Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. On Friday evening the girls got to do the neighborhood egg hunt. Saturday we went and watched Matt scrimmage in the the blue and white Spring ball game and then all went to lunch at Bam Bams. Sunday we enjoyed church, naps and then drove up to Sharla's house to meet our new cousin Knox and eat dinner and have one last egg hunt with the cousins. 

How grateful we are for Easter and the reminder that it is of our love and appreciation for the Savior. As the girls get older it has been nice to be able to explain to them what Easter represents and what the Savior did for all of mankind. Sophie is still too young but Emma is starting to grasp aspects of the Atonement and Resurrection. Her prayers are getting longer and more sincere. In every prayer she now states she is thankful for "God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost to help us make good choices and be kind." Garlan and I pray that she, along with her siblings will always pray for that and stay close to the Savior and Spirit.

In gospel doctrine I ended my lesson with this quote from Elder Jeffery R Holland (April Conference 2015). It more than sums up my feelings for the Savior. 

"Today we celebrate the gift of victory over every fall we have ever experienced, every sorrow we have ever known, every discouragement we have ever had, every fear we have ever faced—to say nothing of our resurrection from death and forgiveness for our sins. That victory is available to us because of events that transpired on a weekend precisely like this nearly two millennia ago in Jerusalem.

That first Easter sequence of Atonement and Resurrection constitutes the most consequential moment, the most generous gift, the most excruciating pain, and the most majestic manifestation of pure love ever to be demonstrated in the history of this world. Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, suffered, died, and rose from death in order that He could, like lightning in a summer storm, grasp us as we fall, hold us with His might, and through our obedience to His commandments, lift us to eternal life."