Women, Women, and More Women

Yes, it was Women's Conference once again and let me tell you 20,000 women in one place is a LOT!!! Eight of us from our ward went down and a bunch from Parker went too. The eight of us had a great time! Our hotel was kind of a "dump", (broken swimming pool, broken exercise equipment, not quite a "continental breakfast...)but hey, it was cheap! My sweet friend, Beth, was all prepared for the hotel with her "wipes" to disenfect the place so no one got the "swine flu" or any other germ lingering about! She was wiping anything she thought we would touch, including door knobs, light switches, phones...she is awesome!

This year, instead of going off campus in the evenings to try and find a restaurant that wasn't filled with oodles of women, we ate at the cafeteria on campus and we really enjoyed it! They had so much food to choose from...probably too much food to choose from because we seemed to enjoy ourselves while eating dinner!

The conference was so uplifting and inspiring! It is reassuring to go to these conferences and listen to the speaker's experiences in life and realize no one is perfect and we are all trying to do the best we can with our families, ourselves, and our faith in the gospel. It makes you appreciate your life and your family and your own little "trials" as you listen to some of these people's lives and the trials they face! But the most amazing thing is, they face trials or hard times just like everyone else, but they have great attitudes and realize that they have to trust in Heavenly Father and the strength they have is so inspiring! It makes me want to try harder!

These are the eight ladies I went down to the conference with! Each of them taught me something too as I got to spend three days with them and learn from their wonderful examples! They are each a super wife and mother with many great talents!I want to share one of their attributes that I admire and love about each one of them (I could name many for each of them.) Top row:

Beth-"COURAGEOUS"-Standing up for things that are important to her-"tell it like it is"-no beating around the bush!

Me

Michele-"ORGANIZED"-great balancer of time-keeping track of where each of her kids is off to next-"gettin'-it-done kind of gal"

Karey-"DETERMINED"-she was up doing her sit-ups early in the morning and she is going back to school to get her degree

Bottom Row:

Mindy-"PERSERVERING"-doing hard things even if times are difficult

Laurel-"SUNSHINE"-fun to be around-happy countenance and a contagious laugh-I LOVE her laugh!

Kelli-"CREATIVE"-Finds fun and new ways to teach her children life's greatest principles-how to work and to play

Bonnie-"ENCOURAGING"-Powerful testimony and a strong desire to live the gospel to its fullest

You women are TRULY AMAZING to me!

I wish I could share every note that I took at the conference. There were so many good things that I heard. I will narrow it down to my top 10 things that I learned (or needed a reminder about) and I will share those:

• When you walk into a room you either add to the room or take away from the room (meaning your attitude). You make a difference whether you know anyone in that room or not.)
• DO NOT criticize your spouse-Your first priority should be on making ourselves more like the Savior and not trying to "change" our spouse or focus on our spouse's weaknesses.
• Be more accepting of ourself! We compare our worst faults to other's best traits!
• Good health and exercise is important! But we need to spend LESS TIME counting calories and MORE TIME counting blessings!
• Pride is not only seeing yourself better than others, but it can also be seeing yourself as "less" than others (comparing ourselves to others and feeling discouraged) *(I never thought of pride that way before.)
• One of my favorite quotes-"You do everything you can to make yourself look nice and presentable-and the minute you walk out your door-FORGET YOURELF and SERVE OTHERS!" Loved that one!
• No two women are the same-We each have different strengths and talents for OUR path in OUR life. No influence in teaching our children can be stronger than the influence of a mother. A woman sets the mood of her home. Set the proper tone of the home to invite the spirit. We live in a time and place where we need to "step up" and live the gospel.
• Nothing is impossible if we have faith in Jesus Christ. It isn't the severity of the adversity that changes us, but how we deal with it!
• The gospel teaches us to do things for our families (take care of, nurture, cook). The world teaches us not to. FIGHT!-We have to take responsibility for our homes and families. We can't hold back and play the "victim"! We have to be ready and prepared. No love in all the world can equal the love of a mother. Make this love a BARRIER from temptation. You can't drive your family to heaven-you can't force. You can only do things in love! Husbands need to be loved too!
• Compliment others-Look for the best in others. Leave people better than you found them! Assume everyone is doing the best they can! Be nice to everyone because they are each fighting their own "battles" in their lives.

What a great conference! It gives me a new ENERGY to strive to do a little better each day! I love the gospel and it's teachings! I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father that knows each of us and our challenges. I am grateful He provided a Savior to look to for an example in all things!