Footloose and Fancy Free

We had Stake Conference this last weekend, and were lucky enough to have a General Authority in attendance. Those men - there are no words to describe their optimism, their encouragement, and their wisdom.

Jared and I made a date out of the adult meeting on Saturday night. I left with a full heart - and that is putting it lightly. My older brother said it was the best adult meeting he has ever been to! The message that stuck with me were:

* Don't be too busy for your family.

* Don't even appear busy, because then your children won't approach you with their troubles, victories, or questions.

* When choosing between two or three good things (i.e. going to the temple, going to a child's game, or helping a friend in need), prayerfully decide which one to do. At that moment, one of those things will be the most important, and you shouldn't feel guilty about not doing the other two.

As mothers, we are always busy. My Mondays and Tuesdays are full of laundry. Fridays are cleaning the house and grocery shopping. Filling in the holes are my calling, grading, and my family.

But I walked away with a new appreciation for my children, and he is right. I shouldn't be too busy for them, or even appear too busy. So this week, I allowed my children to jump on my bed while I folded laundry. My daughter did some "work" (coloring and reading) while I was working during quiet time. And tomorrow (cleaning), we will all have our rags, blast some music, and dance while we clean.

I also try to make sure to get out of the house every day to do something with my children. Story time. Preschool. But our favorite? Afternoon drives. We LOVE being in the car together. Windows down, juice/water cups in hand, Disney songs in the speakers. We go see horses, cows, sheep, tractors, construction sites, Grandmas, Daddy at work. Something.

And moments like this are created (Sariah standing through sunroof while driving 10 mph looking at animals):

Emerson looking out the back window, wind blowing through her hair:

James was there, too, but he was sleeping. I didn't get a picture of him, sorry buddy.

The conversation? Trust. Imagine that! A 4 and 3 year old talking about trust. Sariah said something to the effect of, "I trust you, Mommy."

We talked about trusting our mommies and our daddies.

Trusting Heavenly Father.

Trusting Miss Malia (preschool teacher).

Trusting the prophet.

Trusting our Sunbeam teacher.

Trusting our feelings.

Trusting that our bed will keep us safe.

Trusting that our dinner will make our tummies full.

And the list goes on and on.

So while we drove, footloose and fancy free (and 3 kids without any clothes on!), we talked. All of this, while loads of laundry were busily humming away at home, and the meat for dinner was thawing in the kitchen sink.