He Lives!

I just can't find anything better to express my feelings about Easter than this painting and video that I've posted on Easters past.

This video is beautiful:



And I love this painting of Peter and John running to the tomb.

The artist, Liz Lemon Swindle, said about this painting:

"When Mary came to the tomb, she found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. She ran to the disciples crying, "They have taken away the Lord…and we know not where they have laid him" (John 20:2). Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb.

"What did they think as they ran? Were they simply curious to see for themselves? Did they fear, like Mary, that their enemies had stolen the body? Or did they remember His promise, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up"?

"The decision that faced Peter and John that Sunday morning is the same decision that faces each one of us today. Will we doubt? Will we hope? Or will we know that He lives? I know that He lives."

I know, too, that He lives. Happy Easter!

Happy Friday!

This picture just makes me laugh. I have no idea what's going on here, but I figured that it's a good one for the Friday before Easter.

[via The Graphics Fairy]

Happy Friday!

What We Saw Last Night--Savior of the World

Our local stake is putting on a production of Savior of the World this week and next. Isaac, The Boy, and I went to see it last night.

The performance itself was kind of a mixed bag--that was to be expected, I guess, with such a wide variety of experience in our little community. Some of the show was great--breathtaking, even, especially in the second act--and some of it was a little rough.

But here was the interesting thing: regardless of the quality of the acting, the singing, the dancing, or the script, the feeling in the room was undeniable. It was a feeling that didn't come from any of those things--it came from a perfect God working through imperfect people. I know that Jesus Christ lives, and I felt that so clearly last night.

I'm glad we went.  It was a beautiful way to start the Easter season.

(Have I mentioned that I love Easter? I do.)

**For those of you who are local and would like to see Savior of the World--tickets are sold out, but admission is free, and walk-ins are welcome. Walk-ins will be seated a few minutes before the performance starts. Click here for more information on when and where.

What Think Ye of Christ?

I know that this is true.

Our Easter Eggs

I didn't take very many pictures of Easter this year. But I have a million pictures of the Easter eggs that we dyed, so...I'm inflicting them on you. Ha ha!

Anyways, every year I try to do something different with our Easter eggs. One year we did rubber bands, and we've done crayons...stuff like that. So this year, the first thing I came up with was natural dyes*--and, being the lazy girl that I am, I just went with it. Good thing it worked out, huh?

This isn't the greatest photo, but it's decent enough to show the colors that we ended up with. (I was kind of afraid we'd just end up with different shades of brown.) The orange-y colors were a bit orangier in real life, and the spinach eggs were a nice gray-green that doesn't really come out in the photo. Oh, and the egg in the upper right corner says "dandelion petals." Kinda hard to read that one.



Pretty, right? We got a way wider range of color than I thought we would. They were a bit more work than regular Easter eggs, and I don't think I'll do them again for a few years, but I loved how they turned out.

* I don't have anything against regular Easter egg or food dyes. Well, maybe a little. But really, I just wanted to do something different this year.

An Easter Message

I know that most of my readers are Mormon. But I'm pretty sure that there are a few of you out there who aren't (and who are lurking ;).

Anyway, whether you're Mormon or not, this is a simple--but powerful--Easter message about Jesus Christ. I don't want to get too preachy, but I do want to put something out there about Easter and about why I love Easter so much.

(It's a couple days early, but I know my weekend is going to be busy. The chances of me remembering to blog on Easter Sunday are about...0%.)

It Hasn't Even Been Two Weeks Yet!

If you've read my blog for awhile, you know that I have a bad habit of not posting pictures until at least two weeks after the fact. I'd like to point out right now that Easter was only nine days ago, and I'm already posting. Wooo!

Anyway, Easter is my favorite holiday. And this Easter didn't disappoint.


We played Easter-y games. (Printable Build-A-Bunny game from Homeschool Creations)


And dyed eggs. I saw a cool tip online about putting an egg inside a wire whisk for little kids, instead of using a spoon. More control, less mess.


We went a little crazy with the rubber bands.


And we made Easter-y treats. Unfortunately, these came out looking more like raw ground beef than like Rice Krispy eggs, but they were still tasty.


And we "hid" eggs. A three-year-old can have trouble finding an Easter egg that's in plain sight. Pretty funny, actually.


And, of course, we watched General Conference. Nothing makes Easter better than General Conference falling on the same weekend.

So that's my late early Easter recap. Maybe from now on I'll be better about posting in a timely manner. 

Or...probably not.

Easter Decision (Re-Posted from Last Easter)

I was going to post a different picture and quote for Easter this year, but I couldn't find any that I liked better than this. So, a re-post.

"When Mary came to the tomb, she found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. She ran to the disciples crying, 'They have taken away the Lord…and we know not where they have laid him (John 20:2).' Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb. "What did they think as they ran? Were they simply curious to see for themselves? Did they fear, like Mary, that their enemies had stolen the body? Or did they remember His promise, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up?' "The decision that faced Peter and John that Sunday morning is the same decision that faces each one of us today. Will we doubt? Will we hope? Or will we know that He lives? I know that He lives." Art and text by Liz Lemon Swindle

Resurrection

Art by Del Parson "The Resurrection from the dead is a most beautiful aspect of the Atonement and truly a part of the plan of happiness; the Resurrection is universal and applies to the entire human family. We will all be resurrected. I bear testimony of that fact and truth. This is an unconditional gift from God." -Earl C. Tingey