Why is it there?

I don't like looking for things. It drives me crazy when I have to look for something that I know I put in a certain place, but it's not THERE! That's why I try to be so organized and why I label everything, so that I don't have to remember where it goes and so, hopefully, others in the house and find what they need and will put it back where it belongs when they are finished. I wish the latter happened more often. I am truly amazed at where I find some things. Take for instance, the chandelier in our entryway.





Need a closer look?




What can those shadows be? Well amazingly this is what they are:




A sock and a gum wrapper. Well, of course. Just what you'd expect to find in a chandelier, right? Don't ask me. I couldn't possibly explain it.
Now, another prime example. This is the glass fronted curio cabinet in our entryway. It has a statue of Jesus Christ and mementos from Matt's mission to Japan and Mike's mission to Chile. Lovely?



But, on the top the other day I found this:



I dont' even think that would have been easy to put there from the stairs. So, all I can say is, "Why?" The frustrating part is that I will never know. I won't know why there is a cereal bowl left on the shelves in the family room, or food under the cushions on the couch on which no-one is ever supposed to eat. I think my mother will say I should have taught my children better, but it's been a long time since she's lived with children and teenagers.

Finding a little "peace" of heaven

My husband and I were sitting in the living room of our house this morning. We had spent a terribly stressful night with a child (our exchange student) in the emergency room. All morning we had talked to each other and others involved in the exchange program of all that had happened. We had little sleep and further worries to tire us. Then my husband made a simple comment. "This is a lovely room." I looked where he was looking and began to see not only the lovely objects, but the serenity of the room.


I remember in planning the house that it had been my desire to create a Celestial room for our home. I tried to choose soothing colors and objects to that end. My husband purposely added a stained glass that is found in the Celestial room of the Nauvoo Temple and I unwittingly chose a chandelier almost identical to the one in the baptistry of the Cuidad Juarez Temple.





As I looked about the room serenity and peace began to replace the stress, anger, and confusion I felt. It impressed me that our surroundings do indeed affect our mood and state of mind. I was grateful to have such a room in our home and that the clutter present to some degree in every other room of our house is absent in our Celestial living room.