I love conference weekend. I always take notes because I think I have ADD or something. I have the hardest time paying attention, I do better if I write things down. And then when I am asked about what I liked I can't remember anything. So... after going thru my notes I am going to write a little about my favorite talks and hopefully this will help the messages sink in more, haha! I liked Elder Scott's talk. He is one of my favorites. When we were at BYUI, he apologized for not being able to shake everyone's hand so he gave us all a virtual handshake at the beginning of his talk. I like how he said to "be what you want to be by being what you want to become." There are a lot of qualities I wish I had and the only way I can do that is by being that person I want to be. It's kind of like back when I had a list of what I wanted in an eternal companion. Well, if I wanted those qualities in my companion, I also needed to be those qualities. And now that I have an eternal compaion I hope to continue to strive to be the best me I can be. He also said that we should be thankful when Heavenly Father lets us struggle for a long time because it is then we can grow and become better people. For some reason, I am having the hardest time in my life confidence wise. I am trying to be grateful and become a better me. I liked Pres Eyring's talk. He said to trust in the Lord, do whatever he asks, and to search for his will in everything. I also liked how Sis. Cook said to never do anything we don't want our children to do. That was a good reminder. :) Elder Lawrence gave a talk to parents of teenagers and eventho I don't have teenagers, I still found it useful. He said that parents who love their children cannot afford to be intimidated by them and parenting is not a popularity contest. Our children may not understand why we won't let them do something but they will be grateful someday, hopefully. :) And he said that if your spouse doesn't feel comfortable about doing something then show respect. That is huge, I think. I hope I remember that. I'm sure there will be times when Jonas doesn't want the kids to go somewhere or do something and I do and that can cause friction. But I hope that I can remember to respect Jonas and to talk it out. He also said that we should encourage our children to not be a couple until they are ready for marriage. This means after high school for girls and after the mission for boys. I have always agreed with this and luckily Jonas agrees too. And to keep up with family prayers, scriptures, dinner, FHE, and interviews. It is a crazy place we are raising our kids in today! And of course Pres. Monson. He is a prophet of God and I am so grateful! He reminded us to be thankful for our many many blessings. Money can't even buy the things that really matter in life like family and the gospel and that is what we usually take for granted. He told us to frequently express love and gratitude for our family and thank Heavenly Father daily for all we have. It was a great conference! I look forward to reading it from the Ensign. I am soooooooooo far from being anywhere near perfect. And I hope I can atleast be humble and kind to those around me. I hope I can be a good wife and mother and never lose my testimony.
The kids did ok during conference. I printed tons of pages that kept them pretty busy. My sweet mom made them cupcakes. They got to eat one for each of the first presidency. And then the 12 had different snacks and treats. They stayed in front of the tv for all 4 sessions, excited to see what treat they got next. Maelie couldn't wait for Elder Bednar to speak and he ended up being in the last session. He is her favorite because she met him when she was a baby right after he got called to the 12 from being Pres of BYUI.
Maelie's GI called this morning and her biopsies all came back normal. This is a good thing for sure but I'm really not sure what to do now.
We are headed to Canada early Thursday morning! We haven't been on a trip longer than a couple days since last time we went to Canada about 15 months ago. I am so ready for a trip!!!
