General Women's Session of Conference

Every six month, when General Conference rolls around, the Barri gather on Saturday afternoon/evening for dinner and dessert.  Before we children of George and Merlynn had children of our own, the men would go to the priesthood session, and the women would go to dinner somewhere.  It didn't take too long, however, before there were a number of children and we needed to make alternative arrangements.  So we began gathering at George and Merlynn's house, having dinner all together, then sending the men off to conference while the women stayed home and visited or played games, and then we all had dessert when the men returned. 

It has been this way the whole of our marriage since we returned to Utah in 1997.  Every six months, without fail. 

This time, however, in an extraordinary turn of events, this Saturday evening, the women all went away to conference, leaving the men home with children.  And there were plenty of children!  Last year the Church implemented a change, stating that rather than having the women meet every six months the Saturday before General Conference weekend, and the men meeting every Saturday of General Conference, the men would now meet in April, and the women would meet in October.  So we gathered, we ate, and then the women walked out together, leaving behind the chaos of little people.  Although Brandt and Blythe aren't as little as they once were, they can certainly produce a lot of chaos.  In addition, niece Katie came down from Sandy with her five children, and nephew Matt was here with his three children, and when we left, the big boys were making a fair amount of noise. 

It was brilliant!!

The conference session was wonderfully uplifting.  We got to hear from all three members of the First Presidency, as well as three of the general women's leaders, and I came away feeling spiritually fed after having been physically fed.  It was the first time Blythe joined me, even though she could have come the last several times, spurred on by cousin Tess who is up from Cedar City.  It was a lovely evening.  My only regret was that we didn't get a group picture before all the women left because it didn't happen after we got back.  We did, however, get a group shot of all of us women.

Here's to change! Here's to truth! Here's to family fun!

Katie, Jodi, me, Cammie, Malee, Annie, Tess, Blythe

Mom, me, Blythe

Did I mention that Mom came over for dinner and then to go to conference?

She did.

It was craziness, and she sat in the office eating her dinner and reading, trying to avoid the chaos.

But she enjoyed conference.

It was quiet there.