Some Easter Pictures

I absolutely love this painting of Jesus. The concern on His face portrays the deep, unfathomable love He has for each of us. When I see this picture, I am reminded that He loves ME. And He is genuinely concerned for ME. Looking at this painting fills me with a feeling I cannot comprehend. I don't think my human heart can fully understand the magnitude of His love, the depth of it, the SINCERITY of it. When I see this picture, though, I FEEL that love that I cannot understand. And it brings me to my knees.

Here are some of my favourite "Easter Time" pictures. I tried to put them in order of the story of Easter. If any of my readers doesn't know the Easter story, or is unsure of what the pictures are portraying, feel free to leave a comment and I will share the story or explain any parts you don't know! Don't be shy!!!! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy these pictures.

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter.

This is a painting of Jesus with the Nephites, the people living on the American continent, after His Resurrection.

DON'T FORGET!

Easter may be over, but that is not the end of the celebration!

Don't forget that after Christ had left His followers in the Old World, He appeared to the Nephites here in America! (This is what our Family Home Evening lesson was tonight!)

One of my favourite Scripture stories comes from this time, when Christ is with the people on the American continents.

Read chapter 8-30 from the Book of 3 Nephi. Here is a link to chapter 8 to get you started. :) When you get to the bottom, click the "NEXT" button to continue reading. I feel The Spirit so strong during this story, and then just WAIT until you hear what happens in chapter 17! Oh my, this story is SO GOOD! Seriously, this whole story is just...overflowing! I feel so full of The Spirit when I read it. I can't help but cry each time I read this story. Whether you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or not, I really, really, really, really, REALLY (really) encourage (BEG!) you to read this story. It is right here online, so you don't have to get up and go dig your Book Of Mormon out of your church bag, or ask your "Mormon Friend" (come on, we ALL have ONE) to borrow their Book Of Mormon. Just take a few minuets, read this story, and let your heart be changed. Let it fill with The Spirit. Let The Spirit TESTIFY to you of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And let YOUR spirit be filled and fed with His goodness and peace. Just feel peace in this story.

I bear testimony that Christ IS RISEN! That He lived, and that He still lives! I bear testimony that He visited the people on the American Continents. They felt the wounds in His hands, His feet, the spear wound in His side.

PLEASE read this story! It is so beautiful! :)

Okay, here are the songs we sang for Family Home Evening. Both songs tell about this Scripture story from 3 Nephi. Our opening hymn was from the LDS Children's Songbook, "Easter Hosanna". LOVE this song! (I could only find the version from the Children's Songbook with a child singing. Not the best, but sweet, and the words are the same...and I LOVE this song...did I mention that??!!) Our closing hymn was, "He Came For Me" by Hilary Weeks. Youtube didn't have HER version, and the video was a little...eh. But the words are the same! (AND...I love this song, too. Hee hee!)

Today, Christ's body lay in a tomb.

I thought a lot about what "today" must have been like. How did the people feel? Mary, his Disciples, all those who loved Him.

I also thought about myself. Christ's Spirit dwells in all of us. In me. But I am like that tomb? Do I hold in my heart a shallow image of Christ that I hope will be enough? Or is His SPIRIT in me as well? When I pray in Jesus' name, do I do so with shallow words and rushed intent? Or is Christ ALIVE in me? When I try and tune in to His Spirit in me, should an angle be asking ME, "Why seekest thou the living among the dead?"

Tomorrow morning marks the resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. He overcame the grave. He lives! He lives, as surely as you and I.

Does He live IN me, too? As I celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, I commit anew to allowing Him to come to life in my heart.

Adventures In Haircare. Cornrows AGAIN!

A quick update on our "Adventures in Haircare". His hair had been really hurt while we were in SLC. I had left his coconut oil home, he went swimming and had chlorine in his hair, AND I didn't make him wear his hair protector to bed. Needless to say, his cornrows were a bit of a wreck. SO...out they came. Yesterday morning I washed and conditioned (the heck out of) his hair. His curls were PHENOMENAL! I wish I had a picture...darn camera thieves! :) Last night, after FHE, I started re-cornrowing. My Dad asked me last night, "Why do you keep twisting them and taking them out?" I said, "Because they had started falling out...and because I am not so good at doing them so they don't look as good and they don't stay in long." My Dad smiled. :) I told him OTHER moms write blogs with the same problem...it takes a few times to get good at it. :) Anyway, this time doing his cornrows I tried braiding instead of twisting. It was SO HARD! And it took SO LONG! Putting beads in the end also takes a LOT of extra time. I worked on his 'rows until after 10:00 last night!!...and they still weren't done! So, I woke up this morning and finished them.

THEY. LOOK. AMAZING!!!!!

I am pleased to say, this is the best try yet. They aren't perfect, but they are so much better!! I hope I can get some pictures to post tomorrow. STAY TUNED!! :)

Easter Week Continued

My friend, Megan, said the link I posted yesterday isn't working, so I am going to repost it here. If it works OR if it DOESN'T work PLEASE LET ME KNOW! :) http://lds.org/liahona/2011/04/easter-week?lang=eng&query=Easter+story

Last night for Family Home Evening I was going to just cover Saturday-Monday of what Jesus was doing during the week leading up to Easter Sunday. However, everyone was having so much fun, we went on and covered the entire week! I wish I had a digital camera so I could show you pictures! Everyone dressed up, we had props and everything, and we acted out the week. It was so FUN, and it was insightful to see a day-by-day play of what was happening and what Jesus was doing. I have a hat a friend gave me from Afghanistan and I decided to be very culturally diverse and use it as part of a costume for the blind man at the Temple who Jesus healed. Well, Taiger insisted on being that blind man. How did he act out being blind? He pulled the hat down over his eyes. :) When Bryndon-Playing-Jesus healed him, he needed only pull the hat up onto his forehead and off his eyes. :)

Taiger had helped cut out the palm fonds for Grandpa-As-The-Multitude-In-Jerusalem to lay at Jesus' feet, and he colored the picture of The Temple that we set up to show that the couch was the Temple. It was a very interactive Family Home Evening, and it was REALLY fun! Oh, and after the closing hymn, Grandpa INSISTED we sing, "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" as a SECOND closing hymn. :) It WAS an Easter FHE, after all. :)

If you do anything fun to help your family learn about Easter, please post it here as a comment! I would LOVE to know what fun things YOU do! :)

The Week of Easter

HAPPY WEEK OF EASTER! When I think of this week, I feel this overwhelming feeling of The Spirit. The importance of this week is beyond our comprehension and I can't help but feel awe and deep reverence when I consider what this week means.

We are doing something really neat this year, and I hope it becomes a yearly tradition. We have a list of things that Jesus did each day of this special week and we are going to follow what Jesus did each day. I really want to get creative and have some neat activities for each day...we will see how clever I am ;) (IF YOU HAVE IDEAS, PLEASE SHARE!)

You can find the outline of the week here: http://http//lds.org/liahona/2011/04/easter-week?lang=eng&query=Easter+story

News and Cornrow Update

Freezing cold. In a motel. In Boise. Kids swam for SEVEN HOURS at the motel pool. My shoes and pants were SOAKED from the first joyful splash to the last cannonball. We are glad to be in Boise visiting cousins. HAPPY DAY! Okay, so I took out Taiger's cornrows. They were not working for me. :) I tried puting some new cornrows in...and I decided they were not working for me either. So, after about two and a half hours of working on them, I took half out and sort of...restructured things. :) The 'rows he has now are pretty fantastic! I was planning on leaving them in for 5-7 days. So, before leaving for Boise, I planned ahead! (GO ME, right?!) I made a special spray in a spray bottle. A combination of water (BRILLIANT!) and coconut oil. I sprayed his hair and put his head wrap on him to sleep. I also had him wear it in the car on the way to Boise. Tonight, while he was swimming, I decided spraying with the Coco-Water Magical Solution (great name, I know) might help protect his hair while swimming. I went to the room, opened my suitcase...and tore it apart looking for the missing spray bottle! I LEFT IT HOME! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I had him shower before bed to get the chlorine off him and out of his hair. He smothered himself in lotion (I was going to spray the Coco-Water Magical Solution on his body, too). :( And his hair is surely dry and frizzy tonight. SIGH. So, I guess when we get home we will be redoing the cornrows....AGAIN. SIGH. The GOOD NEWS is, Brytt is here with her camera and took pictures of his sweet 'do, so I will post them as soon as I get them from her. She also took pictures of me fixing his hair, so you can see the process. :) OH! And you will LOOOOOVE these cornrows because, GUESS WHAT?! They have beads! Yes, on the ends! How fun is THAT?! They are black and blue, so they look "boy-ish", don't worry. ;) Pictures soon, I promise!

Cornrows

Did you think I might never post again? We have been very busy with our little lives. BUT...the NEWEST news? Here it goes. I was getting pretty SICK of Little Man's hair. I LOVE it when it is the first day washed and blow dried. OH THOSE CURLS! They are so beautiful...er, HANDSOME. HOWEVER...after one night sleeping on that hair, the back gets all matted and frizzy. Soon, the rest of the hair follows suite, and before long he looks like no one loves him enough to make him look nice. I adore his long hair! But I HATE THE MATTED LOOK! YUCKY! I have tried single twists. I have tried double twists. I have tried bantu knots. I have even tried yarn extensions (poor kid...and anyone who saw him). I have tried EVERYTHING...except cornrows. I. HATE. CORNROWS!!!!!!!!! Well, I finally broke down. I brought coconut oil, gel, a spray bottle, two different combs, a towel and my messy-hair son all to work with me the other day. I sat him down and started combing. When all the knots and tangles were out... I put his hair in cornrows. Yep. Cornrows. I had planned on it taking several hours (the single and double twists each took about 5 hours to do...the bantu knots took about 3 hours to do, and the yarn extensions were about 7 hours). We turned on Tang*led (fitting, I know) when we started the combing, and it was all done about the time the movie ended. INCREDIBLE! And guess what? I LOVE THEM! Even better? Little T loves them, too!!!!!! It is so nice to be able to see his cute little face! :) My phone is lost (go figure. Anyone surprised? Anyone? No? No, me either.) so I can't take pictures, but I will post some as SOON as I borrow someone's phone/camera. :) P.S. I put nice paragraph spaces in this and when I published it, they all went away! So, I reentered the paragraph spacing, and when I published it, they went away AGAIN! So, please forgive me for one, long paragraph. AND...any suggestions on how to make blogger stop being stupid? Thank you.