We had stake conference today. Actually it was yesterday and today, but we weren't able to go yesterday. I wanted to, but with it being Valentine's Day and with it being an adult-only session of conference it was impossible to find a babysitter. Everyone in the stake was booked and I don't know young women outside the stake and I wasn't about to dump my kids on another couple on a night where they would, I'm sure, rather be out on a date. So, our exciting Valentine's date consisted of Mark cooking me and the kids a lovely steak dinner. It was very nice. We even ate by candlelight (if it hadn't been for the three kids it probably would have been romantic). Today's conference was very good though. We sustained a new stake presidency. Pres. Baker was released after almost ten years and we sustained Pres. Meek. Elder M. Russell Ballard was presiding. I really enjoy hearing apostles speak under any circumstances, but especially in settings outside of general conference because they are more relaxed and you can get a better feel for who they are as a person. He was funny. He told a story about a couple...
The husband had always wanted to meet the wife's old high school boyfriend and one day they ran into him at a store. He was the manager. They chatted, then after they left the husband asked his wife how she felt seeing her old boyfriend and wasn't she glad that she was married to the CEO of a large corporation instead of to the manager of a general store. Her response was, "let's get one thing straight. If I had married him, he would be the CEO of a major corporation and you would be the manager of a general store."
I thought that was pretty funny. Another funny story he told was about one of his daughters. One morning he was reading the newspaper and his 4-year old daughter came and sat on his lap and started talking to him. After a little while she grabbed his face with both of her little hands and pulled it to her so they were eye-to-eye and said "daddy you're not listening to me" and she was right. He realized that the paper wasn't nearly as important as whatever it was that was in her little mind. Then he said, "what she said was...crazy. It didn't make any sense." The point being that what really mattered is that she knew that SHE mattered to her dad. I thought that was really cute and oh so applicable to my current life situation. My kids are often crazy and just talking a bunch of gibberish, but THEY really do matter.