slightly busier week for us

Conference Notebooks

I forgot to post the photos I took last week of the notebooks Hannah and her friend Sarah made. Sarah is currently taking the missionary discussions and is being baptized this week. It was wonderful to have her spend all 4 general sessions of conference with us. I love the notebooks they decorated and wish they were mine.

Hannah's conference notebook

Sarah's conference notebook

Signed up for Ed Week


Right after conference ended last Sunday, my sister texted me to say that she had finally made a decision about her job in the fall. She is not going to return to her current teaching position (5th grade language arts) but is going to sub and write the children's book that she's been wanting to write for years. By that evening we were all signed up to attend BYU Ed Week together. If she had been teaching, we couldn't have gone. We are very excited!

Earned my Personal Progress award

On Monday I finished up my last requirement to earn my Personal Progress award (for the 3rd time--1st at age 17, then at age 30, and now at 52). It is a goal program for the Young Women of the church, but any woman can complete it. The requirements for the adults are less than for the girls.

Women need to accomplish 3 specific goals in each of these 7 areas (girls have 7 goals for each area): Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, and Integrity and 4 goals in the category of Virtue (for both women and the young women). Plus you need to accomplish 3 projects (girls need to accomplish 8, one in each area), one of which is reading the Book of Mormon.

https://www.lds.org/young-women/personal-progress?lang=eng

Once you finish your Personal Progress, you can earn your "Honor Bee" by reading the Book of Mormon again and accomplishing 40 hours of service. I'm working on that now.

Appreciation Dinner

Wednesday night Hannah was involved with the Student Council and Rotary club in serving a spaghetti dinner to teachers in appreciation for all that they had done and are doing. Dale Erquiaga, Glen's best friend from high school who is currently the Superintendent of Public Instruction for Nevada (his signature in on our teaching/substitute licenses), was the guest speaker. It really was a great evening.

Ice cream social

Our ward tried something new for an activity this month. We signed up for an ice cream social. Glen and I wound up hosting one of the groups. We provided ice cream and those who were assigned to our house brought the toppings. To me it's a miracle that everyone brought a different topping (blackberry sauce, strawberries and reddi-whip, brownies, chocolate sauce, and hot fudge). We had 18 people here. It got a little loud, but I think everyone had a nice time. It was a fun idea having it in homes instead of at church.

Senior citizen discount as reward for cleaning the temple grounds?

Saturday morning found Glen, Alex, and I at the temple helping to clean up the temple grounds. Alex and I weeded and Glen helped clean up some sagebrush. Afterwards we took Alex to his first visit to El Pollo Loco. I ordered separately from the boys since they weren't ready. After we got our food Glen looked at his receipt and saw that they had given him the Senior Citizens Discount (10% off). Turns out they had given me one, too. Hmm. Oh, well.

Still hoping for the 21st

The teacher I'm subbing for is still planning on coming back next Monday, the 21st. We just hope that his doctors agree and allow him to do that. I've been blessed to have this job (we had dental bill and car repairs that it covered), but I'm ready to be done.

Graduation is almost here

2 school days left for Andrew and Heather

Andrew and Heather go to class on Monday and Tuesday, then have a few study days before finals start. And then Andrew graduates with minors in Math and Rhetoric and with a bachelor's in English (I know I'm not supposed to start a sentence with the word "and" Andrew, but this is informal writing, so I'm doing it anyway). Only 2 days of college left for him! For now, anyway. Wow.

And Hannah's high school graduation is in less than 2 months now. Wow.

Favorite Conference Quotes

Spring Break was wonderful even though we didn't do much. Sometimes slowing down is marvelous and all that we need. One of the simple joys of life is not having to set the alarm clock.

Andrew turned 24 this week. It's less than 3 weeks until he graduates from college now. Wow.

So, it's General Conference weekend...and today is Ryan's 20th birthday. I hope he's having a great day in Natchitoches. I can't wait for his email tomorrow.

Conference was so uplifting. It truly was a great weekend--10 hours of instruction in the comfort of my own home. Another simple joy. Here are some quotes I really liked.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

"In addition to teaching, encouraging and cheering people on — that is the pleasant part of discipleship — from time to time these same messengers are called upon to worry, to warn and sometimes just to weep — that is the painful part of discipleship.They know full well that the road leading to the Promised Land ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ of necessity runs by way of Mount Sinai flowing with ‘thou shalts’ and ‘thou shalt nots.’”

Sister Linda K. Reeves:

"The greatest filter in the world, the only one that will ultimately work, is the personal internal filter that comes from a deep and abiding testimony of our Heavenly Father's love and our Savior's atoning sacrifice for each one of us."

"It's okay if the house is a mess and the children are in their pajamas and some responsibilities are left undone.The only things that really need to be accomplished in the home are daily scripture study and prayer and weekly Family Home Evening."

“A friend recently cautioned me saying, 'When you ask the sisters to read the scriptures and pray more, it stresses some [them?] out. They already feel that they have too much to do.'... The blessings of daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening, these are the practices that help take away stress, give direction to our lives, and add protection to our homes."

Elder Neil L Andersen:

"The peace of the Savior subdues the swirling whirlwinds of the world."

President Henry B. Eyring:

Heavenly Father and Jesus "never force righteousness because righteousness must be chosen. They make righteousness discernible to us and they let us see that its fruits are delicious."

Elder W. Craig Zwick:

Destructive words can take a situation from hazardous to fatal.

Elder Quentin L. Cook:

Our family history centers are now in our homes.

 Elder Dallin H. Oaks:

Forget about "rights" and concentrate on "responsibilities."

President Donald L. Hallstrom:

Who we are is not who we can become.

 Elder Randall L. Ridd (one of my favorite talks this conference):

Be where you are when you are there. (not multitasking)

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (always one of my favorite speakers):

“Often we devote our best efforts in pursuit of a hobby, a sport, vocational interests, and community or political issues. All these things may be good and honorable, but are they leaving us time and energy for what should be our highest priorities?”

“Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not an effort of once a week or once a day. It is an effort of once and for all.”
 
All commandments are given to make blessings available to us.

"Those who set aside the bottle of bitterness and lift instead the goblet of gratitude can find a purifying drink of healing, peace and understanding."

In the end there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings.

Gratitude is a catalyst to all Christlike attributes.

President Thomas S. Monson:

Be the same person in the dark that you are in the light.

Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval.

"Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals."
  
Sister Jean A. Stevens:

“The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a checklist of things to do; rather, it can live in our hearts. The gospel is not weight; it is wings. It carries us.”

Elder David A. Bednar:

"Sometimes we mistakenly may believe that happiness is the absence of a load. But bearing a load is a necessary and essential part of the plan of happiness. Because our individual load needs to generate spiritual traction, we should be careful to not haul around in our lives so many nice but unnecessary things that we are distracted and diverted from the things that matter most."

Elder L. Tom Perry:

 “Strong, proactive obedience is anything but weak or passive. It is the means by which we declare our faith in God and qualify ourselves to receive the powers of heaven. Obedience is a choice. It is a choice between our own limited knowledge and power and God’s unlimited wisdom and omnipotence.”

Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge:

Why did they not leave the Savior alone? The truth will always be opposed.

Elder Michael John U. Teh:

"It is critical that we learn to recognize when we have enough. It we are not careful, we will begin to chase after the temporal more than the spiritual."

Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis:

Satan distorts the purpose of good things, like the internet. “Satan can keep us busy, distracted and infected by sifting through information, much of which can be pure garbage. One should not roam through garbage."

Elder D. Todd Christofferson:

"Having redeemed us from the Fall, our lives are now, in reality, His."

And from Women's Conference last weekend:

Sister Rosemary M. Wixom:

“As we strive to keep our covenants, our feelings of inadequacies and imperfection begin to fade, while the ordinances and the covenants of the temple come alive. Everyone is welcome to walk that path to eternal life.”

Sister Bonnie L Oscarson:

 

“We as women can be particularly hard on ourselves. When we compare ourselves to one another, we will always feel inadequate or resentful of others."

“If there are barriers, it is because we ourselves have created them. We must stop concentrating on our differences and look for what we have in common; then we can begin to realize our greatest potential and achieve the greatest good in this world.”

Sister Linda K. Burton:

 

"Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: 'All the easy things that the Church has had to do have been done. From now on, it’s high adventure, and followership is going to be tested in some interesting ways.'"

President Henry B. Eyring:

"I will speak tonight about the path...that we must take on our journey back to our Heavenly Father. That path is marked by sacred covenants with God. I will talk with you about the joy of making and keeping those covenants and helping others keep them."