stake conference

we had stake conference but Christopher woke up not feeling well and said he was staying home.  I decided that I didn't want to take on bringing four kids to two hours of conference from 1-3 all by myself so I rewrote the plan and just took Andrew from 9-11.  it was much better.

notes from conference:

"do more of whatever brings you closest to christ." 

find parallels in parenting and being a child of God.  I feel like I need to be better at quietly serving my family and children as christ serves me.

president fluckiger said "how do we show our love for God? we keep his commandments to the best of our abilities." blessings come to us as we love God.  our love for God is at the heart of our motivation for absolutely everything.  our only way to peace and happiness is through the light that he has. 

president hunter said "love unfeigned is missionary work." if we worship in the temple, we will become effective member missionaries.  make subtle adjustment in our life to allow us to worship more effectively.

the temple president said "come to the the temple and see the value of being in the presence of the lord.

mike Norris mentioned an app called "take a name" that sounded really cool.

president Lyman- read president monsoon's talk from the most recent general conference and study the book of mormon.  be still and know that I am God. Be still more often.  set aside time to focus on God.  take the time to pray to God and not be distracted.  Take the time to focus on those we love that are with us... be with them in the moment.

and, while I was worried about leaving my kids behind with sick Christopher in bed, they all survived just fine thank goodness.

Andrew is either happy or sleepy.  he's such a great kid.

I've had this tiny pile of clean clothes at this spot on my floor for probably two full weeks.  I have no idea why, but I keep not putting it away.  Elizabeth tried on Andrew's newborn pants and could only get them over her ankles and then tried my shorts that I wear to the pool and had to hold them up with her hands.  not a whole lot of in between in this pile.

this is our bookmark in Brady's reading book.  I thought it would be interesting to keep track of when we do lessons and how long it takes.  also, it's gratifying watching the papers fill up and gives Brady a visual for his sense of accomplishment.

I really love how quickly he is progressing although I won't lie that we've hit a bit of a wall in that he's decided he doesn't WANT to do lessons anymore.  he snuck probably 5 of 7 pieces of gum and since then, hasn't wanted to do lessons.  he just keeps saying that he wants gum to be a regular treat and just for fun, not just to get after reading lessons.  but, I still make him do them and afterwards, he's always so excited that he read such a long story.  I'm hoping this is just a little hurdle and not a plateau.

there were a number of times during today that I felt like throwing in the towel.  it didn't feel like a Sunday with my family and I don't deal well with the chaos and mess.  thankfully, it all worked out just fine.