MISSIONARY FILLED WEEK

This week was a missionary filled week. The missionaries happen to stop by on Sunday night. That was when Brandon told me that I was supposed to call the ward mission leader to sign up for a dinner.

Elder Earley played the guitar. (He is really good)

And we took a picture of the missionaries - Elder Kim, Elder Earley, Elder Holiday

That was Sunday. Making the phone call, we found out that we would have them over for dinner on Saturday, but that meant that we wouldn't have Elder Earley. Another call later, we invited them over for dinner on Monday night, which used to be a regular thing for the Jolley household.

We served breakfast for dinner so that they could try pumpkin french toast!

We played General Conference Jeopardy which was fun to stump all of us. Good times!

Thursday morning, we got to pick up on of "our" missionaries and bring her to the airport to go home. Sister Richins really touched our lives and we just loved getting to know and love her. It was sad to see her go, but I hope that she continues to stay in touch with us!!!

Seeing her through security at the Pocatello Airport.

Saturday, Elder Kim requested that we do a 'greenie' dinner for Elder Holiday who didn't get his greenie dinner yet (he's been out about 6 weeks now.) I did not want to disappoint.

Green beef pot pie

Green salad

Green pistachio fluff

It was fun to have them over again. They taught us the message of the Restoration for practice. And for practice, Brandon pretended to be Catholic. We will just have to follow up with them the next time that we see them to see how things are going.

We love having the missionaries over because it fills our home with the spirit. It's really like nothing else. They are young and full of life. Plus they have deep and growing testimonies of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you Elder Earley, Elder Kim, Elder Holiday, and Sister Richins for filling our week with missionaries!

MORMON SUPERBOWL OCTOBER 2015 - EPIC

We were so excited for General Conference this year! In case you don't know what it is, our leaders speak to us in 6 different session to instruct us on this we should do and not do. It is very uplifting and enlightening! It's also something that we look forward to every 6 months (the first weekend in October and the first weekend in April.)

We LOVE conference. It is a holiday at our house. Our kids are always saddened and shocked to learn that their friends don't do what we do. And this year, Faith almost started crying when the last session came on because it ends so quickly.

I also like to pump up those with whom I visit teach. It's fun to share a message and give a treat to those sisters. I hope that they enjoyed conference as much as we did! This year, I did a post it note idea found at The Mormon Home! She did an incredible job and I'm excited to see if my sister used their post it notes! Thank you Mormon Home!!!

For starters, we sleep in tents like the people of King Benjamin when they came to hear the prophet speak. Here is Miss Kate in a single tent this time! 

Then, we make and buy treats and special foods that we don't normally have. This time, I made Twix marshmallow treats, twix bars, and homemade rolls.

Then we bought a couple of treats. Spray cheese and the fruit tray always happen at our house. This year was also highlighted by peeps and the Kirkland macadamia caramel nut clusters. Yep! We were spoiled!

For awhile now, we've been calling it the Mormon Superbowl. And while I was preparing for General Conference, I had this wild and crazy thought. Like, let's actually make this like a superbowl party. Friday night on Conference Eve, we ordered pizza (I highly recommend this as I was able to prep all the other treats without having to cook dinner!)

Then, I wanted everyone to wear sports shirts! Texas Longhorns

Dawson is wearing a Highland rams shirt but likes to be snuggled during conference!

And Kate wanted to set up the half tent to watch conference, which was fun! Another Highland rams!

  

This was Sunday's picture! Aren't we twinners?

Part of the Superbowl idea was to recap all of the sessions of conference. Here they are:

RS Session

Saturday AM Session

Saturday PM Session

Priesthood Session

Sunday AM Session

Sunday PM Session

I can honestly say that I usually have a couple favorites for all of the sessions of conference. But this session. Holy Smokes!!! Each and every talk spoke to me. So many great and wonderful messages from the Lord. I also am doing a General Conference group through email where we will study out each talk between now and the next session of General Conference.

Kate also wanted to fill out our other conference poster that we have framed. This will be exciting to use when it is updated. Just hope I can find it on the world wide web again! This was about 1/2 way through. She wrote names of who got to write what they were talking about. It's tricky though because Faith means faith, not our sister/daughter Faith. Hence the Faith Jolley!

My love of conference has spilled over to friends and I hope that you find motivation here too! I asked for pictures from Texas and New York. I was able to receive some from NY and hope to get TX ones next time!

Byleigh thinks I'm weird, so she wouldn't look at the camera!

 The littles!

Homecooking!!!

Thank you for sharing Beauchat family! We love and miss you!

My last idea was to do the MVP of conference for each of my family members. Most Valuable Player or Most Valuable Prophet ... however you decide to look at it!

Kate loved both of President Uchtdorf's talks. 

A summer with Great Aunt Rose

It works wonderfully!

Dawson too loved Uchtdorf! He has such a great way of speaking!!!

Faith loved Elder Durrant's talk "My heart pondereth them continually."

I really couldn't choose, but in the end decided that Elder Foster's talk would be my MVP as it answered a lot of questions that I had been pondering this time.

It's never too early and it's never too late

Brandon picked the same one as Faith did and boy, I will be ponderizing conference for quite awhile.

Why can't we see his face? Well, on Saturday, Brandon went to the doctor to find out he had pneumonia. He says it phonetically if you can imagine that. Try saying it a couple times. So not feeling good = no pictures!

So this weekend worked out to be a great one ... full of family, the spirit, and great food and snacks. So blessed to be able to listen to the Prophet. His talk was a powerful one that I hope to re listen to soon! If you haven't made conference a priority in your life, I promise you that it will bless your life! Make it a priority and make your own traditions around this special holiday!!!

CONFERENCE MARATHON MARCH/APRIL 2015

I was feeling extremely blessed knowing that my birthday landed on Women's Conference evening. This was the first time that I was able to bring both my girls to this special occasion. I love being able to attend with other women from our stake as you definitely feel a special spirit there. At the last minute, Kate really didn't want to go, but I insisted.

During the talks, Kate kept wiping her eyes. I asked her if she was okay and she said that they were "tears of joy." She was so happy to hear the messages. And they were profound! The Relief Society also had popcorn for the treats and it was so much fun to have something different than ice cream and brownies. Everyone loved it!

The next weekend was the marathon of conference. We got all ready to start celebrating and the feed from lds.org was ... delayed, slow, stopped. Anything that you could think of. For all 5 sessions! SO, we have made it a priority to re-watch, re-listen, and re-read these important messages. I will definitely be paying close attention to these.

What did you take out of these sessions of conference?
President Monson did not open or close the sessions, which was different.
Alas, we also are getting 3 new temples.
The importance of sustaining the Prophet. There are always those that oppose, but perhaps we aren't always aware of the opposition.
For me, the themes were strengthening home and family above anything else.

My favorite talk was The Music of the Gospel by Elder Wilford W. Andersen of the Seventy. He starts by sharing a story in a Navajo hospital where an elderly man asked if the doctor could dance. Realizing that this man probably believed in healing through song and dance, the doctor asked if he knew how to dance. The elderly man said yes. The doctor then asked if he could teach him. He said yes, but he could not teach him to hear the music.

He then likened the music to the gospel.

"The challenge for all of us who seek to teach the gospel is to expand the curriculum beyond just the dance steps. Our children’s happiness depends on their ability to hear and love the beautiful music of the gospel. How do we do it?

First, we must keep our own lives attuned to the correct spiritual frequency. Second, when we can hear the music ourselves, we must try our best to perform it in our homes.

So if the basses in your family choir are too loud and overbearing, or if the string section in your family orchestra is a little too shrill or a little bit sharp, or if those impetuous piccolos are out of tune or out of control, be patient. If you’re not hearing the music of the gospel in your home, please remember these two words: keep practicing."

We will definitely work on studying the messages. Did you have a favorite talk? Please share!

Because of the hectic school and work schedule, I did not get pictures taken. Yes, we did have fruit, treats, and the tent. And we worked hard on listening as much as we could during the weekend.

IT"S A JOLLEY CONFERENCE HOLIDAY! OCT 2014

We always look forward to general conference! This time was no exception! I took the day before off so that I was able to do a lot of prep work for conference. Here are the kids getting all settled in for the night. Even Echo wanted to play in the tent!

The next morning, we ate pumpkin french toast and got all ready!

Here is a little sampling of snacks that we have for conference. Granola bars, crackers with spray cheese, cookies, chips, licorice, trail mix, nuts, gummies, and that BEST fruit tray with fruit dip!!!

We also usually have danimals (Dawson LOVES these) and string cheese. I also made homemade salted nut rolls and homemade twix. You can see the pumpkin french toast below as well.

The kids had fun coloring, writing notes, and listening to conference. We even had the sister missionaries over to our house to eat turkey pot pie between the sessions on Sunday. Towards the end, Kate wanted to show me our family.

Kate- pretty

Dawson- funny

Faith- gorgeous

Mom-  helpful

Dad- smart

I loved that she took the time to write some of our talents down and that she wanted to share them with us!

We are so lucky to be able to hear conference and listen to the words from the Lord. I am working on already re listening so that I can pick my top 3. Have you already decided which ones are yours?

MY TOP 3 - APRIL 2014 CONFERENCE

Conference is always such a fun time for our family and I love listening to the general conference talks. This time, the overall theme that I heard was that we have made covenants and commitments, so we need to do what we've promised that we would do. I also find it fascinating when there are repeats, such as the Martin Harris story. Something that I definitely need to go back and study more.

Although all of the talks are fantastic, I always like to highlight my favoirte. Here are my top 3 conference talks for April 2014.

Linda S. Reeves 

Protection from Pornography - A Christ Centered Home

I felt her strength and conviction of protection our families from the evil that is in the world. She truly touched my heart.

From her talk: Brothers and sisters, how do we protect our children and youth? Filters are useful tools, but the greatest filter in the world, the only one that will ultimately work, is the personal internal filter that comes from a deep and abiding testimony of our Heavenly Father’s love and our Savior’s atoning sacrifice for each one of us.

How do we lead our children to deep conversion and to access our Savior’s Atonement? I love the prophet Nephi’s declaration of what his people did to fortify the youth of his day: “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, [and] we prophesy of Christ … that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

How can we do this in our homes? Some of you have heard me tell how overwhelmed my husband, Mel, and I felt as the parents of four young children. As we faced the challenges of parenting and keeping up with the demands of life, we were desperate for help. We prayed and pleaded to know what to do. The answer that came was clear: “It is OK if the house is a mess and the children are still in their pajamas and some responsibilities are left undone. The only things that really need to be accomplished in the home are daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening.”

Brothers and sisters, because I know from my own experiences, and those of my husband, I must testify of the blessings of daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening.

Elder W. Craig Zwick

What Are You Thinking?

I loved his initial story about the semi cab filling with smoke and his wife jumping out with his infant son before he was completely stopped. He exclaimed, "What were you thinking?" Her reply? "I was just trying to save our son!" I loved how he talked about our communication with each other. I think that this will definitely be one that each family needs to study during family home evening.

From his talk: Paul warned, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but [only] that which is good [and] edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29) We all regularly experience highly charged feelings of anger—our own and others’. We have seen unchecked anger erupt in public places. We have experienced it as a sort of emotional “electrical short” at sporting events, in the political arena, and even in our own homes. Children sometimes speak to beloved parents with tongues as sharp as blades. Spouses, who have shared some of life’s richest and most tender experiences, lose vision and patience with each other and raise their voices.

When our truck cab filled with smoke, my wife acted in the bravest manner she could imagine to protect our son. I too acted as a protector when I questioned her choice. Shockingly, it did not matter who was more right. What mattered was listening to each other and understanding the other’s perspective.

The willingness to see through each other’s eyes will transform “corrupt communication” into “minister[ing] grace.” The Apostle Paul understood this, and on some level each of us can experience it too. It may not change or solve the problem, but the more important possibility may be whether ministering grace could change us.

I bear humble witness that we can “minister grace” through compassionate language when the cultivated gift of the Holy Ghost pierces our hearts with empathy for the feelings and context of others. It enables us to transform hazardous situations into holy places. I testify of a loving Savior who “looketh on [our] heart” and cares what we are thinking. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Grateful in Any Circumstances

I truly believe that our attitudes affect everything that we see in this world. It's important that we are positive and have a grateful heart. 

From his talk: Sooner or later, I believe that all of us experience times when the very fabric of our world tears at the seams, leaving us feeling alone, frustrated, and adrift. Everyone’s situation is different, and the details of each life are unique. Nevertheless, I have learned that there is something that would take away the bitterness that may come into our lives. There is one thing we can do to make life sweeter, more joyful, even glorious. We can be grateful!

It is easy to be grateful for things when life seems to be going our way. But what then of those times when what we wish for seems to be far out of reach?

Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances—whatever they may be.

So now that I have shared my top 3, share your top 3 with me! Which conference talks stood out to you this time? Which ones are you most excited about studying again? 

MORMON SUPERBOWL

I saw someone say this spring that LDS General Conference is like the Mormon Superbowl and I couldn't agree more! We look forward to this day in anticipation for counsel from our leaders. These talks are modern scripture that we study during Priesthood and Relief Society meetings during the 4th Sunday of every month. And hopefully, we are using these to study personally and with our families often and regularly.

First up was women's conference. This is the first time since September 1992 that all women met together. And this is the first time ever that young girls ages 8 and up were present. Our stake did mini desserts and a photo booth where we could take pictures together. It was a pretty fun night and the messages were great! I can't believe how fast Faith is growing up!

Our famous conference tent the night before

Getting excited to hear from our beloved prophet, President Thomas S. Monson

Of course, we need thumbs up and silly faces too!

This year, I decided that we would write with dry erase with they talked about for conference and hand on our conference wall. Here is what it looked like before we started.

We, of course, had to take a selfie together! It's kind of Kate's thing to do with her momma!

My view watching conference. Yes, Brandon tweaked his neck a bit...

The kids wanting the spotlight.

Each of us put a question that we were seeking during conference. It was cool to put these to paper on our wall.

Pineapple,

raspberries,

and strawberries! Oh my!!!

Our conference spread of treats! A little healthier this year, per request of Brandon and Faith.

During Priesthood session, Brandon and Dawson watched here, so the girls got to listen a bit. We headed over to Kiwi Loco right after. It was fun, but super busy!

We also had the Porter's over for dinner after Sunday's session. 

This year's conference did not disappoint! As always, we felt the spirit and were able to make more happy memories together. We are certainly blessed to be able to watch and listen in our own homes every 6 months! Here is our finished picture frame!

We hope that you took time out to listen to conference and the words of our prophets and apostles!