Easter 2011

I had the privilege of teaching sharing time for Easter Sunday. Sharing time is a segment of Sunday school for our church kids ages 4-11, and it can be challenging at times to engage a large number of kids of that age. I was looking forward to teaching on Easter Sunday though, because what is more important in this life than having a testimony that Jesus Christ is our Saviour, and Eternal Life is possible through His Atonement and Resurrection! As I sat through Sacrament meeting and thought about our Savior and Easter, I got so emotional thinking about my brother Paul. Every Easter since he died 5 years ago has had such special meaning for me. Before we lost him, the Resurrection was just something I thought of making me happy in the future - I couldn't really grasp the significance of it. But, having lost someone so close to me, I imagine seeing him in his restored body and being together with my whole family - it's such a joyous thought. The Resurrection has become so real for me, and I am so much more grateful for it. Knowing that we can have eternal life as our Saviour Jesus Christ does really makes the trials and sadness of this world so much easier to bear. It makes me want to put my relationships with others a priority, and help them to see that there is something better and more meaningful out there.

In Primary we had 12 eggs filled with little objects and scriptures to help the kids explain the story of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Then, we had a teacher dress up as Mary Magdalene , and one as a Nephite, to describe their witness of the resurrected Christ. I again got so emotional as I listened to the description of how the witnesses were so joyous to learn that their beloved friend and teacher had conquered death. They were able to feel the nail prints in this hands and feet, and witness that the pains and burdens of this life can be triumphed over. I had to get up and close my segment, and I got so emotional. As I walked to the back of the room, one of the 10 year old girls told me "It's okay if you cry Sis. Williamson, my mom ALWAYS cries!" I just need to explain to them that until recently I worked with the Young Women where we cried just about every Sunday, so it may take me some time to switch gears! I know kids don't get it when adults get emotional!

Spring Break Outing...

The boys had a few days off for Spring Break, and of course it had to be wet and cold since we live in UT! We decided to go down to BYU to see the Carl Bloch exhibit featuring pictures of Christ. So on the way down there I'm thinking what an appropriate activity to see this exhibit the day before Easter. Then I remembered it was the day after BYU graduation - and the day before Easter! Needless to say, we didn't get tickets to the exhibit (which are usually available at any time), but we did enjoy the other art in the museum. Jackson had a certificate for Chuck-a-Rama, and James and I had been holding on to a couple free meals we have there given to us by James's Grandpa Eugene when he died (3 years ago! that's how excited we are about Chuck-a-Rama!) But Jackson was so excited to go that we went, and we only had to Paul $2.50 for Paul - about what the meal was worth in my opinion! And the kids were so disappointed that they didn't have cheeseburgers.

Then we went to the Monte L. Bean Museum (not a museum for beans). I was really wanting to compare the wolves there to the coyotes because we have had a supposed wolf sighting very close to home. I say supposed because James doesn't believe it! My neighbor, Tammy, across the street, saw a gray wolf pulling apart a dead deer and shaking the deer's head viciously - right behind her fence that backs up to the mountain! She called another neighbor on that side of the street and watched for a while and looked on the Internet to see if it was really a gray wolf. Anyhow, I believe them, especially after comparing the size of the coyotes and wolves at the museum! Maybe James will run into him during one of his late night trips to our mailbox!

It happened to be James's brother, Chris's, birthday, so we crashed (or created) his party. Their other brother, Dan and his family came over as well and we had good times laughing and pigging out on birthday cake. The highlight of the night had to be when Dan's wife Janell came back into the kitchen where the rest of us were and "accidentally" mistook Chris for her husband and slapped him on the butt! I almost cried! Had it been someone else it wouldn't have been so funny - but Janell was bright red and thoroughly embarrassed! I'm sure it will be one of the stories we like to bring up in the future to laugh about again. The kids loved playing with their cousins, and it was the perfect end to our family outing!

Not Again !!!

The other day when I was making dinner the kids were in the play room being rambunctious as usual. Paul came crying to me that Jackson pushed him off of the office swivel chair and hurt his arm. I immediately hoped his arm wasn't broken, but convinced myself that he couldn't break his arm just from falling from a chair. As the evening went on and he continued to whimper and lay on the couch in pain, reality set in. At least this time we knew right where to go and what to expect. I called our sport's medicine doctor who cared for Paul 1 1/2 year ago when he fell on the tile floor and broke his arm. They did some x-rays, and sure enough, he has a radial fracture. The doctor we see is awesome with the kids, and asked Paul what happened and was joking around with him. Paul said "my mean brother pushed me off of our chair". The Dr. pointed to Blaze and said "that brother pushed you off a chair?" Paul was crying by this point, but still though it was silly that the Dr. would ask such a question. So it's the same arm he broke last time but a different place. Anyway, he chose a red water proof cast which alleviated the pain as soon as it was in place. He can swim at the rec center and play soccer, so it shouldn't hold him back too much. Alanna was really set on a hot pink cast for her "broken elbow" she's been telling me about. Of course, she didn't get one, so she drew one on with permanent marker at the grandparents house! Paul loved the attention he got with everyone wanting to sign his cast - I guess that's the silver lining :)

This week...

It's been a busy week as usual, but one of those that went by so quickly that's it's hard to pin down what was noteworthy. Blaze is always everyone's favorite right now though. His siblings love to play with him and help him discover new things - like putting a scary looking wig on him. They all laughed like they were being tickled, and Blaze was a good sport for them. We did have our first two soccer games on Saturday and enjoyed the beautiful weather for a change. Paul and Jackson are loving being on teams with friends, and they both ran hard and played well. Blaze was exhausted from watching them and immedietly fell asleep once in his comfy carseat.

A Small Act of Kindness...

The other day I went to pick up Jackson from school and it was a blizzard - after it had been 70 degrees the day before. I have lived in UT for several years of my life, but the weather here is still always a shock! Anyhow, when I got to the parking lot of the school, a boy came and knocked on my window and gave me a bundle of beautiful tulips and said "Hope you have a good day, Ma'am!" My boys were so excited and immediately pointed out that he was doing a fun service for others. Those tulips really made my whole week! It's been dark, dreary, snowy weather, and James worked all weekend long. But whenever I see those tulips on the kitchen counter they make me smile. So, I don't know why this elementary aged school boy was passing out tulips to moms, but he has wisdom beyond his years :) Moms can always do with a small act of kindness!

Lucky Me...

I received an email last week from two of my most favorite people in the world. They said they were coming to town, and we were going to get to see them! I was so excited all week long - like I said, these are my two of my favs, and we hadn't seen them for 4 years. I love old friends - especially ones that I grew up with. We had Jake and Shamay over for dinner on Thursday night, and as usual, it's always a party when Jake is around. James and the kids loved having them here too. Jake quickly showed the boys bad tricks they could do in our house. Luckily, the boys had already thought of them, and been in trouble for them! Needless to say, the boys have been talking about Jake ever since Thursday night. He is seriously the most entertaining guy to have around in any situation. It was so fun catching up with them and hearing about their kids - 4 boys- a set of twins! It's great to see how happy they are. I love that it doesn't matter how long it's been since I've seen them, it's like we've never been apart.The time was too short! I wish we lived closer to them and could hang out more, but we're lucky that they occasionally come to UT. We will make it out to the "Heights" one of these days. It will be so much fun when we get together with their kids as well - especially since they all match up in age. I'm hoping they make it out this summer and we'll get to see them again soon!

Slow Down Please !!!

My little baby is 6 months old, and he is just growing up too fast! Blaze is our last baby and trying to savor every day with him and his baby stages. Now he has two sharp little teeth that he frequently uses to bite me while nursing. I pinch his nose as I have done with my other kids, but he just looks up at me with his priceless smile and then laughs at me. He is really into eating his toes, and he keeps biting himself and screaming out in pain. We can't help but laugh at him because it's so silly that he bites himself! Every day he is getting stronger and stronger and is sitting up so well. The Bumbo won't contain him much longer as he is learning how to pivot his hips and has almost got himself free of it. Yesterday we moved him into his big boy car seat, and he enjoyed riding up in the front of the shopping cart. Passerbys gave him lots of complements and attention as they watched him scope out his new view of Walmart. Blaze continues to be such a delight in our home, and everywhere he goes people observe what a good natured little guy he is. The only thing that has slowed down is his growth stats. At his well child check-up he was 18.3 lbs (61%), and 27" (65%. Judging by his size, people still guess that he is 8-9 months old though! He's definitely not a new born anymore! It's hard to believe that he will be walking, talking, and eating real food in the next six months!

My little baby is 6 months old,