Come What May

Oh, life! It certainly has its twists and turns. We have had some unexpected twists lately. In addition to Mike's passing, we were dealing with another plunging turn at the same time. My Dad (a.k.a. my hero) was feeling severe back pain several weeks ago. After several tests, doctors have determined he has stage IV cancer. Stage IV. I can look at the history of my life and say, unabashedly, that this should be the hardest time in my life. Undoubtedly, the news of both events are the hardest things I have ever heard (along with news of Grandpa Skaggs' cancer four years ago). But, I am going to be totally honest . . . this is not the hardest time of my life. We are sad (very sad, in fact). But we are also joyful, happy, and hopeful. We continue to enjoy life's pleasures. We giggle. We eat yummy recipes (a little too much sometimes). We watch fun movies. We tell funny stories. We reminisce. And it makes us grateful. We are happy, truly happy. Sweet friends have approached us expecting morose expressions and woeful tales. But we can't. And it's not just "glass half full Michelle." Chris is my optomistic partner on this roller coaster. I can't tell you that my heart doesn't bleed when I think of my Dad and his upcoming chemotherapy. Chris has moments where he is overcome with grief over his little brother. Despite all this, life is still beautiful and joyful. Do yourself a favor and read this article. It's life changing and encompasses my entire life philosophy. I have a nearly perfect life. It isn't charmed. It's that way because I choose it to be.

P.S. My husband literally just asked me if I ever wondered what it felt like to pee my pants. I, of course, exploded in booming laughter. And those moments are just some of what makes life fantastic.

Love and Loss

We lost our brother.
It was sudden. It was tragic. And it was gut-wrenching.
It also became healing. And peaceful. And binding.
It's still hard to imagine we won't see him again in this life.
But we know we will see him in the next.
Here are pictures to remember one of the hardest days of life so far.
But it is still something to be remembered.

Easter Facts

Quick Facts- Easter 2010:

• Hallie woke up to find a big, fat, fluffy . . . Easter cold.
• The Easter Bunny shops at Dollar Tree and the Dollar Spot at Target.
• Things that cost a dollar sometimes fly over better than the book that costs ten times that.
• Claire will flap her arms and legs like a spring duck taking flight just to get another bite of a yellow bunny Peep.
• You can watch The Princess and the Frog twice in twenty-four hours.
• Sunglasses will stay on Claire for approximately three seconds.
• If Hallie says for three days straight that the Easter bunny is going to bring her M&Ms, Daddy will go to the store late Saturday night to help the Easter bunny fulfill that wish.
• Claire will quickly learn to open eggs given the opportunity.

Egg Dying

I love dying eggs. Totally one of my favorite holiday traditions! It beats pulling stringy pulp out of a pumpkin or wrapping lights endlessly around scratchy branches. Yes, it's messy but as long as you put some plastic down underneath, you're covered. We colored our eggs on Saturday afternoon.
Hallie and I also painted the egg carton. What fun! That kid loves paint. Correction: All kids love paint. Note to self: next time you and Hal are having a rough time getting along, log an hour in "paint therapy." I think that should cure it.

protecting her egg

Easter Food

I like to make food. I like to take pictures of my food. A friend told me recently that I must be really good at baking because I take lots of pictures of what I do. Ha! It actually it still amazes me that I can cook-- so I have to document it for proof! Also, documenting it will help my family remember the fun we had making things. I try to keep cooking and baking really low-stress. There's no use going through lots of time and trouble cooking if it was a miserable process. In contrast, by keeping it a light-hearted time of togetherness it is a fun event. It becomes one of my favorite traditions with my daughters and they are still wee babies. Now that I have philosophized about food, here are some pictures of what we made this Easter.

Now that we've had our little discussion about how I like to make stuff. Let it be known that Mom H. purchased the ham from Honey Baked Ham. It was delicious and I am really happy I didn't have to make it! Also, the easter egg bread wreath was disgusting and dry. I totally should have used my normal roll recipe. Yes, baking is fun but that junk took me way too long to taste that weak. Remind me that next year so I don't try it again.

Easter Friend Festivities

Last Thursday, we gathered at the park with friends for an Easter egg hunt. It was windy but totally fun. Some of the moms tried to corral the kids together so other moms could hide eggs. Hallie was so excited she was everywhere but with the other kids. She kept twirling around with her basket. Claire stayed either on my hip in her sling or bundled up in her stroller. For future reference, she is NOT a fan of wind. Let it be known that this is the first time in like two years that when told it was time to leave the park Hallie did not throw a fit that left me in tears. Could this be the beginning of a new era?

April Fools?

Today I will share my favorite April Fools joke from when I was little "Look, there's a bird on your head! APRIL FOOLS!" I know, I was hilarious.

Two HUGE things happened to me on two different April Fools Days in my life. First, on April 1, 1990 I was baptized. Twenty years ago today! The gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest blessing in the world. I am so glad I made that decision (and it was my decision) at the age of eight to be baptized into Christ's church. The other big April 1 event took place in 2001. Chris proposed! Nine years ago today. Needless to say, that's my other biggest blessing in life; and it was yielded from April 1.

me at 8 me at 19