Easter Fail!

I love the Easter season and I've always tried to make it a special time at our house. I want our family to find ways to focus on the life and resurrection of our Savior, but I also love celebrating with eggs, Easter baskets and candy. The way I see it, all those "fun" things are just symbols of something even more joyful and exciting.

The Easter bunny always hides the kids' baskets and they have to search all over the house. This year the bunny had especially good taste and included books along with the ridiculous amounts of candy. Here are links for some great Easter books. Choose your category: Nephite, Restoration, First Easter, Isaiah, Easter ideas

Sorry, for going off on a book tangent. I just couldn't resist!

We also had a great time trying some of Martha Stewart's egg dying techniques. Here is a "cracked" egg I made. It gave me a good chance to develop my patience as I cut a jagged edge out of sticky electrical tape using little tiny scissors.

Another new project this year was making a garden tomb. Marianne has more wonderful pictures on her blog and a link to the creative friends who inspired us. It was exciting to get up on Easter morning and find the stone rolled away. The next day, the little buds you see just above the stone, surprised us by bursting into bloom. Special thanks to my sister who forgave us for visiting their yard while they were gone and digging up some moss for our garden.

Now for our Easter disaster. . .

I really wanted to have a seder dinner with my family this year. My younger kids can hardly remember the last time, so I decided to celebrate Passover during Family Home Evening the day after Easter. Unfortunately, I had trouble with my grocery list.

Grape juice - check!
Green herbs - check!
Roasted eggs - hey we can use the ones we dyed!
Lamb bone - umm, why don't we just use a breadstick
Matzah - totally forgot

I am embarrassed to admit that instead of kosher unleavened bread, we used ritz crackers. Without the lamb bone and the Matzah I probably should have abandoned the whole idea, but I persevered. I got out my almonds, apples and cinnamon and set to work making the haroset. My blender gave me a bit of trouble, but it was finally finished. A quick taste confirmed it was delicious!


As our Passover dinner proceeded, things were going well. We lit the candles, recited scriptures and sang songs. We sampled the haroset and herbs. Then I noticed that the haroset looked a bit gray. Upon closer inspection I found that there seemed to be little gray things rising to the top the of bowl. What was going on?!

When Aaron spit out pieces of rubber, I suddenly realized why my blender hadn't worked very well.. The rubber sealing ring at the base had gotten caught on one of the blades and was chopped up along with the haroset.

Uggghh! I guess it's a good thing we're not Jewish.

April Fool's

As a child, I LOVED April 1st. Mainly because it gave me permission to play jokes on my brother Scott. I was a very rules-oriented kid. I wasn't a practical joker because that usually involved lying or breaking some kind of rule. But on April Fool's Day, it was okay. In fact, you were SUPPOSED to fool people.

So, I spent every March 31st planning a prank. One year I "sent" him a package from Hawaii with nothing but bricks inside. Another year I fooled with his favorite condiment, cinnamon sugar. I planned to add pepper to the mix, but the pepper spilled all over me and I ended up sneezing for about 20 minutes! One year we had friends visiting and we planned an elaborate hoax on our moms. Our story was that one of the kids had been climbing on the swing set and fell from the top. We had the "injured" child scream and then lay down "unconscious" on the ground. The rest of us acted really upset and someone ran to get the moms. We considered using fake blood as ketchup, but decided against it. Our trick was a huge success, except for the fact that our mothers didn't quite see the humor in it.

A few years ago, I made meatloaf cupcakes and pound cake "cheese" sandwiches. It was fun, but it didn't really fool anyone. One year Marianne put a raisin in the toothpaste tube and it was quite a "gross out" to Evan. My brother Jason once sent us an ultrasound picture announcing that they were pregnant. We were all impressed with his mad photoshop skills, but none of really believed him.

I guess I need to plan ahead and come up with something to make next April Fool's Day really memorable. Any ideas?

What is your favorite April Fool's trick?

Answers

When I got home from my hike this morning, Marianne let me know that my "Guess Who" post was confusing. That's what happens when I write late at night! So without any further confusion (hopefully!) here are the answers.

1. is totally into watching Gilligan's Island online?
It all started when Evan was assigned the Gilligan's Island theme song as one of his piano pieces. He'd only seen a couple of episodes and he wanted more! TV Land didn't have what he was looking for, but a google search brought up several good alternatives. Last night I went upstairs to find all 3 kids on my bed watching those crazy castaways on my laptop.

2. practiced his/her instrument beautifully and without complaint?
Marianne often needs a little, shall we say "encouragement" to practice her flute. But yesterday she was ready to go with such a positive attitude. Her happy, upbeat spirit really came through in the beautiful music she played. I love listening to her!

3. loved the No-bake cookies we made for FHE?
All 3 kids! After all, who doesn't love no-bake cookies? (And my peanut butter hating sister doesn't count!)

4. begged to have his/her back scratched?
Here's my confession: I like getting backrubs, but I HATE giving them. I feel guilty about it, so I try to be loving, but my heart really isn't in it. My kids usually turn to dad for a good back rub. For some reason after FHE, everyone wanted their back scratched and John was busy doing the taxes. So I did it cheerfully. Aren't you proud of me?

5. is totally into bird watching and looking up birds in the field guide?
100% Evan. He carries the field guide with him everywhere and he's been listening to bird calls on line. He even likes to give me quizzes about various birds. Aaron asked him if he wants to become an ornithologist. Now there's a good vocabulary word!

6. read the entire New Era cover to cover?
Well, it was Aaron, but only because it earned him seminary makeups. Did you see that the April issue is totally focused on dating?

7. gobbled up a Chipotle burrito and then wasn't hungry for dinner?
Once again, Aaron. He doesn't eat much fast food, but he LOVES Chipotle.

Can you guess who is waiting for me to finish this post so we can go to bed? Good night!

Can You Guess?

Which one of my children . . .

1. is totally into watching Gilligan's Island online?

2. practiced his/her instrument beautifully and without complaint?

3. loved the No-bake cookies we made for FHE?

4. begged to have his/her back scratched?

5. is totally into bird watching and looking up birds in the field guide?

6. read the entire New Era cover to cover?

7. gobbled up a Chipotle burrito and then wasn't hungry for dinner?

To make it easier, I've only included my 3 youngest kids. Your choices are: Aaron, Marianne, Evan or all of the above.

Recycling or How to Avoid Practicing the Piano

Not quite as exciting as bubble wrap,
but lots more fun than styrofoam peanuts.
I'll have to send a thank you note to the
BYU Bookstore for sending these
along with the books I ordered.

Out With The Old

It's time to change out the quotes on my sidebar. I hope you'll enjoy the new ones I've added! But since the old ones are truly some of my "all time" favorites, I want to post them one last time and share my thoughts about them.

First are a couple of quotations about service. The one by Martin Luther King Jr. is one I have memorized and is probably my #1 favorite quote!

"One of the most beautiful compensations in life is that no person can help another without helping themselves" ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Everyone has the power for greatness, not fame but for greatness, because greatness is determined by service. " ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

I must have a lot to learn about leadership because I keep getting leadership opportunities along the path of my life. These three quotes by LDS leaders inspire me to be a better and stronger.

". . . these are the days in which a true leader wants to live. These are days when opportunities to change lives and even destinies are nearly endless. You were born to lead, and, in the words of Isaiah, you were born for glory (see Isaiah 62:2–3)." ~ Sheri Dew

"The leaders who have the most influence are usually those who set hearts afire with devotion to the truth, who make obedience to duty seem the essence of manhood, who transform some ordinary routine occurrence so that it becomes a vista where we see the person we aspire to be." ~ Thomas S. Monson

The tilt of your soul now can further shape all the days that follow! If you become too insulated, too encrusted, too self-contained, too self-concerned, those patterns will end up constraining you like invisible barriers and borders in the days and years ahead. Stretch. Reach for that kind of developmental discipleship that will take you beyond where you thought you could go. ~ Neal A. Maxwell

Next is my favorite quotes to share with youth. I wish that every young man and woman realized that NOW is the time to prepare for the mission God has planned for him or her!

"To every man there comes a time…, that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a special thing, unique to him and fitted to his talent. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour." ~Winston Churchill

Finally, here are a couple of short quotes that make me smile!

"The world is but canvas to our imaginations." ~Thoreau

"If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want." ~ Oscar Wilde

What is your favorite quote? I'd love to add to my collection.

Absolutely Nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day

Yesterday I finished Wallace Stegner's Angle of Respose and it got me thinking about marriage, love and Visiting Teaching.

Years ago, I visited a young woman about my age. She was the mother of 4 little girls and each one had a different father. But things were looking up. She had a temple marriage with her 3rd husband. He was a great guy and they were active in the church. He was a good father to the girls and you never would have guessed that only one of them was "his".

Then one day she shared some concerns with me. Her husband didn't seem as attentive as usual and she thought something was wrong. Then she leaned in close and said knowingly, "Sometimes he doesn't even put his arm around me during the night."

I just sat there blinking and trying to think of something to say. I had only been married a few years and I didn't feel qualified to give marital advice. Besides, there were lots of nights when my husband slept with his back to me! I tried to reassure her that everything would be okay, but she seemed to have convinced herself that her marriage was over. It wasn't too surprising that a year later, it was.

Around the same time I visited a lovely young woman who was a recent convert. She and her "husband" had been together for years and had 3 children, but they weren't actually married until just before her baptism. The bishop had married them, but then she'd never turned in the paperwork to the state, because then she couldn't get welfare benefits. Her husband was a truck driver and was gone much of the time. One day she tearfully confessed that she was worried about her husband. I felt relieved because this time I had an older companion with me. Unfortunately, my relief turned to horror as my companion began asking many prying questions and encouraged her to share the gory details and evidence of her husband's infidelity. I made excuses about the time and quickly got my companion out the door while giving the sister a quick hug.

My visiting teaching assignment was changed soon afterward, but the woman quietly told me her husband was repentant and she was willing to forgive him. The family was still happily together several years later when they moved from the area and I received Christmas cards from them for a number of years.

I had forgotten about these "exciting" visiting teaching visits, until I read Angle of Repose. I expected historical fiction. Instead, I encountered a tragedy. I like tragedies because they make me think. They keep me awake at night, wondering.

Angle of Repose, like any good tragedy, left me with a bunch of unanswered questions. Why does one marriage fail when another remains strong? Why are some people able to forgive serious betrayals, while others can't live with minor inconsistencies? Why does one couple divorce on a whim, while another couple chooses to live parallel lives in a loveless marriage?

I certainly don't have all the answers, nor do I want to give marital advice. But I do have a few thoughts, and hopefully I've learned a little bit in nearly 23 years of marriage.

1. Every marriage is the union of two flawed and imperfect people.
2. An enduring marriage is an exercise in forgiveness.
3. Communion is the secret ingredient in a happy marriage.

What is communion? It's more than I can possibly list in a blog post: sweet memories, photo albums, laughter, teasing, a weekend getaway, kisses, planning a trip together, going to the temple . . .

Truman Madsen describes communion as being much more than communication. He says, "being soul to soul, even for brief time, goes a long way. A taste is quite enough to put a new color on the world; make the drudgery worth it and still worth it. Memory and anticipation merge in your consciousness. It is amazing how much else you can lack or never get around to; how little else you actually need. It keeps the ship of marriage afloat and moving. But I submit that if this is lacking (or as it lags or slumps toward zero), the oil of gladness is gone. The frictions groan and stick and jam up, and then words are quiet impotent."

As my husband likes to say, he's not a man of many words, but fortunately he's really good at forgiveness and communion.