A More Christ-Centered Easter

After Dalanie prayed for the Easter Bunny, I decided it was a good time to revamp our traditions to make things more Christ-centered. The Easter Bunny actually came Friday night and left a note:

There seems to be confusion why we have Easter every year.

People see baskets and bunnies and think that Easter time is near.

But you cannot find the reason in the toy and candy store.

It comes from thinking about our Savior, Jesus Christ, a little more.

My early visit might have come as a big surprise to some.

I just don’t want to distract from the real meaning when I come.

We’ll find the eggs and look in our baskets, get that all out of the way.

So tomorrow we can focus on the real meaning of the resurrection day.

-The Easter Bunny

Saturday morning we enjoyed some egg hunts and spent most of the day outside working in the beautiful sunshine. Before bed the kids helped me make these Easter cookies. They provided a great opportunity for discussion.
Besides church and the usual Easter dinner, Grandma Hillman put a twist to her famous egg hunt. She hid one final egg and the 'finder' got to give us all one last prize. Hudson was pretty excited to find the special egg. Once Grandma explained that he got to share the story of Easter, he turned more somber. He considered it an honor to share about Christ's death and resurrection. He ended with his own testimony of Jesus Christ.

I was grateful for the little changes that we made in our traditions and felt like the kids were able to understand why we celebrate Easter.

You might notice a trend in Ruby's pictures.

In Home Check-Ups

The kids noticed these fancy dental kits at the [dollar] store and begged to bring them home. We've been enjoying free, in-home checkups nightly. I'm no hygienists, but the brushing seems to be improving.
Some may have good dental coverage but for those of us not so fortunate, you can enjoy the comforts of your bed while mom looks over your pearly whites.

I'm looking at dremel tools in a whole new light. ;)

Bubbles

At our house, bubbles can only be blown outside or in the bathtub.

Wet hands are great for catching bubbles.

Artistas

The kids and I hung out in Logan this past weekend. Nik and I employed our most clever mothering strategies [read: fed our children plenty of goldfish and popcorn in front of the tv] to keep the kids at bay so we could pretend to be artists.

It was a therapeutic weekend of mixed media art. And totally worth the mess.

Art Class

We've been trying to brighten things up indoors and keep the kids stimulated. Here are a few of our latest projects.

Jelly Bean Rainbows

Crepe paper daffodils

Bean & Noodle Art

artwork here

Lessons Learned

It's hard to believe we've lived in our house for four years now. After a recent game of hide and seek, I realized that we're still learning things about this house.

Like that for some reason there was fishing line and a hook that found me while I was trying to hide in our master closet.

And this same enormous closet held a 1917 Remington bayonet. The kids thought we had found the treasure and begged to keep it. But we returned it to the rightful owner who reminisced about the gifted WWI treasure.

Or that there's good reason why the wood stove in the basement was abandoned long ago. At least we know a few issues need to be addressed before we try lighting another fire and smoking ourselves out.

And that the hole in the wall was not the first and possibly not the last. I'm crossing my fingers though because I finally got it patched.

Quirks and all, I love the feeling of being home. Within it's walls there is safety and security, love and forgiveness.

Symbiotic Relationship

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Hudson is really caught up in animal trivia. His days revolve around 4:00 and Wild Kratts, well and reading and planets. He loves to report his findings for the days. The other day he came bouncing down the stairs blurting out his favorite question.

"Guess-a what Mom!?"

"Rhinos have a bird that eats bugs off of them, the Oxpecker. It's a SYMBIOTIC relationship." Feeling very mature with the use of his new word.

Acting very impressed but a bit threatened by his knowledge, I added "they help each other. Just like you help me. . . I help you. We have a symbiotic relationship."

ABC's of Spring Break

We experienced a lot this week: snow, warmth, work and play. So here's an ABC recap of the week.

Arcade. We hardly ever go to an arcade, much less spend money at one. So Dalanie was pretty excited about all of the tickets I won for her. The hardest part was trying to decide what to cash in her tickets on.
Bee Supply Store. I've got a little work assembling my frames and boxes before I'll 'bee' ready for the arrival of my bees. The kids and I are pretty excited.

Conference Center. When inside the impressive assembly hall Hudson reverently said, "If we wait here for a few more days, we could see the prophet. I'm sure he'd like to talk to us." Unfortunately we weren't able to hang out until conference, but we enjoyed the magnificent building.

On top of the roof.

Dressing up and Driving at Discovery Gateway. The grocery store was the favorite exhibit.

Enjoying the beauty of Temple Square. Only the bulbs around heat vents were blooming, but the grounds were immaculate.
Flow Rider. Fun but brutal. Hudson ate it up though.

Grins & Fins water park. Now the kids are ready to set up the pool and start swimming lessons. Ruby is fearless and would be independent. I played lifeguard.
Hubble iMax. The boys were fascinated. We brought a spaceship with named telescope home with us.

i fly. Flying without the horrid falling sensation. I give it two thumbs up.


Jumping on hotel beds.

Kite flying.

Little Caesars on the go.

Mayan. The entertainment was definitely better than the food.
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Octopus at the Living Aquarium.

Peanut Butter sandwiches were Ruby's staple. That girl will not eat at a restaurant.
Quality family time.

Rock climbing.
Snowmen and sledding in fresh snow on Monday.
Trax.

Undoing and re-doing meters. Brent's been really busy with Precision Planting. We all got to help out. The kid's favorite job is spraying out the meters. (It might be because they get to wear safety glasses.)

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Wind. Enough wind to make up for X, Y, and Z.