Women's Conference Day II

The 2nd day of WC was just as wonderful as the first. My eye was still bothering me so I took it easy in the morning and missed the opening session with Sister Beck. I understand it was very good. Luckily there are crazy bloggers out there like me that have gone to the extreme to post their notes from the session. Thank heavens for bloggers.

I decided to head straight over to the Wilkinson Center and stayed in the same room for all 3 sessions. My motive was to catch Marta’s mom’s session which would be the last one. The first session was about the power of personal prayer and while it was very good one of the speakers was a bit too much for me. I shouldn’t be critical – that is not keeping within the spirit of Women’s Conference. She was obviously very prepared and was a good speaker – she was just a bit “too” sweet for my tastes. She talked about how everyday she would ask her kids about their 'happies' and their 'sads' - call me insensitive but I just couldn't "connect" with her. The other speaker was very good and I did end up gleaning something useful from this session.

The next hour was entitled, “Let Your Body Delight in Physical Activity.” I think I was hoping to be inspired and motivated to be more active. What I learned from that class was that we as a country are WAY fatter then we were 20 year ago and that our kids are fatter too and I have some great tips to help get your kids moving.

The last session was being taught by Marta’s mom, Travelin Oma, and I was so excited about it, both because of the subject matter as well as the speaker, and she did not disappoint. The class was entitled “Successful Family Reunions: Creative Organization with Clever Follow-up.” The first speaker was Stana Kjar (daughter of Mary Ellen Smoot) and she was FABULOUS! She focused on the planning of the family reunion. I really do have a renewed appreciation for my Father and his never ending efforts to make sure that we have family reunions each year and all that he puts into them to make sure they are memorable. It is all we can do to get our extended family together for a couple of hours once a year – Sister Kjar plans reunions that cover a period of 2 or 3 days and they sound like so much fun – I think I am going to go to their reunion this year! She has really inspired me to make an effort to keep in touch with all of my cousins. They are such neat people and have such interesting lives – one of my cousins is currently living in Turkey with his young family while he studies for an advanced degree. I would love to know more about what it is like to live over seas. Another cousin has is married to a great guy from South Africa – I always enjoy his company and would love to know more about what it was like growing up there. And then there are the Kipps – there are always adventures when the Kipp cousins are involved. I believe I am committing myself to something but I am not sure what yet. I will keep you posted.

The last speaker was Marta’s mother and she focused on the Clever Follow-up portion of the session. She is a blogger and talked about how she uses that as a tool to keep in touch with her family living out of state. She also had some great ideas to help the cousins remember what each other looks like. Her invitations sent to her children to gather for the reunion read like a Dr. Seuss-like poem. Here family has a cheer and a mascot - Yet another family reunion that I would love to attend!

The closing session back at the Marriott Center was the perfect end to WC this year. It was such a good feeling when the entire arena full of 20,000 women went silent and stood up when President Monson entered. I had goose bumps. My favorite part is always when everyone starts singing, “We Thank Thee oh God for a Prophet.” It just isn’t a question for me whether or not he is a prophet – he is and is every bit as charming as President Hinckley was.