Two weeks ago all the boys wanted to dress up for our weekly trip to Dhahran. Even Graham wanted to wear a tie. After the pictures they spent (at least the two oldest) the rest of the morning fighting over who looked most like a Prophet, Bishop, and 1st or 2nd Counselor.
Then for FHE last week talked about Treasures and that when we listen to the counsel of the Prophet during Conference we build up a Treasure Chest of Treasures to use in our lives.
When it came time for our weekly trip to DHA. Chris was working nights in the field and Graham had a nasty head cold. The kind you don't want to put him in nursery because he'll slime all the kids and toys. So we decided to stay home and watch Conference instead.
What an amazing day. During the morning session I asked the boys to sit quietly and watch at least one talk....and they DID! For the rest of the two hour block we colored and made a cut out Liahona. So I actually got to hear it.
Then by the time we got around to the afternoon session Graham was napping and I told Ethan he could play inside or out but had to do so quietly. But Zach chose to sit with me and listen. He really perked up during L. Lawrence's talk on Courageous Parenting. I knew he was listening intently because he would pause the talk and ask really good questions and wanted to discuss what had been said. He was surprised to learn there were so many things I had been doing as a parent such as limiting video games, and doing late overs instead of sleep overs that had a deeper purpose then to just make his life difficult.
By the end of the talk I was pretty much in tears because I felt like I'd actually done a few things right as a parent and Zach was totally getting it and we just had this moment together that was so great. Is this what it feels like to have your children grow up and mature a bit because if so I like it and want more of it.
Then after it was all over I was telling Zach how proud I was of him for sitting, listening, and asking such great questions for a complete two hours. He then told me, "Mom I was just storing up treasures." It totally took me off guard as I had forgotten about the FHE lesson but...
he hadn't.
When it came time for our weekly trip to DHA. Chris was working nights in the field and Graham had a nasty head cold. The kind you don't want to put him in nursery because he'll slime all the kids and toys. So we decided to stay home and watch Conference instead.
What an amazing day. During the morning session I asked the boys to sit quietly and watch at least one talk....and they DID! For the rest of the two hour block we colored and made a cut out Liahona. So I actually got to hear it.
Then by the time we got around to the afternoon session Graham was napping and I told Ethan he could play inside or out but had to do so quietly. But Zach chose to sit with me and listen. He really perked up during L. Lawrence's talk on Courageous Parenting. I knew he was listening intently because he would pause the talk and ask really good questions and wanted to discuss what had been said. He was surprised to learn there were so many things I had been doing as a parent such as limiting video games, and doing late overs instead of sleep overs that had a deeper purpose then to just make his life difficult.
By the end of the talk I was pretty much in tears because I felt like I'd actually done a few things right as a parent and Zach was totally getting it and we just had this moment together that was so great. Is this what it feels like to have your children grow up and mature a bit because if so I like it and want more of it.
Then after it was all over I was telling Zach how proud I was of him for sitting, listening, and asking such great questions for a complete two hours. He then told me, "Mom I was just storing up treasures." It totally took me off guard as I had forgotten about the FHE lesson but...
he hadn't.
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