I had the opportunity to attend the LDS Genereal Relief Society Meeting Broadcast at our local stake center. I was so touched by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk that I wanted to share. It's not available to read online yet, but you can watch clips of his talk
HERE or watch the entire conference
HERE.
Truthfully I've been struggling with our little three year old for the past couple of months. He is SO defiant and throws huge tantrums at the drop of a hat. To top it off he's struggled with potty training accidents. Everything combined has really been pushing me to my limit. I had this naive idea before I had children, that my children would be well behaved, because I would teach them to behave. I didn't take into account free will :) I've been surprised how often they do NOT behave the way I would like them to. Don't get me wrong, I have good boys with good hearts, but I was just a little naive.
Anyway, back to my point, I've been struggling because I don't always feel like I'm a very good mother. It requires so much patience to deal with tantrum after tantrum all day long. We've tried everything from time-outs, reward charts, grounding and giving extra love and attention. None of it seems to be making a difference, the tantrums continue all day long. I went to the conference after one of those days.
As I heard President Uchtdorf's talk I nearly burst into tears. It really was just what I needed to hear. I get down on myself and on life because things don't always turn out the way I expect, and it was a good reminder to appreciate the little joys along the way. Life may not be perfect, I may not be perfect, but that's okay. There are so many things I have to be grateful for. I'm especially grateful for an apostle of Jesus Christ on the earth who was inspired to give such a beautiful talk!
Aaron getting a hug from a bear:
Aaron brought his Woody doll. You can see his admissions bracelet around Woody's waist :)
After Woody's surgery he got his blood pressure taken:
Aaron learning about surgery:
Once we got home the boys spent a good hour playing with the items in their goody bags, including bandaids and poison stickers. The stuffed animals endured numerous shots and broken bones, which the boys were happy to remedy. The boys will be all ready to come visit the hospital when our Lil' Baby arrives :)
They included:
Qualities to Develop Myself:
Qualities My Husband Must Have:
Number of Children:
He sure loves his Daddy! 
Aaron in front of his classroom. He had a great first day.
