Also for Easter

 Here are a few of my favorite prints/artwork of Jesus Christ and the tomb for Easter. I ordered the print of Jesus Christ in the patchwork robe, after Ashley shared in it a post. I need a few photos around the house. 

The Best of Easter

 Almost everyone got great family Easter pics, except us and Petes.. I never think to get a picture of us 😕I got a picture of my Easter dinner table and my dessert though- lol.  We had dinner with the Petes and the Andersons. We are so blessed to live near them. We had lots of food choices. Ham, cheesy potatoes, sweet potatoes, (copycat Olive Garden) salad, chickpea salad, cooked carrots, fruit, rolls, and donuts. (Jaden was missing because he is with cousins.) Carrie and the boys had just gotten back from a spring break week in Spain and France. Mike was still there and heading for Africa this week, for work. Simms had a busy Sunday with church and taking meals to ward members and then having a group dinner. The weekend was pretty busy for the Petes and the Andersons too, with ward activities and family service. And of course, the Christiansens are amazing, with Bethany being just one week old and they still went to church and got some great family pics. Our family is truly blessed and Easter is a special time of year. Spring is when the "Eve tree" at Andersons blooms. The last picture of Alison and Bethany is my favorite picture of the weekend!!

Bethany Ann

 The Christiansen baby girl arrived last Sunday afternoon. She is beautiful.

Here is what Alison shared on FB.

"Happy Good Friday! 🌟 We have had a wonderful Holy Week, starting with the best Palm Sunday ever. After a long week of stop and go birthing waves, our little girl finally made her own triumphal entry on Sunday afternoon. We are excited to announce her birth and welcome her to our family. Meet Bethany Ann. She is so full of peace, light, and gentleness. Her birth was smooth and beautiful, and we are both healthy and healing well. We are so blessed to have her with us! My heart is so full! 💓 We have had an extra special week of bonding and celebrating the final week of Christ's life on the Earth. We are so grateful to all who have supported us with food, love, and help this week! We hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend!!! 💕 Many more pictures to come..."

Because Easter is Coming

 Here are some great thoughts from Ashley. We sure do love her testimony and her willingness to share.

"Where is Jesus? Is He even real? And if so, Where is He now?

So many things in this world are unexplainable and down right incomprehensible.

However, I do believe Jesus is real and lives today. The Jesus we learn about, as testified of in scripture, is the Son of God. I believe He came to earth as a baby, born to a mortal mother and father.

In just a short time on earth, He changed the world, even suffering beyond comprehension for the sins of the world, for you and for me.

He conquered the grave and rose three days later. First, showing himself to Mary, making her the first witness of Jesus Christ as a resurrected being.

I too, seek this same Jesus. I too, at times, have felt that I arrived at an empty tomb. But I have felt His presence and heard his voice through His Holy Spirit as I keep my eyes on Him.. Seeking Him in scripture, in divinely inspired Come Follow Me, in prayer, in His sacrament, in church and in His holy house, in covenants.

But when darkness looms and I find myself asking “Jesus, where art thou?”

I choose to stay just as Mary did at the tomb and turn back to Him evermore intently, back to where I’ve felt His presence in my life.

Jesus is real. He does love, He does care and He weeps with us.

It isn’t always easy to believe when evil abounds but as I stand rooted in His Gospel, rooted in my covenants and rooted in His path, those days of despair will surely still come and

I will be sad but not defeated

I will cry but not give up

I will know that what once was broken, will all be made whole.

Hope and healing are ahead. Jesus will come again to mend all that is broken. Families will be restored.

However powerful & complete the Atonement of Jesus Christ is, complete mending may not be felt until He comes on earth again.

But in the meantime, He shows us how to carry on when we are exhausted

How to forgive when our hearts are filled with anger

How to be steady when all is crumbling around us

And how to love when our hearts are broken.

We too, will be resurrected, no longer vulnerable & tempted to sin;

Our bodies returned to their perfect state. Never again to suffer in the flesh.

So I ask …

when have you found reason to hope?

Are you hopeful now?

When have you found reason to feel peace?

Are you peaceful now?

Where were you when you last felt His presence in your life?

Do you feel Him now?

Anytime, but especially, during This Easter season, take some time to ponder on these things. What are you facing? Perhaps we need to turn back to Him through repentance. Shift our focus; Perhaps a slight shift, Perhaps a major shift. Whatever it may be— When you find Him, go and tell it. Share it, be a witness. Publish those feelings of joy that will surely come.

Jesus lives and loves us. He is the Son of God. He is our Savior and Redeemer.

Much love, my friends!"

The Puzzle

Here is a great post from FB, by Emma Hixson. I don't know her and Ashley shared the post, but I love it.

"I’ve seen a lot of posts lately about the church, why people stay, why they shouldn’t stay, church doctrine vs. church policy, the list goes on & on. I heard a powerful analogy at church today that I want to share here for myself to look back on, and also for those who may need to hear it.

The analogy, or parable if you will, was to think of the gospel, the church, God’s plan or even just LIFE, like a puzzle. When you start a puzzle, you start with what you know. You work on the outside pieces, pieces with clear edges, pieces you are confident belong. As the puzzle continues, you may run into various pieces that don’t seem to belong, that fit weird, or don’t make sense. But you don’t throw out the entire puzzle just because you can’t figure out where that piece goes. You know there’s a bigger picture coming into place. You set aside that puzzle piece and keep working at the rest of the puzzle. Eventually, the picture will become more and more clear and it will be obvious where that seemingly unimportant, or incorrect piece goes. You’ll be glad you didn’t give up or throw that piece out because you’ll see the bigger picture.

There are many things I don’t have the answers to, but I know that God is the master puzzler, if you will, and every piece of this life; the gospel; and his plan is there for a reason. (1 Nephi 11:17) Even if we can’t see where it fits now, don’t let what you don’t know or understand stop you from what you do. Keep doing the puzzle. Keep all the pieces in sight until you know where they go. I have a feeling it’s going to be worth it. "

General Conference April 2023

 It's funny how General Conference weekend always needs to feel special. I missed most of the morning session yesterday with the Panther soccer game. I decided not to go to the two other soccer games in the afternoon, which gave me a chance to fix some "special" food. I made a lemon blueberry breakfast bread, a small razzleberry pie, a small coconut pie, and some potato salad. I tried not to over do the calories and carbs, but like I already said, general conference weekend wants to feel special, even if it's only food. Actually the reason this Sunday is so special is because we can watch conference from the sofa and stay home all day. They couldn't even tempt us to come to choir practice this morning and ruin that 😏😕This weekend is really special for Sam and Eli, because they went to conference in person. Here is what Sam shared in a FB post. (I put a couple of their pics here...I didn't do food pics- lol 😎 I will do a couple of other posts with some thoughts from conference and share some thoughts that Ashley shared earlier this week.)

"New tradition alert!

The year they turn 12, the boys get a special trip with Dad to General Conference of the @churchofjesuschrist. We get to see @thetabernaclechoir and hear inspiring words from Church leaders. Today was a beautiful reminder of Palm Sunday and an admonition to reduce contention in our lives and in the public sphere. A little “blessed are the peacemakers” never hurt anyone. "

Waiting

 Here are the pictures that Alison shared last weekend. She thought the baby girl would arrive last Sunday... now it's Sunday April 2 and they are thinking it might happen today 😉It has been a long week of waiting for them. As a family most of us have exchanged a few GroupMe posts this week checking in on the situation. Audrey even put a comment out there... "Can't resist the moment to say that baby girl is already taking after her mama and will show up when she is good and ready." lol. I sent a few gifts and Audrey sent three, but only one arrived so far. I guess my Brown Baby Bird items were perfect for the nursery decor. Here is Alison's response to Audrey's comment this week, while waiting-

"Ha.ha.  I feel this over- attention to every little detail and go/go energy that I don't normally have vibing from this baby girl. I normally attend to details, but not quite like this. And I have been SO ready, SO many times this week. What the heck is SHE doin' in there? Never had a birthing experience quite like this one that's for sure! Seems like every time I think "it's happening," I go wash up a bit, moisturize my skin well, do my hair, (all my fav things to do right before) and then the progress just stalls. Like she's like, "nope you don't get to be all ready mom, I'm gonna come when you least expect it." Ha! I might be goin a bit crazy in my head here. Haha  Everybody is starting to feel sorry for me and offering to bring treats or take me out for a treat. I don't even know what to do anymore.  So bored of this. Annie, quit praying for a dang April baby! "