Springtime Festivities

March and April have been filled with at least one trip to the beach each week on average. Unfortunately Charles has only gone with us one of those times. Less than 2 months now and we are done with this residency. Hallelujah!

The weather has been really nice. Except for when it's gone from 60' one day to 90' the next. That's hard on my sinuses. Let it go on the record how much I love beach weather and how much I love living in a coastal city. I do miss mountains, but if I had to chose between the two, I choose the beach.

Let me go further on a tangent and say that I believe this runs deeper than just personal preference. I truly believe that my love for warmth and the coast is engrained in my DNA. Having ancestors from both islands (Sicily and Cuba) and peninsulas (Spain and France) confirms that I am just not equipped to live too far from a warm coast :)

 

As much as we've gone to the beach, I haven't once brought the camera. Already too much stuff to pack, don't wanna get sand in it.

We even made a trip to Hilton Head complete with swimming and ice cream. Funnest beach trip yet!

I ran another 5K with the young men and women in our ward. It wasn't measured right though so it was more like 2.5 miles instead of 3.1. My new goal in regards to running is to place in a 5K. I still have no desire to ever run a marathon. I prefer speed over endurance. Does that say something about my character? Probably :)

For our preschool group on April 3rd we took the kids (plus more) to our local fire station.  They were more interested in riding the mechanical fire truck than the real one. Typical! It was a lot of fun. Our next trip I think will be to Publix, our favorite grocery store.

Hurry, hurry, drive that fire truck!

Later that night Lindz and I went to the Savannah Music Festival and saw Chris Thile, an amazing mandolin player and singer. I had never heard of him before but, I was swooning by the end of the night. And it wasn't his good looks (he kinda looks like a werewolf!), it was his amazing musical talent. It was such a fun girl's night! After seeing live shows I always chastise myself for not going to them more often. Of all art forms, expressing oneself through music touches me the most. Good, quality, music.

The next day we took a trip to the Botanical Gardens with our adopted grandmother, Lessie Anderson who is 92.

 Before we got there she insisted on buying them some candy. They chose lollipops. Somehow Vince fell in a small pond. Azure was screaming for me and he emerged with leaves and moss on his shirt and a small lilly pad on his head. He seemed a little shocked, but not too shaken up, as he was clutching his lollipop with a tight fist. Once he saw me and realized everything was okay, he stuck it back in his mouth.

I don't know how deep it was but, the very top of his head was wet.

One night after Azure went to bed, I walked up the stairs to see this. It made me cry. I had been having a hard day and this really made me feel loved.

 Then I snuck in her room and took this while she was sleeping.

We saw baby chicks at the hatchery the week before Easter.

And there's more...to be continued.

Easter and forgiveness

We are SO in need of an update over here. Let's just start with Easter and then I'll back track later. You all know Easter is my favorite, right?!

One thing I do dislike about Easter though, is that it always falls on a different day, or different month, each year. I really, REALLY love Easter being the 2nd Sunday in April. Conference weekend the week before Easter is so perfect. It really sets the stage for our whole Holy Week. Can I make a deal with someone that Easter can forever and always be on the 2nd Sunday in April? Please?!

Conference! I could do an entire post just on Conference. I felt a common theme was forgiveness. And, oh, how I needed that topic! I mentioned in my birthday post how challenging it had been for me. Things seemed to click in my mind how I could go about forgiving while maintaining my personal boundaries. (a huge source of my struggle) Of course, I had prayed and fasted about it many, many, many times. Conference just made it all come together.

I will just say that God does answer prayers (sometimes it takes a long time to figure out what the answer is) and that He respects our agency and is very patient with us. He is intimately involved in the little details of our lives.

I made amends with my offender the day before Easter with a lot of support from friends and mostly Charles. I could not do it without him! It felt like a big milestone in our marriage. There's no way I can make it to heaven without this guy. No way.

If anyone reading this is carrying around a burden or a grudge against someone let me motivate you to reconcile it- not for their sake, but your own. I feel much happier! Forgiveness is not synonymous with acceptance of the offenders actions or even friendship. That was hard to figure out!

Onto Easter....

egg dyeing

and egg hunting

not egg snacking (no hard boiled egg fans here)

Some bunny loves you ;)

On your marks...

Go!

zip-lining

and tramp-jumping

static hair flying

Resurrection roll making

early morning rejoicing

I awoke just before sunrise to read all 4 accounts on the morning of Christ's resurrection on our back porch. It's something I try to do every year since my time at BYU. (preferably at dawn and outside) Hearing the birds chirp enthusiastically as I read and watched the darkness dissipate into dawn filled my heart with love and gratitude and testimony.

Azure and I sang Hosanna together (just the two of us) as part of our ward's Easter program. This is our 2nd time performing together. I just love that girl.

Having forgiven my foe the day before, coupled with a morning devotional and a performance with Azure, really made this an even more meaningful Easter. Christ lives and He loves us!