Women's Conference 2009

I got back yesterday from my 72-hour vacation to Women's Conference at BYU. What a great few days. A great big thank you goes out to my three sweet boys for making it possible for me to go fill my cup. I love being a wife and mother, but occasionally it is nice to be a daughter, a student, a friend without all the associated obligations children and husbands bring.

I rode with a good friend, an acquaintance, and someone I had never met. After 12 hours in the car, I feel like they are all friends. We talked about funny things, silly things, hard things, and serious things. We only stopped once on the drive down. I used the bathroom all by myself without anyone else in the stall. It was great.

I stayed with my brother and his awesome family. It was also fun to hang out with their kids a bit without having to take care of my own kids. I got to snuggle with Little Miss Lizzie on the couch during a movie, and Kyle took enough time out of his busy schedule for a sweet hug of welcome--I felt honored.

I met my mom for the conference and we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. We hiked all over BYU campus. I remembered that "cute" should not be a consideration when choosing shoes for campus walking.

The classes were fantastic, always a good reminder of what we're really here for and what things are most important in life.

A few (of the many) things I learned:

From Elder Perry:

We are so blessed to have the gospel. We have to share it.

Many people are ready to hear about the message of Jesus Christ but need me to share it.

From Sister Beck:

Parenting has to be intentional. We have to define where we're going and how we are going to get there.

It's OK to cook dinner for your husband and love doing it. Homemaking is a large part of our role as women.

Satan wants to attack the family, he has been doing so since the beginning of time, and he will continue to do so.

From President and Sister Samuelson:

The Book of Mormon is full of lessons about parenting.

From Sister Webb:

We all make a difference. When we walk into a room, we either add to and take away from that group of people.

From Brother Bednar:

This talk was an ah-ha moment for me, one I can't really explain because you kind of had to be there. He spoke about the atonement and what it means in our lives. If you want to hear more, you'll have to ask me about it sometime.

There were other speakers and great messages, but those were some of the highlights.

Thanks, boys, for my weekend. Thanks, mom, for the great company. I'm going again next year if anyone wants to come! (or meet me there).