Sherrie J's Book Giveaway!

For all you who know who Sherrie Johnson is and love her books, she's doing a giveaway on her blog for the next few weeks. This week's giveaway is for the book Spiritually Centered Motherhood. Over the next two weeks she's also going to do drawings for her books Man, Woman, and Deity and her new one just coming out, Gospel Insights for Every Day Living. Swing by and check it out!

Extreme Cuteness

This morning we got Connor dressed for church in his first shirt and tie. He aged 6 months before our very eyes! Our little baby boy is growing up...

Since I couldn't decide which pictures to use, I'll just post them all!

Scratch Me, Please!

Our dog, Trixie, is always laying on her back begging for a belly rub. Sometimes she takes it a bit too far. Like Sunday night. There was I was, lying on the couch for just a minute... and before I knew it I was joined by a 40-pound dog begging for the belly rub.

PUH-LEASE!

(And please pardon the attire - it was pajama Sunday, remember? That meant no make-up, either!)

Pajama Sunday

Twice a year, the church I attend (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) has a worldwide General Conference which is broadcast via satellite to members of the church all over the world. I remember dreading General Conference when I was growing up. It always meant going to the church and sitting on the hard pews for at least two of the four 2-hour sessions spread throughout Saturday and Sunday. I would try to get as comfortable as I could and nap through as much as I could. Somehow, despite my mother's valiant attempts to teach me, I just missed the point.

However, by the time I got to college I can remember starting to really enjoy Conference for what it was: inspired speakers from the leaders of church, disciples of Jesus Christ, giving great counsel and insight that could bless my life if I would but listen and try to take their advice. Now I look forward to conference with anticipation. I always feel so refreshed spiritually by the time the weekend is over, and ready to take on the next six months!

As the children have gotten older, Ben and I have gotten smarter is how we approach conference with the Olivia and Kelsey. Now we do all we can share the excitement we feel with them, explaining what a privilege it is be able to listen to inspired counsel from a prophet of God, and other leaders of our church. Generally Ben and I will watch the Saturday sessions, but not insist the kids do (yet). For Sunday, I print out General Conference activity packets (thanks for letting me know about them, Emily!) and make a tent next to the computer or TV so the kids can watch conference in style. And of course, we stay in our pajamas all day.

And like any good parent, I also bribe them to be good. With candy. They get rewards for:

-Sitting quietly every 15 minutes
-Getting a "bingo" on their conference bingo sheet
-Being able to tell me what the speaker was talking about when they are finished
-Anything else that I think will help them sit quietly so I can listen

This conference was my favorite one so far, because Olivia actually asked us to pause it (we have a DVR) because she didn't want to miss anything when she had to make a potty run. What?! You mean you're actually listening?! Excellent! Maybe the bribes are worth it after all...

This year our tent was pitched between the couch and the bookcase.

Who is that hiding under the blanket??

Connor's going to check it out for me.

It was Olivia! See what it did to her hair? (This rat's nest you see is what inspired tonight's hair cut.)

Olivia swears she wasn't picking her nose in this picture, but it was just too funny not to put in!

Connor kept going in and out of the tent. I couldn't seem to grab a picture that didn't include his backside, though. Poor fella!

And although he was too young for his own Conference Packet, we got him a coloring book and an orange crayon. Till he bit the tip off.

They were listening closely for a while there!

And Connor snuggled up with Mommy for a few minutes.

Ben was still trying to fight off his nasty outer ear infection - you'd think if he was going to have swimmer's ear he'd at least get the privilege of swimming. But no, not him! Poor fella laid around on the couch most of the day.

It didn't take long for Connor to claim the girls' "table" for his own.

He's use it for a seat or a table, depending on how the mood struck him.

After a while, Kelsey started to lose interest. But Olivia hung in there. What a gal!

All in all, it was a great day!