General Conference Favorites

I vowed in April to take notes during the next General Conference and I'm SO glad I did!  If I hadn't, I don't think I'd even be able to answer these questions.  My brain functioning seems to be at an all-time low lately!

This is the packet I used for my kids.
I also added a few pages from other sites. 

I printed out these pages for my  own note taking.

Favorite talk(s):  Pres. Packer's talk about listening to the spirit, Elder Hales's talk about tribulations, and Pres. Monson's talk about the morals of society, prayer, and personal revelation.

Talk that spoke to me the most: Ian S. Ardern of the Seventy talked about the value of time.  I needed this message and plan to be better at prioritzing, rather than procrastinating. "Time cannot be bought...it's value is immeasurable".


Favorite Hymn: The choir opened the Saturday morning session by singing "With Songs of Praise".  It is a lesser known hymn, but one of my favorites ever since I first heard it in ward choir practice several years ago.  I also loved "Praise to the Man".  Thanks to an amazing primary chorister, my kids know this song well (especially Dillon), and I had to hold back tears when they sang along at the top of their lungs.  Thanks, Cowboy Mom!

Best tie: I couldn't believe how many black and gray/silver ties there were!  I honestly started to wonder if they planned it!  I liked the choir's orange ties on Saturday morning because they were so fall-ish.

Theme I noticed:  The things that stuck out to me were prayer and scriptures, service, and being in the world but not of the world.


Favorite quotes:  "Youth are being raised in enemy territory" -Boyd K. Packer
"All the money in the world can't buy a loaf of bread in heaven" -Dieter F. Uchtdorf
"Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps.  It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for."  -Neal L. Anderson, quoting the blog of someone not of our faith
"The Lord expects our thinking. He expects our action.  He expects our labors.  He expects our testimonies.  He expects our devotion."  -Jose L. Alonso
"It's better to look up" -Carl B. Cook quoting Pres. Monson
"Too often we pray to have patience, but we want it right now." -Robert D. Hales
"To be in the world, but not of the world, it is necessary to pray." -Pres. Thomas S. Monson
"Prayer only works when we use it as directed."  -J. Devn Cornish
"The effect of the Book of Mormon...on your character is certain." -Pres. Henry B. Eyring

Something that made me smile:  Pres. Monson's story about losing his $5 bill as a child, and Pres. Eyring referencing what happened to Abinadi (Brayden got a kick out of that one!).

Evidence that my children paid attention: 


My kids kept asking me questions and talking until I got very frustrated because I wanted so badly to hear.  I started to get upset with them, when the spirit gave me a swift kick in the bum and let me know that it was more important for them to be in the room and asking questions, than it was for me to hear.  I can always go back and watch the talks online later.  I have thought about it several times since.

Great idea(s):  Pres. Bednar's suggestion to get the youth involved in Family History Work!  They can put their "texting and tweeting" skills to good use (we adults can do the same!).  I loved his promise of protection from the adversary if we involve ourselves in Family History.

Posting Conference packets online so that we can all benefit from those who prepare in advance!  The senior primary packet (click here to be taken to the site) is one of the best I've seen.  I had my older boys take notes during the apostle's talks, and they were allowed to play Bingo and other activities during the other talks.  It was the perfect way to break it up for them. 

Two temples in Provo!!!

Post-conference goals: 


1. Significantly improve my scripture study 
2. Identify time wasting distractions and balance family, work, etc.  
3. Wait on Him, and press forward in faith.


What were some of your favorites?

Webcam 101 for Seniors...

Honestly...I HOPE that this is me and Todd someday :o) They're delightfully clueless.

Skeleton family

Look closely at the ribcage...

Labor Day weekend

I think we should have Labor Day a little more often...like maybe monthly, don't you?

The kids and I packed up and headed South to visit Todd this past weekend.  We were able to drive straight through and made it just in time to watch the Diamondbacks take on Andre Agassi Prep School in 1-A  high school football. 

Todd and I thought the kids would get bored after awhile, but to our surprise they LOVED it.  (Justin and I may or may not have taken a quick jaunt to Jo-Anns in the middle of the game...)  

Justin loved watching the cheerleaders, and clapped whenever they did!

 We drove through McDonald's for some South American beef (don't even get Todd started) and the boys ate dinner in the stadium.  The game was a nail-biter, but the Diamondbacks came through for us and pulled out the win.  I wish it weren't so far from home because the boys would love to go every week!

Unfortunately the pool at the RV resort was closed, so we didn't get to swim, but we caught part of the local Peach Days celebration where the boys tried the free climbing wall.  Brayden was SO close to reaching the top, but his muscles finally gave out.

Other activities included driving around to look at houses for sale, eating at Red Robin, and a family movie night where we converted the couch and kitchen table into beds and snuggled up to watch the original Karate Kid.  Before the movie, I got a "wild hair" and decided it would be fun to see if we could all lay on the floor of the trailer, end to end, and reach from one side to the other.  We did it without a problem and hopefully made a memory :o)

On the way home, we had a mountain lion cross the road in front of our van! At first I thought it was a bobcat, but then I realized that bobcats have a short tail...it was definitely a mountain lion.

In other news, we have someone interested in our house!  We are having it appraised this week and are hopeful that we may get to move sooner than later.

Mom of the Year

A snippet from my conversation with Todd the other day:

(I was in the basement talking to Todd on my cell phone while the kids were playing Wii and making random loud and obnoxious noises)

Me:  "UPS brought the book you ordered.  I put it next to your side of the bed."

Todd:  "Which book was it?"

Me:  "I have no idea what it was called, but I remember it sounded more interesting than some of the books you order.  I think it was something about parenting."

Todd: "Oh that one. It was called "________" (kids obnoxious and random noises got so loud I couldn't hear)

Me:  plugging one ear with my finger "What?  I couldn't hear you."

Todd: "It's called "__________" (even louder and more obnoxious noise)

Me:  "Sorry, I still didn't hear you."

Todd: "Could you tell the boys to be quiet for a minute?"

Me: (yelling) "Boys! Shut! Up! I can't even hear Dad on the phone!"  

the boys became quiet (We don't usually say "shut up" around here...)

       

Me: "Now, what was the book called?"

Todd: (tentatively)  "It's called...Scream Free Parenting." 

First day of school

I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I drove to school today with a 5th grader, a 4th grader, and a 1st grader in tow.  I walked Dillon into his classroom, but the older boys took off on their own.  Apparently they didn't need want my assistance.

Don't worry, Mom.
The spots on Brayden and Caleb's shirts are just water from brushing their teeth.

After taking a 45 minute walk with my cousin, Erin, I went to Walmart. It was nice to go with just one child, who sits in the cart and doesn't touch anything.  He didn't need to go to the bathroom while we were in the middle of the store.  He didn't ask for a toy. He didn't complain about his feet hurting.  He didn't whine that he was hungry. He just grinned and babbled.  And on the way to and from the store?  He slept.

But, even as pleasant as my shopping trip turned out, I have to admit I missed my boys. I was excited to hear about their first day of school. Dillon had the only homework, but when he was talking to Todd on the phone, he said, "It was so easy, it was like kindergarten work!".

I've got one with brown eyes, one with blue/gray eyes, and one with green eyes!
Looking at these pictures, I'm feeling the need to start saving for braces.  Sigh...they grow too fast.

Prayin' for rain...in a cloud of dust

Thanks to my Brad Paisley loving husband, this song played on my ipod this morning and made me cry.

It hits a little too close to home.



This weekend someone told me that there are 17 houses for sale in our town (of 500 people). There are 12-14 in a nearby town, and about 50 county-wide.

And there are no jobs to bring people in.

I know of two houses that sold for about $30,000 less than they should have.

I've been discouraged this week.  All along I have felt such a sense of peace, and hope, and for some reason a few days ago it was just...gone.  And I don't know what has changed.

I am grateful to my friends Kristy and Lacy for their recent blog posts about trials that were perfectly timed.  I have thought about their words several times this week--especially the quote from "The Other Side of Heaven" that says, "Sometimes the Lord calms the storm; other times he calms the sailor...and sometimes He just lets us swim."

I guess that's me right now.  I'm swimming.

I'm not a very good swimmer.  Especially when I can't see the shore.  I don't even know the direction of the shore, and I'm having a hard time choosing which way to swim.

Should we wait around for our house to sell? Should we walk away? How long is our family willing to live apart? Should we rent our house out for less than our payment and then try to rent a place for ourselves PLUS make up the rest of our own house payment? Would it be wise to get a more fuel efficient car? Should we stop paying our house payment for three months so we can qualify for a loan modification?  Is there ANY answer that will allow us to keep our excellent credit rating? What am I supposed to learn from this?

Those are just a few of the questions that are rolling around in my head.  I keep thinking of Dory from Little Nemo saying, "Just keep swimming..."

So for now I guess I'll just keep treading water...

And prayin' for rain through a cloud of dust.