General Conference!

 General Conference was so great!  I loved the Spirit, the messages, the peace and comfort, and the time at home with my family.  Yes, I miss singing with the TabChoir but conference weekend is definitely much more calm when we're all home together.

I tried a new recipe for doughnuts on Saturday morning.  It said it made 12, so I decided to double it to be sure everyone had as much as they wanted (plus, sometimes some of them get burned, etc.) but... it turned out that wasn't necessary.  I took this picture after several had been eaten, and we'd brought a plate over to our neighbors.  We ended up bringing another plate to a different family after the first session too.  So many doughnuts.  But they were yummy!  (Next time, don't double it though.)

I had what I thought was a great kill-multiple-birds kind of idea -
I encouraged Luke, and any other kid who was interested, to make a collage
on the back of used posterboard, using old editions of The Friend.
Luke was interested in this project for approximately 7 minutes.

Eliza started a quote poster instead.  Love this.

Luke and Jack got pretty rowdy on Saturday.
This was 15 minutes before the end of the morning session,
with tons of scripture dress-up and a pillow underneath,
and he kept that top (gown?) on for several hours.

Cat took beautiful and thorough notes throughout all 4 sessions.
Also, headwear.  She and I both loved the Women's Session
(especially Pres. Eyring's talk!) but I didn't take any pictures.

Crepes on Sunday morning!
Eliza's was so stuffed she needed two crepes.

Jack settled down more on Sunday.  Looking through activity
pages from The Friend helped.

Luke and Eliza spent some time doing a puzzle,
which helped too.

We went for a walk/bike ride between sessions.
The weather was sunny and warm and lovely.

Almost as soon as the second session was over on Sunday, the kids started wrestling, and it lasted for quite a while...  Obviously they'd spent pretty much the whole day watching TV, and eaten plenty of sugar.

On Saturday evening I asked the kids what their favorite talk was or what stood out to them and I love Eliza's answer: "Sister Craig's talk.  I guess I just needed to hear that today."  We've talked about conference a few times in the last few days (it's our CFM topic all week) and I love that the kids heard, understood, and remembered stories and teachings.

There were several themes that stood out to me:

• We should overcome prejudice, serve each other, and build unity in our communities.
• There is help and healing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ - be obedient, do your best to emulate Him, and receive the blessings of the Atonement
• Prepare spiritually and temporally for the future
• Challenges and suffering are normal and necessary for progress

I am so thankful for the messages of hope, peace, and guidance we heard this and every General Conference weekend.  We are incredibly blessed to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to hear the teachings of prophets and apostles!