Easter

For Easter this year we stayed home and had Tessa and her girls over and Bob over since Mona is out of town helping Heather after her surgery. Since we have 2 o clock church we tried to make all the food as early as we could so we could play and have an our egg hunt and read scriptures and watch some church videos of Christs Resurrection. I really love this time of year and all that it means and brings and I have been so distracted and stressed out over all of my hair stuff that I feel like I totally let it pass me by and I missed it all. I I didn't prepare like I wanted to nor did I feel like I spent the time needed in teaching my kids about this special holiday. I'm crying as I write this. I feel regret about this whole month and guilty as I spent it in my dark little hole. In the midst of it all though I do know that Jesus loves me and that His hand is outstretched for mine to help me climb out. All I have to do is ask. And for that I am so grateful for my Savior and for His atoning sacrifice and for all that He went through. He is the only one who feels what I feel and who knows how to comfort me. 

Spring!

I love the spring time because there is this fire that gets lit and I am so ridiculously motivated to do so much! And for some reason, even though I dislike painting, I can't seem to stop painting everything. Good thing my fire kinda dimmed right before I started painting the concrete patio in the backyard.

Sunday was the Provo City Center Temple dedication. Tallie and Chloe both go to go and it was so good! Such a good experience and the Spirit truly testified that the temples are the House of the Lord and that He does visit them and that it is in the temple where we can can feel His love so strong. Temples are truly a piece of heaven on earth.

We all took a bike ride to the cemetery later that day. The kids thought it was really cool to walk around reading tomb stones and finding out who was buried there and how old they were and all that. It was the perfect Easter activity because it led to great discussions about Christ and His resurrection and being able to be with our families forever. 

The Priesthood

Kasen was so so sick one week. He was lethargic, had an ongoing fever for days, he coughed like his lungs were drowning. He had no energy, wasn't eating, and wasn't sleeping. He cried and complained of a sore throat and then cried over his ears hurting he couldn't breathe for 2 seconds without a coughing fit. It was so hard to watch him be so miserable. My parents were in town and staying the night at Tessa's house. I knew one particular night with Kasen was going to be long and I felt so bad for him after so many days of this and my heart was hurting. So I called my dad (who was 1/2 mile away) and asked him to come help TJ give Kasen a blessing. 

And that's when I had an eye opening. 

In the past I have felt bad asking people to come over late at night to help with blessings. I feel like I am an inconvenience. Like I am putting people out. Sometimes its really hard to ask. Because I don't want to be that kind of draining person who people get annoyed by.

Well after the blessing right before my dad was about to leave he gave me a hug and sincerely said "Thank you for asking me".

I sometimes forget that receiving blessings is as much of a blessing as it is to give one. Not just the one getting the blessing is the one blessed. But also the giver. As much as I need the blessing for me, the person holding the priesthood needs it for them. So they can be blessed, so they can remember they need to stay aware and constantly worthy to GIVE blessings to those who are in need. Because they never know whey someone might need one. And for me, as a mother, I need them and I am at the mercy if you will of the priesthood holder to receive those blessings. 

I will no longer hesitate or feel bad. The Priesthood was meant to be used not just left on the shelf.

I am so grateful for this lesson my dad taught me.

Provo City Temple open house and Grandma and Grandpa DePriest

I'm not sure that I even wrote about the time when the historical tabernacle in Provo burnt down..well it did. And just when we thought that all was lost and we lost a piece of history, President Monson announced that it would be rebuilt and restored and turned into a new temple for Provo. We are pretty excited since it is now our temple district. I love this temple because it stands and represents so much. Just when something awful happens and we are knocked down and we see no hope and are having trouble seeing thru the ashes that are falling around us, ALL IS NOT LOST. We can be rebuilt. And not just rebuilt but made and turned into something so much more! We can come back from the ashes bigger and better and more beautiful than ever. Sometimes we don't know or understand why God let's bad things happen to good people. Or we don't know why things have to change. But God does and He sees the big picture and if we let him, He will turn us into something we couldn't even imagine we could become. I have this temple on a beautiful canvas hanging on my wall. Its a great reminder to me. I think my parents really wanted to come and go thru the open house because they feel the same. And let me just say....it was BEAUTIFUL! I was in awe, my kids were in awe and I can't wait to go back. I am also so grateful they let the girls go thru the Bridal room so they can have that picture in their minds and have that goal set to where they want to get married one day.

We had such a good time with my family here. Cody was able to come to. He really wanted to see the temple. And rumor has it he has been meeting with the missionaries that he met at the singles ward. Yes thats right he actually went to the singles ward by himself all on his own, his idea and then invited the missionaries to my parents house for dinner. I really think this was a good trip for him. Chloe was lucky that she happened to have her 3rd grade program while they were here so we all got to go watch her. We played lots of games and spent Saturday in SLC walking around those temple grounds and eating in the Joseph Smith Memorial building and walking around and visiting the newly remodeled Church History Museum (which we for sure need to go back to see it all). 

Salon house

The house is becoming a salon. The girls are interested in making their own facial masks out of food and getting manicures and having their hair permed...I'll write more about this later as to WHY all of this has come about. It still burns me and I don't have the energy to write about it yet. But nevertheless the kids have been enjoying being pampered.

 I just wanted to document one of our regular library visits. Because I'm sure my book bag will not always look like this with it filled with story and picture books for little kids. Which makes me sad. I do love how my kids love to go and they love to read and the last thing they do in bed each night is read (by flashlight) and the first thing they do when they wake up is sit over the heaters upstairs with their nose in a book. I really should take a picture of that just so I can remember.

 And turns out that foam board and dot stickers is the best thing ever. Hours of fun and they get so creative. Thanks to the project book Tj bought Tallie on one of his work trips.