Lessons From Women's Conference

This past weekend, I attended BYU's Women's Conference; a two day conference dedicated to the women of the LDS church.  It was an inspiring few days that left me motivated,uplifted and inspired.  In year's past I've taken notes, and while some things continue to stick with me, I've found myself forgetting things. This year, as I took notes, I made extra notes of things that I really wanted to apply to my life. I'm writing them down here to help me remember.

• Take JOY in our contributions, no matter how small.  Each choice we make and what we do with our time, energy, money, etc, really do matter and make a difference.  Moroni 7:3-4  {"by their works ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also."}
• Practice saying the word 'rejoice' in our prayers - this will help us focus on things to be grateful for.
• Christ will magnify our efforts to find peace in our trials.  Christ was already in Gethsemane - We don't need to dwell there.  Accept his gift of the atonement and find peace
• Electronics and Technology: (I especially liked this class as it applied to my kid's use of technology and plan to dedicate a FHE to talk about these things)
• 1. base decisions in life on the plan of salvation:
• Does the use of media impede the companionship of the Holy Ghost?
• Does the time you spend using media take away from service and other things that bring you closer to Christ?
• 2. use tools that will help you on your journey and improve your quality of life and others
• idea read a scripture as often as you send a text
• 3. electronics can lead us away from the Savior if not managed well
• 4. technology must be used with discipline
• 5. does technology drown out the still small voice?  are you looking at things virtuous, lovely or of good report?  Use your agency to make good choices about what you look at - and what you post
• Building Families Upon the Rock of Our Redeemer:
• 1. Prayer - prayer is essential to a Christ-centered life
• Regular family prayer will make family members draw closer, not only to God, but to each other.  Make it a priority
• In our prayers: acknowledge our accountability, ask for blessings, be thankful
• 2. Scriptures - reading as a family will make the spirit of reverence exist and the spirit of contention will leave
• Be consistent; read together 5 minutes a day
• Begin with the desire to read then make it a priority and pray to help you make the time
• 3. Temple - The promises of the temple are worth every sacrifice
• apostolic promise - the use of the temple will safeguard our youth now and throughout their lives
• Sunday afternoon activity - family history
• It is the small things we do that will bring our children to the Savior
• Communicating With Our Children
• Time Matters - find time be alone with each child.  Spending time with them "speaks" louder than words
• Get to know them.  Talk about what they are interested in
• Kids need to be told that they amount to something and they are capable and worthwhile - find ways to help them see that (let them be in charge of meals, chores, etc and PRAISE, praise, praise their efforts)
• Pray with them and for them - As we communicate with God through prayer our children will learn about unconditional love, repentance, forgiveness, and asking for help and strength; Heavenly Father trusts us with our children and we need to trust HIM to help us lead them
• Learn their love language - 5 Love Languages for Children and Teens: take the quiz and love them in their language (I plan to give this quiz during a FHE lesson where I will also give the assignment that each of us show love to our family members through their language)
• AS MUCH AS OUR KIDS WANT TO BE INDEPENDENT OF US THEY ARE STILL DEPENDENT ON US
• Kids WILL talk to us.  They talk when they need to and WE NEED to recognize when they are trying to.  It will often come at night - No matter how tired you are RECOGNIZE the opportunities to communicate with them.  They may not know what they need but as they open up it will come out
• Create Bridges to Good Communication:
• Safe Place - create a mood of safety in your communication: be positive, have empathy, no judging or criticizing.  How we speak to our children builds their confidence and self worth
• Time - they way we spend our time communicates our priorities.  Love is communicated when support our children's events and give them our time
• Get to know our children's interests - prayer can help; we can be inspired to know what to talk to our children about
• Showing the Lord We Love Him
• Chapter 6 Preach My Gospel : Answer questions on pg 126 of Preach My Gospel and evaluate where you are at.
• Faith - if we are reading the scriptures the Spirit will strengthen our faith.  The Lord looks after the faithful
• Hope, Charity, Love - Celestial Attributes - In order to develop these we may be asked to do the very things that are hardest for us - if we are serious about our discipleship - Charity is a state of becoming not a destination.  Pure love of Christ is a state of Being - it's who we are, what's in our hearts
• Virtue - originates in our innermost thoughts
• Knowledge  - ponder what we learn, how can we teach it?
• Patience - with patience our trials can become highlights of our lives - patience helps us endure to the end.  Patience is the capacity to endure without anger, malice, or lack of faith
• Humility - willingness to submit to the will of the Lord and give Him the credit
• Diligence - Earnest, Energetic effort - "I have fought the good fight"
• Obedience - first law of Heaven.  DO what you know.  Humbly have a change of heart and desire to obey
• Ether 12:27 - address our shortcomings.  The final judgement in not a list of what we've done but what we have become on this earth.  
•  God's influence is felt in the details of our lives - make each choice with exactness
• Discipleship
• Mark - The Gospel of  Mark shows examples of discipleship that we CAN be imperfect.  We can be uncertain and unsure.  Mark 9:24 "Help thou my unbelief" - we can follow Christ and still need help.
• Matthew - We are called to be disciples - B attitude #4 - be filled with the Holy Ghost so we can live the higher law.  Be forgiving Matt 18:15 
• Luke - ANYONE can be a disciple  - Luke 8:3 - women ministered unto Him of their substance - selfless service  Luke 10:28-42  - focus on the needful things
• John - Disciples of Christ are His friends. John 15:14-15;  John 11:45-46 - it was Mary who told Lazarous' story - preach the gospel always, use words when necessary: Be an EXAMPLE with everything we do.  John 20 - Mary sees Jesus because she stayed at the tomb.  She was still there when Christ came - "linger" and wait for Christ through prayer
• We Never Check Our Religion At the Door 
• Don't walk through a "doorway" that will make you think about forgetting who you are, such as conversations, other's opinions, music or media
• This is not a religion of perfection but progression: allow other's to progress.  Think of Peter.  Don't judge.  We should continue to refine ourselves.  Accept ourselves because God created us
• Prayer brings our will and the Lord's will for us together.  Bend our will to God's.
• Be the woman that will raise disciples of Jesus Christ
• The Lord gave Adam and Eve 4 "gifts" when they left the Garden - we have those gifts too:
• protection - garments are the tangible love of Christ - we are protected through them
• prayer
• promises - covenants help us avoid destruction.  Think of them as a warm relationship : we can do what we promise hand in hand with the Lord
• priesthood
• 'Is This Really the World I Live In?' by Elder Eyring
• Danger has been true all through history.  This world isn't different in that we need divine protection.  We can have confidence and joy.
• Lead your life as if there are no storm clouds in the sky.  We have no control over the storms
• The Lord calls us friends - He knows our hearts and has seen us trying to live His will - 'You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you.'
• The Lord protects and guides and watches over His friends
• He sends help to willful hearts
• The Holy Ghost in action is the gift of comfort, peace, and safety from discouragement - fear can not hold us if we call upon the gift of the Holy Ghost
• We have no need to fear
• We don't know who is on the Lord's errand - we are each placed on Earth to reach out, through the spirit, to touch other's lives.  The Lord sends the Holy Ghost to help us answer prayers.  He hears our prayers and sends other's to help us.  We can pray, "Who can I help today?"  We can bring other's joy on their journey.  
• We will feel the spirit of protection as we offer that blessing to others - be open to the spirit and  do what we feel, don't wait.
• 10 Things Teens Won't Tell You (I got this from a friend who went to a class I didn't go to.  I love it.)

1. You are the most important person in my life. 
2. I need rules and expectations.
3. I want you to notice me.
4. I'm tempted to compromise to fit in.
5. Those corny things we do are kind of cool.
6. You are my hero.
7. Your stress affects my life.
8. I need you to interfere.
9. I want you to expect great things of me.
10. Hearing you talk about what is right and wrong is important.

Easter Memories

The Dying of the Eggs

The Fun of Having Grandparents Here

 The Boy with the 102* Fever; Too Sick to Enjoy It  

The Resurrection Rolls and the Telling of the Easter Story as they're Prepared & The Boy That Couldn't Quite Believe the Marshmallows Just Disappeared All On their Own.  {He thought for sure I took them out while they were cooking - it opened up another great conversation about the Resurrection} 

The Attempt to Keep the Focus on the Real Reason We Celebrate Easter

The After-Church Egg Hunting MC'd by Grandpa

The Cuteness of Her Pink Fingernails

The Enthusiasm of the Egg Hunter Extraordinaire  - He Took Full Advantage of His Brother's lack of Enthusiasm Toward Jelly Bean Filled Eggs 

The Attempt to Take a "Frameable" Picture of Four Smiling Kids in their Coordinating Easter Sunday Clothes 

How Fleeting the Moments...

I finally took the pictures off my camera from Easter.  Getting ready to post them here, I was struck at how fast my boy has grown up!  I couldn't be prouder of this boy of mine.  He'll be 11 in a few weeks.  Seems like I snapped this picture just yesterday....

...and here he is all grown up

...maybe not quite :) 

Feeling Green

    There's something about green food that makes me want to take pictures.   Our St Patrick's Day was easy going and full of spring in the air:: 8:30 am church and afternoon naps, followed by games, trampoline jumping and our green feast.

{I thought I deleted these pictures! So happy I found them!} Austin and Isaac decided to make traps again this year.  Although, their plans were ingenious those naughty leprechauns got away again!  But not before leaving a few treats.  (Ella ate her entire box of tic- tacs in about 15 min.)

The boy's came in my room and woke me up to tell me the leprechauns came.  I could tell Austin was a little bummed.  He'd already been asking TONS of questions about weather the little green dudes were real.  I sent Isaac out of the room and Austin asked, "Mom, there aren't really leprechauns are there?"  It was time to make Austin a "Magic Keeper".  In our house the non-believers become "magic keepers" or "secret keepers" so they can help everyone else feel the magic of the holiday.  It's an especially important job around Christmas as we all become Santa's helpers.  Austin understood.  He looked down in thought and I was worried he was sad to know the truth.  When he looked up he said, "Mom?  Can the Easter Bunny bring me an IPOD???!!! Please?!"  ummmm, no; but nice try, Mister....

This is Isaac's little trap.  I love that kid and his enthusiasm.  He explained to me how it would work about 90 times.  He especially LOVED that "his" leprechaun's name was "Stinky McFee".  He laughed about that all day.  

I love these little traditions that create fun memories for my little family.   

Dear Blog,

Please don't worry.  I haven't forgotten about you.  In fact, I think about you often.  I love to tell you what's happening in our little family and I especially love to print you out at the end of the year and enjoy our memory books.  But time goes by and we're so busy {living} our lives I'm having a hard time {documenting} them.

I have a goal, though.  I will be back soon, dear blog. I'm making you a priority, once again. Don't feel lost; you have a purpose.  In the meantime just know we are busy just being :: playing and living and laughing and stressing and fighting and making up and playing sports and driving kids here and there and cooking and cleaning and painting our garage and planning our tomorrows and sitting in doctor's offices and fixing teeth and swinging on the swings and making friends and bringing treats to school and learning to read and trying to get enough sleep and, really, just living in the moment.

Disney Magic

That Walt Disney - he really knew what he was doing!  Wow!  Disney Land really is magical!  For me and Cameron that magic might have come from watching the kids, though.  For the kids it was true magic.

 I love these smiles!  It's funny, he never talks, but he gets his point across!  He kissed Isaac's head and the boys thought that was hilarious.   Mickey got a little embarrassed when he dropped Austin's pen, but a high five from Austin made him feel better :)

 

Did you know Disney has a "guest of the day"?  Neither did I.  When we pulled into the parking garage the worker gave us  free parking, a certificate, buttons, and an escort to a special spot right next to the tram that takes you into the park.  We cheered like it was the best thing that ever happened to us!   

Yes, this place has magic running through the water, blowing in the air, singing in the music...

The big boys - especially the biggest one - were looking for thrill rides.  The rides at Disney are built for atmosphere more than thrill, that's for sure.  We did make sure to find some thrills and even a few scary moments for our biggest boy (and our littlest!  Austin enjoyed the thrills as much as the rest, but he loved all the rides.)  I think the kids were at perfect ages for Disney Land.  Landon was still young enough to enjoy being transported into a cartoon through a ride, and Ella was old enough to go on most of the rides and really get into them.  If you ask her what her favorite part was she'll say, "PRINCESSES!"  She was star-struck by the girls in gowns.  Landon's favorite was Screaming California.  Austin loved Space Mountain and Splash Mountain best.  Issac's favorites were the Toy Story rides (there's 2 and both have laser guns involved  - and I have to agree, they are pretty cool rides) and Space Mountain - the boys and Cameron rode it 3 times. 

We found the BEST place to watch the parade.  The crowds were very low so we took turns riding Alice and Wonderland, Tea Cups, and Matterhorn while we saved our parade spot - seriously the lines were less than 5 min. long - we were amazed.  Our spot was on a narrow bit of road where the characters could get up close and personal.  There was no one on the other side of the street so the kids got all their attention.  Watching them watch the parade just about made me cry (a little cheesy, I know;). ) They  were just so excited with bright eyes full of wonder and real joy.  Even for the 10 year old.  Pluto licked Isaac's head, and the princesses went crazy for Ella.  Each blew her a kiss.  She was star struck, in every sense!

We were able to ride every ride in Disney and California Adventure (except for two that were closed for renovations).  We hit the parks hard.  We got there before opening and stayed until closing - honestly, we sucked out every ounce of fun we could!

Cars Land - amazing.  It really feels like you're in the movie.  We loved it.

Ella wore this Monkey backpack like it was her job.  She loved the thing.  We had a stroller too, that she was happy to ride around in, but when she was out of it she wanted her backpack on.  I think she liked the security of knowing she wasn't lost but she liked not having to hold someones hand too.  Best Disney investment - and I'm not kidding.

I wish I would have had my DSLR camera for these pics but there was no way I wanted to lug that thing around.  I still love these pictures.  Ella was in HEAVEN when she saw a princess.  She had no fear - she just ran up to them and handed them her book (it was a good icebreaker for her) and then threw her arms around them like they were her best friend.  Each one talked to her like she was an important princess too.  I hope she has some sort of memory when she gets older.  If not she'll have these photos at least.

She hopped up and down when she saw Jasmine - and Jasmine started hopping right along with her.  I know they're "actors" but she really seemed to be telling the truth when she told Ella, "You are so adorable!"  "Tangled-Repunzel" (as Ella calls her) talked to her so long I was nervous we'd get in trouble for holding up the line!  I love the picture where Ella is pointing to herself, like she's telling Repunzel something about her.  I wish I remembered their conversation.  I think she was telling her she forgot her autograph book - or she was telling her she didn't like Flyn Ryder because he was a boy.  I know they talked about both of those things.  Flynn said it was ok she didn't like him and offered to let her wear the "stolen crown".  The picture of Ella shrugging her shoulders is her looking at me like, "do I HAVE to wear the crown?"  (she's anti-boy right now - even if he's prince, I guess)

Ella talks about when she met Belle a few times a week.  She LOVES Belle.  She ran right into her arms.  I was pretty surprised.  After her time with Belle she ran right over to Tiana and sat down on the ground like she was in awe of her.  She loves the movie, "Frog Prince".  She also met Cinderella and Snow White but they were quick visits - no time for a picture, just enough time to blow her a kiss.

The boys weren't into meeting princesses BUT I was surprised at how excited they were for Ella to meet them.  They were so sweet with her and really happy that she was happy.  Ella is one lucky girl to have such amazing brothers.

The boys had their chance to be star struck too.  Ella and I went to ride Dumbo while the boys ran off to Space Mountain.  On our way back to meet up with the boys we saw they were about to begin Jedi Training so Ella and I sat down to save the boys a spot.  Thankfully, all three of them were chosen to be padawans.  

During their training there was a disturbance in the Force and Darth Vader and Darth Mal came to challenge the Jedis and Padawans.

I love how brave Isaac was.  I could tell he was nervous but that kid DOES NOT back down from a challenge.  The Jedi Master kept telling him the Force was strong within him.  I love the picture of Vador holding his fist up and Isaac with a little smirk on his face - he REALLY believed he had the Force and he wasn't afraid. He thinks he's a real Jedi now.  He even uses the "Force" to help me push the grocery cart and sometimes drive the car ;) 

Landon was a little worried he was too old for Jedi Training.  He was one of the tallest kids there.  I love how he had fun with it though and smiled through the whole thing.  This kid is growing up before my eyes.  I love how he still does "kid" things though.  He has a great attitude.

 Austin gave Darth Mal a run for his money.  He took this Jedi stuff serious.  He followed all the commands from the Jedi Master like his life depended on it - and maybe it did ;)  I love his smile.

 





Ella even got in on the show, a bit.  This is a picture of Darth Mal pointing right at her.  I thought she'd have a heart attack!  Luckily, Cameron was holding her tight.  She didn't cry, though, just snuggled into him and kept her head buried the rest of the time.  If Cameron's holding her she knows she's safe.  I love that she trusts him like that.

Ella was my buddy.  Because of the patch in my skull I can't ever ride a REAL roller coaster again.  Ella and I rode this lady bug ride about 8 times while the bigger kids were riding the roller coasters. 

The kids loved our hotel too.  Musical beds, doughnuts for breakfast, swimming pool, what's not to love?  The night we got home Ella said, "I just want to go to the hotel."

We stayed in Las Vegas on the way there and the way home.  The kids think it's the "coolest" city ever!  They want to live there.  I admit, there's excitement in the air.  And we ate at MGM the first night we were there and the kids thought they were eating at the coolest place ever built. On the way home we looked around Old Town and one walk through a casino that offered $7.99 buffet was enough to cure me of ever wanting to go back!  We walked in, gagged, and headed for Applebees...

This vacation was a success.  Worth every penny.  Little conflict and LOTS of fun!  I think Disney really is magical and I think we may have brought a little home with us in our memories.  The kids are still talking about it, almost every day.  And if you see Ella with the neck of her shirt pulled down around her shoulders, don't worry, she's just trying to look like Belle ;)