Easter

Here are just a few fun photos from our Easter festivities...

Where is Joseph when I need him?

I need someone who can interpret dreams. I often times have strange dreams, sometimes they come true, which sounds wacky, but I'm serious. When I was in college I dreamt that my parents house burnt down because of a toaster fire, and while it was burning I found the whole family in my parents bedroom watching T.V. I told them the house was on fire and they all just sat there. I asked them if they were going to do anything about it, and they acted like they just didn't care. A few days later I was at home visiting, and I noticed the kitchen cupboard was burned. When I asked what happened, my dad said that while they were all in his room watching T.V., My very young niece went into the kitchen, and tried to make herself toast. Somehow the toaster lit on fire and she was too scared to tell anyone for fear of getting in trouble. When my dad smelt the smoke he went into the kitchen and saw her just standing there and the cupboard on fire. Luckily it didn't burn down the house, but it's scary how similar it was to my dream!
The other night I had a really weird dream. I dreamt that Sam and I moved into a small house in Utah. Right after moving in Sam told me that the next door neighbors told him that the people who lived there before us used to let them use the front lawn to grow corn, and were wondering if we would allow the same. They also said that they would not clear the corn field after the harvest, that would be our job, and no, we did not get any of the corn. Sam told them it would be fine, but when he told me I was not ok with it. I did not want a bunch of corn in front of my house because it would look ridiculous! After a long argument, I went over to tell the neighbors that they could grow corn on our lawn only if they cleared the harvest, and we got at least a few ears of corn which I would even exchange for some of the peas I had growing in my garden. She refused my compromise, and I was the bad guy to all of them. And if that wasn't bad enough, I went into my back yard, and discovered that all of my pea plants had died.
Any takers on the interpretation?

What do you do?

What do you do when....
You step out of the shower, only to discover that while you were in there, your kids climbed up to the high cupboard and pulled out the bag of fruit snack smiles, and ate ALL 13 SERVINGS, an hour before lunch, and are now going crazy from all the sugar? What do you do?

Well, I did what any good parent would do. I sat them down and showed them how much sugar they ate, and how much they should eat in a day, then I fixed them an ultra healthy lunch full of foods they don't like and told them that the only way to counteract all the sugar in their bodies was to eat it. After that, I made them scrub walls to work off all their energy.

Consider the Lillies

Right before Christian was born I fell into an insane nesting phase unlike anything I experienced while pregnant with Nicholas. I think this is because before I had Nicholas I had no idea what to expect, I was busy on cloud 9, dreaming of how wonderful it would be to hold my sweet baby and be a mother. The second time around I knew what was coming and it scared me to death. The lack of sleep, the poop up the back, the feeding every other hour. That was all ok, but what really scared me was 2 things... that Nicholas had colic really bad, and my tailbone was broken while giving birth to him, which meant I was in constant pain for several months. I am surprised that I lived through all of that the first time, but I didn't think I could do it again, especially since I already had Nicholas to take care of. He was in the midst of the 'terrible twos', and he was a wild one with major tantrums. I was terrified of what was coming, and to make matters worse, it didn't look like I was going to have any family members able to come help me, and I was due right before Sam's finals in school, so I would have to do it all alone. In my panic I tried to prepare in anyway I could. I stocked my house with anything I thought I would need for the next 6 months. I filled my freezer with frozen dinners. I bought several packs of diapers. I washed and organized everything. A few weeks before I was due, I finally hit my breaking point. I was stressed to the max in anticipation of what was coming. I broke down and cried late one night after Sam had gone to bed, for probably and hour. I felt impressed to pray, but I didn't want to. I wanted to feel bad for myself. I cried for a while longer and then finally decided to pray. Afterwards I felt calm, and finally went to sleep. The next day as I was reading my scriptures, I came upon 3 Nephi chapter 13, where Christ is telling the 12 to take no thought for temporal things because the Father knows what they are in need of. He says to consider the lilies of the field...

28: And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;
29:And yet Solomon in all his glory was not so arrayed like one of these.
30:Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.
31: Therefore take no thought, saying What shall we eat? or, what shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32: For your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33: But seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
34:Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

When I read this I thought of the "Surprise Lilies" in Illinois where I served my mission. They were the strangest things. You don't have to plant them, they just pop up one one day in the spring, in very random places, and bloom for only a few short weeks. If He cares about the lilies of the field, how much more does He care about us, His children? He loves us, and will always take care of us.
That is when I knew everything was going to be ok, and it all was. I had a perfect labor complete with no broken tailbone, Christian was an angel baby who slept all the time, and my Dad was able to fly out and help me take care of Nicholas the first few weeks.
I'm so glad the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang "Consider the lilies of the field" in General Conference today. It is a beautiful song, and it will always remind me of that tender time when my Heavenly Father told me how much he really does care about me.