Easter

We again spent Easter in Canada this year and as usual we had the Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.  Aunt D helped with hiding all the eggs.  The girls had a blast looking for all the eggs, even though I forgot their Easter baskets at home and they had to improvise.

On Sunday morning we all went to church and when we returned Q was fast asleep and Y, after waiting several hours, couldn't wait any longer and wanted to see what the Easter Bunny had brought them.  

We took them on a wagon ride to the park where, among other things, Y enjoyed pushing Q on the swings!

We weren't able to get photos of the girls in their Easter outfits because Q was fast asleep and Y didn't want to stay "dressed up" for that long, she wanted to go out and play.  So we took photos at a later date, but since I'm writing this post after the fact, here they are:

Can you tell that Y is a lil' diva already?

Easter 2012

While I miss celebrating Easter with my family in North Carolina I am so grateful that we have family close to go share the holiday with!  It is awesome to be able to sit around and laugh and joke with family, even if you have to depart early due to a 3 year old that won't quit yelling - she had too much sugar AND it was almost her normal bedtime.

We had good food, good laughs, good company and I wish we could all get together and do it more often but since none of us are rich we all must return to our normal lives. 

This year, for the first time, we had the Easter egg hunt on Saturday!  We asked Aunt S to hide the eggs and she did an absolutely amazing job!  They were hidden in places and ways that I never would have thought to hide them.  They were nestled in branches of bushes, perched in window seals, sitting in chairs, leaning up against trees, behind brooms and rakes, and I believe there was even one placed ever so perfectly on a piece of plastic piping!  I was so happy that I asked her to do it because I had planned to just put them in the grass and that requires absolutely no creativity at all!  So now, Aunt S will be the designated egg hider each year!

Y, of course, found the majority of the eggs and she did most of it with little help.  Q found 9 eggs with my help but she would have been more than content had she only found 2 - one for each hand.  She also had little interest in the chocolate that was inside the egg, Y was an entirely different story...which ended in that yelling and screaming mentioned above.

On Sunday morning the Easter Bunny arrived before heading out to church.  Y's basket had lots of princess items mixed in with a little Tinkerbell and Strawberry Shortcake, plus a beautiful towel embroidered with her name and a chocolate bunny.  Q's basket also had an embroidered towel as well as some bath toys, I guess the Easter Bunny knows that Q can't have chocolate yet so he didn't bring her a bunny.  Both also received a really cute stuffed friend from Uncle B and Aunt S which they can sleep with in their bed/crib.

Since we celebrated with Easter Dinner on Saturday we were able to have a nice relaxing day after church.  We received so many complements on the girl's dresses this year.  They are from The Children's Place (big surprise) and I loved that they were so similar but slightly different in design at the top.  I also knitted each of them 2 shrugs, one in pink and another in purple, and had them each wear it in the opposite color.  Y got to wear purple because it happens to be her favorite color...for this month anyway.



The Fox Boys

Easter Egg Hunt

Y has never been to an Easter Egg Hunt...with other children.  We've had one every year since she could walk but since she (prior to this year) had no siblings and no cousins anywhere close, she didn't have any competition in those hunts.  And we were always out of town or otherwise busy for the church Easter Egg Hunts.  So this year we decided we'd sign her up for our township Easter Egg Hunt.

I had anticipated an Easter Egg Hunt like that of my youth, where we dashed around trying to find the most eggs - it was a competition.  So when we arrived I was more than surprised to see that there was a line which curved around in a parking lot.  You waited in this line to go to different "booths" to find an egg hidden under straw which had been laid in the parking lot.

It was neat and well organized and while I understand why they do it that way, I really wanted her to experience what I consider to be a real Easter Egg Hunt.  In the end, each child got the same number of eggs and the same amount of candy and prizes but I missed the competition aspect of it.  I guess what truly matters is that Y had a fun time - and she did.  Looks like I'll have to wait for Q and any unborn siblings to get older so we can have those competitive hunts at home.

They also had a few animals there for the children to pet but Y would only pet the bunnies.  The other animals were a piglet, chicken, calf, and a momma goat with her baby.

Easter...A Few Weeks Late

This year (well pretty much every year) we spent Easter in Canada with family.  These are all the pictures I actually took which is kinda sad...I'm slacking on my picture taking habits.  I didn't really get photos of Y's Easter Egg Hunt, partially because she surprised me and fell asleep when I wasn't expecting it (she was wearing big girl underwear) and had a little accident while still wearing her Easter dress.  The other part was due to the fact that it was pretty stinkin' cold outside and Grandpa P had put some fertilizer on the grass a few days before so we figured it was safer to do it indoors as opposed to doing it in the yard.  It didn't seem to matter to her at all though, she loved searching for the eggs just as much!  Next year she'll have a little sister crawling behind her grabbing eggs of her own!

Happy Easter

I know Easter was several days ago but I'm behind in getting all the pictures posted. We went to Canada to spend the weekend with family and fun was had by all. Y had a ball climbing up and down the stairs, she would stay there for hours if you allowed her to. Anyway, here are some pictures from our weekend.

Easter

We had a lovely Easter spent in Canada with family. Claudia and Åsmund have been visiting from Norway and we were finally able to see them and Y able to meet them for the very first time. We really enjoyed our visit and getting away for a couple of days, we even think that Y is started to get used to their place a little more. Anyways, here are some pictures from this weekend!

Personal Reflections

I just finished wrapping Y's Easter gifts, all of which deal with Christ and as I looked at each one I began reflecting back on the past 15-16 months or so (from the time we got pregnant until now) and how different my life and my life's path have become. It's not an easy task being Mormon and I definitely won't sit here and say that I've always been a picture perfect one. And being the very imperfect being that I am makes me that much more grateful for the Atonement of Christ. I was once told two very important things and I never completely understood them until becoming a mother. The first was that as I went through the temple for the first time I would "receive understanding, light and knowledge and personal revelation as to your purposes here on earth and the true meaning of life and family." I can say that I did learn a lot that day but I'm not completely sure I learned that. The second thing was that my most choice blessing was to be a mother and that I will teach them the principles of the Gospel through my example and testimony as well as teaching them the commandments of their Heavenly Father. I guess that until I became a mother I never really saw it as being a blessing, I approached it more like it was a job. However, now, that I am a mother when I reflect back to those very important passages I realize that if I never succeed in teaching Y anything else, I must succeed in teaching her that her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love her unconditionally. That is my life's purpose and as long as I can succeed in teaching her that then everything else will somehow work itself out. Now, that may sound like an easy task but coming from someone who has always struggled with feeling worthy of that unconditional love it can be a tough task. I will say this though, being a mother has brought me so much closer to Heavenly Father and Christ because it has taught me to seek help from Them much more often. Again, I am so very grateful for the Atonement of Christ, for His ultimate sacrifice, and for all the blessings that I have received because of it. Sometimes I feel as if this blog is not the best place for me to post my spiritual thoughts but maybe it should be. Happy Easter, everyone. 143!