His Grace Is Sufficient

On this Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I want to share one of my very favorite talks which was given by Brad Wilcox at a BYU devotional a couple years ago. It's all about the Savior's Grace and how it can become so much more personal and meaningful for each of us. I've listened to this talk several times. I've shared it with my kids and with friends. I've referred to it in lessons and talks. It is an excellent reminder of our need for a Savior and the perfect grace of Jesus Christ to allow a way back Home.



If you prefer to read this talk or listen to an mp3, you can find those options here.

Happy Easter!

Keeping Me Humble

Sadie and I were reading a story together about the great Chicago fire. It read, "Sunday, October 8, was a disaster just waiting to happen." Because October 8th happens to be my birthday, I leaned over and whispered, "Do you know what else happened that day?"

"What?"

"Your favorite person was born that day."

Without hesitation, Sadie asked, "Teddy Roosevelt?"

Somewhat perplexed, I answered, "No. Me."

Sadie chuckled and said, "You're not my favorite person."

So I asked, "Is Teddy Roosevelt?"

"No, I just like him," she replied.

Well then...

Easter Story Eggs

Several years ago, a friend gave me a set of Easter Eggs that contain the Easter story. Each year, my kids - especially the youngest ones - love opening each egg in turn, finding out what is inside, and reading the applicable scriptures to find out how each item relates to the real meaning of Easter. This year I decided to give the eggs a little update and face lift.

There are several versions of this activity online. I used what I was originally given and tweaked it a little here and there to include an extra verse or two. Our original set was in large, colorful plastic eggs. I switched to these white eggs I found at a craft store. I love their simplicity and that they fit in an egg carton. :)

Here are the scripture references and what is inside each egg:

• 1: 3 dimes;  Matthew 26:14-15
• 2: sacrament cup; Matthew 26:26-28, 36, 39
• 3: knotted rope; Matthew 27:1-2
• 4: soap; Matthew 27:15-17,21-24
• 5: red cloth (can also include thorns); Matthew 27:28-29
• 6: nail; Matthew 27:31-32
• 7: dice; Matthew 27:35
• 8: broken rocks; Matthew 27:50-51, 54
• 9: white cloth; Matthew 27:57-60
• 10: smooth flat rock; Matthew 27:62-66; 28:2
• 11: cloves, bay leaf; Mark 16:1-4
• 12: empty; Matthew 28:5-6

{If you would like a document with all of the scriptures typed out, let me know in the comments and I'll e-mail them to you. (Be sure to include your e-mail address if I don't already have it.) Happy Easter!}

Recipe: Hot Buttered O's

We're snackers around here. We love to munch on popcorn, chips and salsa, pretzels, nuts...you name it. One of our favorite snacks is Hot Buttered O's. Never heard of them? You're in for a treat. Super easy and quick, these are our go-to snack for movies and games in a pinch. Love them!

Hot Buttered O's (my version)
6 cups Cheerios or store-brand equivalent
4 Tbsp. butter
Salt, to taste

In a 5 qt. saucepan (we use our Whirly-Pop), melt butter over medium heat. Add cheerios and stir constantly until they start to look toasty (or keep them on the heat longer if you like them a little darker like my dad.) Add salt, to taste, as you stir.

For a super delicious salty/sweet variation, melt 4-6 oz. of almond bark and stir it into prepared Hot Buttered O's.

Oh. Yum.

The Phone Call

"Good evening. Due to heavy snowfall, all district schools will be closed tomorrow, Monday, March 25th. Thank you!"

No, thank YOU! (Hooray!!)

Savannah took this from inside the van on our way home from church. It was a scary drive
with near whiteout conditions at times, but everything looks so pretty!

Our backyard after church today

The snow we've gotten so far is heavy and wet. Perfect packing snow! With even more snow in the forecast through the night, I'm sure there will be plenty of snow fun tomorrow. Can't wait!

The Good Old Days

That would be me. My high school graduation gift was a typewriter. Awesome! :)

For Grandma's Fridge

I made these magnets for Jeff's mom and dad to hold up the grandkids' pictures on their refrigerator door. In true make-it-work-while-on-a-mission fashion, they were using one of those flexible advertisement magnets that had been cut into little strips to do the job. It worked fine, but I couldn't resist cheering it up a bit. I have been anxious to try out my new Washi tape and I think it was the perfect choice for these scrabble tile magnets. You can't tell from the picture, but I coated the top with dimensional glue for a raised glossy finish then put super strong magnets on the backs. I love how they turned out!

Finally Spring

Hooray! Spring is here. It doesn't feel like spring today (only 29º for the high) but it is spring and that is good news!

I hate that I end up in such a funk every January and February. I found some great quotes that help put things in perspective so that perhaps next winter won't seem so grim:

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. 

          --Hal Borland      

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. 

          --Anne Bradstreet

Despite the forecast, live like it's spring.

          --Lilly Pulitzer

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.

          --Anthony J. D'Angelo

Welcome Spring! I'm so glad you're here. :)

Words To Live By

While packing school lunches, I overheard Sterling talking to Spencer at the breakfast table yesterday about something he had to do. I couldn't hear the whole conversation over the noise of the washing machine in the next room, but I did hear this:

"...so I just did it. Problem solved."

I probably got a little too excited. I probably went a bit overboard when I scrawled those words onto 6 pieces of paper and tucked them into my kids' lunchboxes. But I'll tell you, I'd sure like to hear my kids saying those words again and again!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some problems I can solve with some action of my own. :)

Mismatched

It's Mismatched Monday at Sadie's Elementary School. This week they are celebrating School Spirit with a different theme each day. She was pretty happy about her crazy outfit. Yikes! :)

Georgia On My Mind

We've had Georgia on our minds a lot because Jeff's parents have been serving a mission in Atlanta for the past 8 months. Since we're relatively close, we decided to load up the van and visit them during our Spring Break this week. (Maybe "close" is a little misleading, but the 9-hour drive is a lot closer than their home in Idaho!) We had a great trip. Here are a few highlights of our time together.

The Georgia Aquarium was pretty amazing! These pictures don't really do it justice, but we all loved it and had a great day.

We were in great company!

These guys win the prize for most photogenic. Posers!

This was in a huge display full of foliage. We didn't even see the snake at first, he was the same color as all the leaves.

 

A sea dragon. They just kind of float through the water without any visible movement on their part.

On Tuesday we went to Stone Mountain. It's the largest exposed granite monolith in the world. We did some hiking through some beautiful forested areas and then we hiked to the top of the rock. My legs are still a little sore three days later! We could see forever from up there and it was a great feeling of accomplishment. Even Sadie made it to the top, but she managed to piggy back most of the way down. :)

You can see the "confederate notables" carved on the side of the mountain.

Everything was so green and pretty. There are a lot of trees in Georgia!

Food for thought

Sadie and dad on their way down the mountain.

On top of the world.

Our hiking crew. Savannah stayed behind.

We kept hearing a train in the distance. It never showed, but my kids are good at drama.

To finish off the day, we went to an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet. You could choose from several different kinds of pizza as well as salad and dessert. You could also place special orders. Grandma and Grandpa insisted we try the local special, mac and cheese pizza. Not a combination I would have thought of, but it wasn't that bad. A couple of kids said dinner was their favorite part of our whole trip. :) Yes, we like our food!

It was hard to say goodbye, but we'll see Grandma and Grandpa again this summer as they finish their mission and head home with a stop through our little corner of the world.

It's been a great week!

Howdy, Pardner!

Sometimes wishes come true.

Sterling has wanted to be a cowboy for as long as I can remember. He sometimes dresses the part, but he's never had a real cowboy hat and, boy howdy, has he wanted one!  Well, we're on Spring Break and spent a couple days in Georgia this week. Getting home from Georgia required us to pass right through Tennessee. Cowboy hats are pretty easy to come by in Tennessee.

Sterling is pretty happy about that.

Kinda looks like we're riding off into the sunset, doesn't it? 

Watch Your Step

We have so many legos in our house that we moved all four boys into one bedroom so we could have a "lego room." It has definitely helped to keep the legos in one place, but I'm warning you - walk through that room at your own risk! :)

This t-shirt says it all for lego lovers:

Been there, done that!