Time Out For Mommy!

I had the opportunity to go Time Out For Women (or as I like to put it TOFMommy!) Las Vegas with my Mom, Auntie Ines and sister Erika. I dropped Reefy off at Grandma Margie's which is where he stayed for the weekend. (Thanks mama margie!!) We left on Thursday Oct. 21 and headed straight to the stateline for some shopping at the outlets. We stayed the night at Buffalo Bills and went to the Las Vegas temple in the morning. Unfortunately my recommend had expired and I hadn't gotten a new one so I had to stay outside and read while my family went in.. boo! I did get to read a very good book though, its called "One Tattered Angel" I recommend everyone read this book, it is a heart wrenching, beautiful story of unconditional love! So after the temple we headed to our hotel room to get ready for Friday nights event at the Cashman Center. We had the privilege ofhearing from two incredible presenters...

John Bytheway

AND

Ardeth Kapp

They were both so funny! The theme for this years TOFW was "Infinite Hope" so they both talked about how we can find hope within our families and the church. They also talked about loving ourselves regardless of our imperfections. between each speaker there was a musical presenter...

Dallyn Vail Bayles

He was absolutely incredible! He is currently on tour with Phantom of the Opera and he plays the phantom. He also was in the Joseph Smith movie where he played Hyrum. He sang some amazing songs and if you click on his name above it will take you to his website where you can buy his CD! : ) He also had the opportunity to talk about where he came up with some of the songs he wrote and how each song has played a very significant part in his life. Him and John Bytheway talked a lot about Relief Society and how we as women need to turn to eachother in times of need, we need to help build one another. A quote he shared that I loved was "... Relief Society is an organization dedicated to lifting a weary hand." What better way to describe our RS Organization??

The next day we had to be at the Cashman Center at 8:00 AM. (If there was one thing I could change about TOFW, it would be to make Saturdays event a little later so us mothers can sleep in! hehe) We heard from...

Linda Eyre and Shawni Pothier (Mother and Daughter)

Brad Wilcox

Jill Manning

Mariama Kallon

AND

Kris Belcher

All of them were pretty amazing! Linda and Shawni talked about "The 5 Secrets of Motherhood" which were:

1. Be your own kind of best mom

2. Have a infrastructure

3. Give ownership

4. Formalize Family Traditions

5. Teach your kids to work!

They shared types within those 5 secrets and they also shared a quote (not sure who said it) about cherishing every moment of motherhood..

"The biggest mistake I made was not living in the moment. I wish I treasured the DOING a little more and the GETTING a little less.."

I think at times we all take for granted the blessings of having children, we worry so much about getting things done instead of taking the time to do things with our children...

Brad Wilcox talked about being saved by grace and changing our weaknesses into STENGTHS. He talked a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how we (us and Jesus Christ) work together as a team. He reminded all of us to "Take the hand that is extended"

Mariama Kallon was born in Africa and was saved from the rebels on several different occasions. She witnessed the murder of her brother and sister before escaping. She served a mission in SLC and that is how she was able to stay here in the states. She has such a powerful story, she is truly an incredible person. She talked about church being a place of peace and hope.

Jill Manning talked about combating pornography. She is a marriage and family counselor. I was so surprised to find out some the statistics she shared..

86% of youth depict still imaging of naked people while on the internet.

37% of youth depict video of actual sexual contact.

13% of youth depict violent behavior such as rape, molestation, and physical abuse.

She talked about how we all need to make a choice to protect and commit to protecting our families from such horrible things. She talked about being prayerful watchful and careful.

She has been working with Deseret Bookstore to come up with a Media Pledge. If you would like one for your home go to.. www.deseretbook.com/mediapledge. you can download and print one for your home.

Kris Belcher was our last speaker. When she was about 7 months old she was diagnosed with cancer in her eyes. Surgery was performed and she had lost sight in her left eye, over the years she continued to have surgeries due to cancer coming back and is now completely blind in both eyes... She is such a strong and courageous woman. I admire her strength so much. She shared an acronym she made up for LIGHT.

Love

Intelligence

Grace

Hope

Truth

All of those words describe our savior perfectly. She talked about seeking him our and finding him and that there is a reason for joy no matter how hard life can be.

The musical presenters were...

Mercy River

They are three sisters with incredible voices! They sang some beautiful songs and talked about being surrounded by other women and finding empowerment by doing so. They shared that its ok to NOT always be strong, that the Savior is there to lift us in times of need.

After TOFW was over I checked my phone and had a picture of a little indian boy..

My cute little Reefy, exhausted after a night of Trunk and Treating!

Before we heard from any of the speakers, the hostess asked us to write down a "I Hope To..." List.. One of the things on my list was to strengthen my testimony in any way.. I can definitely say that after TOFW my testimony has been strengthened more than I expected. I am so grateful for a Loving Heavenly Father who shows me his tender mercies everyday. I am especially grateful to be a member of The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, without it I don't know where I would be. I am grateful for family who loves me and whom I know would do anything for me. I am grateful for the temple, for the opportunity to be with my family forever. I feel so blessed to be able to go to such an amazing spiritual event. I was surrounded by 1900 other women who all believe the same things I believe, who love the Lord and are all trying to be better wives, mothers, and latter day saints. I can't quite explain the feeling you get when you hear the speakers and the musical presenters. I hope I came home from that experience a little better than before. I can't wait to go next year!