Time Out For Women

I finally got to attend my very first Time Out For Women in Birmingham, Alabama.  And I got to go with my BFF's so we made a girls weekend out of it!  The event went Friday evening through Saturday evening (September 19th & 20th).  So we headed out late Thursday afternoon once we got the kids home from school and all settled in with the dad's.  Preston and Alec (Devyns hubby) were not able to both take the days off of work at the clinic so they had to choose - one had to work and one had to watch the kiddos.  Preston was the lucky one who got to stay home :)

 

The drive wasn't bad - these girls can make anything fun.  And we stayed at a Residence Inn in their "penthouse suite" so we could all be together. 

Cyndee's birthday is on September 7th, but she celebrates all month long because its what she considers to be Super September.  We decided to make this her best Super September ever by doing little things for her all month long.  But the presents and extra big fun came this weekend.  We made her do embarrassing things all weekend long in order to earn her presents.  For example, one morning at breakfast she had to dress up like a princess and ask 5 people if they wanted her autograph (then she got her Disney GiftCard present).  Or, because she hates veggies, at lunch one day she had to order a side of broccoli and eat it (then she got a Diet Coke gift).  Or, during a session at TOFW she was given a little craft pack that contained a wooden seahorse and markers - she had to decorate that and gift it to someone there once she was done.  She of course gave it to the director of the TOFW and told her it was a Florida seahorse just for her and she had written a quote on the back that was from that session (so then she earned a JoAnns Craft gift).  Or, while we were shopping, she was given a bag of Hershey kisses.  She had to hand the entire bag out by asking other people if she could give them a kiss (I don't remember what she got for that).  Etc. Etc.  Anyway... the point is... we were so cute and fun all weekend long that people everywhere just loved us.  In fact, one morning as we peacefully ate breakfast at the hotel, practically the entire hotel staff formed a circle around us and sang Happy Birthday to Cyndee and presented us with a wine gift basket - whoops!  But it was very sweet of them.

Ok so... we spent the weekend doing whatever the heck we wanted.  It was awesome.  There was shopping, and eating, and staying up late, and shopping, and eating, and sleeping, and pedicures, and it was exhausting and fun.

 
And then the highlight... Time Out For Women.  It was wonderfully uplifting and insightful and  much needed.  We got to feel the Spirit from the amazing performances of Jenny Oaks Baker and Hilary Weeks.  And we got to be enlightened from speakers such as Mary Ellen Edmunds, Merrilee Boyack, Emily Freeman, D. Kelly Ogden, and the Sistas in Zion (Tamu Smith & Zandra Vranes).  What was an extra special treat for me though, was that we also got to hear from Sister Mary Cook.  Not only was in the Young Women General Presidency but she is also the grandma of my dear friend (Megan Baker).  I have spent time with her, even in her own home, and her husband (Elder Cook who is in the Quorum of the Seventy) even took PJ & Steven to General Conference before in the underground tunnels under Temple Square.  But that was over 10 years ago.  So while I knew she wouldn't remember me I wanted to say HI and get a picture with her for Megan.  Then we also got to hear from Brand Wilcox - who was TJ's mission president.  So while I didn't think he would remember Elder Peper I went up to say HI to him to and get a picture to send to TJ.  He claimed however that he absolutely does remember Elder Peper ("because how can you forget a name and a guy like that").  And I think it should be noted (my mom later told me) that Sister Wilcox apparently made it very clear that she would love for TJ to marry their daughter once he got home from his mission - so ok, maybe they would remember him ;)

The conference went by way too fast.  The theme, Inevitable Light, was perfect.  1 Timothy 4:14-15 "Neglect not the gift that is in thee.  Meditate upon these things.  Give thyself wholly to them."  A few of my favorite notes I took:

• We feel at peace when our behavior agrees with our beliefs. (Wilcox)
• An instrument can't be used if it can't be tuned.  Do I want to be an instrument the Lord can use?  Am I in tune? (Freeman)
• My mess can become my message.  My test will become my testimony. (Smith & Vranes)
• The object of life is more life.  In the end only death will die.  (Ogden)
• Real people can and do shine, with a real light.  (Wilcox)
• When we say 'I can't' or 'I'm not good at that' etc., we are just limiting ourselves.  (Boyack)
• Jesus still wants us for a sunbeam!!! And you are unique from every other sunbeam. (Edmunds)
• Families give us a reason to live... for eternity!  Do we nurture our husbands the way we do our children? (Cook)
• Don't just teach children to work.  Teach them the value of work. (Cook)
• Work and worship are the same word in Hebrew.  (Ogden) 
• Worthiness is not flawlessness, its willingness. (Wilcox)
• "There was a mother behind that."  (Cook)

Now, while they encouraged us to only pick one or two things to work on and not take it all on at once,  I've certainly got a lot to think about and focus on.

Just Life...

Oh, just some Sunday evening waffles...

My dad used to bring his "tools" home from work and stitch up my stuffed animals. So this sight made me all sentimental.  Kates stingray, that she used her birthday money to buy when we were at SeaWorld, had a little accident.  But she felt much better after daddy handled the situation and fixed it all up.

Tyler's obsession with his electronics is getting out of control...

Just a little Saturday morning workout.  Preston asked me to come out and work the stopwatch... the boys ended up wanting me to be fired from my job because as the good mom that I am I expected them to work their hardest.  Geez, I was just helping and encouraging them...

Wow, how did I let them out of the house like this?!? We were in fine form. Two kids had holes in their clothes. One kid obviously had not had a brush touch her hair all day (okay lets be honest, maybe two). One was wearing an undershirt as a shirt. One was wearing cozy fleece pants when the heat index was 120 degrees. AND one spilled his root beer EVERYWHERE right after this picture was taken... awesome. We were a sight to behold...

Well behaved children... Kate writing in her Gratitude Journal from Primary.  And Brynn saw a chore that needed to be done and did it all on her own!... of course I needed to get my camera and document that occasion.

Enjoying their birthday presents from Aunt Laura and Uncle Dallin... they used them to attack daddy when he got home from work.  Daddy is hiding behind the trash can in one of these pictures.

Dylan loves his new birthday skateboard...

Kate and I have started taking Daddy lunch at work sometimes.  She loves it :)

Just another beautiful day...

My sweet Kate still struggles with no being tired and grumpy in the afternoons now...

 Artists at work...