Easter Greetings

Happy Easter! This is really my favorite day of the year. Ever since I spent Easter in Jerusalem in 1996, I can't celebrate Easter the same. It is real. I feel grief on Good Friday, I feel joy on Easter and I feel so GRATEFUL for my Savior.

This year the Easter Bunny brought me these three shiny Easter Eggs. I couldn't ask for anything sweeter.
Josh gave a great Family Home Evening lesson on the atonement last Monday which the boys really understood. I am so grateful for him and his love of the gospel and his involvement with our children.
Here's Sam with his bed-hair. He was the first to discover the baskets and had to go wake up Michael. The Easter Bunny had hidden more eggs around the house, which they found a little more easily than they did last year! They're getting so big!


We had the missionaries join us for dinner right after church which meant I had to make everything, including the pork roast, ahead of time. I reheated it when I got home and it was great. We ate two dozen rolls. The boys and I each had two so you do the math for how many that left for Josh and the two missionaries!


I had my first day in my new calling at church helping in the nursery. It's a big change from teaching Relief Society, but it's going to be sweet. The night before church I was bemoaning how big Sam's hands are getting. Flash forward to nursery the next day when I had the job of helping 16 little ones use hand sanitizing gel before snack time! I was in baby-hand heaven. A handsome two year old boy in a pin stripe suit took a fancy to me and led me around by the hand. It was a great day. When Anna is 18 months in the fall, she'll be in there with me and I'll get to help her make some little friends. It's actually very exciting! So, this is me with my sugar-high from the Easter cake, and the joy that He Is Risen and the feel of tiny hands in mine. Quite a day!

Also, here's Anna in her girly-girl clothes from Grandma and Grandpa. She has discovered her shiny church shoes and asks to wear them all the time.

Here she is in her skirt, pretty shoes, talking on the phone and playing with a measuring spoon and cup. I could eat her up!
She calls me Mom-mom, asks for Da-da all the time, and calls herself "Nana." Baby Nana is so fun to say it might just stick.

Then, today, Josh took the day off work and we drove 100 miles to see the BEACH!

We build a small, lame sandcastle and had fun watching the waves carry most of it out to sea. Michael raced right down to the water and put his feet in.
The boys dug in the sand and drew in it with sticks.

As I came around the corner with Anna in my arms, the ocean came into view. She pointed to it and excitedly said/ asked "That!?" She giggled and wiggled the whole time. I didn't think we'd stay two hours and I didn't think about the sun and she has a tiny sunburn but I'm sure it will be gone by morning.

Spring Fever

Spring has arrived and, once the rain stopped, we've been having lots of fun! Anna is just old enough to cope with missing a nap and can eat on the go much more easily than ever before so we've been able to be out a lot more. (Silent cheers!)


Our favorite friends to do things with are moving 30 miles away when the school year is over and we are already sad. The boys get along so well and the girls, well, they will learn to play together soon! I've read that it can be difficult to find friends for twins who can put up with the special relationship twins have, but this guy is so much fun he just jumps right on in or takes a step back and lets my guys work things out if they need to.


Michael keeps saying we have to move close to his friend's new house. Maybe in a year or two, but for now we're doing all we can together before it costs $25 in gas to make a round trip! Here they are at the Jelly Belly Factory for our tour.


Just thought you should know that we had green french toast and milk for breakfast on St. Patrick's Day. I gave a vague explanation of why we have this holiday and tried to brush it under the table since I don't really know. "He helped the people in Ireland and Ireland has a lot of green." I am SUCH a great teacher!


Sam loves helping Anna. He thinks of ways to help her and really makes a difference in helping her when I can't get to her right away. She gives him big hugs every morning.


I took a trip to Utah for a few days for a sister's weekend and only took three pictures! Here they are!

Anna with Great Grandpa -
Anna with Great-grandma Georgiana -


Anna watching "The Spoken Word" with Grandma. She sat still for at least 15 minutes watching and listening with Mom. It was so sweet. That's the dress mom bought her for Christmas. I didn't think she'd still fit in it but she did and it's a good thing since it was SNOWING there that morning!

Sam took this picture on Anna's birthday. I love this man. I don't know why he loves me sometimes but he assures me he does and I believe him and count my blessings.

Here is my future ballerina dancing at the lunch table the other day while the boys were at preschool. I danced around a little bit first and she clapped and clapped and waived her arms around like a real ballerina. I about died of joy right there! So I got out the camera and this is what I caught - enjoy!

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The Birthday Girl

Our baby Anna had a birthday! I think she knew it was a special day. She was extra happy, even for such a happy baby. She giggled and patted my back and gave me extra hugs all day long. Do you think she knew it was one year since she came to earth to join our family?

We had a simple family party at home. I made her "favorite" dinner and she really did eat it up. Porcupine meatballs, mashed potatoes, and peas. She was pretty tired by the time we brought out the cake and wanted to get out of her seat by then, but one taste of that chocolate whipped cream and she knew something good was coming.


She read her birthday cards like a genius baby.

And loved her new girl toys!
She's been cruising around the furniture but in this video she pushes this Princess bike and takes her first steps moving forward!

She is such a joy to us all. She reminds us to be happy every day. Even when she's sick or tired, she is still patient and can give us a sweet smile. We all love her and can't imagine our family without her.

She was worth waiting for!

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