Oh, General Conference weekend, how we love you! There is nothing like hanging out as a family and listening to wonderful, inspired talks from men and women (including the prophet of God and his Apostles on the earth today) who live their lives so in line with the Savior and His teachings. Individuals who love freely and are in the constant service of others--and inspire the rest of us to try and do the same. Of course all the delicious food at g-ma/g-pa's house doesn't hurt either, but that's just an added bonus;).

Here we are together (straight out of bed from the looks of it ... which is probably why I"m not in any of the pictures:). Mae and Brooks working on Conference activity books. Gotta love the Internet (and in this case, Sugardoodle.net in particular) for all the fun and free printables.

Just love my family!!

And an "action" shot of President Uchtdorf. Thank you ipad for allowing us to watch on the big screen. Huddling around the computer in the office was starting to feel a little crowded.

Of course, as seems to always be the case, I didn't get any photos of Sunday with the grandparents (the pictures above are from sat.), but we had a great time there as well.

All the talks were really magnificent, but the ones that stand out at the moment are "Children" http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/children?lang=eng by Neil L. Anderson, "Love Her Mother" http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/love-her-mother?lang=eng by Elaine S. Dalton, and "Counsel to Youth" (and specifically the poem about the young and old crows) http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/counsel-to-youth?lang=eng by Boyd K. Packer. Can you tell parenting is on my mind??

Okay, and finally, here's a little excerpt from Elder Anderson's talk:

"Many voices in the world today marginalize the importance of having children or suggest delaying or limiting children in a family. My daughters recently referred me to a blog written by a Christian mother (not of our faith) with five children. She commented: '[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood. … Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get.' She then adds: 'Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for."

Oh and I can't leave out the wonderful quote from the young mother on the bus with seven children ...

"The bus driver asked, 'Are these all yours, lady? Or is it a picnic?'
'They’re all mine,' she replied. 'And it’s no picnic!'"

Love it!!!