Conference Weekend

It's Thursday, and I am still thinking back on what a great weekend it was.  I love General Conference weekend.  When I was little, maybe I loved it because we could watch church from our home, in pajamas, while cross-stitching.  But, now, I love it because I feel so blessed, empowered, and peaceful after listening to great talks all weekend.

Some of my favorite jewels from conference this year are:

President Thomas S. Monson:

My dear sisters, your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes. It is not influenced by your appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there. It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there.As we seek our Heavenly Father through fervent, sincere prayer and earnest, dedicated scripture study, our testimonies will become strong and deeply rooted. We will know of God’s love for us. We will understand that we do not ever walk alone. I promise you that you will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you.

 President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

My dear friends—please, first doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. We must never allow doubt to hold us prisoner and keep us from the divine love, peace, and gifts that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

Also let us remember that through any illness or difficult challenge, there is still much in life to be hopeful about and grateful for. We are infinitely more than our limitations or our afflictions!...Trust in God. Hold on in His love. Know that one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows of mortality will flee.  

President Thomas S. Monson:

Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, He is with us. He has promised that this will never change. 

This past weekend, we went to Corpus Christi to visit my brother, Zack, and Beca & Grace.  That always makes for a fun time.  We did a lot of baking/eating and crafts with the kiddos.  The guys mowed the lawn, while the kids had a front row seat at the window, eating goldfish.  And, we played "haircut"...luckily no real cutting happened.  And between it all, we were actually able to listen to most of the General Conference sessions.

During the priesthood session, Beca & I took Grace & Eli to Wendy's to get a frosty.  It was an adventure to say the least.  They were SO happy.  You can see it in their faces.  This picture was taken just seconds before Eli darted off to dance on a table across the room while Grace handed me a smashed up waffle cone in her hand, saying she was all done.  Good thing Beca & I were there together to handle these two crazy kids with man-to-man defense style.  It opened my eyes to the future I'll have with two kiddos to chase.  And, I can't wait!

Eli is really into this super cheesy smile where he squints his eyes, shows his dimples, and says cheese.  It shouts delight and bliss to me.  I have a feeling this is one of those things that he is going to stop doing one day, and I am going to miss it terribly.