Easter

Easter is always a special holiday. I had very tender feelings this year as I pondered the Atonement and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I wonder if I will ever understand what He has done for me, my family, and you. For now my heart is full of gratitude.

We did a couple of things this year that I think will become Easter traditions. First, my visiting teacher told me about Resurrection Rolls. You put a marshamellow inside roll dough, seal it up, and bake it. When it is done, the inside is empty and hollow - like the empty tomb. Lainy loved it, and totally understood the concept.

The next thing we did was something I grew up doing. My mom would put scriptures and tokens of the Atonement in eggs. Easter morning we would open the eggs and read the scriptures and remember what Easter is all about. This year I made my own eggs and we did it as a family. Those passages of scriptures are so powerful. And the girls had fun opening the eggs and finding what was inside.

Here are the girls in their Easter dresses. It was impossible to get a good picture of Leah - she was way too excited to hold still. This is the best we got:

 And this one makes me laugh:

 We hope you had a happy Easter too!

Stuff

I have felt so busy for the past couple of weeks, but I'm not sure I can tell you what we have been doing that has been keeping us so busy.

Just stuff, I guess. 3-year-old stuff. And 15-month-old stuff. And Medical School stuff. And Church stuff. And stuff with friends. You get the idea...

Here are some pictures of some of the stuff we have done lately.

One Sunday we walked over to the UW campus to see the cherry blossoms blooming. They were beautiful!

 It has been very rainy, so we have spent a lot of time at the Children's Museum, sometimes building houses...

 And sometimes sitting in Papa Bear's, Mama Bear's, and Baby Bear's chair.

Last week we planted a little garden with flowers, beans, squash, carrots, and lettuce. Lainy and Leah have had fun digging in the dirt (and so have I)!

Saturday was gorgeous in Seattle. 70 degrees, no wind, and warm sunshine. We dressed in shorts and went on a hike. It felt so good!

Mostly, our minds have been full of residency stuff. Brad is in the process of deciding what area of medicine he wants to pursue. He needs to apply for residency at the end of the summer...yikes! We can't believe this decision is already here! He has narrowed it down to a few options. Now he just needs to choose. We've done our homework, now we need to spend some more time on our knees and in the temple. It's a big decision! I'll let you know what we decide. Until then, please keep us in your prayers.

It's a Leah thing

Leah disappears every morning after breakfast.

Where do you think she goes?

The answer might surprise you...

Yes. She goes to her room, climbs up on Lainy's bed right next to the bookshelf, and "reads" books for about half an hour.

Sometimes Lainy joins her.

But mostly it's just Leah's thing.

Cute.

Lainy's Pics

We gave Lainy a kids digital camera for Christmas.

She loves it.

Last night, we downloaded some of her pictures. I was surprised (okay, I was shocked) at how good they are!

Some are very artistic...

Some feature her toys...

Brad and I make an appearance in some of them...

But this little baby is by far Lainy's favorite subject...

Aren't they great?! It's fun to see the world through Lainy's eyes.

Mom

My Mom came to see us last week. She is wonderful and so much fun. It was good to have her here for a few days!

UW Campus

Jellyfish Lainy at the Aquarium

Octopus Leah.

Playing with octopus legs

Leah loved the Aquarium! Lainy took a while to warm up... and didn't dare touch the starfish in the tidepool exhibit.

Beautiful weather at Carkeek Beach

Look at that view!

Mom found this cool fort on the beach

The girls loved playing in it!

Lainy and Leah inside the fort

As soon as I got back in the car after dropping Mom off at the airport, Lainy said tearfully: "I'm going to miss my Grandma so much!"

Thanks for the visit Mom! We love you!