Sister Share - February Sisters' Weekend 2017

We had a super weekend with six sisters sharing ideas and fun stories. We are all in this together and it’s insightful to learn from each other. Here are a few questions we asked and answered together.

Question: How do you plan together as a couple?

Lindsey: Keep it to an hour or less!

Katie: My stake president suggested that every meeting should be 1/3 gospel study, 1/3 stewardship ministering discussion, 1/3 planning. Katie and Andrew have tried beginning their weekly planning meeting with gospel study and find that by the time they get to the detail planning most of their schedules are worked out and they’ve made more ground than if they spent the whole hour just talking about budgets and details.

Nettie: When we find ourselves strapped for time and still need to plan, we alternate taking turns and choosing which topics are most urgent to discuss. For example, I might start by choosing to discuss a concern with one child, then Mark might choose his upcoming travel plans for our next topic, then I might choose to discuss our family night that week, etc. In this way we prioritize the most urgent items before our time is up! Never ever try to discuss anything after 10:30pm!

Heidi: Call it Quick Sync.

Katie: Call it Companionship Inventory

Question: What are some good ideas for managing the dance dresses our daughters will all inevitably need?

Heidi: Mama always bought us our first dress and then we bought or borrowed the rest.

Lindsey: My grandma always helped me sew my dresses. It made me feel special that my parents would let me drive alone to my Grandma’s house in Bountiful and it was a wonderful bonding time with my grandma. I also learned to sew.

Nettie: Mariah has left several dance dresses in our closet for cousins to borrow.

Katie: I have several dance dresses as well.

Idea: If everyone will share photos of the dresses they have on the Family Share page, then the cousins can look and borrow what they need.

Question: What is a good way to bring up concerns with your spouse so they don’t feel attacked or defensive?

Nettie: Never discuss anything after 10:30pm.

Mamie: Remember Queen Esther. Before approaching her husband she fasted and prayed. Then she made sure there was good food involved, and didn’t even bring up her concern at first. She waited until the right moment. Never have a conversation with a hungry husband.

Heidi: Tell your spouse you have a concern and rate how much it may hurt them: 1 being not much to 10 being quite hurtful. Write your concerns down and put them in an email. Then in the subject line tell your spouse this is a concern I’m bringing up. Read it sometime in the next 24 hours when you feel ready.

Question: How can we encourage good Relief Society lessons with real gospel content that are not just "opinionated discussions."

Katie: I try to comment with scriptures that are actually from that lesson, bringing the discussion away from opinion and back to the actual lesson.

Nettie: The new course, "Teaching in the Savior's Way" actually has Teach the Doctrine as the 3rd point. Sometimes people get so caught up on "love the students" and "teach by the Spirit" that they leave out the doctrine. We can gently refer to that principle and remind other teachers during the course that doctrine is still part of teaching.

Heidi: When teaching, ask the sisters to share briefly with each other, then have a few sisters share what they learned from their partner (not their own story).

Question: How do you manage a ward Primary?

Idea: One key is to make sure your counselor over Cub Scouting is carrying that entire burden. As the Primary president you should just worry about the Eleven-Year-Old Scouts. Also, when there are several opinions in the presidency, it's ok for the president to just make the call about which way to go and then move ahead. Again, keep meetings to an hour.

Question: How do you keep a hungry husband fed?

Ideas: See the Hunsaker Homestead Facebook page!

Favorite Chick Flicks

Lindsey: Wives and Daughters, North and South, Persuasion

Nettie: Goodbye Mr. Chips (Both the 1930s and 1960s versions are great, but my favorite is the 1960s with Peter O’Toole and Petula Clark), Shadowlands

Mamie: War Room (Same producers as Fire Proof)

Becca: Charley, Shadowlands

Heidi: Emma (With Gwen Paltrow)

Katie: North and South, the new Annie, the new Saturday’s Warrior

Favorite Phone Apps

Nettie: Chatbooks (make $8 photo books with all your favorite photos, great company based out of Provo, easy to print and store your photos and kids love looking at them) PhotoGrid (put up to 12 photos on one page in a 1-minute easy app that lets you quickly choose layout, backgrounds, text)

Katie and Heidi: Every Dollar (use as a couple on your individual phones to keep track of your purchases) Capitol One 360 (online bank that lets you have a ton of sub-accounts [taxes, vacation, car insurance] and then get auto transfers into each category)

Heidi: I’m Expecting (gives you weekly updates on how you and your baby should be doing)

Lindsey: Google Keep (Helps you take notes and make lists in an organized manner and then save them onto the web and access them anywhere. Great for grocery lists, church notes, etc.)

Foreign Language App Duolingo is free and great for learning and practicing a foreign language.

Miscellaneous

Lindsey: If you get your glasses prescription from your optomistrist you can order cheap glasses online at Zenni.com

Question: What should you do if your children’s teachers celebrate the 100^th day of school!

Becca: Think of 100 things you would rather do with your time. Explain to your children why their classes celebrate the 100^th day of school on two different days, even though they go to the same school. J