The Ballet Jewels

Lately the girls have had a lot of fun putting on ballets for me. I love that they share my love of dance. They will set up their "stage" complete with curtains and get the audience all ready.

Because all of Hazel's experience going to ballets has been at BYU she thinks all ballets start with a prayer. So sweet!

Then they dance their little hearts out....

Misc April pictures

Getting the garden ready to plant. We now have peas, beets, lettuce, spinach, and garlic growing in our spring garden.

You mean you don't garden in a dress and a cardigan?

Michael, Harrison, my Dad, and Matt at priesthood session of General Conference.

Sweet Hazel and Lenora.

This is silly, but something I want to remember.... Lenora is little Miss Lint. She tends to keeps her hands in fists so they get a bit sweaty then pick up lint from her clothes and blankets. For whatever reason, I LOVE the sweet smell of her hands. And I love finding the amazing amounts of lint she collects in her hands and her feet. 

I also love that sweet smile:)

 One day at my parents Hazel and I played with Legos while Eliza and Lenora napped. Hazel requested I build and "ice palace like Elsa." I think I delivered:)

Easter

Easter was a wonderful time of year as always. Of course we did the traditional Easter things like dying eggs...

And egg hunts....

The Easter bunny came to our house on Saturday afternoon. We decided to keep all the secular celebrations off of Easter Sunday and it was a wonderful way to keep the true spirit of the holiday. 

"Eliza, smell your flower" 

The Easter bunny brought Frozen! The girls were so, so, so excited! They also got some cool new shades.

I found Lenora like this. She's asleep under there...

We had planned to go visit Michael's grandma in Freemont, UT for Easter but we had to cancel because poor little Lenora was sick. She got a nasty cold that wiped her out for almost two weeks. I ended up taking her to the doctor twice. Thankfully it wasn't RSV and she was eventually able to start feeling better. Poor sad face...

On Sunday Lenora was still pretty sick and Eliza had started coughing too. So for the first time in my life I missed Sacrament on Easter. I got to stay home and snuggle a cutie though and that was good too. Hazel and Eliza in their Easter dresses.

I did end up getting Lenora dress in the beautiful dress from Mama Faye (Lenora's middle name is Faye after Mama Faye a good friend of Michael's family). She is such a beautiful girl I couldn't pick out just one or two photos!

She looks like Gabby in this picture:) 

We are so thankful for the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior. I know He lives. Thanks to Him, we all can live again and our family can be together forever. What a glorious truth!

Cousins

Lately we've been able to spend more time with little Brenna. She is so cute and now that she's getting older the girls love to have cousin time. I love seeing her too! She knows my name and when I walk in she greets me with a sweet "Ja-teen!"

Brenna is fascinated with Lenora. She especially love to try and take away her binkie. See?

At the beginning of April we did a little egg hunt in the basement at my parent's house. We thought Brenna would get it in to it more with Hazel and Eliza there, but nope she didn't care much about the eggs.

All four cousins!

Mommy and Lenora. I love this sweet girl!

There she goes with the binkie again:) 

The best part of getting the cousins together? I get to spend time with my wonderful sister!

Once in a Lifetime

We have been blessed to live so close to the Provo City Center temple as it has been under construction. We have attended firesides, staffed the "information booth" by greeting visitors and sharing temple facts, and watched the progress. Monday it was announced that Angel Moroni would be placed on the central spire so we jumped at the chance to see the placement.

Luckily the time fell between Michael's classes so he could go. He went over early and saw them unload Moroni (who arrived at the temple unceremoniously on a trailer; for some reason I expected a big fancy box or something).

Ray Butcher (stake clerk), Michael, and Bishop Spekheart (another High Counselor)

Michael and President Larsen

The girls were taking their naps but as soon as they woke up we headed over. Thousands of people were there to watch. At this point, Angel Moroni was hovering over the temple and Michael has to leave to get to teach his class at BYU.

The girls and I watched with thousands of others as they placed Moroni and got everything secured. 

In place!

It was a wonderful experience! They have since removed the scaffolding around the entire middle spire giving a glimpse of how beautiful the temple will look once it is completed! 

Hazel's Testimony

The other week while reading "The Friend" magazine (a children's magazine produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Hazel decided that she would like to give the lesson during our weekly Family Home Evening.

She chose to teach about how we can build a strong family. "The Friend" had little blocks you could cut out that names things you needed to build a strong family. She instructed us to use the blocks to build a little house on paper. She did very well presenting the lesson just as I had rehearsed with her.

At the end I told her to bear her testimony. Without any prompting or rehearsal this is what she said, "I know Jesus Christ is true. He made the world and He made all of us. He can help us make a strong family. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

I was so touched by how powerfully she bore her testimony without any hesitation. She is an incredible little girl and I feel so blessed to be her mother.

Awesome big sister,

Princess,

and Super Hero!