Our May Park City Retreat

I'm in "catch-up mode" after being away from my home for a few days for our Retreat, but I had to take a moment to post a couple of things I received through my email this morning.

First, our darling photographer, Rebecca Walters, sent us some photos that depict the Retreat experience beautifully:

 

  

 

 

Aren't those amazing?  For some reason, when I try to write about my experiences at our Power of Moms Retreats, I'm at a loss for words.  All I can think to say is "Light.  Beauty.  Inspiration.  Nobility.  Renewed purpose.  Magic."  When you get that many mothers in one room, who are truly dedicated to making their homes and families great, there is a unique energy that you have to feel in order to understand.

I need to get back to my little Spencer, so I'll close with this letter we got from one of our sweet attendees:

Saren and April,

I just had to thank you for a wonderful weekend. The retreat was exactly what I needed to fill my bucket. Saturday truly was a feast and I've come away feeling so empowered and, well, really the best way I can describe the change I have already started to feel because of all I've learned is....."Momfidence"! Yes! Momfidence! 

I know I'm not perfect and I don't know why I didn't get all these concepts and things before, but somehow in your presentations and stories, I "got it". 

I believe last night as I returned home to my children and today as well, I AM trying to be a Deliberate Mother, and I enjoy it! 

After Fridays Mind Organization presentation, I found myself a little frustrated that my hubby and I hadn't booked 1 more night in a hotel to really talk about things and have more of a vacation away from it all. Then after Saturdays "feast", something magical happened. I found I couldn't wait to get back to the parking lot where my sweet husband was and then to get home an d see my boys. 

Upon arriving home, I found myself relishing every minute with them. The old me would have rushed in the house to see what messes awaited me that I had to get to, swiftly unpacked, etc. I sat on the porch and listened to each of them tell me of their adventures over the weekend and kept looking at all of them and thinking what an enormous blessing and privilege it was to be their mother. 

I had the best time on the hour drive home telling my husband all I learned. He was excited--we both are about this fresh new start we feel in our marriage and our parenting. We feel more of a team than ever. He even took me in his arms last night and asked me tenderly what I needed to thrive! I seriously think I've never been so attracted to him, lol. 

Well, I know you must be receiving hundreds of e-mails but I did want to thank you for how this retreat has changed my life. I am amazed at how much more patience I have with my children because I have become tuned to my inner voice which has in turn given me more control over my outer voice. I am already seeing more peace, contentment and just deliberate joy, love and strength in our home. 

I guess I never fully realized just how much my attitude and how I approached my job as Mom really set the tone and mood and overall effect and feeling in the home. I am doing my best and it is enough and I have Momfidence! Thank you so much. I love you both and appreciate all you are doing to be a resource in my favorite job!


I am so grateful for the chance I have to help with these Retreats.  Saren and I try to make it perfectly clear that we are not the ones who deserve the thanking.  Anything we're able to do is because of the power of God.  We're just filled with appreciation to Him for letting us be a part of this work.


Have a wonderful day!

April

BYU Idaho 2010 Report

It has taken me way too long to upload all these photos tonight, but I wanted to at least get them posted, and then I'll write up some captions and stories when I get a chance.  I'm on my way to teach at EFY tomorrow at BYU in Provo.  I am exhausted, but very excited!

Love from Idaho

It has been an amazing day here at BYUI's Education Week, and I have tons of photos, but no Internet.

Typing blogposts on my iPhone is a little tough, so if anyone is reading this (Mom), I'll post my photos soon.

Love,
April

We Made it to Grandma's

Yesterday my children and I made a 700-mile trip in our minivan in order to visit Grandma Peggy (Eric's mom).  Alia asked me lots of questions and quizzed me on Spanish phrases along the way so I wouldn't get tired.  

La tortuga camina lentamente.  (The turtle walks slowly...isn't that a great sentence to learn?)

There's this beautiful, tree-lined road leading up to Grandma's house, and the children begged to run the whole way.  Spencer had to run in his diaper because he had a huge diaper leak at the previous stop, but they were so excited that I couldn't say no.

Today has been an absolute vacation for me, thanks to Grandma Peggy, Aunt Jodi, Aunt Tara, and Uncle Marc.  I got to sleep in until 10:30 for the first time in YEARS, and we got to spend the whole day relaxing with the family.

Ethan (age 7) loves the sunsets here.  He said, "Mom!  You've got to come out here and see the sky!"

And then tonight, Aunt Jodi helped my children put blankets all over the trampoline, and they laid there forever, watching the distant lightening, listening to the thunder, and seriously enjoying their childhood (except when Ethan stepped on Alia's blanket, Spencer took Grace's pillow, and everyone kept bouncing too much).  I feel like I'm constantly saying, "Kindness!  In our family we speak kindly!"

I've got to get to bed now....  Tomorrow I drive up to Idaho with my dear friend Allyson (who I've only met in person twice, but we feel like we've known each other forever).  Two of my sisters (Page and Susan), Saren, and my freshman roommate, Shawna, are going to join us up there for the "Mom Track" of Education Week.  I've been looking forward to this since last summer.

My main hope is that this conference will be helpful to all the moms who attend.  I've done my best to make the classes conversational, so it's not me up there lecturing the whole time.  I know that as these sharp women come together to learn and lift each other, all of their families will be strengthened.

I'm going to try to blog a little bit each day while I'm there, so if you're dying to know all the details, check back!

Love,
April

Come Meet Us at BYU Idaho

If you would like to come make friends with me, Allyson, and Saren this summer, and if you happen to be in Rexburg, Idaho July 29-31, please visit us at BYU Idaho's Education Week!

It is going to be a WONDERFUL experience!  This year they're trying something new--it's called a "Mom Track," which means that each hour of the three-day conference, there will be a class designed specifically for moms.  And guess what...nursing babies are allowed in these classes! (Normally nursing mothers have to stay home or find someone to help with their babies because they might be too noisy in the classrooms, but not in the Mom Track!)

We are three of the teachers, but there will be several others there as well--people who have been planning all year to provide an opportunity for mothers to think, learn, and feel rejuvenated.  Saren is teaching three motherhood-related series, and Allyson and I are each teaching one youth series, and two "mom" series.

This conference is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and people of all religions are welcome to attend--the principles taught in the classes are applicable to everyone who wants to improve their lives and draw closer to God.

If you'd like to look at the main information page for the conference, click here.

They also have the whole schedule available online--you can print it out and plan which classes you'd like to attend.

Click here to see the entire schedule.

We hope to see you there!

Our June 2010 Power of Moms Retreat

My head is spinning after an amazing weekend at our Power of Moms Retreat.  I honestly don't know if it's possible to sum up everything I learned, felt, and experienced, but I at least want to post a few photos and share by biggest takeaways from this life-changing event.  I'm thoroughly sleep-deprived, but simultaneously ECSTATIC about the worldwide growth potential of this organization.  (I'm writing this as my two-year-old dances around me to a Barney cassette tape, so I can't guarantee complete coherence!)

We started out with some "Speed-Friendshipping" as our 30 participants arrived.  We switched parters every five minutes, and everyone received a little list of questions to help get to know one another in preparation for our discussion-rich classes.   

This was such a fun way to make fast friends.  I had a hard time holding back on the hugs.

Isn't it great to see moms relaxing and smiling together?

I think one of the best parts of a Retreat is not having to cook your own food.  Red Mountain Spa had some amazing gourmet food.  It was TOTALLY on the healthy side, so I'll admit I could have used a little more "comfort" food, but I lost a pound over the weekend, so that was a nice bonus.

I loved getting to see Saren, Shawni, and Linda together...they are incredible.  (During this photo shoot, Shawni was checking in on Lucy who was being babysat at Saren's house.)

Here's what our conference room looked like.  It had a nice, intimate feel, and we all took turns sharing our ideas, asking questions, etc.  LOVE these women.

Here's a photo of four of our five presenters: Me, Linda, Saren, and Allyson.  I feel incredibly privileged to know these women.

We played some games at night.  You know those crazy get-to-know-you games you played at camp when you were young?  Well, that's what we did.  I was giddy with excitement.  At one point, when we were all sitting in two rows, holding hands, playing "Lightning," I said, "Do you think there is another group of moms in the ENTIRE WORLD playing this game right now?  

It got a little dark, so it was kind of hard to see each other, and I think a few moms felt like we were holding them captive at the game night (sorry, ladies!), but overall, I think it bonded us together.  Here's half our group with Saren,

and here's the other half with me (sometimes we had to split up to make the games more manageable).  From left to right are Miken, Laura, Laurie, Tiffany, Lindsay, Aubrey, Mary, Me, Megan, Heather, Allyson, Erika, Amber, and Danielle.

Below is a photo I took of one of my favorite conversations this weekend.  These three darling girls are part of one of our Learning Circles in Arizona.  They told us how their group of 12 women gathers each month--having read the assigned article AND the suggested articles--and they stay on task, discuss how to improve as mothers, and provide an environment where they can all grow into the mothers and women they want to be.  I had to snap a photo because this means so much to us.  Learning Circles are 100% Saren's vision, and seeing them in action is beyond amazing.   If you haven't started one yet, we've got a summer special going on...sign up!

A few of us got up early in the morning and went walking on the Lava Loop trail.  St. George is absolutely gorgeous.  We all wish we could have stayed there a week so we could have enjoyed the outdoors a bit more.

Below is a photo of one of the best classes of the Retreat for me.  Saren, Shawni, and Linda (Eyre) taught us about Family Systems--how to help our children to behave, manage resources, and feel a strong family identity.  If you were to search the world for a team of women to teach on this topic, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone more qualified.  I've been a new mom in the 24 hours since I returned home (more on that later).

I need to do an entire post on what's going on with Mind Organization for Moms, as well.  I had the chance to teach the whole program to our group, and it turned out better than I imagined.  I can't wait to get this out to more moms across the world.

When the Retreat ended, I had the pleasure of hearing Mindy and Valerie sing a "Power of Moms Retreat" song Mindy wrote in honor of the event.  This great guitarrist was scheduled to play at the Red Mountain Spa restaurant that night, so he graciously accompanied them.  I'm in the process of uploading this to YouTube...I'll publish it as soon as I can!

As I was driving home with Allyson and Laurie, we were having such a great time discussing everything we learned that we didn't realize we were RUNNING OUT OF GAS!  Allyson literally coasted off the freeway, and we came to a stop 20 yards from a gas pump.  What are the odds?  As soon as we stopped the car, six men came running over and pushed us up to the pump.  Our heroes!

If you think you might like to attend our next Retreat (or one of the Retreats or Workshops put on by our new Power of Moms Trainers), please be sure to sign up for our newsletter.  It will be wonderful!  You'll return home feeling relaxed, motivated, and truly happy with your life.