Bring on the Waterworks

General Conference this year was so inspirational.  It always is and it's one of the reasons I look forward to watching it.  I always feel more confident and uplifted after each session and tend to remember my purpose as a wife and mother more often after watching it.  I didn't plan any busy activities for the kids this time around but they were amazing through the majority of it.  So grateful for their sweet little spirits!

This year there were two talks that struck a huge cord with Vili and I.  They were "The Words We Speak" by Rosemary Wixom and "Marriage:  Watch and Learn" by Elder L. Whitney Clayton.  Seriously, click on the links and read or watch those talks if you need to hear ANY advice on parenting and marriage.  We cried through both talks, ok I did most of the crying but Vili even got teary eyed, because it's exactly what we needed to hear.  The quality of our marriage directly affects each of us and our kids and if we want to be better parents we have to be better spouses.  We got so much advice on what a happy marriage looks like and how we can work to strengthen ours.  It's one thing to be married, it's another thing to be happily married.  Here's some snippets from both talks that I don't ever want to forget:

1.  The best marriage partners regard their marriage as priceless.
2.  Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of happy eternal marriages.
3.  Repentance and humility build happy marriages.
4.  Terrific marriages are completely respectful, transparent, and loyal.
5.  Successful couples love each other with complete devotion.

"Marriage is a gift from God to us; the quality of our marriages is a gift from us to Him".

"We can learn from the voice from heaven.  It was not loud, scolding, or demeaning; it was a still voice of perfect mildness, giving firm direction while giving hope.  How we speak to our children and the words we use can encourage and uplift them and stengthen their faith to stay on the path back to Heavenly Father.  They come to this earth ready to listen."

"To speak to a child's heart, we must know a child's needs.  If we pray to know those needs, the very words we say may have the power to reach into their hearts.  Our efforts are magnified when we seek the direction of the Holy Ghost."

"The answer to our prayer of how to meet our children's needs may be to more often technologically disconnect."