Pre Easter Celebration

Raise your hand if you can't resist pictures of cute kids diving into Easter baskets?  Me either.  I love their sweet thank yous and "I love Easter" songs and the excitement on their faces.

It makes me smile.  This morning we're heading out to James' parents house.  Yay!  We get to spend Easter with family for  the first time in 8 years.  We get to hang out with Marilyn and the boys  and their grandparents from Oregon, Dan and Carol.  Yay!   We love those guys!  But most importantly we get to spend Easter together and celebrate the real meaning of Easter and for that I am truly grateful.

 I'm grateful for this kid who knows how to warm my soul with  her made up Easter song about how much Jesus loves us and how Heavenly Father is waiting for us...in Tennessee.  "Heavenly Father's in heaven." I smiled.  "That's what I said."  She replies back from the other room and continues on with her sweet song.

 I'm grateful for this little boy and his chocolate covered face and whispered apologies...

 and he's grateful for peeps...

 And I'm grateful for all these peeps and that they only moaned a little when I told them there would be LOTS of picture taking this weekend.

Cardi turned 13 on Friday...gulp...

Thirteen and you know what?  Thirteen year old girls giggle.   A lot.

They giggle at breakfast.

 They giggle at lunch and at the movies.  They know all the popular songs and artists.  I had to google Cody Simpson.  But they are fun, so so much fun and we're lucky that our giggly, music loving teenager has such wonderful friends to share her birthday with.

 They say corny things and they whisper a lot.  And they're quick to remind you that they are no longer kids but teenagers and in just a couple of years they will be driving and then off to college...Gulp.

 I love their excitement.  I especially love our 13 year old.  I love how funny she is and how she can rattle on and on about her favorite book and tv characters.  I love how she can remember faces and details ... except when it's her turn to do the dishes.  I love how she still wants to hang out with her parents even though there are far cooler people in the world.  She is smart and talented and  an amazing writer.

So Happy Birthday to my giggly sometimes serious 13 year old!  You are AMAZING!

A birthday, cub scouts, and baptism

Jackson turned 8 last week.  Eight... 

He wanted a Star Wars theme this year.  Unfortunately, there were no  Stars Wars paper plates, cups or decorations to be had in the whole town but lucky for him he has Bella who made him a Star Wars shirt and signs. 

One day I'm going to do a post on all the creative things that sister does but for now I'll just write about this sweet, sweet boy who was super excited that this sister picked out just the right birthday present for him and even more excited when we showed up at school for lunch.

 

 He's an amazing kid

 with a flare for the dramatics.

 And because he's 8 now, he started cub scouts.

My friend,  Jen, and I get to be his Wolf Den leaders.  We are so excited.  But we were even more excited when he was baptized yesterday.  Cardi and Grandma  sung a beautiful song followed by this sweet girl who did a solo while James and Jackson changed clothes.

 I love how kind he is to his friends and siblings.  I love how he soaks everything up like a sponge. 

I love how he brings the best out in people. 

One of my favorite moments this weekend was after the baptism.  Jackson's favorite song is "Gethsemane."  He didn't realize that Bella sung the song while he was changing so after the baptism she sung the song again just for him.

Those  2 always make me smile.

 And so do these two.  It was such a beautiful and special day. 

And we found out that James' third cousin, Justin,  lives just 8 miles away in Pullman with his beautiful new wife, Ayana, who happens to be very good at painting finger nails and entertaining 4 year olds.

 

I'm especially grateful that Jackson has wonderful grandparents who set such a loving example for him and for all of our family who  e-mailed us their testimonies so we could share them with Jackson and for  Paul and Misti who sent a great video to play during the personal family testimony meeting after the baptism.

And I'm so grateful for each of you.