So I fully intended to blog a snippet of what I thought and liked after each session.  I started on Saturday morning's, but I had to do things to get ready for family pictures at 5:30.  However, I decided to still blog by session - I can talk a little bit more about what I liked in each session this way.  So, now for Saturday afternoon:

Elder Oaks talked about God's love and God's law.  I like that he said we cannot be separated from God's love.  We can, of course, choose to ignore this fact, but that doesn't stop God from loving us and reaching out to us.  I really liked his application to parenthood.  Parents should model God's plan.  Love doesn't excuse us from following law.  He talked about the fine line that must be drawn when children go astray.  Can a parent love their child, but not allow the drugs their addicted to into their home (for example)?  He also reminded us that "Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth."  I'm sure any of you who have kids would agree that you've had to be the "bad cop" because you love your children and want to keep them safe, even though your kids may not have seen it that way.

Elder Hales talked about the true nature of God and Christ.  I thought it interesting that he mentioned Joseph didn't know Heavenly Father and Jesus when they came to him until Heavenly Father introduced them, because Joseph didn't know that God and Christ had bodies.  He made the point that we can't really come unto Christ and God unless we know them, and to know them is to know of their characteristics.  I liked that he said they feel for us too.  Again, he brought up feeling and recognizing the Spirit, along with creating an environment where he can dwell.  If we seek Christ in humility and with sincerity and diligence, we will know that He lives.

From Jorge F Zeballos - I liked that grace is available after all we can do.  I think that stood out because it's the same concept as in my favorite scripture in the Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:32-33
"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot."

Another plain and precious truth was highlighted by Tad R Callister, that God is unchanging and He still talks to us today.  He also cautioned to not lose the many things you do know over the few things you don't.  The truths of the gospel are plain and simple.  To get lost in the scientific details and discredit something because science hasn't caught up yet would be a very sad thing, indeed.

I really liked Kent D Watson's talk.  Mostly because he helped me know that we're not in a position to buy a home right now.  He talked about temperance and patience.  Through self-mastery and control, we become stronger and better able to protect ourselves against sin.  He said that peace of mind, security, and happiness don't come from buying a home or possessions for which the debt incurred is greater than our savings. (That right there told me it's okay to live here another couple years where we know we can afford to live and even have some extra to get out of debt, rather than to buy the 95K condo that I wasn't in love with, but would guaranty the tax credit and a place of our own.  Rather, it's better to get out of some of our debt and be in a position to rely on ourselves when we buy a home, and not the government.  Not to mention, not be totally sure even with the tax credit that we'd be able to afford to live month to month.  See? Prayers ARE answered :) )

Elder Anderson again talked about love and chastisement, and how we all need to repent.  He said there are many degrees of righteousness and worthiness, and we all need repentance.  "Repentance is turning away from some things, and turning toward other things.  It is returning to God.... The Lord tells us in our minds and our hearts what we need to change.  We then are allowed to choose what we do."  I really liked that.  Oftentimes we know what we should be doing, it then becomes a matter of doing it.  He asked, "Do we pull the shades down on our window to Heaven?"  Heavenly Father and Jesus are always there, reaching out, pleading with us to change our hearts and lives and come to them.  Do we ignore them and try it our own way?  He said that repentance should be a daily thing.  As long as we are trying, we are making progress.  We may not always see it until we reach a hill and can look back at our progress.  We should never lose hope.  There is always greater happiness ahead.

Elder Packer taught that we are a part of the Plan of Happiness.  A lot of times I've heard it and viewed it as sort of the blueprint, I guess.  Never so much that I have a role within it.  I suppose it's kind of like a play.  The outline is written and we know the general outcome, but who will be where and how they get there is up to the players.  I suppose it wouldn't be right to leave out the symbolism he used.  He taught that we should invent a delete key in our minds to get rid of bad thoughts or temptations.  I've heard "hum your favorite hymn," but I liked how he said maybe your delete key would be a key word or phrase from your favorite hymn - not necessarily having to be the whole thing.  I think that would be easier to implement :)  I absolutely loved the story of the little girl whose brother made a trap to catch sparrows.  She really didn't want him to set it, but, of course, he did anyway.  So she went and prayed really hard about it.  Then she went to her house and told her mom that she knew he wouldn't catch any sparrows.  When her mom asked how she knew, she replied, "I prayed about it.....then I kicked the trap to pieces!"  What a great story! We can't expect to be given answers without first contemplating our situations and "studying them out in our minds."  I also liked that we can sustain people through prayers.  This, of course, followed by a request to pray for President Monson and his family.  All of our leaders, church and state, need our prayers to strengthen and guide them.

I woke up at 10:05, rushed to the living room, turned on the TV to watch conference.  Conference wasn't always such a great thing in my mind.  Like probably most kids, I had a hard time sitting and listening for two hours, then another two, then to repeat it on Sunday.  However, the past week or two has been really hard for various reasons, so I was quite looking forward to the spirit conference brings.

The themes I noticed from Saturday morning's session were learning to hear, recognize, and follow the Spirit.  I also know I should be reading my scriptures.  Gotta start doing that :)  I liked that Elder Scott said we can learn to be consistently guided by the Spririt.  Not only can we, but I really think we need to.  Some may have a disposition to listen and follow more easily than others, but I still think there needs to be effort on our part.

I also found some teaching points - what we should be doing with our primary class that we aren't. 

Something else that stood out to me from L. Whitney Clayton's talk was this: Burdens become Blessings.  Maybe it's because of the alliteration, but I kind of want to make a cute sign to put in my house that says that.  Love is the other major theme that was witnessed in the Saturday morning session.  I also liked that he said the Plan of Salvation is for our own growth.

We also need to have confidence in others, and of course, love.  Learning and teaching aren't optional.

I really like Elder Bednar's talks.  He always seems to spell things out very simply.  This conference was no different.  He talked about being more diligent and concerned at home by 1) expressing love and showing it.  When he said to never assume they know how much we love them, it made me think of Jeff Dunham and Walter, (is that horrible?) and how Jeff asks Walter if he's told his wife lately that he loves her.  Walter of course says no, because she knows it.  Jeff asks how.  Walter replies, "Because I smile a lot."  LOL For those of you who are completely lost, you must now go find this clip on youtube.

Ok, so I found it for you.  For this part only, scroll over to 2:23:


Right, point 2) Bear testimony and live it.  It shouldn't come as a surprise to your family what you bear testimony of on fast Sunday because they should hear it and see examples of it often.  And 3) Be consistent!  If you're a poor example, your kids won't learn well.  If you're a hypocrit, it's destructive.  It's important to be consistent in the seemingly small things.

I love President Uchtdorf, too.  He was the general authority who came to our stake conference right before he became an apostle.  He talked about love.  "Love should be our walk and our talk."  With love, obedience becomes our joy, not a burden.  He also pointed out that God doesn't need us to love Him, but we need to love God because what we love becomes our focus.  Love is the measure of our faith and motivation for our obedience.  He talked about how love is the defining characteristic of a true disciple of Christ.  If we are to become true disciples, then we must keep the commandments.  We need to prioritize.  The first commandment is to love God, and the second is to love thy neighbor.

I told you my fall background would be short-lived.  In fact, with a holiday each month, all of these will be relatively short-lived.  However, since it is officially October, I can put up my Halloween background and header! Aren't they adorable? The jack-o-lantern is another I made myself.  I think he's fun :)  My house is almost decorated as well... perhaps when I'm done I'll post some pictures.

By way of updates - I can't remember if I mentioned we put an offer on a house.  I know it's on FB... anyway.  Townhome in PG, short sale, listed at 107K.  We offered 90K, and we know the seller doesn't want to let it go for that.  However, the punk hasn't countered anything....so we're left waiting. It's so annoying.  Anyway.  At the moment, it's looking like we won't get it.  If the seller changes his mind, I guaranty it won't happen and get through the bank and everything before the November 30th deadline for the tax credit.  Where does that leave us?  Not looking at houses again until we can pay off a couple cars.  Yay for our cheap one bedroom apartment for the next 5 years! woot! (If you don't know me well enough - that last bit is dripping in sarcasm...)  Don't get me wrong - our apartment is great.  And CHEAP!  But still..... We've been here a little over two years . . . and I'm looking at another five? (assuming no kids come into the picture...) Sigh.

Matt and I haven't been out on a date in a while (probably since our anniversary trip). Well, Matt had no plans tonight (and no side-kick - thank goodness!) and I had no appointments.  We decided to go to Pirate Island where the University Mall Theatre used to be.  IT ROCKS!

I'd heard good things about it from people at work, and apparently so had Matt.  We had about a half hour wait, so we checked out the arcade and then the gift shop.  The gift shop guy was kind of cool. (He reminded me of you, Andrew - the timbre of his voice... and he looked like you a little bit.  Not quite as charismatic, though.)  Anyway, they sell knives, so he pulled out a (fake)jewel-encrusted dirk for me to look at.  Then we wandered to the other counter, and he knew I was interested in the rings, so he pulled them out too.  After that, we went back to the arcade. 

Matt got us $10 worth of pirate coins.  We first shot targets with shot guns.  They had a cute setup.   Matt shot some hoops, then we played some other shooting game...Matt died first. We played quite a few games and ended up with 250 tickets.  Sadly, someone was always at Deal or No Deal.  I really wanted to play that!  For our 250 tickets, we got a pirate ball.  It has the clear ball around it, so the image always faces up.  Then when it hits something hard, it lights up.  (Matt's pick.)  At that point, it was time for us to be seated. 

Our waiter, Jarom, was awesome!  He had the most authentic costume and did Captain Sparrow too well :)  He was amazing.  Matt said next time we should ask for him lol.  Let's just say he was well-tipped.  Matt got a steak and I had pizza.  Oh! and we also got Sea Biscuits (breadsticks) with marinara sauce as an appetizer.  It was the best date night ever!  At least in a very long time.  We definitely intend on going back - and soon!  I highly urge you to try it!

So I should have gone, showered, and got ready for bed. Instead, I decided I should actually make some scrapbook pages with my new found skillz. (You know, instead of blog backgrounds, headers, and cute desktop backgrounds...)  I wasn't feeling up to something as large as our wedding, so I went with my pictures from last Halloween.  Here I post them for your viewing pleasure.

For how much my husband harrasses me and teases me, he just gave me a great compliment! He just teased me about my degree (psychology), and I countered by saying I've found an application in our business for it.  He said, "Ya, you're doing quite well, actually." Then he beat on himself a little, while sad, a little true - and implying I'm doing more of the this than he is (true), but that he knew it and admitted it! It just made me happy enough to blog about it. I wanted to remember the happiness :D

I'm a couple days early according to the calendars, but I wanted to get some use in of my first fall background and header before I switch it to the Halloween stuff I just designed :) I love making blog backgrounds and headers! I have some cute ones that I really need to rotate through as well.  Maybe if any of my blogging friends want, I could design you a cute background too! (There's no way I'll be able to use all of mine at the rate I'm going.)

Tomorrow's the primary program - wish us luck! Oh! and we have sharing time next week - ideas much appreciated! (Junior primary...)