General Conference Weekend

It has been interesting figuring out how to watch General Conference ever since Joshua has been born. Part of the struggle has been we moved away from Utah and could not watch conference on the TV. We can get it on the Internet, but there has been a learning curve as to how to get that to work. We have learned that it works better if you open the window earlier than later. There has also been the issue of how to keep the computer close enough to hear the speakers but away from Joshua. This has become more of a struggle as he gets more and more mobile.

This time we were able to inherit some old computer speakers, then we put the computer out of reach, hooked in the speakers and whola, much easier conference watching. We have also learned how to listen to conference with a child demanding attention. Before Joshua we could take notes if we wanted or do something mindless to keep our hands busy, but to keep us awake. With Joshua there is no fear of falling asleep. Joshua was surprisingly good, but we went through a lot of stickers.

It was fun to watch Joshua with conference. He loved the music. After each hymn he would ask for more. He got really upset one session after the intermediate hymn when he realized that there wouldn't be another song for a while. It also took Joshua a while to realize that they were actually praying on the computer. He looked at Brian and me like we were crazy when we would fold our arms and bow our heads for someone saying a prayer on a screen. We also marked the end of each speaker with a resounding "AMEN", to kind of get Joshua interested in paying attention. It must of worked, there was once or twice when I was busy in the kitchen and missed the end of the talk, and I would hear Joshua yell "AMEN", and sure enough there was a new speaker going.

I loved that there were many talks about teaching your children about the gospel, and how much they pick up at such an early age. Joshua even proved their point. Brian had to leave for the Priesthood Session before we had family prayer. When we got to the point in Joshua's routine that it was time for prayer, he realized that Brian was missing, and Joshua started pointing at the front door and was almost in tears and started saying "Prayer, prayer, prayer". He knew his daddy was part of the family and should be there for family prayer. Sometimes it seems like kids won't notice the small things you do, especially when normally it is hard for us to get Joshua to sit down for prayer, but he obviously does, and little reminders like that help my resolve to be consistent with things like prayer and scripture study. I am thankful there will be a conference edition of the Ensign though, because I know I missed a lot of the talks.

I love conference weekend, and it was a wonderful way to spend Easter weekend.