Visiting Grandpa and General Conference

Conference weekend was great- mostly we stayed home and just soaked all of the great talks. On Sunday, though, we watched the morning session at home, and then drove up to visit Grandpa Steele in between sessions. Mom and Dad were there watching conference with him, and made lunch for us to eat together. It was wonderful to see Grandpa- and the kids were mesmerized by all the "stuff" in his house. For me, it was like stepping back in time- all of the decorations and memorabilia in his house was there when I was growing up visiting Grandpa and Grandma... and they had lots of really cool things. They have been all over the world, and served a mission in the Philippines. Everywhere in the house, there are photographs, figurines, paintings, tapestries....

The kids especially loved when Grandpa told them about his days as a bomber pilot in WWII- he showed them pictures and models, and kept them generally mesmerized for a long time. And that's not easy to do with my kids! I love Grandpa. I am so grateful for eternal families. Grandpa and Grandma together again is something I wouldn't want to miss.

To add to the family nature of the day, we stopped by the Draper Cemetery on our way home- we have ancestors there, Absalom Wamsley Smith, in particular, who was one of the founders of Draper. We walked around looking at all the Smith, Shipley and Allen headstones. Since Tim and I found out (post-wedding, not that it would have made a difference) that we were fourth cousins, it was interesting to note these names- this is the same approximate section of the family that we both originate from. As we were walking around, Tim said, "It's amazing we all don't have four heads and 6 arms." What with all the inter-marrying that went on in that small town then, and our much later marriage, I think we'd better tell our kids to be careful who they marry!

It was a wonderful weekend. I am always a little worried as conference weekend approaches- maybe that stems from years of trying to watch 8 hours of sessions while wrestling little kids. They are growing up fast, though, and either watched with us or left us alone most of the time. In Primary the kids have been learning the names of the apostles, and it was very cute to hear Annie saying, "That's Elder Uchtdorf" or, when I pointed to another apostle, "L. Tom Perry".

I came away humbled and inspired by the words spoken by our prophet and apostles. Maybe next year I will remember that before it starts! Anticipation, rather than dread, would be good.