A Day In My Life

Okay, I promise this is my last post about General Conference for a while! All of these things have been on my mind for a while, and I just want to get them checked off my to-do list... As I searched through my Conference Journal a couple of weeks ago in preparation for my talk, I started thinking how fun it would be to make stickers for my side margins instead of just writing my impressions. I didn't think I would have time to make some up before this session, but I was too excited to let them slide. :) (Aren't they cute?) I made these stickers specifically to go in my Conference Journal, but they are open-ended enough, you could probably use them for any study journal of sorts. I printed this .pdf on a full sized clear sheet of sticker paper, then cut out the individual stickers. Here is an alternate link to download the file: Conference Journal Stickers After I finished those up, I started thinking about what I want to get out of Conference this session... and ...

I've been wanting to add a few things to our Conference Board , and I finally made the time to sit down and get it done. I'm so excited for my kids to use the updated board in a couple of weeks! Here is the whole board, so you can see where I added new items: I wanted to change the music section a little, because I noticed that Harvey didn't really do anything with it unless I prompted him. I figured it was probably because he couldn't read the words, so now that section is non-reader friendly. I split the two arrows up - one for the choir, and one for who is singing (men, women, or both). I also added little pictures of an organ and a music stand. I also included both a male and a female guest conductor, and a guest organist. I also added a map. Jen Lund had a map on  her original board , and I went back and forth on including it due to space, but I finally decided to make it work. I added an airplane, like she has, to move around any time a country is ment...

Justin and I were asked to speak in church last Sunday. Our assigned topic? "Listen to the Prophet's Voice/Preparing for General Conference ." Here's what I prepared: I love Conference. More now than when I was younger, perhaps because I’ve matured a bit, but I think it is because of the preparation I now put in before each session. I think some temporal preparation is required before we can really reap the benefits of preparing spiritually, so I’ll start with that. Temporal Prep:  I always try to keep our schedule clear. I want my kids to grow up knowing General Conference is special and important. I try to go to bed earlier than usual the night before, so I'm not tired (or as tired... because it seems like I'll never get caught up on all my sleep) during the talks. I do my best to get all of my chores done by Friday; things like grocery shopping, house cleaning, etc. -            Preparing for Children: If you don’t have children,...

I know, no one is thinking about General Conference right now. But tonight I'm showing my board to my mom's Relief Society group, and I wanted to have the printables available to them if they decided to complete this project. If any of you are interested... you have three and a half months to complete it. :) Two days before General Conference, I stumbled across this idea for engaging young children.... and I thought it was absolutely amazing. (And so are most of the ideas found on Jen Lund's blog - check it out!) One of the main reasons I love this idea, is that it doesn't just distract young children from being disruptive during Conference, but it engages them and encourages them to listen! I'm not gonna lie. It took time to put together, but I am positive that Harvey will enjoy working with this board. That will hopefully translate into Justin and I being able to listen, and that will make all of my hard work worth it in the end. Here's how i...

My mom loves genealogy. She has several books with pictures and stories of people in our pedigree lines, and she is constantly working on finding more members of our family. All of her information was in books, and although she has a pedigree chart that unfolds out to show 21 (I think) generations, once you get past the first couple generations, it's really hard to tell who is next in line. As soon as I saw this circular chart on Martha Stewart's website, I knew this would be an awesome birthday gift. The template Martha provides is totally not like the awesome one in the picture, so I thought I would have to recreate it with Photoshop... but then I read the comments, and someone had already done that! I just double checked the link and it seems to be having issues, so I'm going to host the same file here: Here is an alternate link to download the file: Genealogy Chart After I got mine printed, I set to work with a fine tipped black marker to fill in al...

I have to say, I had grand visions of snuggling on the couch with my Conference Journal absorbed in the awesome teachings from our leaders this past weekend. But... I kind of forgot I have a three year-old. And a baby. And reality was far from my vision. Avery's naps are way off right now, so she wasn't sleeping during the sessions like I had anticipated, and although I printed lots of amazing coloring pages for Harvey... I failed to remember that he doesn't love coloring. He really only lasted about 3 crayons worth, and that wasn't even long enough for two talks. Despite all that went wrong, here's what worked (at least for a little while) to keep Harvey engaged so I could at least try to focus on the spiritually uplifting talks: Speaker Stickers: This one was easy and actually the most effective. I pulled out the center fold from the last conference edition of the Ensign and taped it to the wall next to the television. Every time a new speaker went ...

I'm so excited for General Conference this weekend! I've been printing and preparing all sorts of fun activities to keep Harvey busy. Then I got a little jealous and wanted to make a little something for myself. I decided to make myself a special journal just for taking notes during General Conference. I found this customizable journal at Target for 4 dollars, and I made a special cover in Photoshop. Then I slipped in inside. I love how it turned out, and it makes me that much more excited to take notes this weekend. EDIT: If you'd like a copy, e-mail me at dayinmylifeblog@gmail.com. I used digital scrapbooking supplies, but all of the products have been discontinued, so I feel okay sharing the flattened image. :)