I love General Conference

Man, I can't remember a time that I have walked away from General Conference and not been spiritually fed, but this one was packed full of warnings and direction. I think I was over fed, :)

But there was a time when I wasn't so happy to see General Conference. I thought about this before Conference this year asking myself why it took me so long to look forward to these special occasions. I realized two reasons.

One was we didn't have a way to watch General Conference from home so we had to get dress in Sunday clothing for two days. It wasn't so much a problem for me to wear those clothes as it was to have to dress small children and take them back and forth for two sessions a day and to keep them clean and occupied between sessions. This was a pain for me so we didn't always attend every session.

The other reason was I couldn't listen to the speakers because the small children weren't cooperating with me. They wouldn't sit still for that long, tire easy and get fussy. That meant I had to take them out of the chapel and into a room full of parents with the same dilemma. It meant I couldn't hear what was being said and I felt like we should have just stayed at home.

But...now my children are older and I love watching conference. So I promise you young parents that the day will come that can sit and listen to Conference again. You will be able to get through this. The thing I learned from it was to be patient, and you will be blessed. Like Sunday meetings, if you attend you will be blessed. The Lord knows you tried and are doing the right thing so the blessing will come and you feel the Spirit in your life.

I am grateful that we did go because I do know that those days were blessed days with my family. By going every six months I was teaching my children that this is something we must do. That we would receive blessings as we do so and we would learn something from attending. And that the Lord knew we were there and being obedient.

I love General Conference and I do look forward to it and the spiritual feast I get when I do. I love watching it at home and talking with my family afterwards about what we learned from the talks. My family knows that this is what we do because we have always done it.

Thriller

Who has never heard of the Michael Jackson song, "Thriller"? I remember seeing the video on TV years ago when it first aired. And being wowed by the famous dance he and his zombie dancers did back in the 80's. It was such a fun dance. Then one day I was watching a movie called "13 Going on 30" and they did this dance. A big smile came on my face and found myself wanting to remember how to do this dance.

Then...one day as I was going through some pins on Pinterest and I found a chart that teaches you how to do the Thriller dance. I have saved the link for you to view and try out. I think its one of those things that you need to learn and try before you die, LOL. It could be good exercise, too! Enjoy!!!

Thriller Dance

Being Overwhelmed

I have been given so much information from family and online information regarding my family history. I remember being so overwhelmed and not knowing how best to organize this information so that my children would understand what all this is. So I found a way that has worked for me in organizing my records so it made sense.

My desire is to create books for my posterity to know their past family. The thing I had to remember was that I needed to concentrate on my direct blood line first, the rest would come later. I needed to start with a pedigree chart and write the names of each person who is my direct line to as far back as I could go. Actually, I am going back to the first person who entered the U.S. as an immigrant then move on to the next line. After I completed that I could focus on where we originated from overseas. This works for me.

I have found lots of interesting stuff. Once I have done this I go back and research the info and I have to verify if it is correct then move on to the next until I have finished my U.S. relatives. To me this is the best way to begin.

I love coming across pictures of my ancestors. I love to see what they looked like and they just become so real to me as I view their faces. I try to see if I can find family resemblances; it's fun. I plan to take all this information, photos, documents and stories and create books for everyone else to get to know and learn to love their ancestors, too.

I love research and the satisfaction of finding the answer to your questions, as an accountant I do this all the time. It is no wonder that I love family history research because as I dig deeper, I find those treasures that can bring true joy to my soul. you can have that too, so get digging by starting with what you know and recording it on your pedigree chart then get all the documentation you can find as back up to your research and find how you can best store that information for your posterity. Good luck, don't wait any longer, get started now.

Emergencies Happen Every Day

Emergencies do happen every day. Nobody wants these things to happen to them or others but they do, so we need to "be prepared for the worst and hope for the best". I heard that phrase somewhere, not sure who said it first.

Being prepared for what is to come is the smart thing to do. The world today sees earthquakes, tornado's  hurricanes, flood, droughts, and snowstorms. Our economy takes its ups and downs without our permission so we have to adjust to its will. Being prepared for whatever comes our way is the only way to stay sane in troubled times.

It's important to know what things to store for your family so I have included some links that might be helpful in preparing for the worst. There are lots of websites out there so do your research them and choose wisely.

Emergency Kitchen

Food Storage Tips

Seven Major Mistakes

Helpful Tips

Preparing for General Conference

Hello!!! It's almost that time again; time to be spiritually fed by our General Authorities. I love General Conference, but I didn't always love it. When I was a young mother going to view General Conference with small children seemed useless because I never got to here any of it. Sometimes I would talk myself into not attending some of the meetings, as long as I attend Sunday morning I would like we accomplished something.

I learned that I learned nothing that way. So it seemed my major problem was getting my children to sit quietly while I had the opportunity to listen and learn. How do you manage that? I have learned that preparing in advance and having many thing for my children to do during this time was very helpful and there was nothing wrong with doing this.

I created bags of treats, coloring pages and puzzles. They were good things to keep their attention for awhile. I created a binder with pictures of the Savior and people doing good things. I created a photo album with family pictures so they could see us having fun. Anyway, these are some examples of what worked for me and my family. Here are some links for ideas that might work for yours.

Teen Prep

Adult Prep

Coloring Pages

Conference Worksheets

Learn the Apostles Names