Conference Weekend

General Conference weekend is my most favorite of the year.  I love to listen to the prophet and the other leaders of our church.  It is lovely to not have to go anywhere or do anything but sit and listen and fill the spirit.  It is a challenge though to keep the kids still and quiet and try to get them to want to listen and watch as much as I do.  I've decided that it is more important for me to pay attention to my children though and remember that they are children instead of getting upset that I can't hear or concentrate on the talks because they are talking or needing something.  I am so thankful that we have so much technology available so that we can listen and watch over and over again with the touch of a button.  I loved what Elder Hales said first thing Saturday morning about conference being more important AFTER it is over than during it because we get to listen and ponder and read the talks again and again.  I appreciate prayers and questions being answered from conference.  I had some specific ones that I have been thinking about the last couple of months and there were specific talks that answered or help to answer some of those questions.  Other talks just reaffirmed counsel and answers that I have received before.  The talk by Neil L. Andersen Sunday afternoon, President Eyring's Sunday morning talk in particular were very special to me.  Elder Dube Saturday morning was just excellent.  He was so excited and happy to be there and share his message.  You could just feel his enthusiasm and testimony.  The family choir Saturday afternoon was very special and I loved to see all the different ages of the people singing.  This song was my favorite and it gave me goosebumps.  

 This is how Connor and Cayden watched conference Saturday morning.  Connor is under all those blankets.

 This is the game that the boys played to keep them occupied and listening to conference.  I wrote down 10 words on big strips of paper and taped them to the front of the entertainment center.  There were words like atonement, prophet, Holy Ghose, commandments etc.  They had to listen for those words and make a check by the word on their piece of paper every time they heard a speaker say it.  Then after conference was over they tallied up all their marks and got a piece of candy for each one.  Connor had 141 marks, Caleb had 139 marks and Cayden had 97.  I only did this for the Sunday afternoon session.  It worked marvelously!  They paid attention and even helped each other by saying "he said prophet two times " and things like that.  Connor called grandpa right after to tell him all about it and then grandpa called me later and told me that he thought it was a brilliant idea to keep them listening.  He later came over and made them milkshakes because they listened so well.  Major sugar overload but what ever works!

Kyle played with cars all weekend.  

Saturday morning toward the end of the first session Don and I bottled 7 quarts of chicken, got 12 bags of chicken ready to freeze, put chicken in the crockpot for chicken noodle soup for dinner and put more chicken in a bag to marinate for Sunday dinner.  It was nice to have that all done and dinner basically ready for both days.  Don took Caleb and Connor to the priesthood session.  Cayden finished decorating the house for Halloween.  Conference was a success in my book and I have already started to listen to the talks again via the Mormon Channel.  I am so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latteray Saints.  Other than eating way to much junk food over the weekend and feeling really tired on Sunday because all we did was lay around, it was a successful weekend!