Conference Weekend

We love General Conference weekend around here! What a wonderful opportunity to listen to and learn from our Church leaders. It also gives us a good chance to spend time together as a family (since weekends are typically pretty busy). Here's a picture of three Conference-watching girls today :-) We had a fun lunch with the Barretts today in between sessions, and Mom and I had a great Girls' Night Out with Lindy, Cam, Riley, and Sid last night. While the boys went to Priesthood Meeting yesterday evening, we girls went to Arctic Circle and had some yummy sweet potato fries and pumpkin pie shakes. The girls especially loved the Halloween flashlights they got in their square pumpkin kids' meals. Then we went back to their house and watched the Disney channel--could there be a more perfect Girls' Night Out?

All of the Conference talks this weekend were wonderful, but a few especially stood out to me. I thoroughly enjoyed Elder Perry's talk on Saturday morning about simplifying our lives. He gave some excellent advice about staying out of debt and being prepared for whatever life has in store for us. I also always love Elder Wirthlin's talks. On Saturday afternoon he spoke about adversity. I especially enjoyed his admonition to laugh instead of complain. He said, "The way we react to adversity can determine our happiness." Elder Nelson's talk about marriage this afternoon was especially appropriate for me since I have marriage on the brain. Sometimes people who are not members of the Church don't understand why not everyone can attend a temple marriage or what the significance of a temple marriage is. I liked how he explained that a temple marriage is the "highest and most enduring type of marriage," and the only type of marriage that continues on beyond this life.

It is interesting how if you prayerfully listen to General Conference and have specific concerns on your mind, you always hear the perfect message that addresses those concerns and answers questions for you. The perfect talk that I needed to hear was given by President Monson during today's morning session. When he started out by saying, "Change--nothing is as constant as change," I knew that he was going to be talking right to me :-) I have never enjoyed or dealt well with change. Even when the change is a good one, it is still change, and that always bothers me. Some definite, huge, monumental life changes are quickly approaching for me, and even though they are good changes, I am still a little nervous because of the mere fact that change is involved. So, President Monson's words were exactly what I needed to hear. He said, "Find joy in the journey--NOW." He talked about how if we're always living for the future, we'll miss out on a lot of joy in the present. He quoted Horace who said, "Whatever God has blessed you with, take it. Then, no matter where you go, you can say that you have lived happily." That is a very wise statement--we can be happy wherever we are if we choose to be. If we don't appreciate the present, we'll find that the future comes too quickly, and we'll have missed out on a lot of good things. President Monson said, "Rather than dwelling on the past, we must enjoy the present. . . . Let us relish life as we live it. . . . Adapt to the changes in your life, express gratitude, and find joy in the journey." What wonderful counsel! His words will be good for me to remember as I head out on a new adventure in a couple of weeks.

It was a little chilly and rainy here this weekend, but the sun came out this afternoon, and we saw that the cold spell had left us with a beautiful sight: snow-capped mountains! I love it when it snows on top of Timpanogos. It looks especially pretty right now with snow on top of the mountains and fall colors in the foothills. Utah Valley truly is a beautiful place.