Easter 2023

These guys had fun dying Easter Eggs.

Wyatt and Hallee were up early on Sunday morning so we let them find their Easter baskets.

Hallee was excited when she saw the big sloth in the closet.

I think they were both pretty happy with their baskets.

Hallee and I saw these Dr. Pepper peeps when we were shopping and we knew that we had to get them for Wyatt.

After they found their baskets we let Hallee and Wyatt find their money eggs.  

Caitlyn had enough time before church to find her basket. She was excited for more painting supplies.

Hallee and I have been shopping for a new dress for her performance in May.  We found this cute one and she wore it on Easter.  She was excited to have a new dress and sandals for Easter.

We had time for a few family selfies before church.  I love how they turned out.

I'm not sure why I was giving Jonah this look, ha! They only held sacrament meeting on Easter.  It was a very Christ centered service.  I love Easter. I love focusing on Christ and all He has done for us.  I love the symbolism in spring time of new life.  This winter has been so long and so dreary, that it made Easter all the more exciting and symbolic.  Darkness will always give way to light because of Christ, but sometimes it feels like the darkness sticks around for a long time! I'm so grateful that we can always find Hope in Christ. 

Jonah found his Easter basket after church.

We all played games together which makes me so happy.  We taught the kids a new game that Paul had taught us.  It is really fun.

After that I went over to the High School and watched Jonah kick field goals.  He wants to be the kicker on the football team next year so he has been practicing a lot.  He got a tee in his Easter basket and he was excited to try it out.  The weather was great, so I loved enjoying the sunshine and watching my boy.  He did great, he has a powerful kick.

We invited mom and dad and Lindy over for dinner. I had to laugh when I looked over and saw dad petting Jackson.  Dad is not a fan of dogs, but he said Jackson was fine when I offered to get him off and then he just pet him. This is not a picture I ever thought I would see!

Caitlyn loved having Lindy here.  Caitlyn loved talking to Lindy about Cayden because she understood and is going through some of the same things with Blake.  We love having Lindy back in Provo.

We had an Easter lesson before dinner.  I asked my kids the week before to share their testimonies of Christ.  I started off by sharing mine and then we went around the room.  Hallee said that she loves Jesus and is grateful to know that no matter what she goes through, she has someone who understands her and she is grateful for that.  Wyatt talked about Jesus being a good example and that he was grateful that we can follow His example in all things.  Jonah talked about when John the Baptist died and that Jesus must have been very sad to lose his cousin so he went off alone.  People followed him and he ended up teaching them and then feeding them miraculously with five loaves and two fishes.  Jonah said he really liked that because it helps him realize that he needs to serve more, even when he is going through hard times.  Caitlyn talked about her friends saying that they don't like the church because of the people or things the prophet says and she said that she is so grateful that she isn't reliant on people or even the prophet, that she has a testimony of Jesus Christ and that is why she does the things she does and believes in the gospel.  Keith talked about losing his two brothers and feeling comforted in knowing that Christ is his brother and He will always be there for him.  Lindy talked about how grateful she is for her testimony of Jesus Christ and how it makes her life so much better.  She talked about just wanting to share that with everyone on her mission because it has helped her so much and brought her so much joy.  Mom talked about missing her mom and Jen and knowing that they are together and that we will see them again.  Dad shared some insights on the Atonement of Jesus Christ that he has gained over the  years.  He told about a neat experience he had as bishop that taught him how much the Holy Ghost can strengthen us and about the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Everyone's testimony was beautiful.  We are all so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ.  I ended with a scene from the Chosen where Christ heals the woman with the issue of blood.  That scene is probably my favorite from the whole series.  At one point Christ says to her, "you have been dealing with this for twelve years, you must be exhausted."  That hits me hard because that is how I feel dealing with depression. It is exhausting and I can picture Christ saying that to me and how healing that is. I heard something on a podcast that I really liked.  He said that every week we should think about Christ's question to the woman, "who touched me?" when we take the sacrament.  Every week we should all acknowledge that we need to touch Him and be healed and forgiven.  Taking the sacrament each week is a great way to make sure we are making the Atonement of Jesus Christ part of our lives every day.  The whole lesson was beautiful and powerful and I hope it touched my kids the way it touched me.

We had a great dinner.  It was so good! I was proud of myself for making it, cooking isn't my strength, but it was good! I felt bad that mom couldn't eat.  I made her some potato soup that she likes and we even blended up some Jell-O that she ate for dessert.  After dinner we visited for a while and then mom and dad headed home.  Lindy played games with us for a while before we took her home.  It was a great Easter!