Easter at the Messer's 2013

Easter has become my very favorite holiday...

For many, many reasons.

I am so thankful for the true meaning of Easter. 

I've heard it said - after you've lost someone you love- Easter becomes the most meaningful day of the year. Because of the great gift our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ has given us-- He Lives! 

We will live again & so will all those we love!

How beautiful - how wonderful!

Megan, bless her heart, sent us these darling pictures of the boys.

Oh I love them- the boys and the pictures.

Charlie is a sunbeam now!

He sang Easter Hosanna with the other children in the congregation, then returned to his seat & declared that he is "bigger now." Of course he is.

Our Easter table was a a pastel delight with some of my collection of bunnies & lots of goodies I have picked up from work. It is so fun to open up the storage box & find all the treasures I have forgotten about year after year.

On our Easter Menu:

Glazed Turkey Breast

Brown Sugar & Pineapple Roasted Spiral Sliced Ham

Green Bean Bake

  (my kids have to have it)

Scalloped Potatoes

Steamed Asparagus

Lemon Cheesecake with Strawberries

This potato dish is so incredible! I found it on printerest & I will be making them now every Easter for the rest of my life. No kidding - they were so good. Find the recipe here!

Somehow I missed myself & Laura in the photos.

We were there.

And Look Who Else Was There!!!!

Finn & Crew

The best part of Easter this year

was that Brian & Laura surprised me & brought the babies to our congregation for church. We all sat together & yes I was teary, but these were tears of Joy. I was overwhelmed- feeling so blessed after such a hard winter. It was an absolute joy having almost all our children at church with Brett & I. I don't think there is anything better than that! We have (Chloe & I) missed a lot of church- a lot, because she has been in the hospital or too fragile to go (doctor's orders.) It has been good to be home- she needed it- I needed it. She is coming to terms with her new life, we all are. A new life with the tourettes syndrome & the anxiety that comes with it. It's a good life, but it is different than it was before.

 It is not easy. I don't know how she does it?

I have spent a lot of Sundays in tears as I listen to my

 children tic while the rest of the congregation sits silently.

I hate it.

I hate it.

I hate it.

I hate that it is so public & that they have to have this at all!

But it is what it is & we are moving forward & I am happy to be here. 

Happy that it is not worse- it can always be worse.

Happy to have my trials- they are mine. I don't want them, but I don't want to trade.

This is all I am going to say about that.

I haven't made a cheesecake in years!

I am out of practice....

but it was delicious! 

Thank you Jenny Steffens Hobick for your delightful blog!

After dinner we dyed eggs

SO FUN!

Brittany & Jack 

made these two above!

HA-- Love them.

Chloe did this one- Oh I love them.

Happy Easter 

early visitor

This morning was very eggsiting-

besides being conference Sunday..

We had a visitor!!

YEs... The Easter Bunny was here!

In preparation for conference we got up & made a big breakfast.
Biscuits & gravy, eggs & sausage... Nothing gets teens out of bed for conference like a good breakfast. While eating, Trent went into the office to get something & What!!?
EAster baskets full of goodies- wow.

(don't you love that early morning hair do?)
Why would the EAster Bunny come a week early?
Maybe because we are going on a much planned out, very anticipated, spring break
VAcaTION!!
(MORE ON THAT TO COME) After the first talk we got out the eggs.
I LOVe dying eggs- love it.

here's Jack's BYU blue egg.

A yearly tradition.

Even dad likes dying eggs.

Don't look too closely at all the sewing supplies out in the kitchen... still working on the quilts, but in the kitchen so that I could listen to conference. I'm thinking now- even though I have made tons of progress- I will have to finish them when we get back from our trip.

Our other traditional traditional egg the "dinosaur egg"Sunday morning session of conference turned out to be my favorite.

Actually they were all so good, but Elder Holland's talk

was over the top inspiring & amazing to me.

I am really looking forward to the conference Ensign & wish I had it in time for our long, long awaited airplane ride.

yes we are going on a BIG vacation!

I am beyond excited.

I can't sleep, I'm having my typical over planning issues!

Because WE are going - all of us to my favorite city-

(WEll not all of us we have a dog/house sitter coming)

AFter learning that we can't go pick up the missionary in Chile, (we can... but his mission president says we cannot see him until his last day- we don't want to walk around Chile not knowing any spanish- by ourselves- pick him up then leave immediately...?)We decided to cash in all of our frequent flier & hotel points & take off.

Do you know what my favorite city is?

(it's Brett's too)

It's...

NEW YORK, NEW YORK.

so soon, this week, I will be blogging the big apple!

stay

tuned