The place of promises...

I feel like my blog posts are all out of order... because they kind of are right now!  I have some catching up to do and it's not all happening in the correct chronological order.  But, it is what it is, so there you go. ;)

Friday night was a special night.  I attended the temple with a sweet friend as she and her husband were there for their first time.  My friend... I just admire her so much!  A couple of years ago, I met her when she was a less-active sister in our ward.  She was living with her non-member boyfriend and her two children from an ending marriage.  For many months we worked with them.  We became friends.  I sincerely loved her.  It was wonderful to watch as things fell into place: the then current husband finally began cooperating enough for the divorce to become final, her marriage to her now current and very sweet husband, his baptism... and then they moved!  NO FAIR!!!  Thankfully, it was only across the river and also thankfully, she was on FaceBook. ;)



A few weeks ago, I received a letter inviting me to be with them when they attended the temple.  It also included an invitation to attend next month when they are sealed as an eternal family.  The ex-husband has given them permission to be sealed to all of her children, which is a wonderful blessing and miracle!  I was thrilled to be there on Friday and cannot wait to be with them again in this special place "where promises made can last forever."

Cause that's how we roll...

For Easter dinner, we relied on tried and true recipes, except for the rolls.  I was pretty sure they'd be an easy hit. ;)  I used a recipe from The Pioneer Woman.  We had Buttered Rosemary Rolls.
 


I had to make a couple of adjustments.  I don't have an iron skillet, and we needed way more than 7 rolls, so I used two 9x13 pans, fitting 12 rolls in each.  I also used sea salt, but not coarse sea salt (didn't have that).  My rolls said to bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, I let them stay in for another 5 minutes to get more brown on top.  They tasted great!



It was an easy recipe, we'll definitely make them again. :)

Day 99

99 Days ago, I issued a challenge to the sisters in our ward to read the Book of Mormon by today. This morning, I read the final chapter in the Book of Mormon where an ancient prophet bore his last testimony before sealing up the records. I then got up and listened to living prophets and apostles today as they bore their testimony about our Savior and His gospel. We had a beautiful Easter Sunday, filled with the good word of God, good friends, and good food.

I love the Book of Mormon. I love the spirit I feel when I read it and the way that spirit accompanies me throughout my day. I love the gospel and the peace and joy it brings to my life. I love the prophets, those I read about in the scriptures as well as the ones I see on my TV while watching Conference.

Tomorrow is day 100. So, what now? In the last 99 days I've developed a habit of reading each morning before I get up and get busy with my day, and tomorrow will be no different. It won't be day 100, but back to day 1 to start all over again. If you read these last 99 days, what will you do tomorrow? I hope you will start again. Even if you go at a slower pace, I hope you will continue to read and ponder the scriptures each day. And for those who did not read with us, it's never too late to start. If you would like to follow the 99 day challenge, there's the link to the program.

We certainly had a fabulous Easter weekend and I do have more to blog about: egg hunts, making new friends, trying new recipes, and of course my notes from General Conference. Give me a day or two, I'll get to it. ;)

REJOICE!!!

He is risen! He is risen! Let the whole wide earth rejoice!

















Remember that today not about bunnies, eggs, or baskets, but about the atoning sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Teach your children the true meaning of Easter and they will have peace, hope, and joy their whole life! How grateful I am for the sacrifice made for me! I will praise His name forever! :)

Happy Easter!

Let's Color Easter Eggs

Something I learned yesterday:  My friend/neighbor, Susan, doesn't color Easter Eggs!  She says it's because she can't stand the smell of hard-cooked eggs and only one or two members of their family will actually eat them, so she just doesn't make them... and therefore, no coloring Easter Eggs.  Her poor, deprived children!  Susan and her daughter, Kaitlyn happened to come over while we were coloring ours yesterday.  It was totally new to them.  Thankfully, we were here to help enrich their lives with the joys of vinegar, dye, and hard-cooked eggs. ;)  I might have even converted Susan - she made two herself! lol



They turned out beautiful!  I especially love Sami's "watermellon"... LOL.  Oh, and I love the one I made that says, "I <3 Ryan" lol.  Colored eggs are just so... happy!  I like them!  And I like to eat them!  Egg salad sandwiches, deviled eggs, hard cooked eggs topping salads.... mmmm. :)  But since even we couldn't eat this many eggs by ourselves, we'll send some home with Sami for her family. :P

In case you were wondering...

Your Easter Egg Says You Are Social

You are cheerful, friendly, and open minded. You do your best to make sure everyone is happy, including yourself. Empathy comes easily to you. You are very forgiving. You don't hold grudges. You easily forget about any negativity in your life.

The Easter Egg Personality Test

Blogthings: We'll Tell You The Truth... Someone Has To!

Spring, Sunshine, and Sami

This week has been Spring Break!  

My cousin, Sami, came over yesterday and stayed the night with us.  She is so fun and I know I've said it before, but I just love how she genuinely likes to hang out with my kids.  She likes Cadi and likes being with her - even though she's 5 1/2 years younger than she is.  I appreciate that SO MUCH!  Because Acadia loves Sami and looks up to her, and it's so great that Sami really is the kind of young lady that I want Cadi to admire.  She is kind, patient, fun, and just... good.  She's so good!  I just love her and I love it when she comes to play with us. :)

Yesterday was the ONE day during Spring Break that has been sunny and clear - it was beautiful!  When we got home from picking up Sami, we headed out to the park.  And you know I took pictures! ;)



We had a fun night with her.  After dinner, we dyed Easter Eggs (more pictures to come!) and watched a movie.  We caught up on American Idol since none of us had seen the results show and I had it on DVR, and then Cadi and Sami stayed up late watching TV, camping out in the family room. 

I'm not sure what we're doing today.  We get to keep her until early this afternoon.  We might watch another movie, or go shopping, or make a movie... whatever we do, it's sure to be fun, it always is when Sami's here! :)

April Fool's!

Today is April Fool's Day!  It's also, my sister's birthday... Happy Birthday Ruth!

I pulled zero pranks today.  And while I did not have a prank pulled on me (that I know of! lol), Cadi did... by the Wii Fit!!!  lol



I LOVE IT!  LOL  The Wii also called Acadia by the wrong name... Mariah, I think. lol  Then it said, "Just kidding, I know who you are Acadia."  lol

Did you pull any pranks or have any pulled on you?  Happy April Fool's Day!