Easter Hosana

I need to report the details of our Easter before it flies by and is forgotten.  It was a good one.  We had Easter baskets and Easter clothes, but they were mere fluff and details, although they were fun and we did look good (even if I do say so myself! You'll see the clothes in our upcoming family portrait.)  The main things I wanted to do for Easter--church and dinner--were spectacular.

Church was a big deal this year.  The chapel was packed--mostly because our friends Jon and Caitlin blessed their new baby twins, but I did have my good friend Karen and her husband Tom there to support me.  The service was a long one.  We had two confirmations of newly baptized members, two baby blessings (Gwyneth and Beckett, who were wearing beaded satin finery made by their grandma), the sacrament (of course), and a change in the bishopric.  Quinn Bennion, our dear friend, is now the bishop.  Alan is his first counselor, and Coleman Ellis is the second counselor.  After testimonies from the outgoing bishop and his wife and the incoming bishop and his wife, we had two talks.  One was from me and the other was from a young dental student whose pregnant superstar wife is one of my workout buddies.  I felt like I shouldn't write my talk out, but just speak from the heart this time.  The title of my talk was "Happiness is a Well-Packed Diaper Bag" and the subject was the purpose of this life.  I first read a few scriptures that answer that question simply and easily, and then gave a summary of a family night lesson on the plan of salvation.  Then I talked about how the essentials that you pack in a diaper bag--nourishment and ways to keep clean--relate to the essentials we really need in this life (the word of God and keeping the commandments and the atonement of Jesus Christ).  Then I bore my testimony and that was it.  I hardly remember the choir number and the other talk because I was just relieved to be done, amazed to be sitting on the stand by my husband (well, we were separated by a Pokemon-drawing deacon...) and happy to enjoy the spirit of the meeting and the day.

That evening we had a traditional Easter dinner with friends--who just happened to be the new bishopric and one other family.  We had 13 people over age 16 at the adult table, 5 medium kids at the bar, two little runarounds sitting with their mamas, and 4 babies on the yoga mat.  It was delightful--and it produced the only photographic evidence of the day.   From left to right are Oliver, Lucy, Eve and Griffin-all born within two months of each other last fall.