A Very Church-y Weekend

We just came out of a great weekend.

Friday night Mom took Claire to her ward Luau.  Blake and I went to his Elders Quorum volleyball night at the Church.  Anson was awake the whole time so I didn't get to play (which honestly I'm not bummed about since I can't remember the last time I played volleyball) but I did get to chat with ward members who were there and get to know our ward family better.

Amanda came with us Saturday morning to the temple so that Blake & I could do a session together.  That's my first session since Anson was born.  Several ward members were there for one of our young men who is about to leave for his mission so it was extra nice to be in a session with people you work with and learn with and care about personally.  Afterward we had some snacks, took pictures, and walked around temple grounds.  I remember walking around the outside of the temple a lot as a little girl with my family.  I hope my children learn to love being at the temple, too.

Because of the Temple this family of ours is sealed together forever; Thanks to A for baby-sitting!; Touching the temple walls

And then we went to Fenton's Creamery in Oakland.  There's a reason why Fenton's was featured in Pixar's last movie "Up".  The food was good.  And the ice-cream was the best I've had.  Yummy!  Fenton's is going to become a tradition.

Saturday afternoon & evening Mom & Raimo took Claire and Adrian to Happy Hallow.  Saturday night we went to a convert baptism in our ward.  His conversion story is really powerful and the spirit was very strong through the whole service. His life before was pretty opposite from everything the Church teaches but he's on fire with enthusiasm for the gospel and a hunger to learn more.  Our ward is pretty excited.  It has reminded me that sharing the gospel is important, even to people who you would never expect.

And Sunday Blake and I both led discussions for our 5th Sunday meetings.  Blake led the discussion for the adults from the conference talk by Robert D Hales about our duty to God in raising the next generation (Click HERE for the talk).  He had a panel of ward members of varying stages in life and a couple young adult children.  I led a discussion for the youth about guy/girl relationships based on the April issue of the New Era (Click HERE for the article).  I had questions on the board and had the youth come up with the answers themselves (with guidance) and we talked about heavy stuff like why we don't date before 16 and getting physical, but also some fun stuff like "Why do girls giggle?".  Both discussions went really well, which is great because we've been working on them both together for the past week and a half for our companionship study. 

It was a very church-y weekend but, you know, we're really happy going into this week.  I love this Church and the restored Gospel.  I love how the Gospel strengthens my family.  I love how the Gospel makes me happy.  I'm thankful for a living prophet and apostles who continue to give us guidance to apply that gospel more directly to our lives.  I'm thankful for a loving Heavenly Father that provided us a plan to return to him, and for a loving Savior whose sacrifice & atonement makes it all possible.