Easter

I have happy memories of Easter that flow back to my childhood.  We had Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets and seemed usually to find a Church to attend on Easter.  I remember dressing up in a new dress, shoes, gloves and hat for Easter.  There was no other event that produced such finery.  Easter services always seemed especially spectacular too.  Special flowers and music usually filled the chapels we attended over the years.  I longed for more of Church in those days.  But my family only attended Church on special occasions.

Of course joining the LDS Church changed all of that rather dramatically.  Church is part of my everyday life now.  I like it that way.  But memories of sweet Easter celebrations has made me a little sad when Easter falls on General Conference Sunday.  Easter services are often not celebrated in the ward when that happens.  I love General Conference and I love Easter.  But I wish they fell on different weekends.  Somehow it doesn't feel quite right to sit at home, in casual clothes, on Easter and watch the TV.  Perhaps that is just the Protestant in me.  Plus there is no family to enjoy a celebration with.  BUT I did enjoy Conference and there were plenty of talks about the Savior and Easter.

Our yard is exploding in blossoms.  Spring is such a beautiful time.  I love walking through the yard and seeing it come alive, a little more each day.  Layne is loving working in the garden.  But our garden experiment with early planting has hit a snag.  Our tomatoes apparently roasted in the plastic covered setting Layne set up for them.  He's decided that they needed more water.  So he's started over, unaffected by the frustration of it all, or so it appears.  He just keeps on trying new approaches until he finds out what works.  He's got a knack for not getting discouraged over things.  I so like that about him.

Part of our front yard.  Love the blossoms!

I have a number of projects started.  I've complained before that I can easily start things but finishing them is, for some reason, a challenge for me.  So I've started a t-shirt quilt.  Its not on my priority list but, somehow, I feel pressed to do it.  So I am.  And I'm happy to say that it is almost finished!  Once it really is finished, completely, I plan to celebrate the completion of something.  Then on to my other uncompleted projects.  I'm hoping that finishing something will spur me on to complete some more.  I'll keep you posted on that!

The t-shirt quilt, almost finished!

I am filled with gratitude for the good things that fill my life.  I realize that we are amazingly blessed and I don't want to take it for granted for a moment.  I wonder what more I should do to share these blessings and show the Lord my gratitude.  I pray to know each day and am trying to tune into the unspoken needs of others.  I'm working on being more service-oriented.  I'm grateful for Easter too, and the chance to review the Lord's grand Atonement and the gifts it brings to us all.  I guess, to sum things up, I'm just plain grateful.  

Happy Easter!