture I did get of Kotten Kandy and I looks TERRIBLE because we were working so hard....)

Sometimes, when it's JUST our family at home... we get a little weird.  See?!

Yesterday, our entire family spoke in church - at the Carrolton Branch.  It was really fun!  The branch has really grown and gotten better under the direction of President Call.  I was also really glad to have the opportunity to study about faith.  It was fun to see each of our different takes on the same subject....

Kotten Kandy spoke about "By faith...."  She shared Hebrews 11 with the congregation and talked about the list of "by faith"(s) in the chapter.  Ie. By faith Moses parted the Red Sea.  By faith Daniel survived the lion's den.  etc.  Then she made her own, personal, list of "by faith"(s).  Her list really touched my heart.  Here are a few that I remember:

     By faith our family moved to Kentucky when all of our extended family lived out west.  The move has made us a stronger family unit and strengthened our testimonies.

     By faith, her good friend, Spencer Schmid, set an example for her by going on a mission.

     By faith, her grandfather joined the Church while serving in the army and reading the Book of Mormon by the light of the Coke machine.

     By faith, her grandmother went to Germany to marry her grandpa without any friends and not speaking the language.

     By faith Key Lime Pie is moving forward with life after high school.

I really enjoyed her entire list and now I want to make a list of faith experiences too!

Key Lime Pie spoke about her "collection" of quotes.  She has always wanted to have a collection. (I collect pencils and nativities.  Scott collects hats.  Kotten Kandy collects owls and journals.)  When she realized she collects quotes, she was so excited that she wanted to share.  She shared her favorite faith based quotes and why they are some of her favorites.

Her favorite quote is by C.S. Lewis:  "I believe in Christ, like I believe in the sun -  not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything."  She talked about going on a sunrise hike with her cousins during spring break.  She likened watching the sun slowly get higher and higher and being able to see all of the beauty around her as it rose was a lot like "seeing" the entire plan of salvation and understanding the Savior's sacrifice by faith!

She also shared the quote by Neal A. Maxwell, "Faith in God includes faith in His timing."  - I like that one too!  I need to remember this one because I need to remember that the "time" in my life right now is letting my daughter grow up to become an independent, beautiful woman!  (Man, it's hard to get ready to let her go.....)

Scott spoke about faith too!  He shared some personal stories that illustrated the importance of implementing faith in our lives.  He talked about when he was out of work for 2 years and how it took faith to move from Las Vegas to Arizona and then from Arizona to Kentucky.  It was really touching.

Finally, I spoke about the 4 tools of faith:  Prayer, Scripture Study, Regular Temple Attendance and Family Home Evening/Family Relationships.