October 2018 Saturday Morning Conference Recap

We began this Saturday morning session of conference with everyone because we're all excited about conference at the begining. We lost 2 girls to electronics fairly early and then one more to crafts in the other room. The last two stayed for almost the whole thing. Here's how Saturday morning conference went at our house.

8:57   Catherine and Genevieve are doing puzzles on the floor.  Lexa is with me and Cliff on the couch looking at our phones.  Ellowyn is sharpening her new birthday pencils and Elizabeth is gathering coloring equipment.

9:05   Conference has barely started and already there have been arguments about which temple has been around the longest, who played the 4^th Power Puff girl, what the announcer should be called (Cliff says he is the narrator), who used the new TabCATS name first, and the color of the women’s dresses.

9:11   Catherine starts singing along with the opening song.  I guess it’s a Primary song, but not one that I know.

9:13   Catherine and Elizabeth have a “no, YOU shut up” fight.

9:15   I say, “President Nelson has such big ears!” and Cliff replies “All the better to hear the voice of the Lord.”

9:16   Cliff hears the word Bangkok and whispers to me: “I am childish and it’s YOUR fault!” He means my habit of giggling at suggestive words like “duty.” Elizabeth wants to know what he means and he says, “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”  She replies, “You’re a terrible whisperer.”

9:17   President Nelson mentions home centered church and I like where this is going.

9:19   President Nelson starts to talk about a change and Cliff says, “Here it is.”  I simultaneously get a text from my sister that says “HERE IT COMES!!!”

9:20   We hear a fire alarm. It’s just the neighbor’s. We have all the windows open.

9:22   Yay! 2-hour church is announced.

9:25   I make a self-promise to use the extra hour to work on my family history (which will include getting our own family pictures sorted!)

9:28   I tear up for the first time when I feel the Spirit testify to me of the importance of this new home-centered gospel learning.

9:32   I’m a bit surprised to hear President Nelson recommend using social media to remind the ward members of the upcoming lesson.  We already do that for our Relief Society and it’s nice to have a convenient link to the talk being discussed.

9:32   Another interesting change that will take some getting used to: No opening prayer for the second hour class.

9:37   First round of candy eating by everyone (leftovers from Ellowyn’s piñata.)

9:37   Cliff asks Lexa to clean up the abandoned puzzles. (The puzzles stay on the floor until I make them clean them up Sunday night.)

9:38   Third request by Ellowyn and Lexa to abandon conference and play on the computers. They are given permission to play on the iPad and immediately leave.

9:40   I love Elder Cook’s reference to “glimpses of eternity” since that’s one thing I try to use to help with my anxiety.

9:43   I notice that Cliff and I are the only ones in the room. Then Elizabeth comes back in.

9:45   Second time I cry. It’s the story of Elder Brough’s daughter.

9:47   Elder Brough’s talk is my favorite so far.

9:47   Cliff says “It smells like rain” and yep, it’s sprinkling.

9:50   Genevieve comes back in for more candy.

9:53   We laugh so hard at Elder Bangerter’s story of his son asking, “Are you having some problem that’s keeping you from serving a mission?”

9:54   Genevieve has chocolatey hands now. I ask “Are there any sisters that can help you?” Catherine is crafting in the other room and won’t help so I get up and turn on the water for her.

9:56   Genevieve yells from the bathroom, “Mommy I need soap!” Cliff goes to help.

9:58   I notice that Cliff is quick to shush everyone but himself.

10:00   Someone in the front room of the Gas popped right out of his seat for the singing. Cliff says, “Someone must love badgers as much as I do.” Elizabeth doesn’t get the reference so we sing the verse for her:

High on the mountaintop a badger chased a squirrel.

The badger caught the squirrel and now there’s no more squirrel.

In Deseret there are no squirrels.  In Deseret there are no squirrels.

The song actually seems to be more about squirrels than badgers I guess.

10:02   Apparently soda and chocolate are our conference snacks today since we have another round.

10:03   Elizabeth keeps trying to hit Genevieve with a ribbon. Genevieve is totally ignoring her.

10:06   Elizabeth finally catches the ribbon around her leg and Genevieve just steps out of it without missing a beat.

10:08   Cliff finally notices what Elizabeth is doing and makes her stop.

10:11   Elder Rasband says the Spirit leaves us when we’re depressed. I need to go back and re-read that part because I missed part of his sentence.  The Spirit does not leave me when I’m depressed, but maybe he means simple depression and not Depression.

10:16   When I look at someone’s face to long, I start to notice weird things about it like the way Elder Rasband’s left upper lip and the left side of his nose don’t move when he’s talking.

10:17   Catherine brings me the thing she’s been working on: a pom-pom snake.

10:18   I just had a thought that maybe the next big announcement will be shortened conference.  Cliff says that they’ll probably change it to quarterly.

10:20   Elizabeth is tying all the ribbons together to make a long ribbon. Genevieve whines until Elizabeth lets her have one.  She gives up 2 more to Catherine.

10:24   The last 3 kids leave and Cliff goes to the bathroom.  I’m alone and it’s so quiet.

10:25   Elder Bednar’s weird graphics look like merit badges.

10:27   Elizabeth and Genevieve come in, circle the room and leave again. Genevieve is chasing Elizabeth’s ribbon like a cat.

10:30   Genevieve sees the organists and says, “He has lots of arms.”

10:31   Cliff gets mad at Elizabeth for walking around with the ribbon trailing behind her. “Why is that bothering you?” I ask. “I don’t know but it’s making me anxious!”

10:41   Elder Oaks says the full name of the choir again and it’s starting to feel like they’re emphasizing it.

10:46   Cliff moves from the couch to the floor.  I expect him to promptly fall asleep, but Genevieve starts feeding him M&Ms.

10:47   Elder Oaks says something about the identities of men and women being essential to God’s plan and I am interested in looking into that further.

10:49   Ellowyn shows up and wants snacks. Cliff says no more until lunch (even though he was eating M&Ms three minutes ago.)

10:50   Cliff is back on the couch with Genevieve on his lap. Usually she is on my lap so this is a nice change.

10:51   Genevieve moves to my lap.

10:52   Cliff eats a chocolate bar.  I point out his hypocrisy and he says that it’s okay because he will eat all his lunch unlike some people who have too many snacks before a meal.

10:53   The choir singing “Come, Come Ye Saints” immediately makes me cry.  It’s the awesomeness of the bass line that I love. Unfortunately this is the time when everyone gets noisy because conference is over and I don’t get to hear much more than the opening lines.