General Conference Sunday

So, this past weekend was General Conference weekend for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This is a time for members of our church to hear two days straight of inspirational, divinely inspired messages from the leaders of our church. Normally this is a weekend cherished by all who partake due to the fact that you can now listen to it from the comfort of your own home with your loved ones and household comforts around you. For Linz and I, our pre-kids conference weekends were some of the best I have ever had. We would totally relax and soak it all up, as well as get some of the best naps of our lives between sessions. :) We would do this thing where depending onthe location of our computer, we would make a comfy "nest" of blankets, pillows, inflatable mattresses, etc... to make our surroundings as cozy as possible and then listen to our church leaders. Now that we have kids, those days of ease are but a distant memory and now we heavily rely on the Ensign with the written messages to ensure we get the most out of conference. The girls just dont allow us to sit and listen anymore.

So, that said, this past General Conference Sunday was probably one of the most stressful Sundays I have ever experienced. To set it up, take into account that I have struggled with sleep due to stress or sickness for the past 3 weeks. I have not been able to take a nap or fall asleep easily for quite some time. This past Saturday night being no exception. So I wake up Sunday morning groggy as all get out, trying to just force myself to go downstairs. Linz was already up with Daphne and Violet and I woke up at the same time. Thankfully Linz let me sleep in a little bit which helped, but still I was tired. So we go downstairs and Violet sits down on our leather couch still wearing her night time pullup. I am sitting on another couch when all of the sudden Violet says, "I tinkled", so I say,"where?", she says,"I tinkled", and I again say "where?" confused at what the heck she is talking about since she is wearing a pullup. This exchange goes on for 2-3 more rounds and Violet gets up to go to the kitchen. I then get up to go to the couch she was sitting on and lo and behold, I found the "where". Her pullup was totally full and basically couldnt take anymore and leaked all over. So, groggy, tired me gets to clean up all the tinkle first thing in the morning.

I wish it all ended there, but for some reason this day had some challenges in store for me.

The next incident involved me sitting at the kitchen table trying to drink a glass of OJ to soothe my sore throat and checking out the paper. Violet asks to sit on my lap and hops up. She reaches for a piece of the newspaper and knocks over my OJ and it spills all over both of us. Linz by now is laughing at what has happened so far in the day and I too find it amusing that I am having such bad luck.

A little bit later, I am drawing with Violet at the kitchen table, Linz is upstairs getting ready for the day, and Daphne is playing by herself in the living room. I soon realize that I have not heard from Daph and decide to go check on her. I enter the living room and hear a splashing coming from the front bathroom. I open the door and there is little Daph splashing away in the toilet water. At this point I yell something like "what the freak??" and scare the poor kid. I grab her and run her up to the tub so she can get clean. She is totally crying and I am feeling bad that I scared her, at the same time, I just cant believe how my day is going so far.

Conference finally begins and we all try to listen to the speakers, and play with the kids.

First session is over and now its time for family nap time. Daphne goes down, Violet is getting there, and Linz is asleep. I stay up to ensure Violet falls asleep before I lay down. I finally lay down and Vi calls me in and says she cant sleep. And I see that I have zero chance of convincing her otherwise so I forego my nap and take her downstairs to hang out.

The last straw of the day occurs after we have just finished bathing the kids and trying to get their night clothes on. Violet is running around like she usually does when all of the sudden she starts choking on a hair in her mouth. Before I know it she is running at me and throw up comes flying out of her mouth from the choking! At this point I just couldnt believe it. I clean it up cause Linz hates throw up. I do too, but she does more and she is pregnant so she wins.

What are the odds that all that stuff would happen on supposedly one of the most enjoyable, spiritual, relaxing days of the year? Poor Linz put up with me all day, I was a grump.She is so compassionate. Poor girls put up with me too, but I tried to put on a good face for them.

Overall, I learned that I need patience. I need to let go of my expectations of how it used to be, or how I think it should be, and just go with what I am given. I love my family so much and will clean up tinkle, spilled juice,toilet water,and throw up for all eternity if it means I get to be with them.

I just didnt want to forget this day, to help me keep it all in perspective.

Peace!!