Conference Weekend

I love conference weekend when we have the opportunity to hear from our prophet and apostles. I love the Spirit that I feel and also the counsel for our time. I want my children to also love this weekend, and a friend gave me a great idea for helping them to pay attention and listen more carefully to all the talks. This past conference we tried it out, and it was a huge success. Connor asked when General Conference was going to begin, and after telling him, he exclaimed, "I can't wait for it to start!"


We started out with a bowl of commonly spoken words such as "Jesus Christ","Gospel", "Prophet", "Scriptures," etc. and at the start of each talk we all drew a new word. During that talk we listened for our word. If we heard it then we got a ticket. Some talks one person would get a bunch of tickets while someone else would only get a few; but then during another talk everyone would draw new words, and somebody else would get a bunch of tickets.


During one talk Brandon hit the jackpot with the word "prophet" and got 58 tickets.

Then, between Conference sessions they were able to trade in their tickets "Chuck-E-Cheese" style for snacks, toys, treats.... or for 100 tickets there was a $5 bill. Connor and Nicole leaned more toward instant gratification with the 5 ticket fruit snacks and cheese and crackers. Brandon had incredible luck and got about everything he wanted. Andrew was aiming for the $5 and spent all four sessions saving up till he had enough for the money. He also had enough for a rootbeer.

While the game was a lot of fun, what was really great for me was that the kids have mentioned lessons they learned and themes that they recognized. Nathan and I also listened more closely to each talk and got much more out of conference. Miraculously, all four children listened to every word of the total 8 hours over the course of the weekend.


President Uchdorf's talk really spoke to me, and I've pondered what he spoke about since then. He shared his experiences as a pilot about when he flew through turbulence. It would seem intuitive that the more turbulent a flight is, you would want to speed up to get through it; but he said that it is just to opposite. The best way to decrease turbulence was to slow down. That is such a great metaphor in our lives. I have looked at ways to slow down my own life.

I often see my life as a juggling act or as a spinning plate performance. Since then I have pondered this idea and feel that I should stop spinning the "plates" in my life and instead set them in a pile that I can hold. I don't know exactly how this will work out, but I am trying to do all things, "in wisdom and in order."

I'm reading the Biography of our Prophet, President Monson right now, and as I read of his life and example, I know that the Lord has put him in his place and that he is perfectly suited to be the Prophet in our times.

The Well-Read Woman

I've traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I've been where no-one's been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket
To the wonderful world of books.
~ Anonymous ~

I believe that reading was bred into me. Some of my earliest memories are sitting in my pajamas, pink curlers in my hair, listening with my siblings as my dad charmed us with the poetry of Nursery Rhymes. I started Kindergarten at age four, because I was already reading and my mom didn't want me to be bored. I loved to breathe the wonderful smell of a new book and often exceeded our limit of books at the library. Even now, one of my favorite treats is to know that I have a couple hours of uninterrupted reading ahead of me....especially if I have a good snack to munch on. I married into another reading family. We are now teaching a love of reading to our children.

Nathan and I recently read a book called the Thomas Jefferson Education which promotes the philosophy of teaching from the classics. We have started incorporating this philosophy in our homeschooling, and I have found myself learning in a new way. It is a thrill to re-read the stories of my youth to my children, anticipating their reactions. Almanzo proposed to Laura tonight, and my boys were a touch uncomfortable, but Nicole was thrilled.

There are a few books that I would consider all-time favorites because of the impact they had on me:

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

The Living by Annie Dillard

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

and The Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

I love to read about relationships and how people interact. Psychology has always been fascinating to me. I love a book that makes you chew on a new concept for several weeks and sometimes for several years. I like a book that stretches me and even that I disagree with if it just gets me thinking. I'm glad to see my kids stretched out on the couch with a good book in their hands. I like discovering a new author who grips me.

I love discussing books almost as much as I love reading them. I've been part of a bookclub since before Brandon was born and have read a book a month just as part of those groups. There is even enjoyment in disagreeing over a book.

It is a privilege to be born into a society with a multitude of books at my fingertips.

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.
Jorge Luis Borges

One Fine Day

This morning Danielle woke up at 6:01 am. After I fed her Nathan started to get up to take her out of our room, so I could sleep in. But this was one of those mornings when I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, and I felt bad because Nathan let me get more sleep the last couple of mornings. I told him to go back to sleep, and I went out to the quiet of the morning. I was treated to quite a view.


This was the very first Saturday since Danielle was born that I didn't have a single commitment (if you don't count General Women's Broadcast). It was such a rare and fresh experience to wake up in a morning not knowing what I would do that day.

The past couple of months have been a whirlwind of busyness, including:

embarking on yet another cub scout journey...

throwing a baby shower for my friend:


a trip to Colorado Springs to celebrate memorizing The Living Christ as a family:


my first girl's Birthday party....wow girls are so much more fun to host a party for....I'm glad I didn't know what I was missing before....


teaching my nearly 7 month old to sit up by herself....(she still doesn't roll over)...

not to mention throwing a dinner party for all the City Department Heads to celebrate building a new City Hall/Library Complex, and starting an Orthodontia adventure.

Phewwwwww.........................................

It was a delight, this morning, to make french toast for a leisurely breakfast. I went back to bed when Danielle took her first nap and then later threw in a load of laundry. After lunch, I spontaneously sent Nathan and the boys off to the Adam's State football game, and Nicole and I surprised them by cleaning the bathrooms for them on their day.

Then during Danielle's nap I got to work on her baby scrapbook while the kids watched a movie. Brandon got home early from her overnight scout trip, full of stories and anecdotes to share. Finally, I was privileged to listen to President Monson tonight.


What a perfect ending to my day.

The Ticking Clock

It is Wednesday night.

Wednesday night is our City Council night.

This means that I won't see my husband until late. I never know what time. Sometimes as early at 9:00 and sometimes after 11:00.

I have learned that when a meeting should be really quick, that it will instead go at least until 10:30.

Even if a meeting goes quick, Nathan usually comes home wound up and he never sleeps well.

I have also found that the house makes a lot of noises that I never hear during the day...clocks ticking, the refrigerator running, creaks from kids walking to the bathroom.

This is the part of his job that I don't always like.

When we were still in our poor years he agonized over what to choose as his major. He was pre-med for a while, but his fifth Chemistry class killed any desire to continue. He tried out Computer Science but knew that he couldn't do that the rest of his life. He was going to settle on Political Science and then go on to law school, and then a miracle happened. A new program was started called Public Policy that had a Masters option. They accepted 12 students. Nathan read about it and knew that he was interested.

I'm glad that 90% of the time he is doing interesting things and feeling like he is making a difference in our community. The other 10% of the time I hope I can be a support and buoy him up.

I also am glad that he isn't a doctor or a lawyer, because I have a feeling that I would listen to the clock ticking a whole lot more.

It's About Time

One thing that we share rich or poor is that we all have 24 hours in the day. How we use those hours is up to us. I've been reading the Little House books to the kids in the evening and love hearing stories from an earlier era. Things were so much simpler back then. But then again, they had so much work each day just to exist. In our society we don't have to replant the corn 4 times after the prairie dogs eat the first few plantings and we don't have to grind the wheat to make our daily bread.

We have more choices of how we want to spend our time. Still, there is only so much time and not enough to do everything that I want to do. I look at my life as having different seasons. Whenever I feel bad that I don't have time to do something I would like to do...such as going out to lunch with a friend or practicing the piano more, or fitting regular workouts into my day, I have to tell myself that I have had that season in the past, and I will have that season in the future. This season is for raising my children. There are challenges along the way, but oh, such rich rewards as well.


I think the best reward will be looking back and having no regrets.

There are a few things that I have learned along the way about managing my time:

1. Multitasking is essential. If I can kill 3 or 4 birds with one stone I am thrilled.

2. I can't do everything so I have to choose carefully what matters to me. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.

3. Each week I need to do something that is just for me, so that I don't lose myself. I have to keep my own separate interests. For me that includes music, books, and time alone.

4. Plan ahead. This applies to planning out our meal calendar, making school assignments in advance, making time for my church calling as well as setting goals for each week and deciding the night before what I want to accomplish the next day. I don't get everything done that I intend to do, but I get the most important things done when I make a plan and stick to it. This does require discipline.

5. I can't be so rigid with my schedule that I lose sight of opportunities to build relationships whether with my children, neighbors or friends and family. I think that Elastagirl is the perfect superhero for a mother, because we must be flexible.

6. Each season is wonderful. I think it's important to savor the time we have at each stage of life.


7 Finally, it's important to have a healthy sense of humor. As long as we can laugh each day I am happy.

While the Boys are Away, the Girls will Play

This has been a strange 3 weeks for me. My boys have been with their grandparents in Nevada, and it has mostly been me and the girls. The house has been QUIET and for the most part clean. I can't help thinking at times that this will be my life in a short time.

I have had more time to work on projects with a willing helper. Nicole loves to do anything with me, and especially as she has been so lonely. We clean, cook and read together. I also have worked through a list of 41 things that I wanted to get done while the boys were gone and I had the time. I have painted, rearranged, thrown away, scrubbed, traveled, and organized to my heart's desire.

I have also made some painful discoveries. I have not been meeting the needs of my younger children the way I thought I was, particularly Nicole's. I really believed that she understood what we were reading at family scripture study until she was the only child in attendance. I also have recognized how often I was taking my frustrations out on her when I no longer had any. I feel regret, but I also feel a resolve to learn from this experience and change for the better.

I love the stories of when Christ heals the crippled, blind and maimed. I love the stories of when He called the little children to his side. After much soul-searching, I believe that He can heal me of my impatience and anger just as he performed all the miracles we read about in the scriptures. Our weakness can become our strength.

That is my goal for this coming school year. I want my children to see a marked difference in me, due to the refining power of the atonement of Christ. I want to see a marked difference in myself. Instead of falling into all the same ruts, I want to travel down a new road.

I believe that with Him I can do it.

The End of an Era

I have had a case of the nevermores after realizing that my season of little boys has passed. My youngest son Connor was baptized this month and has passed the era of playing with trucks and is now following in his older brothers' footsteps into legos and riding his bike to play with his friends.

He was blessed to have both sets of Grandparents come out for the occasion, and we had a wonderful weekend with everyone.


Connor had a special baptism, and he is such a good boy. It's hard to believe that he is so old so quickly. It seems like just yesterday that he was spitting up half of what he ate and sleeping all day, so he could be awake all night.

A couple of days after his baptism, all the boys left with their grandparents to go stay for a three week visit with them. The house has never been so quiet for so long and stayed so clean, and the refrigerator has never stayed so full.

I was worried how Connor was going to do, being away for so long, but when I talked to him a couple days ago, I needn't have worried. He told me that he has already had 17 Root Beers, and swims 6 times a day. He stayed up past 3:30 am playing video games (after Grandma thought they were asleep), and told me that Grandma asks at the store what they like, and then she buys it all. Tomorrow they are going with their other grandparents camping overnight and then to the new Nanny McPhee movie coming out. They are going shooting with their new uncle next week.

How did our Connor go from this:


To this:


We love our good boy!