LDS CONFERENCE AND TRADITIONS - LOVE IT!

Amy - Me - Marmalade - Kotten Kandy

I love the General Women's Meeting for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It is a wonderful opportunity to learn, grow and "start" the conference "holiday!"  Every year, we like to take advantage of these conference sessions and get together with our friends and family.  It makes the occasion even BETTER!  Ever since my daughters were old enough to attend (and when Amy's sweet daughter also joined up) we have tried to make the evening one of celebration, love, fun and spiritual feasting!  This year we changed it up a bit.  We went to Red Robin and discussed what we needed to hear from our church leaders while eating bottomless french fries in campfire sauce.  After dinner, we headed to Walmart for Ben and Jerry's Tonight Dough ice-cream to eat while watching/listening to the talks.  And then... we listened, took notes, and shared our favorite moments.  One of the best things, besides sitting beside my daughter, Amy and Marmalade was knowing that my other daughter, my sister and my mother were also partaking of the spiritual feast at the same time!  I'm sooooo grateful for the opportunity that we have twice a year to hear from prophets of the Lord!

At Red Robin, we always think this giant painting looks like President Eyring.

Being conference, the girls decided to pose with him.....

The overall message I heard was to remember my self worth.  We are all daughters of our Heavenly Father.  We have divine worth.  And sometimes, it is easy to forget that.  At least for me.  I needed the reminder!  I'm grateful for the reminder.  And I hope I can continually remember that I am a beloved daughter of God.
I can not wait for the rest of general conference next weekend!  So many traditions!  So many lessons and learning and opportunities for growth!  So much joy!  So much happiness!
I've been reading a lot.  I haven't been very faithful about posting about the books I've read.  So here's a list and a short thought about each:

Dave Ramsey is brilliant.  And this book goes hand in hand with the rogue Self-Reliance class we are doing through church.  Scott and I are really focusing on becoming better stewards over our resources.  I'm grateful for the gospel perspective as well as Dave Ramsey's no-nonsense approach to managing our lives.

The Happiness Advantage is a great reminder of ways to bring joy into our lives.  Of course, the gospel and being "right with the Lord" brings the truest form of joy.  But the reminders in this book, coupled with research was good to review.

I can't believe I hadn't read Stephen R. Covey's famous book before.  I loved the seven principles... especially the first 3:  1.  Be proactive.  2.  Begin with the end in mind.  (I need to re-write my personal mission statement.) and 3.  Put first things first.  This is a great book with great principles.

Creativity, Inc. wasn't what I expected, but I enjoyed it.  I learned a lot about Pixar and was able use some of the guidelines in my own life.  Although most of this book focused on Creativity in the workplace.

Brain Rules was frustrating to me at first.  There is a lot of scientific stuff that I didn't really "get" or "understand."  But after talking with Amy about the book, I learned how to learn better, and I'm actually really glad I read it.  I learned some great tools that I can use while teaching at home or at church.  I also was able to use some of the observations from this book for my own personal growth.  I'm really glad I read this.

Scott and I decided to re-read A Wrinkle in Time, since the movie is coming out this fall.  I had forgotten how good it is.  There are spiritual principles throughout.  I'm curious to see how they handle all the reference to Christ and freedom in the movie.  It's a fun story with deep truths portrayed.

I just finished reading Grit yesterday.  I hope I have grit.  I hope I can reach my maximum potential.  And I hope I can help others to do the same.