Easter Sunday

What a great day.  I mentioned the Easter Bunny stuff on the last post, so I'll start after that.  We got the kiddos fed and ready for church.  They looked SO cute in their new Easter clothes.  I had some bow ties made for the boys that matched the girls' dresses.
We fed the kids lunch and then rearranged our house to fit our 30 choir members.  We had a run through of our Easter program and went over a couple trouble spots in our songs.
This program has been such a humbling and challenging experience for me.  I volunteered to do it, asking our bishopric if we could do something in Sacrament Meeting to make Easter as big of a deal as Christmas.  I had a vision in my mind of how the program was going to go and chose the music with that in mind.  We've been practicing the music for several months now (since February I think?) and it has just not come together quickly.  Even last week we were still really struggling -- feeling really discouraged about the whole situation.  In addition to the music not coming together, the program wasn't coming together, either.  The vision I had just wasn't working -- I wasn't feeling the Spirit as I wrote it and I was completely stalled.  That was the case until last Sunday morning, when I finally swallowed my pride, asked sincerely for help, became willing to delete pretty much everything I'd previously written, and let the Spirit be my guide.  The program ended up being very simple, but full of the Spirit.
During our rehearsal on Sunday morning, it finally felt like things were coming together.  In fact, there were some very tender moments with the Spirit for me during that time.
Sacrament meeting went really well.  We had some families and members of our ward who don't make it to church very often come out and it felt like the program came together in just the way it needed to.  It felt like we really celebrated our Savior's Atonement and Resurrection.  A member of our bishopric, Keith Christiansen, gave the talk and ended the meeting with the most incredible Spirit.  Honestly.  His talk was beautiful and so incredibly full of the Spirit.  He spoke of miracles and the Miracle that is Jesus Christ.  I felt a reaffirmation of my personal testimony of the Savior and His sacrifice for me.

We left right after Sacrament meeting to spend time with Stanton's family.  We drove to Layton and had dinner with all the siblings except Julie and fam, who are still in Singapore.  It was a great afternoon spent with family.  It's so fun to see the cousins (on BOTH sides of the family) get along so well.  There is rarely any quarreling and they just love each other so much.  And I got to ride home with Jim, Rachel, Shelbi, Mary, and Judy.  That was such a treat.  It was so fun to play with the girls and get to know them a little better.  And I couldn't love Jim, Rachel, and Judy more.  They are so great.  Stanton got home a bit later and we got the kids to bed together.  Somewhere along the way (during Sacrament Meeting), I got some laryngitis -- I'm still fighting that. 

This was an Easter to remember.  Humbling, faith affirming, and all around joyous.  Family is everything and there is One who makes my family what it is.  That is Jesus Christ.  He is real.  He is alive.  He loves me.  He loves you.  He has restored the church and kingdom He established when He lived mortally on the earth.  That church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He loves all of His children on the Earth.  All of us.  He wants all of us to live with Him after we die and are resurrected.  We will be resurrected.  I know it's real.  I do not doubt any of it.  I'm grateful for it.

And here are some pictures of our family this Easter.  It's always a treat to try and get a few good ones when they "know" we want them!

He Lives, all glory to His name.  He lives, my Savior still the same.  He lives, and while He lives, I'll sing.  He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King.