Easter and a priesthood ordination

Easter Sunday dawned bright and beautiful this year. We colored eggs this morning. Only 3 dozen this time. Not nearly enough to satisfy everyone but what am I going to do with 6 dozen hard boiled eggs?

I miraculously managed to find everyone Easter finery the day before and everyone cooperated willingly for some before church portraits.

The week before was Fast Sunday. The Primary president came over that morning and had encouraged Slade to share his testimony. He expressed to her that speaking in front of people was very hard for him. She asked him to pray about it. He insisted quite adamantly all morning that he was not going to share his testimony. No one was pressuring him but he let us know repeatedly that he wasn't going to go up there. However, in the middle of the testimony meeting, he stood up and went up on the stand, leaving us all in shock. He bore a really sweet testimony and was impressively calm as he spoke. The rest of us were in tears of joy and amazement. It is a wonderful thing to see your kids growing up!

Slade was ordained a deacon after our church meetings. When the bishop asked him if he would like to share his testimony, he declined stating that he'd already done that last week. He was ordained by Dave with the bishop, Grandpa Daniel, Uncle Tim and Uncle Michael in the circle. Funny side note: I had given Dave a blue checked dress shirt to wear. He looked really nice but had a very hard time doing an ordinance in a shirt that wasn't white. Dave's dad was in a bright, Hawaiian shirt too. Despite all that, I think the ordinance was still effective. Anyhow, I thought it was neat that Slade was ordained on Easter. I think he'll always remember that.

We had most of the Daniel family over for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. Yes, Ben is wearing a dress. And he was wearing a ballerina outfit that morning. We are hopeful he'll grow out of this phase soon enough.

Easter is always a wonderful holiday. I am so thankful for my testimony of the atonement and resurrection. He is what bring true joy and peace to our lives. In our sacrament program today, the choir sang This is the Christ, a favorite of mine. I love the words of the chorus. True words, indeed.

This is the Christ.

This is the Christ, the holy Son of God,

Our Savior, Lord, Redeemer of mankind.

This is the Christ, the Healer of our souls,

Who ransomed us with love divine.

slade is 12

Slade turned 12 on a beautiful spring day this year. His "Yes Day" consisted of playing screens nearly non-stop all day. He did pause the video games briefly so he could open presents and then take his new roller-blades out for a spin.

He requested a suit for his birthday as well. No more polo shirts for this twelve year old.

We went to Keri's for dinner that night. Colin and Amy were also in town. We had hamburgers, Slade's favorite. Colin was nice enough to jump with the kids on the trampoline. Also we got to hear their happy news of a little one on the way.

One of these bellies in not like the other but two are like each other. Yeah!

I made this delicious chocolate cake for dessert with a berry sauce, reminiscent of PF Chang's Great Wall of Chocolate. It got a little melted and bumped in the course of transportation but was still so yummy.

Slade at 12:
--loves to listen to fantasy books, rarely will read them himself but is starting to do that a little more
--is taking fencing lessons and finally seems to have found a sport that suits him
--still likes to snuggle and hold our hands
--can be really witty and funny at times
--is still very stubborn and easily frustrated but is learning to handle difficult situations so much better
--has one good friend who lives across the street and doesn't seem to care about having more friends
--loves to roller-blade around the neighborhood
--would play on the computer/Xbox all day long if allowed
--is growing so tall

march around here

I've waited a really long time to see a picture like this:

He still listens to books all the time but has never liked the act of physical reading. He saw someone reading this at play practice and asked if we could get it. I've never been so happy to buy a book.

At 17 weeks, I had to take an early glucose test because I had gestational diabetes with Ben. I really hate drinking that drink. Disgusting. I passed. Barely. My number was 133 and the limit is 140. Methinks it is a high possibility that I will fail the next one I have to take at 28 weeks.

We took Nathan in to the podiatrist. He really has trouble walking and running as a 9 year old should. The doctor told him he looked like an old man. The doctor thought it had to do with rapid growth and gave him orthotics. He also had a wart removed. Hopefully, we will see improvement soon. He is a really active kid and it would be great if he could move more easily.

The American Heritage Youth Chorus that Emma sings with had a joint concert with the American Heritage Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a really amazing performance. Obviously very well rehearsed. I love seeing youth using their talents like that. I wish I had been able to get a better/longer recording.

Baseball season has started. I was rather silly this year and signed up both Sawyer and Nathan. I thought that soccer and baseball seasons would not overlap that much. Wrong. Because soccer started late this year, they are completely concurrent. This means 4 baseball games and at least 3 soccer games each week. ACK! Sawyer played t-ball last year and is doing machine pitch this year. As with most athletic things, he is a natural. Nathan has never played baseball before but he seems to like it despite his low skill level. Dave has been catching and hitting with the boys a lot at lunch and in the evening. I think they especially love that.

Slade has passed Emma in height. Emma knew it was coming but she isn't very happy about it.

robin hood

Another successful Deerfield Elementary School play is in the books. This year it was Robin Hood. Slade and Nathan both participated. Slade was Much the Miller's son, one of Robin Hood's Merry Men. Nathan was on the bad side as one of Guy's Guys. Again, I helped with choreography and photography.

It is a wonderful thing for our kids to participate in these plays every year. We saw Slade go from a 4th grader with major stage fright to a 6th grader who had a speaking part. I'm so thankful for awesome people who share their talents and collaborate on such a fantastic show year after year.

random January happenings according to my phone

Emma and her friends came home from school and played Uno one afternoon. This was a happy day with friends. Unfortunately this month, she also had some bad ones. Some not so nice things were said about her by two different boys in our ward whom she had considered friends. It was hurtful. It was totally uncalled for. It made me very grateful for all the really good friends she does have.

I made five batches of playdough. They get used every day by all the kids and the neighbors too. The favorite activity recently has been cutting out heart cookies for Valentine's Day.

Slade's new iPod nano that he got for Christmas went completely kaput on him. We took it to the Apple Store and they traded it for a new one. Yeah, Apple! I took the five kids with me and they were actually all so good! We went to Target afterwards and bought Slade new pants. He is growing like a weed. At his priesthood preview at church, he was several inches taller than the other incoming deacons. I really wish I had a picture of the 50ish Young Men in our ward lined up to shake their hands. It was really cool.

Dave's parents invited us over for dinner one Sunday. It was really nice to spend time with them without all the chaos of the entire family. We had stir fry and then Jello and cookies for dessert. After dinner, we played games. Nathan and Sawyer wanted to learn how to play checkers so Grandma and Grandpa helped them play. Anne and Ben fell asleep in the van on the way home. I thought their stuffed dogs tucked in with them looked rather cute. If you look closely, you can see Emma and Slade holding their hands up above their hands in the back. They were all fighting and making us crazy so Dave told them they had to hold their hands above their hands the rest of the way home. Of course, they turned it into a competition but it sure made the drive quieter.

A student from the BYU Bean Museum came and did an animal show at Anne's preschool. Her teacher was gracious enough to let the boys come and watch as well.

We received sad news mid-month that one of the directors of the BYU folk dance team had passed away from flu complications. Delynne was a really awesome teacher, mentor and friend and it was hard to believe that such an active, vivacious woman had died at only 62. In honor of her, the folk dancers invited alumni to attend a Rec Night. We aren't so young and skinny anymore, but we still danced. I wish more of our friends had been able to be there but we had a great time. We were able to see more of our folk dance friends at her funeral. It was a sad occasion but folk dance reunions are always a joyful thing. I think Delynne would have appreciated all the hugs and laughter between the many, many lives she touched.

We also went to see BYU Vocal Point in concert. This is such a terrible picture but the concert was lots of fun. And of course, I always like being on a date with Dave.

the wizard of oz

After a wonderful experience with last year's school play, Slade auditioned for the Wizard of Oz this year. In this play, he was one of the Munchkins. I also helped with choreography and photography again.

We still feel so lucky that our children get to participate in such a fantastic production. Slade's only regret was choosing a role that wasn't on stage as much as he would have liked. Next year, he says he will even audition for a speaking part, which for him is pretty huge deal.

More pictures here.
Even more pictures here.