Conference Weekend

I really LOVE Conference weekend! To me it's like a holiday, and I treat it in similar fashion. I think the all around feeling in my home is just different. There is something about inviting our Heavenly Father, through His appointed servants, into our home. (Picture drawn by Zoe during Conference.)

I especially love the opportunity on Saturday morning to sustain our prophet and leaders of the Church. It really does build our testimonies to raise our hands in their support. I thought it especially interesting how they handled the sustaining vote this year. It seemed very specific and personal.

We had a big dinner before the boys went off to the Priesthood Session. I love this great weather and being able to fire up the grille (my favorite way to cook). Chris' parents, Keri, Adam & Jenn and my mom all came over. When the boys left we, the girls, visited and played games (I demand a rematch Jenn!).

We started today with our usual "holiday" breakfast and cuddled up on the couch for more edification. In between sessions today Chris put up the hammock for the kids. It is amazing how much fun they have on something so simple. They love it and can play on it for hours!

Yesterday I basically let the kids play while I watched Conference. I make them come and sit down and listen whenever the prophet speaks, and they were actually excited to participate in sustaining the prophet too (we talked about sustaining in FHE last week), but overall they were not too interested.

Since all their toys (aka mess) were still out, the first session today went about the same...unsuccessful. However, I came back from the break with a game plan. I cleaned up the mess and tried to improve the environment and eliminate the temptations. I prepared finger foods for lunch and set them at the table I moved near the TV. The only other things I left out were their Conference Packets, crayons, etc. Guess what? It worked! After they ate they moved right on to their packets. They stayed until just the last few minutes.

So here's the question: What do you do with your kids during Conference? I would love any ideas and/or suggestions. I know there are really great families who probably get thier kids to sit through all four sessions without a word, but I would just like to know how.

Chris "pondering" the good word during the last session.

I loved Conference and am already looking forward to October! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.