Conference Weekend

I say this every 6 months but Conference weekend is the best two weekends of the year. This one was no exception.

Wednesday morning, bright and early, Austin takes me and Dallin to King Station to catch the train heading to Portland. It takes the same amount of time on the train as the car and the cost of a tank of gas. Plus I didn't have to drive (I hate driving by myself) and I got to nurse on the go so it was a win-win for me. That morning was also beautiful and it was lovely watching the sunrise over the dew and fog of the beautiful PNW.

I arrived with my boarding pass and they could see I had Dallin strapped to me and offered to help me onto the train. They also gave me 4 seats, two sets facing each other, all to myself! And of course I used all 4 of those seats for the car seat, my luggage, my backpack, and the carrier. :) And the aisle in between the seats as placement to change his diaper.

We were greeted so excitedly by Grandpa and Grandma Lewis at Union Station! It was so fun to see them.

Quick recap: Our time spent with them was so lovely. Mom is the best hostess. And I'm so glad Dallin adjusted well to sleeping in a new place in a new bed. We ate lots of yummy food, Mom and I started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on Netflix (Mom's 3rd time seeing it!), and we went to the Portland Temple with Vivienne and Ondalynn.

Mom was so nice enough to watch Dallin while we got to go and do sealings. Just prior to coming on this trip, I realized that my recommend expired and didn't know if I would have enough time to get it in time to attend with them. The Seattle temple is closed till after Thanksgiving so when my recommended expired, I delayed getting it renewed. I sort of felt like the foolish virgins who didn't have oil for their lamps and was missing out on the blessings from not being prepared. Amazingly we got both bishop and stake interviews done back to back the night before we left on our trip. Whew. After we did our sealing session, Dad helped with another one so Viv and Ondalynn and I went to the celestial room and just soaked in the quiet. It was the perfect way to start Conference weekend. After we successfully unlocked the car door with the keys in the car, thanks to security at the Temple (best place to do it for sure), we headed to Potbelly's for yummy lunch.

Friday, Austin headed down from Seattle but the traffic was so crazy because of the rain and accidents that it took him almost 5 hours to get to Portland. He picked me at Ikea and we headed to Vancouver to watch the BYU vs Utah State football game and have homemade pizza. The loss was sad but the company was delightful.

Saturday morning, President Nelson made changes to 'home-centered, Church-supported gospel learning.' Our meetings will now be 2 hours instead of three. I don't know anyone who is not happy about this except some kids in our ward and my nephew who love Church because of the social aspect of it. :)

All the talks were so good but I especially loved the First Presidency's message to the women in the women's session that Saturday evening. I was in 3rd Nephi when President Nelson issued the challenge to read The Book of Mormon by the end of the year so it will be fitting to end the year with the coming of Christ in chapter 11 as I circle back to 3rd Nephi. Already it's been a spiritually uplifting experience to mark references to Christ and see what accompanies those scriptures.

 Sunday we watched the morning session at Mom and Dad's and then headed to the Vances with the Caudles for lunch and the second Sunday session. Twelve new temples were announced! I really loved President Nelson's promise at the end of doing home-centered, Church supported gospel learning. He said it has the potential to unleash the powers of families. What an amazing time that we live to be able to hear a Prophet speak.