Sunday

Today was an interesting day, but a good one. Christine made all of us some blueberry muffins for breakfast. She is really getting good at navigating her way in the kitchen for being 14.

We started getting ready for the day and the phone kept ringing with lots of calls. We got Christine to her Mia Maid meeting to go over and practice her part for New Beginnings on Tuesday. She is in a play about SuperValues. I believe it was actually written by one of the other MiaMaids for a value project and I read through it a few days ago and it is quite good! New Beginnings is a big deal and she is very excited.

Church was good. The 3rd hour we had a combined RS/Priesthood meeting under the Bishop's direction. It was very well done. He talked about standards.

• ATTENDANCE: Where are we? When we look at Stake Conference and General Conference they ARE NOT weekends off from church attendance! They are not vacation weekends. With general conference coming up next weekend we need to be a) in our homes with our families watching and discussing it; b) at the stake center watching it; or c) in Utah at it. (haha, but you get the picture...) We are counseled to 'meet together oft' and that also means stake and general conferences.
• STANDARDS: For The Strength Of Youth pamphlet applies to adults too, not just the youth. As the adults and parents and leaders, our dress, grooming, behavior, and habits need to follow these same guidelines. We do not alter the garment in ANY way, which also includes purchasing them too small in order to accomodate certain clothing styles. Modest bathing suits for all youth and women, keep the cleveage covered, don't wear tops, skirts, dresses that are too tight. No to the short-shorts that are so popular right now.
• TECHNOLOGY: lots of discussion on cell phones and texting. He is seeing too many problems with it when he talks with youth in his office and to quote him: "I'm tired of it." There is too much of it going on during church which prohibits the youth from feeling and learning from the Holy Ghost, and during school, which hinders them gaining knowledge and learning. The art of conversation and talking to each other respectfully, etc. is being lost and it is too easy to 'say' something in a text, email, IM that you would never say in person. He called on a police officer in our ward to tell us about the legal side of 'compromising pictures' that get texted around. Very enlightening. One can be arrested! Bottom line: we as parents need to get a handle on our children's texting and carefully decide what they have the wisdom and maturity to truly handle.
• The next section was on Facebook-ing, but we ran out of time. I would have loved to have heard his counsel on that. We get a lot of flack because we won't let Christine have a Facebook page or even her own email yet.

We are going to go over his presentation tomorrow night with Christine and tie it in with the YW broadcast too. Overall, Christine does very well. However, after review, Duff and I decided that we can make some improvements as adults/parents and guide her in some things too. Thank you Bishop!

Had an old fashioned Sunday roast beef dinner that hit the spot. And at the last minute I decided to make a cheese sauce for the brocolli which we haven't had in years. The day started out sunny and nice and by the time we got out of church it was cloudy, windy and looked and felt like it was going to rain any minute, but it never broke through and did. But we did put a fire in the fireplace probably for the last time this season.