Easter 2010

Porter woke up Easter morning at 7:15am. I had considered telling him the night before that the Easter bunny was going to be coming during the night but I was worried that (1) he would get excited and not go to bed, or (2) he would not know what it meant and wake up with nightmares. I was tired and didn't want to chance either. So when he came downstairs this morning, he was surprised but excited to see and hear that the Easter bunny had come and left some gifts for him. He collected his eggs and opened them up. He was really excited about his scooter and rode it around the house all morning.

Later that day we headed over to my sister-in-law's house to meet up with family for an Easter dinner and celebration. They had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard for the kids, and even though this was Porter's fourth Easter egg hunt this year, he was never into it as much as he was during this family egg hunt. He was running around with such urgency, sometimes forgetting to bring his basket along with him. It was so cute to see him. I am still mad that my camera's battery died as the kids were waiting at the back door to go outside for the egg hunt. Oh well, I will steal some from my sister-in-laws.

During the evening my dad called to wish us a Happy Easter. Porter came up to me during the end of the conversation, so I put him on the phone with Grandpa. I told him to say Happy Easter, and this is what he told him: "Hi Grandpa, Happy Easter! I am at the Easter Party!" He then proceeded to say the Easter bunny came, he found eggs, and got candy. Then he said 'I love you, and bye-bye.' He is funny and observant. I love this boy.

I really enjoyed conference this year. Some of my favorite talks or comments were these: During the Saturday morning session, a sister talked about mothers and how we have a million things to juggle during each day. She said one of the hardest things we have to do is to try and find balance with all of our many responsibilities. She said that we CAN find balance by seeking the Lord and through personal revelation. She said that there is no greater achievement than to learn how to receive personal revelation. These comments hit home, as I have had many conversations about "balance" in motherhood with friends/sisters. Another comment I liked was that we all have family members and loved ones that may go astray for a season, but that we must never give up on them, and never give up hope. We must always continue to reach out to them with love. I loved the comment made during the talk about the sheep that went astray, when they kept going astray they were being distracted. The comment was made that all distractions are not evil, but they still distract us. I think this is especially true for active, faithful members of the church. Satan knows better than to try and distract us with "evil" distractions that we will not give into. But, he can distract us with other good things to keep us from doing something we should. I was amazed to hear the final speaker (before Pres. Monson) on Sunday afternoon state that all of the speakers are not given a topic nor do they orchestrate what others are speaking about. I didn't know that, and it still impresses me. I thought there was a continuing theme this conference about parenting. I felt like there was a continuing message that parents need to do and be more, in every aspect. Being there for your kids. Teaching them how to obtain their own testimonies. Teaching them and loving them during the small moments in life, like driving in the car... not being "plugged in" all the time to television and radio. I truly felt edified from all of the talks. I wish the weekend hadn't ended. So many times I wanted to just "pause" the conference and engage in conversation about the topic with Jared. I'm looking forward to the Conference Ensign edition to be released already!