I sure loved having conference and Easter on the same day this year. We had such a nice, relaxing weekend! Okay, so we make our kids sit down and watch or be in the room for all four sessions. It has become a fun tradition because we have incorporated many games and activities that the kids look forward to, many of witch include sugar in one form or another.:) Anyway, this year I had all of us take turns filling out the conference packet that gave us the opportunity to write
down the things that stuck out to us when each
apostle, or the prophet spoke. The kids were more willing to do this task then I had
imagined and put a lot of good thought into what they wrote about the talks they were assigned to. (okay, so I bribed all of them with a full thing of "Peeps" for everyone who participated).:) The following are some of the things my children wrote that stuck out to them:
Sadie:
- "Anyone can be a rescuer" Pres.
Eyring- "love is the source of happiness"
- "If we are His hands, should we not do the same (as the Savior)?"Pres.
Uchtdorf- "Children must understand who they are and who Heavenly Father wants them to be."
Elder Hales
This is what Sadie wrote that she would so after hearing conference: "I will pray. I will strive to keep the
commandments and to pray often to the Lord and read about the prophets on the ancient times."
Porter:
- "Memorize articles of Faith" Elder Perry
- "Jesus is the center of your home" Elder Scott
- "You have come to earth at a great time" Elder Andersen
Porter wrote down that "he learned to be nice, and he learned that Elder Andersen can speak 4 different
languages."
Aubrey had a hard time picking too much more out then key words that stuck out to her and she had the assignment of telling what all the songs were so we could write them down:
Aubrey's
thoughts were:
- Spirit
- Family History
- The 2 most important words are thank you.
- Temple work
- Scriptures
I often find myself overwhelmed with the magnitude of my children's spirits and understanding! Though I felt that all of the talks applied to me somehow, there were a few quotes that have stuck in my mind as I embark on this new journey with my little family:
- "
None is exempt from the storms of life"
- "Seek the higher ground, attend the temple." Elder Cook
- "To understand the meaning of death, we must understand the purpose of life." Pres.
Monson- "They learn by our actions"
- "Hold your
tongue about things of no moment" Elder Ballard (
basically everything from this talk)
- "No matter the size of the issue, your response can change the course of your life."
- "Never stop trying to rescue a loved one...we may never know when a heart may be ready to turn." (I'm not sure who said these last two quotes.)
- "I will give place no more, for the enemy of my soul."
I came away from conference feeling like I have a lot of work to do but that the Lord is on our side and that he is there to help us with any struggles we may face if we but, turn to him, strive to do what is right and keep his commandments. Though I often fall short, he has never failed to keep his end of the bargain!
This was our, Landmine Game. (the balloons were landmines and you had to retrieve a grenade: (pop-rocks attached a a round balloon, without touching a landmine)
Our last family picture with 
Saying goodbyes at the hotel , the night before dad shipped out. We had spent a nice day together as a family!
We thought the pictures above would be our last time to see our army guy but we had a pleasant surprise when he woke me the next morning telling us we could meet him at the M.E.P.S office and see him be sworn in.
After seeing him be sworn in, we followed him over to the airport to spend a few more minutes together.
We Love You Daddy!
checking out the maps, ready to plan the day!
Dad and K waiting for one of the shows to start. We were really impressed with all the shows and even saw a few of them twice. Kinda sad that one of the kid's favorites was the dog and cat show at Sea World!:)
Just waiting! I could just eat her up!:)
