JUNE - Primary Activity - Carnival

Elder Gillespie and Elder Thomas helping with the Primary Carnival out at the Jolley's house!

















Eden at the Ball Toss.













Water Balloon Toss













Messy ladies after the cool whip eating contest.













Eden trying her hand at a double egg race.


















"Hugs for the Hugless"













Love this pic of Eden and her rainbow face. Look at those freckles!!! :O)













Junior Primary Tug of War!













Hot Dog, chips and juice for lunch... YUM!!!

Women's Symposium - April 2009

Stacy, Meghan, Shawna, Krista and Niki

We all traveled down to Cedar Rapids for the Annual Women's Symposium which happens in the Spring. It was from 9 am - 3 pm, if I'm remembering correctly! We start out with a program with various speakers including the Stake President or a member of the Stake Presidency. They are very inspirational and motivational talks usually geared toward women. I ALWAYS bawl my head off... never fails! We have our choice of classes to take, break for lunch and continue with some more classes. I took a "Cooking Class" and got to try out some fantastic recipes and a class about a different approach to "Studying Our Scriptures". After lunch I took a class on "Financial Planning", learning about wills and such and a class on "Frugal Living". I'm always excited to be able to go and this time Ed didn't work a double shift so I could actually go! It's only the SECOND one I've ever been to, but it's so uplifting and fun to be able to hang out with my sisters and learn new things!

General Conference Weekend

Well, this weekend was General Conference, a broadcast from Salt Lake that happens twice a year. Sessions are on Saturday from 11 am - 1pm & 3 pm - 5 pm our time. Saturday is the Priesthood Session for the men of the church from 7 pm - 9 pm. Ed and his Dad and brothers always go out for ice cream afterwards... it has always been a tradition of theirs. Last Saturday evening was the Relief Society Broadcast, for the women of the church, actually the largest Women's Organization in the world... but I couldn't go, because I was sick... yet again. BLAH!

Then on Sunday we watched the morning session of General Conference with Mike and Mandy Williams and listened to the afternoon session online while Ed packed for his business trip and I cleaned up the house a bit. I really enjoyed President Henry B. Eyring's talk. Ed and I both agreed that we really need to look at what the Lord has done for us... EVERYDAY! We tend to not notice things in our busy and stressful lives. We need to be more grateful, in times of plenty and in times of famine, that is for sure! I also really enjoyed Elder Dallin H. Oaks' talk as well. It seemed like there were several talks about doing missionary work, as that is what we are here on earth to do. It is hard to get out there and open our mouths and share our testimonies, but I know it needs to be done. That is something I will personally be working on... praying for missionary experiences. It's amazing how often the apostles and prophets talk about being more Christlike. We will NEVER be perfect in this life, but we need to strive to always become more like Christ. I need to pay more attention to the Spirit, instead of the natural man... that is quick to judge and quick to anger. Thank goodness we all have the opportunity to repent and to get back on track!

ANYWAYS... these pictures are from Saturday, October 6th. We went to Ed's parents' home for lunch and Eden played in the leaves as we left! Then we popped over to my mom's house and the kids played there for a while. Later that night, during the men's session, I hung out with Meg, since Garran was also gone to the session. The kids had fun playing and we had fun chatting the night away. When Garran got home, he and Ollie did some capoeira and Garran taught Ollie some exercises to do in order to gain more strength and flexibility. Oliver was in HEAVEN!!! :) He's ALWAYS practicing his moves at home! "Practice makes perfect!"