General Conference

We had General Conference last month and it was uplifting, as always. I had a few great take aways. The first was that I should teach my children the stories of Jesus. I can't remember who gave the talk, but he said that it is our job to teach our kids of the events and miracles that occurred in our Savior's life. I've always thought that and believed that, but how much have I actually done that? We've made it a point since to focus our family home evening lessons on the life of our Savior. The Church has release some beautiful videos of the life of Jesus that we have been enjoying.

The second point was to take our kids aside periodically as they get older and tell them the following: I have been where you are before, and I know what it's like. I can help you when you're in a tough spot, and I can tell you what comes next. (Or something to that effect.) The point was to let your kids know that they can have open communication with you and trust you to help them in good times and bad. I thought it was wonderful parenting advice, though again, I can't remember who said it.

The third was to pray and ask God to show you how you can improve. Not just the big, obvious things, but the little ones too. Some examples he gave were: speed less when driving, clean up my language, exercise daily, eat more fruits and veggies, call my loved ones to say hi more often, etc. That was eye opening to me because I think those little things add up to big things and change us into more Christlike people, and mold us into who we're supposed to become in this life. Everyone has something little they can change or improve, and we can pick one and work on it until we've changed in that area, and then add another, and another, just one at a time, so we are continuously improving and growing. I love that idea!

These things remind me of one of my favorite quotes: "The whole idea of Mormonism is improvement: mentally, physically, morally, and spiritually." -President Lorenzo Snow
Amen!

In between sessions on Sunday we went for a family bike ride. Marcus rode in the bike trailer behind Mitch's bike and Layla rode her own bike, without training wheels. We went nearly two miles, which is the farthest she's ever rode on her own and I was so proud of her! She LOVES riding her bike and rides it to school most days. She looks like such a big girl riding down the street with her helmet and backpack on. She'll be so sad when the weather is bad enough that she can't ride it until spring.