Take Your Kidz to Work Day and other BIZZZZZZZZ

This past Thursday was a special day. You may remember that June accompanied Dan for Take Your Child to Work Day last year. Gwen was devastated that she wasn't allowed to go. You have to be 4.

Well, ("welp" if you're June), this year Gwen is FOUR. And was ready to roll. It honestly felt a little like Christmas morning here on Thursday because June was excited, and Gwen was SOOO beyond excited. Even Harris excited just because everyone else was so excited.

The girls called me into their room that morning to see their "heart pose" they had made.

Harris kept begging me to take his picture. "Cheese? Cheese" he asked, until I finally whipped out my phone and snapped a shot.

New Paw Patrol pajamas sent by his grandma. He's never seen the show and yet accumulated quite a few PP items. He's the biggest fan of the show he's never seen and insists on wearing "doggies" all of the time.

Here's Dan with the girls before embarking on their amazing day of tons of productivity for Dan. Haha not.

You can't really see it, but Gwen insisted on wearing the "I LOVE DAD" shirt that June wore to this very same event last year. I can't begin to describe to you how scarred she has been since being left behind from that event.

And the scarring continues. After a morning full of excitement and fun and pictures, Dan and the girls left, and it finally dawned on Harris that he was being left behind this year.

He even raced to get shoes on as they were leaving. Don't worry, buddy, you'll have your turn. But not next year. Sorry.

Dan's work goes all out. It's really foreign to me. I went with my dad to work once. I filed legal papers all day. Dan's company has trillions of kids come, and they provide activities and food all day long.

The girls got new "Take Your Kid to Work" day shirts and nametags and had a yummy breakfast.

Then they made slime.

And then they made stuff out of spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. I don't know what. Dan said that when they came to this room, he felt like he was in a scene of Lord of the Flies. Kids and mess everywhere. I guess they provided this environment in case my girls got homesick.

Good job, June. On whatever this is.

Harris and I had a full day of kindermusick, naps and speech therapy. And then we went to pick the girls up after they had lunch so that Dan could actually get something done that day. We got there in time for the ice cream social and then headed home. Everyone was exhausted.

This week, June and Gwen each had a birthday party they were invited to. June and Dan went to a hibachi steakhouse for a girl in her class.

Fancy! The rest of us stayed home and had leftover mac and cheese. Leftover mac and cheese. Maybe Gwen has reason to feel scarred from being left behind so much.

And then Gwen was invited to a party, but the whole family could come.

Harris rode the heck out of this rollercoaster they had set up.

We figured that after three hours of playing hard outside, plus tons of yummy food and birthday cake, the kids would be OUT for the night. Harris did not stick to this plan. He got up multiple times last night, and Dan and I were feeling it all day today at church and afterward at home.

Not surprisingly, after his terrible night of no sleep, Harris did not feel like taking pictures with us this morning.

Dan took him out during Sacrament Meeting because he was so cranky. I looked over and saw them sitting on the couch in the lobby, both asleep. And I was a little jealous.

And here's our Sunday picture for the girls. Everyone was having a rough time today. Hopefully we will do better tonight.

THE END.

Easter Talk 2019

1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

6 He is not here: for he is risen,

Happy Easter, everyone.

Two years ago, as new members of this ward, I was asked to speak on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I was 34 weeks pregnant with our son, Harris. My talk ran long, and I didn’t get to completely finish. Now two years later, I am 32 weeks pregnant with another baby boy. My topic is the Resurrection. I feel like I get to finish my talk from two years ago.

As a child, I loved Christmas. Christmas was THE holiday of the year, and everything else paled in comparison. Like many of you, I couldn’t sleep the night before Christmas, anticipating the next morning with its many presents, foods and memories.

Of course, I still love Christmas. But Easter is now my favorite holiday. Now, the presents I receive for Christmas, though sent to me with love and generosity, pale in comparison to the eternal gifts we receive because of the events that transpired 2,000 years ago and which we now reflect upon during Easter week.

You see, a lot of life stuff has happened to me since those exciting Christmas days. Now don’t get me wrong, I know I am still young and I know I still haven’t gone through anything truly excruciating, as many of you have. But enough life has happened to me where I gain much more comfort from Easter than I used to.

Several weeks ago, our two-year-old Harris was having a hard time during Sacrament meeting. What am I talking about? Every single week, Harris has a hard time with Sacrament Meeting. But this particular week, we were sitting behind three of the wise, experienced men in our ward—Brothers Budd, Matthews and Van Seggern. And Harris kept trying to hop over our pew to sit next to them. Finally fed up, Dan picked Harris up, and without asking permission or offering sympathies, placed our little blondie next to Brother Budd. Without a word, these three men welcomed Harris to their wise, old men club. Harris was enthralled and played with them and stroked their white beards.

It was funny; it was cute. It was also meaningful to me. I hope Harris grows up to be like these great men—active in the church and in their priesthood responsibilities. Currently, Harris is an innocent boy who loves Christmas, and these three men have grown in wisdom and power because of a lifetime of Gethsemane moments and Easters.

I served my mission in Romania, and in Romania, nothing is open the week before Easter. The vast majority of Romanians belong to the Romanian Orthodox church, and even though many of them do not attend church regularly, the week before Easter is sacred. Missionaries are told not to proselytize the week before Easter. Most shops are closed. People don’t work. The cities are quiet. When greeting someone, you say “Christ was resurrected!” and they respond, “Truly he was resurrected!” It was in Romania that my love for Easter started to really take root in my heart.

The year prior to serving my mission, my dad was diagnosed with a severe case of prostate cancer. Though normally a treatable cancer, my dad had Type 1 diabetes and other ailments which caused his case to be extremely advanced. I know many of you have heard me talk about my dad’s passing before, and I apologize for repeating myself. But it is often in these moments (I call them “Gethsemane moments”) where we meet the Savior and learn of Him. It was from my dad’s passing that I feel like I gained a much deeper understanding and appreciation for the gift of the Resurrection. The Atonement and Resurrection give me hope for a better world.

When my mom called to tell me of my dad’s diagnosis, I was a student at BYU-Provo. I had a really hard time with the news. I called my home teacher, who was a boy named Mike Duncan. Now Mike Duncan was not just some random boy at a school of 30,000 people who was assigned to be my home teacher. Oh no, Mike Duncan was actually from my hometown, knew my father and his father and my father had lunch once a week together in downtown Kansas City, where they both worked. I didn’t know Mike Duncan was going to be in my ward at BYU that semester, and I certainly didn’t know he was going to be called as my home teacher. But I know it wasn’t a coincidence.

I called Mike, and he came over, and I told him the news. And then he gave me a blessing. With his hands on my head, I waited for the words to come, “your father will be healed”. Instead the words came, “this experience will strengthen your testimony that families can be together forever.” It was the blessing I didn’t want. And it was the blessing Mike didn’t want to give. He and I just looked at each other after the blessing, feeling sad yet peaceful.

Of course, the words of the blessing came true. My dad received chemo and radiation treatments and was in some sort of remission when I left on my mission. Two years after I came home, Dan and I were sealed in the Las Vegas temple. After we left the reception to embark on our honeymoon, my father gathered my four siblings and their spouses to tell them that the cancer had returned, and he had six months to live, and he asked my brothers for a blessing. I found out when I came back from my honeymoon. What I thought would be an adventure-filled and fun-loving time in my life, my first year of marriage, turned out to be a chaotic period filled with trips back home to be with my dad, culminating in my dad’s passing on the fourth of July. Luckily, I happened to be visiting that weekend and watched my dad take his last mortal breath.

Interestingly enough, while I was consumed with what was happening before me—my father leaving his earthly life and entering the next, I had a brother there with me who was going through that and something else entirely. One of my brothers has a son with significant special needs. My nephew struggles with many, many cognitive and behavioral issues. At the time of my father’s passing, it was not uncommon for my brother to be called to his son’s middle school several times throughout a month in order to help his son calm down after a bad episode. So while my brother was sorrowful to see my dad pass on, he was at peace. My dad had lived a good, righteous, covenant-keeping life. My brother was grieving his current situation with his son, whose issues seemed to have no answer. In the final moments before my brother said good-bye to my dad, my brother tearfully pleaded, “Dad, please send help.”

Joseph Smith said, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it”. Think about what that truly means. Tithing, the Word of Wisdom, family history, ministering, food storage. These things are all important, and yet only appendages to the central message of a Savior who gave His life and rose again.

The doctrine of the Atonement is this: Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the pain He suffered and blood He shed in the Garden of Gethsemane as well as His death upon the cross, we are able to be cleansed through the repentance process. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And while we DO believe in our works being a requisite part of the process, we also know that works cannot save us. Nephi said “it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” Brother Brad Wilcox has said that we don’t believe that we “earn heaven, but rather that we are learning heaven.” Our works qualify us for the repentance process, but I don’t know if we ever deserve salvation and exaltation. I can’t imagine ever doing enough to deserve how wonderful eternal life with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will be. Rather, the Lord gives us this holy gift because He loves us. It is for this reason, as my 7-year-old June says, “we love each other 99, but we love Jesus 100.” His love and plan are perfect, and if we love Him before anything else, we will be blessed.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson has said, “Having satisfied the demands of justice, Christ now steps into the place of justice; or we might say He is justice, just as He is love. Likewise, besides being a “perfect, just God,” He is a perfect, merciful God. Thus, the Savior makes all things right. No injustice in mortality is permanent, even death, for He restores life again. No injury, disability, betrayal, or abuse goes uncompensated in the end because of His ultimate justice and mercy.

By the same token, we are all accountable to Him for our lives, our choices, and our actions, even our thoughts. Because He redeemed us from the Fall, our lives are in reality His.”

My sophomore year of high school, I had a seminary teacher who taught this concept, and it took awhile for us students to catch on. His name was Ferroll Truman, and prior to being my seminary teacher, he was in our stake presidency. He was older and retired, and when he spoke, he had this voice that could be used to narrate all of the church videos. I felt like I was in the presence of a holy man every day in that class.

One day, he asked the class of 15 and 16-year-old kids, “Do you have the right to sin?”

We all piped up, “Yes, of course! We have agency!”

And he responded, “You have agency. You have the ability to choose to sin. And you will sin, and the Lord knows you will and allows you to do so to learn. But you do not have the right to sin. You were bought with a price, and you are now His.”

Similarly, in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, convicted thief Jean Valjean escapes from the torturous work camp he has labored in for 19 years only to end up at a Catholic bishop’s house, of all places. The bishop allows the haggard Valjean to stay the night with him, showing him the first act of kindness he has seen in almost two decades. Desperate Valjean steals from the bishop, hoping to sell his goods for money. The bishop catches him in the act, and instead of condemning him, offers him his silver candlesticks also, stating, "Do not forget, never forget, that you have promised to use this money in becoming an honest man."

"Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God."

The redemptive power of the Atonement is not all, though. Elder Bruce C. Hafen has pointed out that the whole point of our lives isn’t to simply erase our sins through the repentance process. No, that would turn us back to the innocent state of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Gethsemane. We were not sent here to return to Heavenly Father as innocent children. No, we know that Moses 1:39 states that God’s purpose is to bring to pass the eternal life of man.” Yes, we are to use the Atonement to cleanse ourselves, but the Atonement also offers an enabling power, which power helps us to become even as the Savior is. This power takes us—mere mortals—and endows us with power to become more than we are and to do more than mortals can do.

And the doctrine of the Resurrection is this: because the Savior raised Himself from the dead on the third day, ALL MANKIND will be resurrected. All mankind! I have confidence I will see my dad again. And my nephew will be made whole. And families will be reunited. And we will understand so much we don’t understand now.

Elder Christofferson has also said, “Given the reality of the Resurrection of Christ, doubts about the omnipotence, omniscience, and benevolence of God the Father—who gave His Only Begotten Son for the redemption of the world—are groundless. Doubts about the meaning and purpose of life are unfounded. Jesus Christ is in fact the only name or way by which salvation can come to mankind. The grace of Christ is real, affording both forgiveness and cleansing to the repentant sinner. Faith truly is more than imagination or psychological invention. There is ultimate and universal truth, and there are objective and unchanging moral standards, as taught by Him.”

I know that Jesus Christ died and rose from the grave. He has saved my soul. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Things I Love About New Jersey.

So we thought we were moving last fall.

We came to New Jersey with the understanding that we wouldn't be here very long. Nothing against it; just not where we wanted to end up long term. In fact, I laughed when Dan told me he was interviewing for a job here. We were in Jacksonville, FL, at the time, and I kept looking up cost comparison analyses for the two locations. And New Jersey was like twice the expense of Jacksonville. It was comical to me. I kept telling Dan, "Sure, interview all you want. There's no way we are moving there."

And now we've been here almost two and a half years.

We were originally told it would 12-18 months. Then 2 years. Now we are looking at 3 years, possibly more.

I like moving around often. I should clarify--I do not enjoy packing boxes, getting utilities turned on/off, registering kids for school, and working with the DMV. In that respect, I loathe moving.

But I do enjoy fresh starts, not knowing anyone, exploring new locales and the closeness I feel to my family when we are literally all we have. I'm social but also a loner. I don't know how it works.

We were 99% sure we were moving last November. Dan had heard word from reliable sources at work, we had scouted out some housing (okay, my Zillow addiction continues!), and I was more than ready. We knew that the job offer from his company would be coming any day.

Then one day, while I shopping at Aldi, Dan called me. "I just got out of the meeting," he said, "and they have decided to move the position here."

I didn't even understand what he was talking about. Here? Here where? Nothing would compute. And then he told me he needed my answer. My answer? I was trying to decide which milk to buy, had two kids in the grocery cart and couldn't even understand what he was asking me.

Obviously, we stayed.

Sometimes, I'm sad about it. And winter in New Jersey is an especially gloomy time for me. Plus pregnancy. Oof. Not a good look for me.

But in the past couple of weeks, Spring came.

We have been going on lots of walks to see my favorite tree in the world bloom. It's just around the corner from us, and I've mentioned it here before. We have walked by the tree so much that the owner of the house comes out and says hi to us regularly. She knows we are waiting to see the tree bloom. She told me that the tree is so old that she isn't sure how many years it will last.

Yesterday, we were rewarded for our patience.

Pink AND white! Pure bliss for me.

The tree has helped me remember everything I love about New Jersey.

1. First off, the SPRING. Yes, terrible allergies, but New Jersey springs are the most beautiful. The grass is amazingly green. So many cherry blossoms and other colors too. I LOVE IT.

2. We don't have to mow our lawn! As part of our rental agreement, my landlord's cousin (who is our next door neighbor) cuts our grass. Amazing!

He cut it for the first time this season this past week, and Harris was in love. He watched him for an hour.

He even followed him to other windows in the house for a better look.

And begged me to put him in his crib for a final last look of the backyard mowing.

It was really sweet. And simple. I'm all about simple.

3. I love our elementary school. There are things I don't love about public school in general, and things I don't love about the East Coast approach to school in general, but I love our school. Small! Only 300 kids! Everyone knows June. We often joke that she is the school mascot, because everywhere I go, people call me June's mom. When we registered Gwen for kindergarten, Officer John (the school police officer) immediately called Gwen "June's sister". Ouch, Gwen. I've been there.

4. I love our doctors, dentists, speech therapists, swim teachers, etc. I feel like living in such a highly concentrated area can be annoying and yet comes with perks. A lot of the best of the best out here.

5. The Pathways Program. I've waxed poetic about it before, but this program designed for kids of all abilities has been a huge thing for our family.

6. Our ward is great. Really really great. I hate saying that because all wards are great, and sometimes I think we need to work on our own attitudes instead of complaining about our wards, but this ward doesn't even give me anything to complain about.

7. Love our landlord! Who gets to say that? He is the NICEST guy. He lives down the street and loves my kids. 

8. Dan's commute is 10 minutes. 10 minutes! In New Jersey! Heck, he drove close to an hour both in Jacksonville and Tampa, and now that we are in the NYC greater area, he has a ten minute commute! Holla!

9. Aldi. ALDI. And now we have TWO close by.

10. Last Licks. The best ice cream in the entire world. The. Entire. World.

11. NYC! This is a bit of a mixed bag for our family seeing as I love the city and Dan DOES NOT. Plus, we kind of live near the city at the wrong stage of life. 4 little kids plus the city is fun for a couple of hours and then not. BUT. It's still cool.

Don't worry; I'm not suddenly this super cheesy girl acting like everything is perfect. I also have quite a list of things I don't like about NJ, but I'm waiting to share it when we actually move in a couple of years. No need to dwell on it until I can be grateful to say good-bye to those difficult aspects. As for now, we are good, and life is good.

The End.

Let the Pregnancy Insomnia Begin. Easter 2019.

It's that time. I thought I had avoided pregnancy heartburn this time around, but here we are. I go to bed earlier than Dan, but the past couple of times he has crawled into bed, it has woken me up and I can't go back to sleep. My legs are always kicking, my heartburn has arrived, and my bladder is constantly full.

It's a shame because sleeping is one of my talents. I sleep anytime I sit down. I can't get through the opening credits of a movie. I can't have a conversation after 8:30. Sleep, come back! I miss you.

I'm 32 weeks. I feel like it's a tricky time because it seems so near the end (in the 30's!!!) but still EIGHT weeks from my due date. Eight weeks?!?! That's a lifetime.

Of course, I need a lifetime to get prepared. Not only does this baby not have a name, I haven't pulled out a single onesie, bought a single diaper, set up a proper sleeping situation, etc. We have decided to start tackling these projects THIS coming weekend so that Baby No. 4 isn't wrapped in hand towels, sleeping on a piano bench and named some random household object like Tupperware McGee, or better yet letting the girls decide, which would ultimately result in the name Elmo Poof McBottom. Baby No. 4--your future at the Jolley household is looking REAL GOOD.

So with this extra nighttime "energy", I have tweezed my brows, eaten 43 mint-flavored Tums and am ready to update this blog with our boring non-festivities from last week's Spring Break.

Spring Break was low key, and I loved it. A big part of my life is rushing kids around, and my kids hate being rushed. So we took the week to chill out and take our time from place to place. We went on a walk and picked wildflowers that are currently being pressed in big and heavy books from our bookshelf that we somehow own and have never read.

We're hoping to make bookmarks tomorrow.

We continued our walk all the way to the park down the very long street we live on, and there were three other kids there, and my aggressive children immediately went up to the three shy and mild-mannered children and insisted they be friends. It was a bit of a hostage situation for the other three kids, but everyone seemed to have a good time.

After awhile, Harris made it known that he was ready to go back home by just camping out in the stroller.

On the way down to the park, we walked by the house of one of June's classmates, and the mom happened to be outside and asked where we were off to. When I told her the park, she took one look at me, pushing two kids in a stroller with June (not known for her physical stamina) by my side and my pregnant belly and asked, "I know you can get down there, but will you be able to get back up?"

You see the way down is all downhill, and the way back up is extremely steep. I LOVE WALKING and figured it would be no problem. But after a good long walk down to the park and a good long while playing at the park, I began to doubt myself.

So I called Dan and asked what time he was planning to be home to see if he would swing by and pick us up. Poor man had the craziest week last week. I feel like all of the other dads I knew took last week off to go with their families on vacation for Spring Break, but Dan had a huge meeting and presentation on Friday, and he worked the hours of two people preparing for it.

Nevertheless, hero that he is, he came and picked us up and had dinner with us before working from our basement until the wee hours of that night.

By the way, his presentation went well. When he came home Friday afternoon, he was both relieved and completely exhausted. And then on Saturday, he ventured out to take care of some major yard projects we have been slacking on while I stayed inside and did some indoor projects.

After a terrible week of work, I began to think about how a yard work project was probably so satisfying to Dan. You can see the progress you're making, you're digging about God's good earth, the whole bit.

So I called out my theory to him and asked him if he was feeling super satisfied.

He said no, he wasn't. He wished he were still sleeping.

Haha.

The kids were his little "helpers", i.e. Gwen helped with vigor because tearing things out of the ground is right up her alley, Harris just ran around, and June "supervised" and "cheered everyone on". And then they came inside, covered in mud and needing a bath, which bathtub I had just cleaned as one of my indoor projects and was then quickly dirtier than ever from the muddy kids.

After everyone was gussied up from the bath, we made Easter cookies and decorated Easter eggs.

We tried the shaving cream method this year. It did not work and was a total bust. Yay.

And then this morning, I tried making cinnamon rolls from the can look like bunnies like I saw on Pinterest, but these were clearly bears or mice or something.

And the kids looked cute for church.

I was asked to speak in church for Easter. At 32 weeks pregnant. I cried and had snot running down my nose for the entire thing. I'm grateful I was asked though, because I was able to work on the talk a little bit each day of this last week, and it made me feel more spiritually prepared for Easter.

I might post my talk tomorrow, but for now I'll just say this--He. Is. Risen.

And that's the best news we could ever have.

After church, we had a ham dinner and an Easter egg hunt. I made these girls close their eyes because they kept trying to peek as to where the eggs were being hidden.

Finding their baskets.

Harris got a headstart.

And then they were off.

This is my favorite hiding spot every year. Classic.

I love Easter. It's my favorite holiday.

The End.

Spring Break, Spring Broke

It's Wednesday, which means that we are on the 5th day of our 10-day Spring Break! Halfway mark!

Monday, I took the girls to see their very first play. The MPAC in Morristown was doing a musical revue based on five different children's books, and one of the books featured was a Mercy Watson  book. My girls love that porcine wonder. The performance was only 45 minutes, and it was a special autism-friendly performance that didn't lower all of the lights and also had a break area you could go to if the stimuli proved too overwhelming.

I wanted to try this little production as a trial before taking the girls to see a longer production, Charlotte's Web next month.

Both girls did fine, but June was ENTHRALLED. She was laughing and clapping with delight the entire time, and loudly repeating any fun lines she heard. Gwen, on the other hand, did okay for about 30 minutes and then kept asking how much longer it was and also gave me minute-by-minute reports on her hunger level, which was ever increasing in dire-ness.

So, I believe Gwen will sit Charlotte's Web out, and June will bring a friend to see it. We read the book last year, and she loves it.

Yesterday, we headed to a new-to-us park located 20 minutes away.

All three of my kids are daredevils. This was exhausting and difficult, as they would get themselves into hard-to-reach places and wanted my assistance, though I carry a 25 pound watermelon in my front. Okay, more than 25 pounds. What are you, my doctor?

This spider web thingy proved especially death trap-ful for my kiddos, with Gwen reaching the top and then screaming for my assistance in getting her back down. And then June and Harris trying to follow suit and my banning all three from it until I am not pregnant. Fun prego mom wins again.

June helped Harris down slide after slide. That was nice.

And continuing our Easter week fun, yesterday we made "resurrection rolls" that turned out better than last year. Several of them were hollow this time!

The lessons continue to produce a lot of discussion, and this pleases me. But as per usual, some of the discussion is over my head. And the whole "eat with your hands" thing from our Last Supper has kind of backfired with June wanting to eat everything--from mashed potatoes to pork chops--with her hands. "But Mom! That's what Jesus would do! And I want to be like Jesus!!!"

The End.

GCFTLSHB (Good Character Fair, Temple, Last Supper, Harris Birthday)

It's been six days since I've written, but whoa. This past week has been jam packed with activities. Or maybe just normal for everyone else and jam packed for a 7 month pregnant lady with terribly restless legs and no room to breathe in her lung cavity.

That's right. 7 months. 2 whole months left, and I'm already feeling like getting through the day is difficult. Don't let me think about it.

But back to the activities.

1. Good Character Fair. Thursday night, we had June's Character Fair at her school. Oh bless. This fair has been a battle for me. A couple of months ago, the school sent home a flyer asking for student volunteers to do a service project and make a poster board about it. My reaction? I like service. I want June to do service. Let's do this thingy.

So we signed up, and I took her to a nursing home with some kids from the ward. They sang, they danced, it was good. I planned on two more visits before the Good Character Fair. 

And then stuff just kept coming up. I would plan something, and there would be some impossible conflict. And I got incredibly sick with the flu for almost 3 weeks. 

Meanwhile, the school kept sending home more info about the project. It said things like "students need to prepare a 3-5 minute oral presentation to go with their poster board" and "let us know if you student needs a chromebook for any slideshow they might be preparing". And my reaction? Wut. This is not what I signed up for. I'm into service, but I'm dying over here. And we are going to look like fools if we follow through on this thing.

So I emailed back and forth with her teacher and tried to get out of it. But June wasn't having it. That girl. So determined.

So we improvised, and instead of taking my flu to the nursing home, Dan took June to visit some friends we have who have a hard time getting out of the house where she could give them treats and jewelry we made.

Gwen has already decided she can't wait to do her GCF project next year. Oof.

And we slapped some photos on a poster board and called it good. 

And then we showed up at the GCF, and no one had an oral presentation and no one had a slide show. Most of the poster boards looked like ours--very much student-made. Right up my alley!!!

We were the only people in the gym at that moment, and it was a very good thing.

2. Temple. The temple is awesome, and I love going. The temple is only an hour away, which is closer than we have lived to a temple in many years.

But it's pretty hard to go. In fact, every time we pull into the driveway after a successful temple trip, I cheer, "WE DID IT!!" I love living close to NYC, but it's kind of a pain to get there sometimes.

So we have been abundantly blessed by a recent event. My mom's sister, Aunt Marie, was recently called as a senior sister to serve full-time in the Manhattan Temple. And that means she has watched our kids in her apartment the past two times we have been able to go. It's been a total game changer, and I feel like the Lord has been so aware of us and our needs.

Blast it all, of course I forgot to get a picture of Aunt Marie with the kids, but here is one she took of them at Central Park yesterday. That's right. She took my three kids to Central Park. And bought them ice cream. What a lady!

We also went to Magnolia Bakery before our session. The lines were long, and it was HOT.

The girls and I went inside to wait in line, while Dan watched Harris run around outside. I don't know who had the worse job.

The line. This is where I'm not the best person to live near NYC. Because everyone I know is willing to wait forever in line for good food, and I'm just not. I thought the desserts were tasty, but I doubt I'd wait in line for them again.

June and Gwen were 100% decided on the daisy cupcakes.

Crammed around a table and making a mess.

And afterward, everyone was so sugared out and so thirsty, we stopped at a hot dog stand and grabbed waters and a couple of hot dogs. Here is Dan, dutiful dad, giving each kid bites of a hot dog we made them share.

As we were headed to the temple from Magnolia Bakery, Dan, Sunday-dress clad and pushing two kids in one stroller and me, also Sunday-dress clad and pushing another kid in another stroller, and carrying another baby in my large and in charge pregnant belly, we passed by someone who yelled out "MORMON!!"

You nailed it, buddy!

3. Last Supper. It's the week before Easter, and Easter is my favorite holiday! Just as we did last year, we started out the week with our little rendition of the "Last Supper". We served rotisserie chicken, pita bread, hummus, goat cheese, grapes and grape juice. Not the most authentic. And to top it off, because I know my hubs and what he wants out of a meal, I asked him to make a bunch of mashed potatoes to fill in the cracks.

Dan set up the living room with a bunch of cushions, and we sat on the floor.

I love many things about this tradition, but what I love the most? A fun way to have a Gospel discussion that is honestly easier than most Sunday dinners I make. Which is why it will continue as a tradition. I'm no Fancy Pants. It's like a break from cooking and yet feels special and produces great Gospel discussion. We talked about the Triumphal Entry and the Last Supper, and I felt good about our discussion, even if the kids were paying attention only some of the time. It was nice.

4. Harris turns 2. Today is also Harris's birthday. Two years ago, Harris was born two days before Easter. Last year, Easter week coincided with June's birthday. And this year, it's back to sharing with Harris's birthday. It's always a busy time around here.

Though I complained about his (mis)behavior a couple of weeks ago, he has been a little better lately. But still has an opinion. For example, he does not wish to have his birthday picture taken. No siree.

But I managed to get a couple anyway.

We had our Last Supper during his nap (which made it way better than it would have been), so we opened presents after he woke up.

He received some books, clothes and a lawn mower that makes bubbles!

I also found these weird bubble-making gloves at Aldi for $4, so the girls received a little present too.

The girls helped me make his cake.

I added chocolate chips to the batter, and it was a most excellent addition.

Thanks for hanging with us, Harris, even though we only dress you half of the time and can't keep up with your stinky diapers or snotty noses. We love you.

The End.