The Winds of Change

Today is Easter Sunday. And while it was the same in some ways, in others it was different for us. We still had egg salad for lunch except for Matthew who had his traditional tuna (because he eats it in similar ways to how the rest of us eat egg salad, he feels like it is as close to eating the same thing we are as he can get). Dinner was ham, cheesy potatoes, rolls, etc. There were still chocolate bunnies and jellybeans on hand, as well as the traditional hot cross buns for dessert. We still had a reminder of the Savior in the kids’ baskets, this year several things that can help them celebrate Easter in future. Kevin’s parents haven’t been able to make it into our house to enjoy dinner with us for a few years, so we packed their dinner up and delivered it to their door yesterday. So, these things were pretty normal. 

There were several differences this year as well. Due to the difficult month they have had in terms of health, we also delivered an Easter feast to my parents. And while Daniel and Nathan came down from Logan as they usually do, Daniel was joined by Tawni this year. This is a new development for us and while it is a welcome one, we definitely have some changes on our horizon. Matthew is leaving for his mission in three months, and he is really starting to see things through that lens. He knows he is going to miss things, and he knows things will be different when he comes home. And he’s right. That is the nature of life. Things at home won’t stand still while he is gone. In fact, there are some very big changes coming soon for Daniel. As evidenced by his girlfriend, whom we all adore, joining us for a major holiday. That news is still a bit hush hush, but it is going to signal a new phase for my little crew.

As I think about these imminent changes, I’m reminded that life is always changing. And that my role as a mother is changing as well. In some ways it is a bit sad because I know that things will never be the same again. But on the other hand, there is so much joy to come. And some things that I’m ridiculously excited about. So overall, I’m ok with my changing role. Which is good, because even if I weren’t, the changes would still come. And it means that I have some new things to learn and new people to love and new experiences to enjoy. And realistically, new tears to be shed. Because I know that’s in there as well, giant crybaby that I am. 😂

I know that all these changes that are coming for my family are only the next step along the path that leads us to our family goal of eternal life. Because that is one thing that won’t change. Our hoped-for destination is still the same! And that is why we celebrate Easter. Because we know that we couldn’t accomplish our goal without the loving atonement of our Savior and His resurrection that we celebrate today. So Happy Easter! He is risen!

Braving Prom

During his three years in high school, Matthew has really only gone to one of the formal dances. He has had a variety of reasons, not the least of which has been the enormous amount of social drama all around him and his great desire to stay out of it, so he has made himself intentionally unavailable on those evenings. But as his senior year is winding down, both Kevin and I have encouraged him to jump in a bit more and experience a few things so that he doesn’t have any regrets later. He has taken this to heart and has really jumped in with both feet, which is kind of funny since he only has enough actual classes to fill half of each school day! He still isn’t home any more than in the past though. He comes home for lunch and then goes back to school and fills the remainder of the day with practice, stage tech jobs, etc.

Matthew has always been a band kid so most of his friends were other band kids. But he has been assimilated into the choir program this year as a member of the vocal jazz choir, and he has made a number of new friends in the choir program. One of these is Megan, who just happens to have food allergies to many of the same things as Matthew does. He was so excited when he discovered that fact! He has met a number of people over the years with food allergies, but the ones whose allergies are similar in type and number have been few. He calls Megan his food allergy buddy and it has been so nice for him to be friends with someone who totally understands his life. 

By way of taking advantage of some experiences that won’t come again, he decided to go to prom. And he decided to ask Megan to go with him. There was a whole big fake kidnapping scenario that went into the asking and he got dropped a couple of times and the tech for the ransom video didn’t work out quite right, but fun was had, and the ask was received and in due time was accepted. The whole week leading up to prom was themed at school and he really had fun with that one. My favorite of his themed days was Dynamic Duos Day. He and Megan decided to go as Sheldon and Amy from “The Big Bang Theory” t.v. show. He shopped the D.I. and a local comic bookstore to put together just the right outfit. I rarely see him before school, so when he walked into the house for lunch that day, I laughed out loud. It was perfect!

Matthew has been making plans for weeks so that he and Megan could safely eat the same thing as their friends in the midst of a typical high school experience. He considered a home cooked meal at our allergy friendly house but ultimately opted to take his group to Tsunami. Now, this didn’t work out quite as well as he had hoped because Megan discovered that she really didn’t like the fish, but it was ok. Matthew got to have the experience of dressing up, eating out with his friends, and having the slightly awkward first dates that dances often are. 

Matthew has been ready to be done with high school all year. On the flip side, it is also kind of freaking Matthew out that he only has six weeks left before he graduates. It’s one of life’s common contradictions, the kinds that happen for all of us. But he has done really well making new friends and letting other people into his life a bit. He has been gone a lot and not just for scheduled school events. He has really developed the busy social life that seemed so unlikely when so many of his best band friends graduated last year. And I’m proud of him for being willing to try new things and let new people in. Not all these people will be lifelong friends. In fact, it’s highly likely that most of them won’t. But I feel like he has gathered some good kids around him this year and they have helped make this year happier and more successful than I think Matthew anticipated. 

Some Bunny Loves Pancakes!

With Easter just around the corner, it is time for more fun pancakes! Yes, we have been trying to focus more on the Savior and celebrate Easter the way we celebrate Christmas as our church leaders have encouraged us to do, but I still think there is room for all the fun bunny stuff. So today was bunny pancakes! I love carrot cake pancakes in the spring and with some fruit and a bit of cream cheese frosting left over from our cinnamon swirl snowflake pancakes in December (Don’t worry. It has been in the freezer. We did not give ourselves food poisoning this morning.) they were as cute as can be. Matthew had to skip the frosting as it was the real version, but he did add the marshmallow bunny teeth. And as always, he humored me a lot by building the cute food and then letting me take a picture of him. He doesn’t really like the photo portion any more than he did when he was three, but like I said, he humors me!

Primary Answers

Because Malia is the youngest of my children by a decent sized gap, there are things I did with my boys that I’ve never done with her. Most of those things were little kid things because by the time Malia was the appropriate age, the boys had outgrown some of it. So, she missed out on some stuff. Today I opted to rectify one of those things by making resurrection rolls, aka. empty tomb rolls, as part of our Easter celebrations. I chose a made from scratch recipe which is something I didn’t do when the boys were little. Because let’s face it. With three rambunctious boys giving me a run for my money from the time the sun came up until they all dropped exhausted into their beds at the end of the day, simpler was usually better. 

The standard super easy version uses purchased crescent roll dough. But the crescent rolls baked up fairly flat, especially if the marshmallow leaked out. And often the marshmallow didn’t completely melt in the oven, so we ended up with an interesting mix of flat tombs and semi-resurrected marshmallows. It didn’t matter to the boys and the lesson was learned anyway, but in my opinion, the recipe was not a complete success. So, as I thought about repeating the experience with Malia, I knew I wanted to try something different. 

Today’s from scratch rolls worked about five million times better than the super easy crescent-rolls-from-a-tube version! About half of our tombs leaked, but even when they did, the rolls baked up nice and tall and the hollow interior was perfect. I was enormously pleased! And when I shared our success with my boys, Daniel asked if there was going to be a repeat of the recipe on Easter as my college boys will be home for dinner that evening. Our Easter menu always includes hot cross buns and that won’t change, but I’m so pleased with how our resurrection rolls turned out that I’m seriously considering making another batch so Daniel and Nathan can try them as well. That’s how jazzed I am that they worked so well this time!

So, here’s the lesson: sometimes we all need a chance to repeat small and simple things, because there is always the opportunity to improve and even as adults, sometimes the simple things are exactly what we need. And sometimes the basic lessons are still the most important ones. The marshmallow is white because Jesus was perfect. The people who loved Him cared for Him even after he died by anointing Him with oil and spices. And because He was resurrected, the tomb was empty. Doesn’t that just kind of cover it all?

I Needed a Little Whimsy in my Life

Do you ever have those days when you really need to lay down the cares of the world for a bit and just find a little joy? Or possibly do just a little bit of emotional eating knowing full well that it is exactly what you are doing? And maybe even blow off a little steam at the same time? Today was one of those days. And since it is spring, and nearly Easter, my little bit of joy came in the form of some adorable chick cookies.

Whimsy? Check.

Delicious lemon crinkle cookies? Check.

Decapitating some chicks? Check, check.

Mission accomplished. 😂

At Home and At Play for Spring Break

Yesterday there was a big air show at Nellis Airforce Base in Las Vegas. There were some planes flying that Kevin and Matthew really wanted to see and the show coincided with spring break, so months ago they planned a short trip south in order to go to the airshow. They had a great time, and Matthew took some amazing pictures that he is super excited about. I’m glad they were able to take this short boys’ trip before Matthew leaves on his mission. I think we have all been trying to fit in all kinds of things like this before he leaves in three months. 

Malia and I, knowing that we just don’t care about the planes and that we just don’t do well in the heat, opted to stay home and just have a slow, relaxing weekend. We watch chick flicks and made homemade mac and cheese which has kind of become a tradition for us when Matthew and Kevin are off for tours and other travels. We also listened to conference and ate far more muffins than was good for us.

I think that both Matthew and Malia enjoyed their spring break. They were both in need of a break from school and hopefully they will be able to dig back in and focus through the end now that they have had some down time.

Spiritual Enlightenment and the Traditional Breakfast

It is perfectly normal for families to have traditions associated with holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. We certainly have our fair share of traditions on each of those holidays. In church culture, it is also very common for families to have traditions associated with General Conference. And we have some of those as well. In particular, having sausage and muffins for breakfast is one of those unalterable traditions for us. When I was growing up, my mom always made muffins on the Sunday of General Conference. I continued to that trend with my own children, adding sausage to add some protein and balance our meal a bit. And my kids have continued that tradition as they have moved out and into their own abodes. 

Kevin and Matthew were on the road this morning driving home from St. George so they had their muffins for lunch, but the rest of us were well fed by the time conference started today. 😀

It’s Recital Time Again!

When Nathan started taking organ lessons, his teacher was one of the two organ professors at USU. But Nathan learned so quickly that at the end of that semester, she handed Nathan off to the other organ professor whose skill level is higher. This professor also teaches at BYU and UVU and drives up to Logan on Thursdays to teach. In the past, the music department scheduled the organ recitals for Monday evenings, and they were not flexible despite the second organ teacher’s unavailability on Mondays. That meant he always missed the organ recitals. But this semester they finally got some cooperation which meant the organ recitals were today, a Thursday, and both organ professors were able to attend! That meant we got to meet the professor who has been teaching Nathan for a couple of years now. It also means that they actually took a minute to have all the organ students pose for a picture. As always, it was a fun recital.

Despite having a heavy course load this semester, Nathan is still loving his organ lessons. He selected a simpler recital piece this time around knowing that he had a busy semester, but honestly, it didn’t sound all that simple to me! I am always impressed by his ability and how easy he makes it look. 😂 Tawni is also still taking organ lessons, so we were able to hear her play as well. After the recital we visited with the kids a bit before heading home. We didn’t stay long and we kind of had to drag Matthew and Malia away, but it is always good to see that our kids enjoy each other’s company!