ahhhhhhh Conference!

Doesn't General Conference just feel like a huge breath of fresh air? You can breathe it all in, let it fill you up and just bask in the enlarging power it has. With such light filling me up, I feel like I can go on a bit further.

This session I decided that rather than send the kids to the other room to watch movies, we would all bask in Conference together. I printed a 15-page "Conference Packet" designed for kids by some talented person somewhere full of pictures of the prophets to color, current pictures of the apostles and a space to write the subject of their talks, word searches and things I was sure would appeal to my kids. I got crayons/pencils/pens and the emergency M&M's all ready, arranged seating so we could all gather 'round the computer to watch...if ye are prepared ye shall not fear, right?

Weeeeeeell. Preparation might ward off fear, but is no guarantor of results, that's for sure.

I refused to let my excitement/confidence wane as Dan looked at me with raised eyebrows and said "We're ALL going to watch Conference? Together?" "Yes!" I replied with genuine enthusiasm. "We have to watch CONFERENCE?!?" Rachel exclaimed as if I had just explained that we would be eating fish heads for dinner. "But it's BORING!!" she went on. Taking her cue, her brothers chimed in with "Yeah! Boring!"

"No way guys! This is going to be so fun! Look at these special coloring books I have for you!" I said. I hustled them over to their seats and showed them their packets and tried to introduce each page as the opening hymn began. "Mom," said Johnny, his little voice full of annoyance and his head cocked to one side "there's just a bunch of guys in here!"

I explained that the "guys" were the apostles and then the first talk was underway. Things started off just fine- everyone found and circled President Monson as the new prophet. "New prophet?" asked Johnny, "what happened to the last one?" I even helped them circle the other two members of the First Presidency before we began to lose it.

Picture me in between three kids who are all shuffling papers ("Mom, I can't find the right page!"), crayons ("HEY! I wanted the blue crayon!"), pens/pencils ("Mom, Adam drew on his leg!"), and trying to really make the M&M's a last resort ("Mom, when do we get M&M's? When? When? When? Now Mom? Now? Now?) all while "basking" in Conference. I was elbowed, kneed and had my hair inadvertently pulled twice. Where was the ref?

They refused to leave my orbit to go to Dad- (who was kind of enjoying the scene anyway). By the end of the third talk, I had taken away most of the papers and crayons and had kids sitting as "reverently" as could be possible. At the end of each talk, three hands rammed their way my direction for the M&M's I promised if they would just sit still during each talk. The session passed in a steady series of task(sitting still), reward (M&M's), task, reward. Pavlov was right.

They passed the afternoon session watching "The Prince of Egypt" (that's doctrinally correct, right?) as I sat in blissful silence, taking it all in. It occurred to me that we'll probably have to give up a session or two each year to help them "listen" to Conference. Sigh...good thing it's another 6 months until I have to think about it again.