Conference Tidbits

All is quiet here, so I thought I'd take a minute to share some thoughts from this morning's session of General Conference.

First, I LOVE my kids!  They are full of great lines that I wish I wrote down more often.  But each of them had something funny to say today and I wanted to share.

As Conference was starting and we were all piling onto the couch, everyone wanted something to do.  I normally print out the kids conference workbooks, but they never last the full 8 hours, so we haven't pulled those out yet.  Maybe tomorrow?  Finn grabbed my iPhone and was playing a game and Kai asked if he could have something else.  So I told him he could have the iPad, but could only play our Sunday games (we have LDS coloring books, etc. on there that get used every once in a while in Sacrament meetings).  Kai said, "I know.  It's Sunday in Utah."  I laughed and told him it wasn't, that is was still Saturday there, too.  And then he asked, "Well, why are they at church then?"  Ahh.....I love my observant little guy.

Towards the end of the session Finn was getting quite restless.  He was also quite tired after not napping yesterday and getting up at 5:45 this morning.  When he gets tired, he gets super wound-up and in all of his craziness he bumped his mouth on a table or couch or something.  (I can't remember.) It wasn't bad, but when you're tired every bump HURTS (or at least that's what I've learned from my kids).  So, I scooped him up and told Reid I was taking him for his nap.  He cried and cried and then told me he was ok and didn't need a nap.  I told him we'd just snuggle then, and he calmed down.  Next thing I know he says in a pitiful voice, "I need a new mouth."  I looked at him and said, "You need a new mouth?  Just where am I going to get that."  He replied, "Maybe the library?" :)

Finally, there has been much discussion here about the announced changes for the required ages of missionary service.  Reid and I have thrown around ways in which we think some things will change and what some of those changes may mean.  For me it means that Kai has the option of going straight from high school on a mission at just 18 years and 2 weeks old.  Wow--poor kid may have never been away from home for any extended period of time and yet can go straight into the mission field.  (Kai says he wants to serve a mission as long as he can go to Colorado Springs and be close to home.  He's attached to us and I like that!)  And of course for Finn, well, it doesn't change a thing for Finn.  Finn will turn 18 in October of his senior year in high school.  But no matter how old he is, or how spiritually or financially prepared he is, Finn may never get the chance to serve a full-time mission.  For me, the greatest miracle of all would be to see Finn healthy and strong enough to leave home and serve full-time.  The thought of him being away from his doctors and a care team, though, is very unsettling.  Some of the greatest advances in CF research and care are counted as the fact that patients are getting married and even having families (no small feat when 99% of males are infertile!), but no where in there is the statement that they can serve for two-years away from home and family full-time.  Being realistic, the treatment regimen of a young man with CF is too demanding to fit into a mission schedule.  So, for me, Finn being able to serve a mission would be a miracle.  In the spirit of today's announcement, I hold on to that dream and hope to one day see that miracle fulfilled.