Author: lilydarais

Today we thought we would sleep in because we put the kids down at 10pm last night. We grossly underestimated Lydia’s enthusiasm for holidays. She was up by 6:30am, and by 6:45 she and Mary had both discovered their baskets and scouted out where all of the eggs were hidden.

But the good news is we made it to church on time! And it was the most beautiful Sunday church I could possibly imagine. The Primary kids sang “Gethsemane” for the prelude music, we had wonderful speakers, and another great choir number in the middle. Then we had the BEST Sunday School class where we got to discuss, as a ward, the last week in the life of Jesus. It was so wonderful. I loved hearing the testimonies of my fellow ward members.

In the afternoon we finally told Lydia the truth about the Easter Bunny, Santa, and leprechauns. We weren’t very straightforward about fairies. Abe took her into the garage to tell her, and the first thing Lydia said was, “I know. I guessed because in the morning after these big holidays, you and Mom have big circles under your eyes, like you were up really late!” We thought that was cute. The rest of the evening Lydia was so excited at her knew knowledge and kind of buzzed around everywhere in a happy, excited state.

Nick and his roommate, James, joined us for Easter dinner. We discussed the last week of Jesus again for an hour. They were so delightful and I felt so blessed by their comments and insights.

Then the kids, Abe and I walked around the neighborhood delivering pansies to the families we minister to. We talked with those families and about three other families who were outside. It took over an hour, and we just enjoyed our neighbors so much.

Also, Mary wrote my mom the most beautiful note:

In the morning Abe took the kids outside with him while he built a tomato garden box. The kids appropriated it as a boat:

Then we all headed to the Springville Art Museum for Lydia’s harp recital. Lydia is still suffering from allergies and has not been sleeping very much, so she looked pretty tired and miserable at the recital. It made me wonder if we should continue, but honestly it would basically take God telling me directly to stop harp to make that kind of decision. So until then, the poor child will just have to suffer through these events.

Here is the video of her performance

Then we went to the most delightful Springville restaurant called Ginger’s Cafe with Tom and Suzanne. It was a healthfood cafe attached to a hot yoga studio, and we all LOVED it.

Afterward my mom and I picked out some toys for the Miner birthday get together while everyone else ran around the nearby park.

And then we went home and Abe headed up the egg dying activity while I napped. Thank you, Abe!

Then we drove to the Miners’ for their Easter egg hunt, which the kids had been looking forward to all week. They also celebrated March birthdays, so Lydia got another round of celebration!

Here is sleepy Clarissa being very skeptical about the idea of putting her egg in the basket.

Here is sleepy Clarissa hesitantly putting an egg in her basket.

Quick Anecdote about Lydia from today (or thereabouts):

On Friday Lydia and I went to her usual 6:30am harp lesson, and then I came home and crawled into bed for another hour and pretended that I didn’t know the morning rush was happening.

Then I finally got it together enough to take the kids to the park. Ammon, who had thrown up while twirling away to the Moana soundtrack, did not feel great on this outing. But he was still darling, as was Clarissa. At the end he told me he was about to throw up again and started to on the grass. “I think it’s time for me to go home,” he said, slightly pitifully. I felt so bad I had forced the outing and immediately toted them both home.

After I put Clarissa down for a nap and parked a lethargic Ammon in front of the Little Bear series, I headed upstairs and pounded out the rest of the first essay in the book I am trying to write.

Then in the evening after the kids went down Abe and I went out to dinner at a Provo Mexican restaurant with Matt and Emily Kahler. We ended up talking for three straight hours over dinner. It was so fun.

On Thursday Abe woke up pretty sick, but he had a lot to do at work so he went in anyway. His voice was very low and attractive all day. 🙂

I went swimming in the morning at the gym and felt so grateful and lucky to have that activity in my day.

Abe came home sick and went to bed almost right after dinner.

This morning Abe and I went on a run. I ran a mile and a half, which is not much I know, but it is huge for me. This body has pushed out four children, gained a ton of weight in the process, suffers from all sorts of pains and problems, and I can still run. I am so hugely thankful for this blessing. There was a time after having Clarissa that I would watch people run and honestly wonder whether I would ever do anything more than shuffle for the rest of my life.

Abe took Ammon fishing today while my mom, the girls and I ran errands. I loved going to the library with the two older girls–it was such a luxury not to chase Clarissa around!

Clarissa was really funny in Target, though. Halfway through she stood up in the cart seat and said, “I’m done!” with a mischievous smile on her face. I tightened the strap, buckled her firmly in and said, “No, Clarissa. We sit down in the cart!”

At that point, Clarissa let out a shriek of anger and started sobbing and screaming to everyone around, “HELP ME!! HELP ME!!!”

I about died laughing. It was so funny to see her implore the store to help her to escape from the safety of her buckle. But then I found my sympathy, unbuckled her and carried her for the rest of the time. She is so funny.

And then in the evening my mom and I went to institute with Lori Atoa. The institute class has been amazing. The woman teaching it is a church revolutionary feminist, and this last class of the semester she preached about how to practice radical doctrine in the context of real life. She talked so beautifully about how to forgive and grow in that space. I was so inspired.

Then I ran out to buy pajamas because tomorrow is pj day for Lydia and she literally does not own a single pair that fits her. I was racing to get to the store and find some for her because her bottom literally hangs out of her current pajamas. Thank goodness I found some.

Steve Young came over while my mom and I were gone and helped Abe with his golf swing, and now Abe is playing basketball with a friend.

On Tuesday Abe announced he was going to take the kids to the new How to Train Your Dragon movie. So my mom and I went too, and we got a babysitter for Clarissa.

During the day Abe had a pretty stressful, hard day at work and I finished reading The Next Mormons at home. It was kind of depressing, so I think we all were glad for a little escape.

Also, the kids stayed home sick from school again. I spent about two hours working with Lydia on the harp in the morning, and then it was nap time so I basically retired from parenting for the rest of the day. The kids watched A LOT of tv.

Oh, and in the morning my mom and I introduced Ammon to some figure skating videos. He LOVED them. We have been watching him twirl and dance and attire himself in the frilliest costumes imaginable, and it finally clicked that he might have the soul of an ice skater. We’ll see, I guess. He certainly loved the videos and now throws his leg up behind himself and extends his arms every time you mention ice skating.

On Monday I went to yoga in the morning and Abe went to work early to try to catch up on work. He had a good day at work and I also had a good day at home. I neglected the kids and actually wrote a couple pages for the book I am working on with my friend, Ashley. I realized as I wrote that the process of writing well is so different from the process of just writing whatever comes to my head (which is basically what I do every single time I blog). Trying to write well is SO HARD. But really, it feels so worth it too.

Abe must have taken this photo at some point during the day, because I found it marked for Monday in Google photos. The mountains are still covered in snow, even though it’s starting to feel like Spring.

On Sunday we ate breakfast at the hotel and then drove home from Boise. When we got back everyone was dirty–or felt dirty–after the car ride, so we put all of the kids in the bath and let them play. We wanted to take a family walk afterward but were too tired, so the kids just ran around inside until bedtime.

On Saturday Abe and I went on a run, packed everything and everyone up, and then drove to Boise for Ben Martineau’s memorial dinner.

It is such a shock knowing he’s gone. We reminisced about him on the way up. It was also so sad seeing Candace and her kids and knowing how hard this must be for them. The most poignant part of the evening was when everyone released balloons with lights inside of them and memories attached to them into the sky. My heart just broke for my dear friend.

Abe took this picture earlier in the evening, during the dinner. (We just ate on the lawn because it was too crazy in the tent with the kids.)

Abe told me a cute story about Ammon. I guess the kid were all playing with the balloons, and some little boy started crying because his popped. Abe told Ammon to give his balloon to the little boy. Ammon walked right up to the boy, literally nose-to-nose–inches away from his face–pointed, turned to Abe, and said, “This boy?”

When Abe said, yes, that was the crying boy that needed a balloon, Ammon immediately handed his over, turned aound to Abe and burst into tears. Of course Abe’s heart melted and then he asked Mary to share her balloon, which she also did immediately, no questions asked. We are all so proud of Ammon and Mary.

My own heart was touched over dinner with Lydia, who was processing an exchange she’d had with a boy at the funeral. He had made fun of her for her speech issues (she is in therapy because she struggles to say “r”) and called her a baby. Then he started poking her with a stick. Lydia asked him to please stop poking her. He continued, so Abe intervened. The boy backed off, and then Lydia spent dinner wondering why anyone would do that. She was genuinely confused because she has never been bullied or made fun of before, and it was startling to her to discover that some people can be so mean. She wasn’t mad at the boy at all, but spent a lot of time wondering why. As I watched her thin little form process this new reality, my heart just went straight out to her. Lydia has one of the sweetest, purest souls and I learned so much from the way she didn’t judge or act unkind toward the boy who had hurt her.

Clarissa was a handful, wandering around and trying to test every boundary. I will be so happy when we are past this stage.

On Thursday I took the girls around the neighborhood to canvas for their fun run. They are so determined to raise as much money as possible, and Lydia loves talking to people at their door. Ammon shares this love and even though he wasn’t supposed to say anything, he talked up a storm too. Mary is very shy, but she loves knocking on doors of people she loves.

Ammon had to use the bathroom and so the Morrells allowed us in to use theirs. While there Rose Marie showed me her quilting projects, which are amazing.

Then we went home and put everyone to bed. Abe and I talked and talked for hours that night because he had been feeling lonely because of my faith journey stuff. We talked until we were in a place of love, safety, and unity. I love my husband so much.