Easter

We've had a busy weekend- most of it Easter related. That and a ward activity took up our entire weekend.

The girls decorated Easter eggs at my Sister Shanda's house on Thursday. They loved doing it. And since they did it at Shanda's house, I didn't have to clean up the mess- she did! Ashtyn concentrating

Tayla displaying her eggs

On Friday night we had a ward activity- a Gardening seminar. We actually coordinated with the activity committee and held a Primary activity at the same time. We ate pizza and rootbeer, built scarecrows and bird feeders, played a flower Bingo game, planted seeds and played a barnyard game. We had a good time. Only about 12- 15 kids came and I loved that! One thing that I can't get over was that the activity committee ordered enough pizza to feed 40 kids and yet those 12-15 kids ate it all (and drank the 5 bottles of pop!)

Saturday afternoon, a lady in our ward organized an Easter egg hunt over at the school (thanks Valerie!) My girls had a great time.

Ready, set, go!

Ashtyn searching
Tayla going for the hard to reach ones
Ashtyn posing with her stash
Showing off their eggsTayla checking out what's inside

Easter of course, we really nice. The girls loved their Easter baskets and were able to take their new set of scriptures to church with them. They liked the bunny rabbit and the candy too of course!Right after the Easter Bunny came....

Loving their new stuffed animals

I found the girls dresses at Costco and thought they looked dang cute in them.

Our Primary President today gave a fantastic lesson in Sharing Time. The other counselor raises baby bum lambs and brought one in for the kids to see after the Primary President gave a lesson about Christ being the Lamb of God as well as the Good Shepherd. You can only imagine how much the kids loved that! But the part that really choked me up was this story that she told them: (told in the May 1988 Ensign by Elder John Lasater of the Seventy)

"Some years ago, it was my privilege to visit the country of Morocco as part of an official United States government delegation. As part of that visit, we were invited to travel some distance into the desert to visit some ruins. Five large black limousines moved across the beautiful Moroccan countryside at considerable speed. I was riding in the third limousine, which had lagged some distance behind the second. As we topped the brow of a hill, we noticed that the limousine in front of us had pulled off to the side of the road. As we drew nearer, I sensed that an accident had occurred and suggested to my driver that we stop. The scene before us has remained with me for these many years.

An old shepherd, in the long, flowing robes of the Savior’s day, was standing near the limousine in conversation with the driver. Nearby, I noted a small flock of sheep numbering not more than fifteen or twenty. An accident had occurred. The king’s vehicle had struck and injured one of the sheep belonging to the old shepherd. The driver of the vehicle was explaining to him the law of the land. Because the king’s vehicle had injured one of the sheep belonging to the old shepherd, he was now entitled to one hundred times its value at maturity. However, under the same law, the injured sheep must be slain and the meat divided among the people. My interpreter hastily added, “But the old shepherd will not accept the money. They never do.”

Startled, I asked him why. And he added, “Because of the love he has for each of his sheep.” It was then that I noticed the old shepherd reach down, lift the injured lamb in his arms, and place it in a large pouch on the front of his robe. He kept stroking its head, repeating the same word over and over again. When I asked the meaning of the word, I was informed, “Oh, he is calling it by name. All of his sheep have a name, for he is their shepherd, and the good shepherds know each one of their sheep by name.”

It was as my driver predicted. The money was refused, and the old shepherd with his small flock of sheep, with the injured one tucked safely in the pouch on his robe, disappeared into the beautiful deserts of Morocco."

The reason it choked me up was because I can picture the Savior doing the same thing when we are injured or making bad decisions. I can see him calling us by name, over and over, and anguishing over the decisions we are making or the pain we are going through. I can see him refusing to give up on us and being upset that something had happened to us. I can see him- and have felt him- put us in his pouch and take care of us...

Happy Easter