The Conference Weekend and Easter Stretch

 Anyone who knows me in person or has been following along here on the blog for very long, knows that I'm a bit disorganized and pretty much the opposite of fancy.   I host a lot these days (between book group and YSA events), but I am definitely not someone who can host something and make it look put-together and effortless.  People come to our house and get a sense that it was a stretch for me to make it happen!   This Conference / Easter weekend was a case in point, with the struggle made  a bit worse than usual because Glen was in Denver visiting his parents all weekend long.  

On Saturday, Adam invited up a bunch of friends to watch Conference in our theater room and to eat all 3 meals at our home.  I had it all planned in advance and thought I was good to go, but somehow struggled even getting breakfast on the table.    I served cheddar cheese pancakes with fruit syrup, bacon (most of which I burned to an absolute char), scrambled eggs, and some fruit.   Besides the bacon, it actually turned out pretty well, but I ended not serving it until 10ish minutes before the first session began, so it felt rushed.  Conference was awesome (of course), and the other meals came together okay (croissant sandwiches for lunch and taco salad for dinner), with only minor omissions and mess-ups.   Most of the day we had about a dozen people there, with some trading places that happened along the way.   

On Conference Sunday, I very spontaneously opened up our theater room to our YSA ward for watching conference.   Over the course of the day we generally had 4-6 visitors there (not including Adam and Tia).  I fed lunch (croissant sandwiches again) to about 10-12 people.      

After all that came the hard part--trying to cook Easter dinner  by myself.  Normally Glen, Heather, and my Mom would make part of the meal as well, but, as previously mentioned, Glen was gone, Heather is still completely non-weightbearing on her broken ankle, and my Mom is struggling with stuff, so it was me.  Adam and Tia helped with some of it, but I was making things that other people normally make (like the potatoes, ham, and meat), so it was all only okay.   My Mom did set the table beautifully, which made me smile.  Neither Heather nor Spence felt up for joining us for dinner, so it just ended up being me, Adam, Tia, Mom, and my nephew, Andrew, so it felt very small.  

Here's a closer look at  what we ate:   Ham, roasted beef, glazed brussels sprouts, roasted potatoes, and Brazi bites.   I had also made some carrot cake (not shown) and a purchased Oreo ice cream cake was served for Andrew's birthday (which was also on Easter Sunday).  

We also got to talk to our missionary on Easter and on Monday!   She's finally doing a bit better after struggling with an increase in seizures over the last couple weeks.  It's been a rough couple weeks for our sweet girl and she still isn't 100%, but we are happy that there is some improvement at least!  I am getting so excited for her to come home in June!  

Also on Easter Monday, I got to go to Ashton Gardens for a YSA stake FHE night.  The weather was lovely that day and it was delightful to spend the evening with ward and stake members enjoying the beautiful flowers and amazing sculptures of Christ.  

I'll be honest...I was a bit exhausted after it was all over, but taking into account that I fed about 30 people five separate full meals (though never that many people all at once), I think I did okay.  It's fun living somewhere that we can host that many people and close enough that people actually come, even if it is a stretch for me!  

And I'll end with a quote from General Conference from Elder Bednar that really stuck with me: 

Enduring to the end is linked inextricably to the spiritual gift of charity. Enduring to the end is not merely a relentless determination to grit our teeth, hold on to the limits of our physical strength and mental capacity, and push through the challenges and adversities of mortal life; it is so much more than that.

Enduring to the end is the joyous quest of a lifetime—a pressing forward with faith in Jesus Christ in a gradual process of trusting in and receiving help from our Savior to become more like Him. As our love for Him grows ever stronger and deeper, we can be blessed to receive spiritual perspective, the Lord’s empowering grace, and exceedingly great and indescribable joy.


Life has felt a little heavy and hard lately and I needed this reminder about what enduring to the end is really all about.  I may not be crossing as many things off my own to-do list right now, but He's helping me to focus on what's most important.   💓

General Conference Weekend with the College Kids!

One of my favorite parts about living in Utah is that we are close to our college kids, which not only means seeing them far more often than if we lived across the country still, but also that we get to meet their friends!    It's been a while since we'd hosted anyone other than family and I was excited when Adam asked if he and some friends could come chill here for General Conference weekend (October 5-6).   

I weirdly didn't actually take a lot of photos while they were here, but here was the planning note Adam sent me to help me with logistics: 

 

 

And here is the menu I came up with...

 

 We tried to keep the menu pretty simple using mixes and store bought when possible, but I'll be honest, Glen and I spent most of the weekend watching/listening to Conference while working in the kitchen.  This was a glimpse of our Sunday morning breakfast...the only food photo I took the whole weekend.    Emma showed up Sunday morning and was the one who made the cinnamon rolls. 

Speaking of photos, this one with terrible lighting was literally the only picture I took of Adam's friends while they were here and it did not even include everyone.   The boys are Adam's roommates (minus the one who had left and plus the honorary roomie that actually attends BYU-Idaho, but comes to visit regularly).  The girls are in an apartment in their ward.  Emma was also there, but didn't join the picture. 

(from left to right:  Conner J, Adam, Zach C, Garet C, Garrett L., Ty L., Marcy, Savannah, and Renee)

 

 

All in all, it was a great weekend with lots of good food, great company, and being inspired  by the words of modern-day prophets!  

PS.  One random cool thing: One of the speakers in GC,  Karl Hirst,  was actually Glen's mission companion in the England London South Mission back in the day (approximately 32 years ago)!  You can read his talk here! 

 

 

 

Super Hard Quiz

Long-time readers of this blog know that I love making random quizzes about our life and promising prizes of gazillions of dollars for those who answer it correctly.  Too bad for you I don't have gazillions of dollars to offer, so instead I'm offering something much awesomer that money.  Anyone who answers this quiz correctly will earn the privilege of choosing the subject for my next blogpost.   Any subject.   This is your chance!   Include your topic of choice along with your guess in the comments below.      

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Over the course of the last three days....

a) I found a drowned mouse in a jug of water in our garage

b)  I finished reading my book for book group

c) the power went out for 10+ hours

d) I recorded an embarrassingly obnoxious video of myself 

e) we started renovating the kids' room

f) the missionaries watched conference  and played games with us 

g) I had over 100 text notifications on my cell phone at once 

h) Ellie made homemade pop tarts for a general conference snack

i) I published a super short general conference summary on my blog

j) all of the above

k) none of the above 

l) all but one of the above

m) three of the above

April 1:

April 2:  

April 3:   

Engraving on Our Heart

In General Conference a week and a half ago, Elder Durrant gave a talk that really resonated with our family about "ponderizing" scriptures. What is "ponderizing", you ask?   According to Elder Durrant, it's 80% pondering + 20% memorizing.   He encouraged people to pick a scripture per week to "ponderize,"  hang it up around your house, and spend a little time each day reading it, pondering it,  and making it a part of your heart and mind.    We've read the Book of Mormon together several times over the years, but this sounded like a great way to dive in a little deeper.     So we started the very next day.   

Week 1 (10/4/15):   2 Nephi 31:20 

How we chose it:    This scripture was in the chapter we were reading in our daily scripture study on that Monday morning after General conference, and when we came across it, I just knew that that would be our very first ponderizing scripture!    We had a lot of great discussions about it through the week and even spent some time studying it in French.      

Week 2 (10/11/15):  D&C 82:9-10
How we chose it:  I decided that the activity of ponderizing would be more meaningful if we took turns choosing the scripture each week.  This is the scripture that Glen chose.   The kids already have verse 10 completely memorized, but it will definitely take some time to get the first part down.   We are not necessarily setting out to memorize them at all, but to remember phrases and what they mean to us.

We are looking forward to many more weeks of ponderizing to come and hope that you'll join us with whatever scriptures you read!      Tell me in the comments what scriptures you're ponderizing right now.  Or which one we should do next.

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General Conference Summary: Sunday Sessions

  I'm one of those people who doesn't sit still often, so when I do I tend to fall asleep pretty quickly.  It's quite a problem actually, especially when I'm driving more than about 20 minutes or trying to accomplish something from a sitting position, which is why I often answer emails and blog while standing.  General Conference is  extra challenging for me, because we sit cozied up in comfortable chairs for the 8 hours.   It's just so easy to snooze and I try to convince myself that it's just as good to read the talks  that I missed in the Conference Ensign later.

This year I wanted a challenge--I wanted to create a "headline" for each talk and write up a little summary.    In order to do that though, I needed to stay awake, alert, and take good enough notes during all eight hours of general conference that I could actually have enough information from each talk to create these summaries for the blog.

I used different colored gel pens (which I love, by the way) for taking the notes--a different color for every talk.  Somehow the challenge  proved to be a very motivating (and even exciting) thing for me to do.   It shouldn't be such a big deal for a 42-year-old to stay awake and alert for 2-days, but for me it was an accomplishment and I am proud that I actually did it.

  I doubt these will mean as much to anyone else as they do to me, but  you can find Saturday's summary here, and below you will find my Sunday summary!    You can read or watch entire talks here if there's one that you want to read more about. 

Sunday Morning:  

Thomas S. Monson (a living prophet on the earth today)

BE AN EXAMPLE OF THE BELIEVERS

Watch the words we use and extend charity to others.

Exercise our faith by reading and pondering the scriptures. 

Gratitude, forgiveness, and goodwill will help our lights to shine. 

Ronald A. Rasband

I STAND ALL AMAZED

God's love is real and is for all of us--no matter where you are in your life.  

Reach out in love to others.  

Gary Stevenson

ANCHOR IN CHRIST

Anchor our faith in Jesus Christ. 

Focus on what you CAN do, rather than what you can't do.  

Dale G. Renlund

LOOK AT OTHERS THROUGH HEAVEN'S EYES

 You are called not for what you've done, but for what the Lord needs you to accomplish. 

Remember that everyone is a beloved son or daughter of Jesus Christ. 

Russell M. Nelson

GREAT IS THE STRENGTH OF COVENANT KEEPING WOMEN

The virtue, light, love, character, faith, and virtue of righteous women of today are a fulfillment of prophecy and making a huge difference in the world.  

Women are full partners with men in families, communities, and in church councils.  

Gregory A. Schwitzer

DON'T BE AFRAID TO TESTIFY OF CHRIST

True disciples represent the Lord even when it is not convenient. 

Have courage and be bold when testifying of truth. 

Voices try to drown out the simple message of the Gospel that God loves us.

Claudio R.M. Costa

TEACH OUR CHILDREN OF CHRIST

Tell the stories of Christ's life to our children.   

"I have no greater joy to hear that my children walk in truth."

Teach them the truth.   

Henry B. Eyring

THE HOLY GHOST TESTIFIES OF TRUTH:  

WE SHOULD SEEK ITS CONSTANT COMPANIONSHIP

The more we obey the spirit, the more impressions we will receive, and the more we will be blessed. 

Through the Holy Ghost we can see people as Heavenly Father sees them. 

Truths are verified by the Holy Ghost. 

Sunday Afternoon:   

D. Todd Christofferson

THE CHURCH IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF CHRIST'S WORK ON EARTH

The church is a necessary part of Christ's work on earth, and without it great things could not be accomplished.  

More important than knowing doctrine is learning how to apply it.   

Devin Durrant

"PONDERIZE" THE SCRIPTURES

Ponderize = 80% pondering + 20% memorizing

Like saving a little money each week for a rainy day, ponderizing the scriptures weekly helps us to elevate our thoughts and bring us closer to Christ. 

Discipline yourself, exercise your faith, and do it! 

Von G. Keetch

SEEK TO DO GOD'S WILL

Like a barrier in the bay to protect surfers from sharks, the commandments are safety and protection to us from spiritual dangers.   

God wants us to have joy, peace, success, and safety, which is why we have commandments.  

Carole M. Stephens

IF YOU LOVE ME, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS

Commandments = Love

We show love by keeping commandments. 

He gives us commandments, because he loves us. 

Allen Haynie

THROUGH CHRIST WE CAN BE CLEAN

Through Christ we can be forgiven of our sins and be made clean again.  

Savior's atonement leaves no traces or tracks...it just heals.  

God will never reject us.  

Kim B. Clark

SEEK FOR EYES TO SEE AND EARS TO HEAR THE WILL OF THE LORD

Stand for truth with courage and seek for eyes to see and ears to hear the will of the Lord. 

Strive to live plain and simple truths of the gospel.   

We still live in a time of miracles.  

Koichi Aoyagi

KEEP FAITH IN ADVERSITY

Purpose of life is not to merely to overcome trials, but to learn to rely on the Lord and to increase your faith.  

All things are for your experience and good.  

David Bednar

OLD MEN ROCK!

There is great wisdom in having older, experienced men lead the church of God. 

Their physical limitations are actually an asset to them, in that it helps them to focus their efforts on what is most important.   

They are not spared affliction, but are blessed and strengthened (and increase in understanding) as they face the afflictions with faith.  

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The missionaries joined us for the Sunday morning session.   It was great to have them.  We love their spirit and  the extra good motivation not to snooze!  

Ellie loves missionaries and was especially excited that they had brought pictures to add to her missionary art binder.   

And second session looked like this (but not me!), so having them here really was a good motivator for us.

It turned out to be one of the most meaningful general conferences I'd ever experienced and I think I've learned some good tips for next time.     1.  Have guests over   2.  Have snacks to munch on  3.  Give myself a challenge.

I am grateful to live in a day and time when we are blessed to have a living prophet on the earth.   It's a comfort to know that in these perilous days that God has not left us without His guidance and revelation!

General Conference Summary: Saturday Sessions

Twice a year, us Mormons, take a week off of going to church and watch 8-hours of church at home instead.   Yes, you read that correctly...8 whole hours...and we do it by choice.  It's split four hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday.   What do they talk about for that long?    I'm glad you asked.   Here's a summary from the notes I took:    

Saturday Morning:

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

SIMPLICITY IN CHRIST

Exaltation is our goal, discipleship is our journey!  

Don't make your discipleship too complicated.  

Start where you are and move forward.  

M. Russell Ballard

STAY ON OLD SHIP ZION

Old Ship Zion's destination is exaltation!

Jesus Christ is at the helm of the Old Ship Zion.

We need to stay on the ship to stay safe in the waves of the world.

Richard J. Maynes

CENTER OUR LIVES ON CHRIST

Like a potter needs to keep the clay exactly centered on the potter's wheel, 

we need to keep our lives centered on Christ.  

Neill Marriott

IT WILL ALL WORK OUT

  When we keep an eternal perspective and trust in God, 

it will all work out.  

It doesn't mean that it will be easy or the way we want it, 

but God is in the details and it will work out.  

Larry Lawrence

LISTEN TO THE HOLY GHOST

He will give us personal guidance, meant just for us.  

Be persistent in seeking guidance and always seek for spiritual improvement. 

Our direction is more important than our speed.  

Francisco Vinas

PEACE BE UNTO THY SOUL

The word of God fills us with hope.  

Do not delay the day of our repentance.  

Repentance is a process that requires consistency, but will ultimately bring us peace. 

Quentin L. Cook

"SHIP SHAPE AND BRISTOL FASHION"

BE RIGHTEOUS, FOLOW RULES, AND BE PREPARED

Self control is like a muscle--the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. 

Happiness in this life and the life to come is connected by the thread of righteousness. 

Life will hit hard times (like in the Bristol Channel) and we may feel washed up and knocked on our sides, but when we are spiritually prepared we will be buoyed up.  

Saturday afternoon:   

Three new apostles called: 

Ronald Rasband

Gary Stevenson

Dale Renlund

Robert D. Hales

YOU ARE THE  PILOT OF YOUR LIFE:  NEVER INTENTIONALLY FLY INTO A STORM

If you want the Lord's counsel, be prepared to take it.  

You don't marry for perfection; you marry potential. 

You are rich when you can happily live within your means.   

Jeffrey R. Holland

MATERNAL LOVE IS DIVINE

"No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has  for her child."

Bear, borne, carry, deliver...these similar words are used to describe what the Savior  does for us as well as a mother.   

Bradley D. Foster

HELP CHILDREN UNDERSTAND

We must engage in intentional parenting.  

Children are the largest group of investigators in the church and they should be taught well. 

There's a difference between just hearing the gospel and truly understanding the gospel.  

Hugo Montoya

LET'S HELP EACH OTHER

Go the second mile, Smile.

Express feelings of compassion to others. 

Meditate on the atonement of Jesus Christ. 

Vern Stanfill

GO TOWARD THE LIGHT (OF THE GOSPEL)

Don't be embarrassed to ask for help or look to other's light when you are in darkness.

Trust in the Lord.   

Do not look to those who have no light to give. 

James Martino

ANSWERS WILL COME

keep seeking for answers; they will come. 

Dallin H. Oaks

CHRIST WILL SUCCOR US

He knows our struggles, heartaches, and temptations and will succor us. 

"I can do all things in Christ that strengtheneth me"

Savior can help us overcome any kind of mortal pain--those which come through no fault of our own and those caused by our own choices.  

God is mindful of ALL people.  

Interested in learning more?    You can watch the sessions live HERE.  (at 12:00 and 4:00pm EST)  

Stay tuned for more summaries to come!

(10/3/2015)

Holding Down the Fort

A few weeks ago Glen had a business trip to Delhi, India.   

The trip took place  shortly after the school year started and I found that holding down the fort while in the midst of trying to establish new routines,  was challenging to say the least.   

Thanks to a  9-1/2 hour time adjustment to make and then a nasty case of "Delhi Belly" to deal with, he wasn't much more help when he came home.   He was barely functional for two weeks while his body recovered and literally just as he was barely starting to feel better again, it was time for him  to leave on another trip.   

This time to Utah with Adam to help celebrate his upcoming 12th birthday! 

They went to the BYU game where the quarterback broke his leg and BYU had their first loss of the season.   

They went on hikes in the mountains--to Bridal Veil Falls and to the Y. 

They went fishing at Strawberry Reservoir with Uncle Alex and Cousin Nicholas. 

It was a chilly, but very successful fishing voyage!

I daresay, even a dream come true for Glen.  

On Saturday they hung out with Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Tim, and Heather and watched General Conference.   

Then Saturday evening they filled the purpose of their trip by attending the Priesthood session of conference.  

On Sunday they watched conference with Glen's brother's family and took a hike at Sundance between sessions.  

Meanwhile, back on the homefront… 

I am still holding down the fort.

I've done all the early morning shifts, the late-night shifts, and the kid stuff…and I'm tired.    
 Thank goodness for Cami who can drive herself places at least.
This weekend it was just us girls (and a few cute visitors).  Friday night was supposed to be the ward camp-out, but it was cancelled for rain….and I wasn't disappointed by that.   That cancellation made for  a very laid-back weekend as we watched conference together.     

 We wore our sweats, put no make-up on, ate too much junk food, and just enjoyed being together while we listened to the words of a living prophet.    It was a good weekend for spiritual and physical renewal.  

Now I am staying up until the wee hours of the morning, so I can go pick up Glen and Adam from the airport.  Then I will sleep for a couple of hours and wake up in the slightly later wee hours of the morning to get Cami off to seminary.   

I may look a little bleary-eyed for the next couple of days, but at least Glen and I will be bleary-eyed together again!

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General Conference of the Storm Troopers and Orcs

Ahhh, it's that time of year again.

 The first weekend of April and October each year,  church is canceled and we have the privilege of staying home and listening to modern day prophets and apostles testify of Christ and give us guidance for living in these days.  We call it General Conference and it is something that we look forward to all year long for the opportunity to step away from our busy Sunday responsibilities and spend the time together as a family to be fed spiritually for two days. 

 Despite the appearances in the picture above that my kids are attentively sitting and listening, it always proves to be a struggle to keep everyone engaged through the four two-hour-long sessions spread over Saturday and Sunday.  We are not a family that is used to sitting still for that long, so our efforts usually involve lots of food, spot quizzes, quiet toys, note taking in our General Conference journals, and a fair amount of nudging sleepy parents and teens. 

Yesterday Adam and Ellie decided to use the time to recreate a session of conference with Legos.  At first Adam was annoyed that he didn't have very many "normal looking" Lego people for his scene, but then he decided that Storm Troopers, Orcs, Legolas, and Gimli need General Conference every bit as much as we do.  

Here's Ellie's version with Gandalf, Luke Skywalker, a race car driver, a surfer, and some headless dude that clearly needs a gospel message as well.

Despite the grand efforts that it takes to keep everyone engaged though,   it is a lovely feeling to spend the time together and to be fed spiritually.  

And talks like the one in this link  or the  one embedded below....

 

are exactly what this tired old Orc needed right now...

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Gratitude Moments

I have to say that with Ellie's baptism and a trip to Utah, that it's mostly been a pretty happy couple of weeks around here.  However there's been a little blight in all this happiness when I found out this week that one of the fellow AML patients  we connected with this past year has relapsed for a third time and has been placed on hospice care.  My heart has seriously been breaking for young Brielle's family and I've found myself more upset about it than I would have expected.  I am using the blog tonight for a dose of free therapy and trying to help my heart focus on some of the gratitude moments I've had over the last couple of weeks.

• This sketch.  One of the missionaries serving in our ward is an artist and presented this sketch to Ellie as a gift for her 8th birthday and baptism.  She is ecstatic about having her own original work of art and will not allow anyone to touch it until it is framed.   I have found myself admiring it many times over the last several days and finding solace in its beauty and message.  

• One of my kids who was telling me all about how much a hangnail hurt, except he kept referring to it as a "cliffhanger" instead of a hangnail.  It cracked me up, although for the sake of his pride I had to pretend it was normal to have a painful cliffhanger on your baby toe. 

• Glen came home from his business trip!  I was off kilter all week without him, but by Friday I was a such a mess that I totally slept through my alarm that I'd accidentally turned to the lowest volume and missed waking the kids up for seminary.   It was the first time we've done that in nearly four years of early morning seminary.  

• Two men gave us flowers this week and neither of them was Glen!   The day before Easter one of our favorite teachers from the elementary school came by and presented us with these Easter lilies.  Four of our five kids have had him for a teacher and although we are sad that Ellie will never be in his class, we feel blessed for the kids that have had the privilege of being in his classroom over the years.   The second bouquet of flowers came from the cashier at Trader Joes.  He was a tad grumpy when he kept calling for bagging help and no one ever came.  I think he felt guilty and gave the flowers as a conciliatory gesture for showing his frustration in front of a customer. In any case, I love having not one, but two bouquets of flowers to officially welcome the commencement of real spring-like weather this week! 

• Cute nieces and nephews who make me smile and feel younger than I really am..

• I impressed Spence and Cam when I used a teenage slang word correctly.    I simply told Spence to "sice" me some gas at the station and instantly I became .0000001% cooler in the eyes of my teenagers.  And to think I was just trying to stay in the warm car and out of the whipping wind. 

• General Conference!!!   Twice a year we Mormons have the privilege of spending two days watching modern-day apostles and a prophet teach and inspire us.  What a blessing it is to know that God still speaks to us today. 

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A sampling of the kind of inspiring message we hear at General Conference:

"Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely.  Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly.  Though we may feel lost and without compass, God's love encompasses us completely....  He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken."
                                                                                                       Dieter F. Uchtdorf (October 2009)