Chez Gotfredson

We have had a wonderful week! My family...that is parents, Cat, Matt, Rachel and both my grandmothers came to visit us for an extended weekend. As they drew near on Friday night, Mike and I finished last minute preparations for their arrival. I must admit, I was pretty impressed with us. We had two queen airbeds and a futon set up in the basement, a twin double-high airbed in Maggie's room, and a twin airbed in the family room upstairs for Matt. Our hotel was ready for visitors.

My family enjoyed seeing Maggie and Paola as well as a few of the surrounding sights and we enjoyed spending time with them.

Here are a few highlights:

Saturday, Rachel participated in the town Easter egg hunt at Wallace Park. Then we all spent some time at the park and Mike took interested visitors on a walking tour of Paola.

Easter Sunday, we had a stake conference broadcast. We heard from Elder Snow, Sister Lifferth, Elder Oaks, and President Monson for the second week in a row. Again, much was learned. Here is a picture of Rachel, Maggie, and Mike in their springy Easter attire.

After church, we enjoyed a terrific Easter dinner, complete with Costco ham (which pleased my dad, the Costco fanatic/employee), garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and my mom's yummy curried carrots. We relaxed after dinner: some napped while my brother enjoyed wheeling and dealing my grandmothers and Rachel in a rather questionable game of Monopoly. Then we had an Easter cake, dyed some eggs, and read the Easter story before bed.

Easter Monday, we woke up to treats from the Easter bunny. Maggie got a couple sweets for her parents to eat, a board book about cookies, her first toothbrush and tooth cleanser, and some coloring materials. Her Easter bunny is kind of lame, however, I did catch her popping a few M&M's anyway. And Grandmommy gave her a darling stuffed bunny for Easter as well! Here is a picture of her and Uncle Matt with the kids' Easter goodies.


Later, we went to Liberty Jail, where the Prophet Joseph Smith was unjustly imprisoned with some fellow church leaders for several months. As Liberty is Mike's home town, we visited with his mom while we were there and she treated us to a lovely lunch.

Tuesday was our last day together. We visited Independence and saw some church history sites there and then went into Kansas City for a visit to Hallmark headquarters and their kid-friendly creation station, Kaleidoscope. The rest of us checked out the visitor's center while Rachel created.

Afterwards, we had lunch in a nearby park. Here is a shot of Maggie and her grandpa. Maggie really loved being held by Grandpa. One evening in particular she would go to no one else! Until Grandmommy came on the scene. Maggie did go to her without complaint.

Too soon Wednesday morning came and it was time to say good-bye. Here are a few more shots:

Maggie and her "Great"-Grandmothers Wanlass and Mayse

Aunt Cat and Maggie making Maggie's new signature "ooh" face (which Maggie covered with her fist at last second)

Saying good-bye to Uncle Matt and his hat

Now as we find ourselves the proud owners of four empty airbeds we find ourselves wondering: Who will be our next visitors? Maybe you! Give us a call, we'd love to have you!!

Conference Weekend

We spent a lovely conference weekend with Mike's parents in Liberty. His brother Robert was there with his family, as well as our sister-in-law Jenn and her girls. It was fun to spend time together and enjoy the words of our leaders. And as always, Mom and Dad spoiled us with fabulous meals! Here are some pictures of the cousins:



I love conference weekend. It's so relaxing and seems to have a renewing effect. It's a good time to think and evaluate where you are and where you want to be. There were many wonderful talks that seemed to touch on topics that have been on my mind a lot.


Elder Hales gave a wonderful and timely talk about being "provident providers" for ourselves and our families, "controling our wants," and "joyfully living within our means." But I loved his tone. Rather than rebuking or chastizing those of us with problems of debt or addictions, many caused by poor decision-making on our own part, his was a message of hope. He talked of how no problem is beyond the reach of our Savior's power to save. Even when our problems are caused by our own poor choices, we can seek help to overcome through the atonement of Christ and through him our trials can serve to bless and strengthen us. He spoke of two important lessons for all of us: (1) "We can't afford it, even though we want it." (2) "We can afford it, but we don't need it."

His message is similar to that of this SNL skit that I found on my cousin's blog last week: http://www.hulu.com/watch/1389/saturday-night-live-dont-buy-stuff.

But seriously, what struck me is how important the message of this talk is for all of us. Many of us have struggled with the challenge of monetary debt. Others of us have seen others go through it. It a trial that enslaves and degrades those who suffer from it. The same can be said for addiction. However, even if we have not experienced some of these worldly challenges firsthand, we still can take action: We can more diligently apply the lessons of Elder Hale's talk so that we do not fall victim in the future and we can strive to help and strengthen our fellow brothers and sisters who are struggling with these problems and refrain from criticism or judgement. After all, we all are "unprofitable servants" (see Mosiah 2:21 and Luke 17:10) and eternally endebted to our Savior for all he has done in our behalf. We do not want to be the servant who was forgiven his debts, yet dealt harshly with his fellowservant (see Matthew 18:23-35).

Another talk I really loved was by Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the Seventy. He spoke of faith and fear. His words really touched me because although I feel that I have a lot of faith in my Savior, I am also at times a fearful person. I fear for safety, health, and financial stability for myself and my family and . This always has concerned me, for I know that faith and fear are opposites and cannot coexist. I appreciated his distinction that although at times we may have fears, we can have enough faith to overcome our fears. Thus it is like a net effect: faith-fear=net faith. We want to make certain that our net faith is not 'in the red.' Faith is a gift that we can pray for with diligence, qualify for with obedience, and be given as a gift from our Lord. When we do this we can overcome our fears and live with peace despite trials.

Elder Steven E. Snow, also of the Seventy, spoke of "get[ting] on with our lives" and embracing change rather than putting it off. Change is difficult, but it is necessary in our lives and will help us to grow and develop. As we (1)follow the prophet and our leaders, (2)keep an eternal perspective, (3)have faith (for without it we cannot have hope), and (4)be of good cheer (even in the face of challenges), we will be prepared for change in our lives.

Well, I could probably go on all day, but I'll let you review conference yourself. Click here for a quick link: CONFERENCE. And for my wonderful friends who aren't Mormon. Click on it anyway. There's some good stuff on there and then you can see what I do on my weekends twice a year. :) Or if you want to get to different talks quickly and listen to them as MP3 or watch them as a video or read them as text (though I think some of these options are not yet uploaded, but will be soon) you can click here.

Suffice it to say, I am grateful for a prophet and apostles in these days and the inspired words of guidance and direction they provide. I know President Monson is a prophet of God; he loves and cares for all of God's children in the church and out of it. I know my Savior lives and because of him all mankind can have hope in the future and can reach their utmost potential.

P.S. And good news: our most recent round of online purchases went very well, excepting the suit Mike bought which fit, but they ran out of the pants, so it's just a jacket. We'll have to take that back. But we love our bench! It worked out perfectly. We know you were all wondering. Now hopefully we can take a break from shopping for a while, since our NEEDS are taken care of. :)