Faith & Fruit Loops

I remember General Conference weekend growing up my mom would always have tons of conference related activities to keep us in our seats and paying attention. The most popular of these was General Conference bingo, other activities included special journals and writing things we learned on pieces of construction paper, then stringing them onto fruit loop necklaces. No matter what, General Conference always included a big bag of fruit loops. Not only did the fruit loops make great necklaces and bingo markers, they were considered a special treat because it was the only time of year my mom ever bought cold cereal. We eventually outgrew mom's tactics and had to rely on our own devices to stay awake and listen. I am happy to report however, that while the bingo cards got tucked away into the dark recesses of one of mom's filing cabinets, the fruit loops remained a General Conference staple. And, for whatever reason, my mom continued to buy a huge bag of them every April and October. So it should come as no surprise that as Sam was leaving the house this morning to pick up some Ajax to srubb the shower, I also requested a big box of fruit loops. Conference just doesn't seem right to me now with out munching on a big bowl of sugary, artificially flavored, air-filled cereal.

Of course, Conference just had to begin with the talk that everyone loves to hate, the debt talk. I did my best to ignore Elder Hale, but he said too many true things. Sam and I are not big spenders (having no money really helps out with this). But he does have a good job this summer and in the back of my mind I have been dreaming about a new set of couches. The couches we presently sit on are ones I paid 35.00 for at a garage sale before we got married. They are pretty shabby and every couple of months I have to get out my scissors and cut of all of the new fraying strings. I have let them get really bad recently because in the back of my mind was the thought that they wouldn't be with us much longer. However, after Elder Hale's talk (and a few more bowls of fruit loops) I broke out my rag and needle and thread and did what I could to make the couches last a little while longer. Obviously it would be more prudent of us to work on our food storage and build our savings than to get new furniture. So, thanks Elder Hale for keeping us on track. And thanks to the fruit loops for making that pill a little sweeter to swallow.