Easter Weekend

Today there's thunder, and hail, and the wind chimes are just a-chimin', but this past weekend the weather was nice. Ethan and Missy and the three Adorables came a-visitin'. They started off Saturday with an outing to a fun play center, which was followed by an excursion to Jason and Brianna's house. Brooklyn and Lilly painted Brianna's fingernails, and mine too, and everyone admired Brianna's bright and cheerful decorating choices. She's bold, painting some of the living room walls orange, and they really pop. (Haha, I got to use a decorating term I'm always hearing or reading.) They joined us next at Flying Pie Pizza on State Street, and Colin and Macey rode over on their motorcycle as well. Then we all piled into or onto our vehicles and went to Aspen Leaf Frozen Yogurt, a new business in town that Jason and Brianna recently discovered. They have 20 flavors of yogurt and 75 toppings. mmmmmmm, wonderful! After that, we trekked back to the parking lot for a few pictures. I enjoyed posing in my new Easter Bonnie costume. Dan stayed far, far away, not wanting to be seen with me thus attired, but he actually called from work today and asked me to email him the picture, so it must not have been too too bad. My friend Joyce made a purple vest and a green bow tie with pink polka dots for me to wear over pink pants and hoodie, all finished off with a pair of white gloves, a set of bunny ears and a fluffy tail. The little ones also wore bunny ears and tails for the Easter egg hunt, which was next on our list of fun things to do. Well, after they dyed a few colorful Easter eggs, that is. Then we invaded Colin and Macey's place for 15 or 20 minutes, just checking out how they were settling into their new apartment. Chic and cozy, I'd say. This has to be a record We then dined at our third restaurant of the day! Missy tried out fish tacos, and was underwhelmed with them just as I had been when I tried them for the first, and probably the last, time. I ordered something really crazy (must have been influence by my bunny impersonation earlier in the day), fried dill pickles. They were interesting, but I won't be ordering them a second time. Still, it's fun to assuage one's curiosity from time to time, although it goes to show that you just can't believe all the hype all the time. Dan and Ethan and the kids stuck with the tried and true. Where's that sense of adventure guys are purported to possess? :) Last of all, we (well, I guess I mean THEY) watched Toy Story 3. I snoozed.. It was a long and happy day.





We heard talks by Elders Ballard and Uchtdorf at stake conference the next morning, had a nice Easter hamm dinner, and Ethan and Missy picked up and packed up and drove away till next time. Thank you for coming, dear family! If you enjoyed it half as much as we did, it was worth your long drive. I made an Easter dish garden which I wanted to talk about with the kids, but things were so fast-paced that I never fit it in. Maybe next time. I found instructions for the garden online. When I first started working on it, I asked Colin to guess what it was. He guessed a hobbit house, which was sort of a fun surprise to me as I hadn't thought of the similarities until then. I was quite pleased with it before long, as I made little improvements on it here and there. I used a terra cotta 12-inch shallow dish for the container, and used potting soil to cover a 4-inch pot which I turned on its side for the garden tomb or sepulchre. On the small pot, I placed soil and wheat grass that I'd grown in separate pots, planted little Johnny jump-ups on one side, and placed rocks to simulate steps going up a hillside. My bunny vest- and-bow tie-making friend, Joyce, gave me a tiny frog, duck, and dove to add to the garden scene. I thought about the resurrection a lot, while I tried to figure out how to explain it in a way that would help a child feel the wonder of it, surpassing all the bunnies and ducks and candy the world has to offer. I am so grateful for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, opening the way for us all to receive this enormous blessing. If anyone wants to hear more about adding more meaning to the Easter celebration, let me know. I'll be happy to share some things I've come across and thought of this year.

A Truly Beautiful and Joyous Wedding

Two strong families came together on March 25th, to show their love and support for the creation of the new, strong, young family of Colin and Macey Washburn. It was one of the most joyous and blessed events I've ever been privileged to be part of. So many wonderful people joined forces, sharing their collective wisdom and talents, to see that it all came to pass. Thank you all so much! You know who you are, and you know we love you! Right? Right. It was fun to stand in the reception line and shake hands with so many friends of Colin's and Macey's, too. It may have been hard on the feet, but it was certainly easy on the heart. I loved every minute of it!

Greg is the last to leave for home, which means he's the one who's been drafted into posting-pictures-on-the-blog duty. Thanks, Greg. And thank you again, all you friends and family for everything from the bells, to the chocolate-dipped strawberries, pictures, videos, help with shopping for food and for clothing, for your advice and/or suggestions, for rides and flights, and so much more. And that's just the Washburn side of it. I know Macey's friends and family have a long list of kindnesses of their own for which we're all grateful. And now for a few of those pics. See if you can spot Shane anywhere. He was there, arrayed in full cardboard.

Moving Day

Pretty exciting happenings around here! It has been so much fun watching Colin and Macey preparing for their upcoming marriage. Today, they're moving furniture and other belongings into the apartment they'll soon be sharing. We're just so hhappy for them! Macey is absolutely adorable, and her family thinks just as highly of Colin. Having most of our family arriving to celebrate this momentous occasion, only adds to the joy. Sometimes it seems incongruous to feel so wonderful when I know there are so many people who are suffering. But I have to remind myself that during my time of greatest trial, life still went on for others, and that was as it should be. I know I will never be completely oblivious to the trials of others, though. All those affected by the earthquake, and tsunami, and the looming nuclear disaster in Japan are in my thoughts and prayers. When I enter the temple tonight, and next Friday, I will be conscious of the fact that others are in less desirable places, such as clinics, hospitals, etc., and I will be praying for them. Rejoice when you can, and pray always.

So, here's a good laugh Greg sent me recently. It's an account of a road trip we took from our home to visit my sister Becky. He wrote:
"Anyways, I am thinking it is story time right about now. Today I shall tell you about an incident that occurred on a family vacation when I was at the tender age of 13 years old. We were driving from Washington State to Los Angeles and we elected to take many of the scenic coastal byways through Oregon and California. In the back of our minivan we had a little bed set up where we would rotate who got to lie down and take a little nap as we drove. Somewhere in northern California, it was once again my turn to lie down and relax. I was pretty tired by this time as we had been on the road the entire previous day. It didn't take long for my eyes to grow heavy as I was hypnotized by the drone of the tires on asphalt. As the minivan swayed back and forth, I could feel myself slipping deeper and deeper into sleep, and I began to dream. :) In my dream, there was a very warm and soothing mist that danced back and forth across my face. I snuggled my pillow tighter as I enjoyed this luxurious sensation. My mind began to wonder and question from where came this spa-like treatment? Finally it was too much, and I awoke. To my surprise, the side of my face was indeed moist!! I sat up quickly and this is when everything became all too clear.....there was my mother, dumping a cupful of my 3 year old brothers urine out the window, which was then misting me through the open side vent :/ Lets just say I didn't attempt to get any more sleep hehe :) "
It's an account all right, but not a true one. He wasn't 13, and his brother wasn't 3. Aside from being a little off on their ages, I have to admit that it is pretty near to the truth. Hmmm, I look forward to hearing what stories our sons will be swapping this time next weekend.

Valentine from Heaven

Since Jordan died, I've found myself wishing, and even praying, that I'd dream about him, so that I could hear his voice and feel his personality again for awhile. Not being much of a night-dreamer, it's not too surprising that it hasn't happened. But last night as I went off to bed, I asked Dan to set the alarm clock for 6AM, so that I'd have a little extra time to put a few finishing touches on my Primary lesson. then I changed my mind and upped that to 5AM. I am so glad he didn't hear me and set it for 6 as I'd originally asked. Because, this morning, I dreamed of Jordan! I dreamed I was sitting on the loveseat, talking on the phone with Carol Cornwall, a friend of long ago that I recently reconected with, and just as she was telling me some really interesting news, the front door opened, and in came Jordan, just as if he'd been doing it every day without any interruption. My heart swelled with joy, I let the phone fall from my hand onto the loveseat without signing off or anything, and cried, "Jordan! Where have you been?!" He answered just as calm as you please, saying,, "Oh, I've been around for about a month and a half," as he walked across the room to look at something or pick up the mail or something. It was all so natural and so low-key. Low-key for him, but exhilarating for me! I ran across the room and threw my arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. I gave a long, loud, wordless, shout of joy. Dan hurried into the living room to see what was going on, and then, then I woke up. It was the best dream I have ever had, that's for sure. I checked the time, and it was 3 minutes before 6AM. Oh! if I'd risen earlier, I might have missed my wonderful valentine from heaven.

Dan was such a huge help to me yesterday as we prepared for our family Valentine's Day dinner. He made radish roses, halved and scooped out, and filled the twice-baked potatoes, helped with flattening and rolling up the chicken and cranberry filling, divided the Nutella mousse into the cups, etc. Not used to being so involved, he asked, "Why are you so needy today?" I told him that I'm always needy, but that in recent years Colin or Shane or Brianna were around to be my assistants. Now our household has dwindled down to the point that he's my one and only right hand man. And he came through with flying colors. A good meal, and a good time, was had by all. :D

Today's Primary lesson went well, too. Skylar, Makhyla, Andrew, and Nathan were elsewhere, but Kylie and I had a great class on dodging temptation with Ally, Connor, Doug, Lauren, Madison, Phoebe, Marinda, and Allie. Primary can truly bless lives. I know, because it has blessed mine.

Chocolate Mousse on the Loose

Last year at this time, it was all about red velvet cupcakes. But this year, it's chocolate mousse and chocolate dipped strawberries, heart-shaped cherry chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, cheese zombies, chicken rolls with cranberry filling, twice baked potatoes, a yet-to-be-determined salad and vegetables, and dodge ball that are on my mind. You can tell I'm slightly carb deprived, huh. But it's been worth it, because I'm down about 30 pounds in the last couple of months. Yay me! A wedding is a great motivator. We started a new tradition in January, something my sister Julie's done for years, getting together for an extended family dinner once a month. That doesn't meanit lasts a long time, it just means that Brianna and Jason, and Colin and Macey join us for a special meal so that we can catch up on what's going on in each other's lives. We had Thanksgiving dinner together, and Christmas dinner (Greg and the kids were here for that one). Then Brianna and Jason hosted the four of us for dinner at their cute house, which led us to setting up our shiny new tradition. I love searching out new recipes to try, and I love our special guests, so it's a win win. I made the chocolate mousse last June when we had everyone over for an after-cruise dinner (everyone except Macey, she wasn't on the scene then). It was a success, so it's making another appearance for our Valentine dinner, but this time I'm serving it in some cute little heart-shaped teacups found on Amazon.com. Teacup-sized servings will leave plenty to share with my good friend,, Pam, who's just now beginning a grueling journey to defeat a very aggressive form of breast cancer. Surgery was last Friday, first chemo is this Friday. Sending lots of prayers and love out for Pam and Ally, her 11-year-old niece she's raised since infancy, who's in my Primary class.
Speaking of Primary class, that's where the heart-shaped cherry chocolate chip cookies and dodge ball come in to play. I'll see if my new cookie cutters permit me to shape the cookies like I'm hoping they will, to hand out as one of our rare treats in Primary. I don't think it's wise to give treats on a regular basis. But for Valentine's Day, yes, it's a go! Before treats though, we'll be talking about the 40 days Christ spent in the wilderness, fasting and communing with Heavenly Father, and then how Satan came and tried to tempt Him multiple times, and how He recognized and resisted every one of them. . There's nothing like a nice reverent game of dodge ball to simulate the barrage of temptations the adversary constantly throws at us, and to show how necessary it is to be on guard against his wiles at all times, with a strong defense in place to dodge them. Three generations on earth have taught me how very important it is to have a clear understanding of these things, and how hard it is when that understanding is lacking. I am praying the Holy Ghost teaches each child how to resist Satan's temptations, and permanently impresses it in their hearts and minds, this very Sunday.

"For of such is the kingdom of heaven"

Eight-year-old Tori surprised Dan and me with a very special note she wrote for us of her own accord during her visit last week. It's such a heart-melter that I had to share it. After all, "if any thing is virtuous, or lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy" it should be passed along in order to make our lives, and maybe even the world, more beautiful.

Christmas Babies! and Christmas Fun

Greg, along with Tori, Juli, and Christian, arrived on Wednesday to celebrate Christmas with us. While Dan and Colin were still working on Thursday, the four of us betook ourselves to the movies to see Tangled. We gave it 5 stars. Then Greg and the munchkins spent a couple of hours at Planet Kid for some active fun after the previous day's looong drive from Denver. Santa surprised us all by coming a day early, on Friday! Hey, but we're all good sports, we just went with it, and enjoyed it to the max. It's been a regular fashion show ever since, what with the cool costumes Aunt Julie and cousin Liz made for the kids. We've got everything from a dinosaur, to a flamenco dancer, a fancy pettiskirted or kimono clad girl, and a fairy, to a super hero apt to show up for meals. Right now, Christian is doing gymnastics for Colin and Macey, while Grandpa, Greg, and the girls, and Jason and Brianna are playing board games in the next room. I'm telling you, these little ones rarely stop moving!

We had a yummy fiesta for dinner today, and I think the star was the appetizer, penguins in the snow, that I asked Brianna and Jason to make. Such cute little guys, and tasty too.

But the biggest surprised of all came from Neil and Penny! Their little twins, due in Feb., but expected to arrive in late January, were born today! I guess they just didn't want to miss Christmas this year. Their little son, McKay Lancaster was born at 4:51PM, weighing in at 4 lb 10 oz. And his sister, McKenna Tecla was born 8 minutes later, and weighed 4 lb. 9 oz. Prayers for a safe delivery were answered, and happy tears of gratitude shed. Dan and I now have 11 grandblessings to love.

It was wonderful to be able to talk to Shane, in faraway Queens New York this morning, too. This old year has been a very happy one, with much happiness expected to come ringing and winging in with the new. Many thanks to a kind Heavenly Father are in order, and to our loving and caring family and friends!