Apartment, Apartment, Apartment, House, Apartment, Apartment...

Last week's Family Search Question was: How many different homes or apartments have you lived in throughout your life?

I have lived in a total of seven apartments (I don't remember the first three) and one house, so far.

When I was born my parents lived in a studio apartment in Provo near where  the current Rec Center is. The Summer after I was born we lived in single student housing called The Elms. At the time, they rented to families at a knock down price each Summer. From there (I was almost a year old) we moved to some Apartments in Orem. They were an 8-plex, with four on top and four on the bottom. We lived in one of the bottom ones. My mom found black widows outside of the windows, and wanted to move as soon as possible.

We then moved to our last apartments, also in Orem. These I do remember. We lived in them the longest, 4 or 5 years before we got a house. I wrote about it in a previous post. We got a house the year I turned 7 years old. My parents still live in that house, and I lived there until 2010 when I married Gerson.

I decided to live at home for my freshman year at BYU. My mom wanted me to move into the dorms so that I  could have the "full college experience." But I had hated the dorms when I went to EFY, and I wasn't too keen to live in them again. Also, the thought of roommates scared me, I didn't want to do that either. So I lived at home, met Gerson, and we fell in love and got married! So my only roommate has been my husband. 😍

When Gerson and I first got married we lived in a one bedroom apartment out by the Provo Cemetary. The complex was called Heritage Court. There were three levels. We lived on the third floor and in a corner - which meant we got one extra window than everyone else. This apartment had a gas stove/oven, which I was really scared of at first, but now I miss it! (When we get a house, I'm putting in a gas stove/oven.) We lived there for two years and then we decided to look for a place closer to BYU. At the time we had only one car, Gerson had graduated and had a job, but I was still in school. So the plan was for Gerson to drive the car to work, and I would walk to school.

We found married student housing at Cambridge Court, and they were the perfect walking distance! They were also one bedroom. In between signing with them, and moving in, we got a second car and got pregnant with Benjamin. I still saved gas by walking to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Benjamin was born while we lived there. We planned only one year there, and found a two bedroom apartment in Orem when our lease was up.

We currently live in that two bedroom apartment, We have been here for almost four years now. Since moving here, I have graduated from college and Luna has joined our family. A washer and dryer came with it - our previous apartments didn't even have hookups, so we had to do laundry at my parents house. It's been a good place. I'm hoping we can upgrade to renting or owning a home in the next year or so, but we'll see how things play out for us. For now we are happy here. I have some good friends, and our ward is great.

Books, Dolls, and Care Bears

This week's Family Search question is: What kinds of things did you collect and display in your childhood bedroom?

Growing up I had a lot of toys. Between my brother and I we had stuffed animals, Legos, Barbies, Bionicles, Little People, and an assortment of other things. Whenever McDonald's had new toys for their Happy Meals, my mom would call around on the days we planned on going to find out which location had a toy we didn't have yet. But my very favorite items were my books, my porcelain dolls, and my Care Bears.

Books

As talked about in other posts, I love to read! While I have checked out books from the library in the past, I really prefer to own them. So if there is a book I want to read, I will generally buy so that I can read it. The headboard of my bed at my parents' house is a book shelf, and I have two more book shelves in my childhood bedroom. Last time I counted my books - which was in 2011 or 2012 - I had over 300 books between my parents house and my apartment! When I was little I was so proud of my book collection (and I still am) that I created my own catalog as if my room was a library, and I dreamed of being a librarian. (In fact, I still think about that sometimes even though I have a teaching degree.)

Dolls

My very first porcelain doll was a gift from my grandma. It is a traditional size, wears a pink dress, and has brown curly hair. Over the years I got  a couple others as gifts as well. In my early teens, our local dollar store had this collection of miniature porcelain dolls. That's what I gave my friends for Christmas that year (one doll each), and my mom slowly bought me the entire collection as well! My great Grandma Nola Peterson had a china hutch full of porcelain dolls. When we would visit, I always asked to hold my favorite: a Native American child sitting cross legged. About a year before she died, my grandma gave me that doll so that no one else would get it after she died. She didn't want any mistakes happening in getting me that doll. It's my most precious of my dolls. Even though it's not porcelain, I also consider my American Girl Kaya doll apart of this collection. When I was 12 we drove from our home in Utah to New York and back. One of our stops was in Chicago. We went to the American Girl store and I used my hard earned babysitting money to buy Kaya and her horse.

Care Bears

My mom, my grandma, and my great-grandma all love Care Bears; and that love was instilled in me as well! My mom has her own collection that I believe my great Grandma made. She also had this box of little plastic Care Bears that my brother and I played with growing up. When I was in my preteens, my mom and my grandma gave me these giant Care Bears for Christmas! Build-a-Bear has their version of Care Bears, and we have started collecting those ones for Luna.

All of these items are still very important to me. And when we get a house and have room for them, I plan on moving most of them in with me. I also plan on sharing them with my kids if these things peak their interest like they did mine.

Growing up a Larson

This week's Family Search question is: What was your childhood home like?

I have lived my entire life in the Provo/Orem area. Although it wasn't my first home, the earliest one I remember was an apartment complex in Orem. It was the last apartment we lived in before my parents bought a house. It was a nice place. I had lots of friends there. It's where I met my best friend Lindsey, who I wrote about a few weeks ago.

The apartments faced each other and there was a big grassy area in between that all of the kids played in. There was a garden area that the tenets could share, no one else was interested in gardening, so my mom used the whole thing! She of course shared the food with our neighbors. There was a swimming pool that was open during the summer. My dad was hired by the landlord as the pool manager in exchange for free rent during the summer months.

We lived in that apartment when my brother was born. That is my earliest memory; my paternal grandma watching me while my parents were in the hospital. I also attended kindergarten while living there. My parents taught me how to read and basic addition and subtraction before I entered kindergarten. (With my dad being a math teacher, education was important.)

That summer we built a house in Provo, where my parents still live. My brother and I each got our own rooms, and we got to pick which room we got! My mom dug a garden, and my dad built a tree house in the backyard. Because of my dad being a school teacher, we wanted my school schedule to match his. So I went to a different school from the rest of the kids in my neighborhood because that school was a year round school, and I went to a traditional August-May school. But that was only for first grade because then they built a new school that my neighborhood fell into the new boundaries. Going to that school helped me meet all of the other kids in my neighborhood that weren't in my ward.

My parents, brother, and I were really close. We had family home evening on Mondays (some years it was Sunday), we read scriptures every night. We had three different sets of scriptures to go with my and Michael's reading level. We started with what I call the "comic book" scriptures. then we read an other simplified version but with less pictures and more paragraphs. Then we moved on to the actual scriptures. By the time I was a teenager we became really inconsistent with both FHE and scripture reading. Michael and I became involved in extra curricular activities and got jobs, which was part of it. I'm hoping to learn from that and hopefully not fall into the same rut when my kids are teenagers.

Our house very frequently played host to family parties and friend parties. Most of the family parties on my dad's side of the family were at our house growing up. Now, they are usually at my Uncle Doug's house because his new house is the biggest house in the family. My Junior and Senior year in high school I hosted a lot of homework parties and weekend get-togethers with my friends and dance teammates.

I really enjoyed my childhood home. It was the atmosphere - not the actual house - that made it great. I still love visiting and my kids love going over to grandma and papa's house. I hope that I have created a similar atmosphere for my kids.

April 2017 General Conference Highlights

Every general conference I take notes in my journal - so my conference notes are a journal entry - and I thought I would put my favorite parts here to share with everyone.

General Women's Session

Sister Bonnie H. Cordon talked about being Centered in Christ. She taught three ways to keep centered:

1. Feast upon the words of Christ.
2. Come to the Lord and trust Him through prayer.
3. come to the Lord as we serve others.

Sister Carol F. McConkie spoke about holiness. My favorite part was:

"Holiness is in the striving and the struggle to keep the commandments and to honor the covenants we have made with God. Holiness is making the choices that will keep the Holy Ghost as our guide. Holiness is setting aside our natural tendencies and becoming “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.” 

Sister Linda K. Burton talked about being a certain woman. Meaning we are certain in our faith, knowledge, and keeping our covenants.

President Henry B. Eyring talked about peace and the Holy Ghost. He told the story about how in the process of disciplining his son, the Holy Ghost helped him see his son the way the Lord sees his son, "You are holding a great person."

Saturday Morning Session

President Henry B. Eyring talked about the spiritual gathering of families. He said that we have the opportunity to accept or reject God's invitation to gather.

M. Joseph Brough:

"When Satan wants us to think all is lost, Bishops are there to guide us.""Repentance isn't a punishment, it is a privilege."

Elder Dale G. Renlund talked about love, empathy, and compassion. He said that God is clear about what is right and what is wrong. God doesn't want blind followers, but he does want us to choose Him. Elder Renlund reminded us that God's laws and doctrine cannot be changed by us. He also said, "we must not be guilty of persecuting anyone inside or outside of the Church." He counseled us to have respect for all and hatred towards none.

Elder Mark A. Bragg gave us three places we can always find light:

1. The light of the church.
2. The light of the gospel.
3. The light of Christ.

President Russell M. Nelson explained how it is incomplete to speak of the Atonement without including Jesus Christ. He said that it was Jesus Christ who suffered, who broke the bands of death, who delivered us. There is not entity called the Atonement. Jesus Christ is the source, the Atonement is what he did. "Faith in Jesus Christ propels us to do things we normally wouldn't do."

Saturday Afternoon Session

Elder Robert D. Hales talked bout discipleship. He said that true disciples are not just followers, but live so that the characteristics of Christ are molded into the very fiber of their being. He said that we cannot have selective obedience and be part-time disciples. "Be as devoted to God in the public square as we are in private."

Elder Jeffery R. Holland  talked about inclusion using the symbolism of a choir. He said that Christ has perfect pitch, and the rest of the voices of God's choir are all different, and the loss of one voice is devastating. He said that there is a place for everyone who loves God, follows his commandments, and wishes to be here. He said that loving God and keeping his commandments is the only way to solve problems.

Elder Gary B. Sabin talked about being all in and fully committed to the gospel. He said, "It is better to follow the creator than the crowd."

Elder Valeri V. Cordon gave us three ways to preserve the language of the gospel:

1. Be more diligent and concerned at home.
2. Be a strong model in the family.
3. Traditions.

Neil L. Andersen talked about overcoming the world. I won't say much about it here, because I'm writing about his talk for Mormon Women Stand. So, stay tuned!

Elder M. Russell Ballard talked about goals and the Plan of Salvation. He said that our personal goals should fit into the plan of salvation. He also said that the simpler it is, the more power it has. He gave the example of "Return and Receive." Our goal is to return to Heavenly Father and receive his blessings. He reminded us that Satan also has goals, and he uses loud voices and those who are blind to his lies to try to accomplish them. Elder Ballard reminded us again to keep Jesus Christ and his doctrine at the center of our goals.

I didn't take notes during the Priesthood Session, but I did listen to it. I really enjoyed it and felt the spirit. I especially enjoyed President Monson's message about how people use the priesthood correctly when they are serving and compassionate. I also liked Elder Bednar's message about the difference between being called to serve and assigned to an area.

Sunday Morning Session

President Thomas S. Monson announced five new temples! Brasilia, Brazil. Manila, Philippines. Nairobi, Kenya. Pocatello, Idaho USA. And Saratoga Springs, Utah USA. I always giggle when a new Utah temple is announced because you can hear the congregation in the conference center react - the loudest was definitely when he announced the Provo City Center temple several years ago. He then talked about the importance of gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. He said that because the Book of Mormon is true, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church on earth.

Sister Joy D. Jones gave us three universal guidelines on how to fortify our children against evil and raise a sin resistant generation:

1. Understand the importance of the responsibility of raising them and see their divine entity as children of God.
2. Understand repentance.
3. Begin at early ages.

Elder Yoon Hwan Choi said that his father taught him, "do not lose your faith because of the people around you... build a relationship with Christ...don't look around, look up."

Elder Ronald A. Rasband gave us four ways to keep the spirit with us:

1. Strive to be worthy of the spirit.
2. Be willing to receive the spirit.
3. Recognize the spirit when it comes.
4. Act on the first prompting.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks talked about the Godhead. I'm also writing about his talk for Mormon Women Stand. So once again, stay tuned!

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf talked about fear and how it can incorrectly motivate people. He then compared it to how Heavenly Father motivates, which is through Jesus Christ and his love.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson talked about the duty to warn. I really don't know how to do it justice in a summary, so I'm just going to tell you to read it or listen to it again. It was so amazing.

Elder Joaquin E. Costa gave four pieces of advice to new members and investigators:

1. Once you meet the missionaries, please take them seriously.
2. If you are confused, don't worry, remember your good feelings and know they come from God.
3. Read your scriptures - it is the only way to know they are true.
4. Experience repentance. Nothing draws you closer to Jesus Christ than the desire to change.

Elder S. Mark Palmer said that the invitation to repent is also an invitation to receive forgiveness and peace.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson talked about the Holy Ghost. He said that the Holy Ghost warns, comforts, and testifies.

Elder C. Scott Grow taught to come to know God through prayer, scripture study, doing God's will, becoming like Christ, and following righteous mentors.

Elder Quentin L. Cook said, "Faith is the essential foundation for exaltation and eternal life."

I did miss a few speakers in my notes because my kids needed me, so I'm looking forward to reading those talks in the Ensign next month! This was a great conference weekend. I feel uplifted and edified.