Easter: A Celebration of Life

"The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre...
"But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
"And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
"And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
"And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou has laid him, and I will take him away.
"Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
"Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
"Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her."
-John 20:1, 11-18

"And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
"And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead...
"And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word."
-Matthew 28:5-9

"And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
"And... they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
"He is not here, but is risen..."
-Luke 24:4-6

[Emphasis added.]

Just A Little Thing...

When I went to check the mail today, I found a little package addressed to me from my dad. I was super super excited! I got a package! From my daddy!! Except I couldn't figure out what he could have possibly sent to me, since they're coming to visit in two weeks...

So I shook the package, heard a rattle, and managed to tear it open.

Inside was the bag of M&M's he had taunted me with only a week ago.

I laughed out loud, really really hard!

And then I bawled my eyes out. Uncontrollably. (But I was still laughing a little, too.)

In my silly way, I almost don't want to open them and eat them, because the gift means so much to me.

Sometimes I am excited to have a little Yockeyite, a little sign of the eternal bond of love and commitment that Husband Man and I have... But sometimes I really just want to run home and hug my mommy and my daddy and just be their little girl forever...

So today, among the sunshine and the house I cleaned up and am really proud of, I sat on the couch and bawled (and laughed) over a bag of M&M's.

(I blame it on being pregnant.)

Amen, Sister! :What Are We Doing to Ourselves??

First of all, you need to go read a post written by another gal on her blog. It's at Rage Against the Minivan (the title of her blog already draws you in, so just click it and read!).
It's ok, I'll wait while you read. I'm not going anywhere. I can amuse myself.

Read the entire thing... all of it.....

Ok. I think this lady makes some good points. I admit I had no idea that the holiday craze was such a big deal! I thought all those holiday pins on Pinterest were just pinned and then fell by the wayside. People actually do elf on the shelf? People actually "plant" jelly beans so their kids can wake up to lollipops on the lawn? People actually make teacher gifts?

I'm not trying to be rude here. If you're a parent and planting jelly beans is a way that you love to connect with your child, then I am all for it. When I was growing up, one way my parents show their love is by giving gifts. They LOVE to give us things; even after I got married, they still send us treats occasionally and we are absolutely spoiled over Christmas and birthdays. There were many years where I woke up to a valentine and a treat from my dad, ranging from stuffed animals to jewelry to candy. Even just this last year my mom was in the area and she gave me my Easter basket with some treats inside. This is how my parents enjoy loving us, and for the most part I think my siblings and I are grateful for the things they get us.

What bothers me about this are the parents who plant jelly beans because they feel like they have to. It's the parents who bend over backwards to "keep up with the Jones's" and make sure their house looks impeccable, their child looks adorable, and that everything is appropriately decorated for every possible holiday. The parents who are always worn out, who feel like they have to be perfect, that they have some standard to live up to.

Where did this idea come from? Why do we beat ourselves us and run ourselves ragged just to do all this JUNK?

(Probably advertising. I might start blaming everything on advertising. They're the reason I have to shave my legs.)

What's even more sad to me is that some of these holidays actually have a meaning behind them, and the meaning is lost behind advent calendars and dying eggs. With Easter approaching, and a Yockeyite on the way, a thought that sometimes shows up is How on earth will I teach Gummy Bear the meaning of Easter? How can I show Gummy Bear that the Easter Bunny is a hoax, and that what we really are celebrating is the resurrection of our Savior? (No offense to the Easter Bunny, but his role in Easter celebrations is kind of stupid, in my mind. It makes no sense!)

Anyways, I echo what this lady says... Stop the madness! Like I said, if you hide gold coins and dye eggs because you enjoy that time with your children (and they enjoy it too), then do it! We don't all have the same methods for raising children. The point is, we don't need to make our lives even more busy than they already are. You don't have an obligation to do all this random, weird stuff just to love your kids--there are other, easier ways to do that. Keep simplicity alive.

Pregnancy Post #2 and Temple Trips

I did write a post about random prego stuff, but it's on the Sister Blog this time, so head on over there to read it!

I just want to add that we went to the temple today. We've sort of gone sporadically, when we remember (I still don't get how I forget, it sits on the hill in town), but we've only done other stuff besides a session. Today we did a session, and I felt like I was on cloud nine! It was so wonderful to be in the House of the Lord again, and to feel my spiritual bucket filled to overflowing. What wonderful times are these, where we can go and receive blessings for performing saving ordinances for the dead!

P.S. My husband is awesome. Just saying.