Preparing for General Conference

I love General Conference!  I would compare it to a holiday but not for the reasons you might expect.  Yeah, it's nice to sleep in & veg on the couch.  It's also nice to have a break from church callings & responsibilities.  For me it's a relief not to have to "reverently" entertain a toddler during meetings.  I love General Conference because it refocuses me on living the gospel & directing me to work towards strengthening relationships, self-improvement & applying the teachings of Jesus Christ in my life.

I would say that my conference preparation started with a nudge from my mom, during our visit to Utah earlier this month.  I needed to pick a few things up from the "Distribution Center" & while we were there my mom renewed our subscription to the church magazines (I have a tendency to let those lapse... it's the penny-pincher in me, I always think, "I can just read it online...").  It's important to remember here that I have an 18 month old who helps herself to everything!  It's only natural then, that she felt these were just an addition to her collection of books.

 How I love her!  Over the last 3 weeks she has loved these magazines, examined every picture over & over again.  A page she frequents is page 42 in "The Friend" which features the song, "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus."  She knows that by presenting this page to mom or dad they will sing it.  A few nights ago, Kam got up in the middle of the night.  She was hysterical!  Travis & I both tried & failed to sooth her which resulted in frazzled nerves & frustration for all three of us.  As a last result I rocked her, tickled her back & sang the song from "her magazine" (as I call it).  She relaxed & I was able to convince her that it was not morning & she could lay down in her bed to go back to sleep.

Another thing she loves to do with "her magazine" & the Ensign is flip through the pages & point to every-single-picture of President Monson.  She loves this game.  Last Monday, for "Family Home Evening," we watched the highlights from last conference.  Imagine her excitement when President Monson was on TV!  She ran to the screen pointing & turning back to make sure we saw him too.  As a new mom who has no clue what she's doing, I was ecstatic.  If I had been trying, I never would have succeeded in teaching her who the prophet is.  It just happened & I guess the spirit taught her.

If that was my high point, then next came my low.  The fourth Wednesday of the month Glendive's Library has what they call "Baby Bookworms" (It's actually a lady in our ward who leads it).  Mom's come with their babies or toddlers to sing songs, play learning games & read books.  Kam & I walked over.  She was very timid at first, but gradually became more & more comfortable in her surroundings.  That means she got busier & busier.  Any attempt I made to quiet her or ask her not to take pictures & books from the other kids was not well received... to say the least.  I guess you could say it was sensory overload, she was excited to play with the kids & read all kinds of books (but only the first page of course).

We tried taking a step back & left the room for a few minutes to regain control & talk about how to be nice, but that didn't last long.  When we went back in they had brought out balls to play with, she was fine as long as she had one.  I had just turned to talk to a couple of ladies that I knew when I heard the shrillest scream & turned to see my little drama queen standing in the middle of all the kids with no ball.  I didn't know what to do.  I immediately jumped to my feet scooped up the little diva, our things, excused ourselves, out the door, in the stroller & headed home.  I'm not sure if the door had even closed behind us when the tears started.  And they didn't stop all the way home.  The most predominant thought in my mind was, "I'm not cut out for this. How is it that I was the only mother there who had not taught their child how to behave in that social setting? Am I doing anything right?"  More than anything I was just so embarrassed.

How does any of this relate to Preparing for General Conference.  In a nutshell, "a humble person is teachable."  Nothing could have prepared me more to hear the messages in conference than this humbling experience.  There was an article in the Ensign this month about preparing for conference.  In it suggests the following:

• Pray & fast to receive answers to your prayers through the words of the speakers.
• Approach conference with specific questions in mind.
• Complete all chores, shopping, and other errands before conference so you can focus on listening.
• Get good rest the nights before conference so your mind will be ready to receive inspiration.
• Take notes of the impressions promptings, and insights you receive.

I have several questions in mind this conference.  How can I be a better mother & teach my diva to love the Gospel?  How will we teach her what she needs to gain her own testimony?  How can I be a better wife & support for my husband?  How do I keep the faith & prepare for the future?

This Conference is a special treat because this is the first conference in nearly 5 years of marriage
that Travis &/or I have not had to work through the Saturday sessions of conference.  I'm so excited!  We are so blessed!

Now I'm off to the grocery store to buy ingredients for a few pinterest recipes that will keep me busy between sessions!  And later a basket-o-fun for Kam to see if we can keep her entertained... wish me luck!

My loves!