Passover and Elijah

I just finished reading an excellent book called Celebrating Passover: A guide to Understanding the Jewish Passover for Latter-day Saints by Marianne Monson-Burton

It takes you through the rich history and symbolism of this ancient feast and how to celebrate your very own Seder complete with recipes and script (Haggadah) Since I'm on the Relief Society committee I would like to do one of these Passover feasts as an activity in the Spring. We shall see if anyone else is as excited about it as I am.

This book confirmed one of my Passover suspicions as well:

"On Easter Sunday 1836, during the Passover festival when Jewish families around the world opened doors and invited him to enter, Elijah appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the newly dedicated Kirtland Temple. There he restored sealing keys that permit families to be bound together eternally.

The importance of this date is underscored by an amazing astronomical coincidence that links the date of the Saviors resurrection with Elijah's return in this last dispensation. The Jewish lunar calendar and our modern solar calendar do not often align, but Elijah's return in 1836 occurred not only during passover week, as anticipated by the Jews, but also on an Easter Sunday calendrically similar to the proposed date of the Savior's resurrection, being both April 3 on the Gregorian calendar and 16 Nissan on the Hebrew calendar. Mormon scholar John P. Pratt said, "The Easter of 1836 was calendrically the most similar in history to the Easter of A.D. 33. [the year that Jesus was crucified] And if the earth's orbit continues unchanged, that Easter should retain this distinction for another three thousand years. The year 1836 was the only such occurrence in the nineteenth century!"

This is obviously much more than a remarkable coincidence. Elijah's return occurred on the exact anniversary of the resurrection, which emphasizes the essential and holy nature of the priesthood restoration..."

That is one Passover that is vitally important to Latter-day Saints.

Thankful For

My little heathen Indians

And easy crafts inspired by Gabe's preschool teacher

(Gabe got his at school and I made David's when he saw Gabe's hat. )

I'm also grateful for a husband who spends his day off recovering my kitchen chairs

I know, the plastic isn't too classy, but when your heathen Indians are 4, 2, and 1 sometimes you just have to go with practical.

I am thankful for

Snow Angels

And yes, he did actually throw that snow ball at me and hit me, but at least he missed the camera.

I think I have a Problem

I think I may have a problem. Maybe even an addiction. I like to be cute, my feet like to be cozy, we're at an impasse.

(from left to right: indoor slippers, outdoor slippers, summer slippers, and heavy duty winter slippers)

Look at them all lined up there like little sensible soldiers, ready to march off in the war against uncomfortable footwear. Or perhaps they are just fighting against what's in fashion. All sturdy and flat and not an ounce of cuteness in them. Perhaps my wardrobe will take retribution soon. I doubt it since my wallet would have to join the fight.

70 Degree snowball fight

The snow fort (food storage boxes)

The enemy

The ammunition

The audience

The Victors

There were no casualties thankfully. If they fight again I'll be sure to clear the room of breakables. That was NOT something the master snow fort builder thought of before he began the battle.

Our New Thing

(Sing this to the tune of Book of Mormon Stories)

Book of Hutchins' stories that my mommy tells to me,
Are about the Gabey-ites in modern history
Long ago their father came from far away NC
Given this room, in which we live, righteously

David-ites met others who were seeking liberty
And the room who welcomed all who wanted to play free
Book of Hutchins' stories say that we must brothers be
Given this room, in which we live, righteously

This is our new thing. We read a little bit from the Book of Mormon stories at breakfast time each day. I'm usually done first anyway and just wait around while I shovel food into Mac's mouth. This way I have something else to do. We still read five verses from the real Book of Mormon at night but this is a lot easier for the boys to understand. AND, bonus, there are pictures too. It is an Ensign-inspired idea. It makes our mornings go smoother and brings the Spirit into our home. I don't have to coerce David into takeing bites either, I just stop reading and say take a bite and he does it so the reading will continue. It's a beautiful thing. (Plus, I feel a certian kinship to Lehi's family since their band of boys get so much press time up front in the Book of Mormon.) As my father-in-law would say, "This is good."

Sisters

This is my one and only Sister- Amber. She's in North Carolina and I'm in Utah. I miss her.



We have three kids that are all the same age. Amber and I have been having play dates for four years now. No more:: sniff, sniff::

I'm going through withdraw.

Now if only I could convince her husband Robbie of the finer points of the wild west so that they would just move out here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMBER!

Birthday Baby

Some's call him Cheeks, some's call him Lil' Kenny, some's call him wacky Macky, or Mac Attack but whatever you call him just don't call him late for cake. One wonderful birthday #1 !

His favorite toy is the Little Tikes red and yellow car that he plays with out side. He loves to ride in it and push it around our driveway. No close up of the cake this year- lets just say it was a "rush job". He didn't care though, it still tastes yummy.

"Look mom, no hands! Some of it actually made it into my mouth too."
We just put a piece on his tray and let him "go at it" after he took the traditional birthday bite.

Thanks to Grandma for sending the "funkeys" (get it Fun-keys, Funky?)

Riding high in his new forward facing seat. It sort of looks like the chair is going to swallow him. Perhaps we need to adjust the straps.
We love you Mac!!! Happy Birthday

Sock Wars

So my middle child is two years old- David Hyrum. Sometimes there is just no getting around being two, or four for that matter. The other day he and Gabe had a very vehement disagreement, to the point of tears, as to which of them was going to get to wear the "joker socks". (They are a black pair of socks that has a picture of the Hunch back of Notre Dame wearing a jester's hat. ) In the end I thought that it would be wisest to rotate the use of the pair so that one cried this time and the other cried the next time- just so long as we got out the door! That is always a struggle with three small children. Dad on the other hand, independent of my decision, came up with a better one. He gave each child a sock and had them wear a different sock on the other foot. Apparently this appeased the wee ones and staunched the tear ducts. I'm sure eventually the novelty of the second-hand foot apparel will wear off.
That night I said to Zach, "I should just be grateful. In ten or fifteen years I'm going to be arguing with them about girls and video games and electronic devices Wishing I were still arguing about socks." Needless to say, Zach agreed. When me and the boys resolve our differences then, I'm not sure I'll get a big squishy hug afterward either. My continual lesson: don't rush it because then its gone and you're sad its over. I'm going to go wake up my squishy two year old now from his nap.

Its the day after halloween

No theme folks, just random costumes.



Anyone tired of seeing pictures of my pumpkins yet? This is the last one, I promise.



This is my two year old counting his "treasure"



My little pumpkin. The costume was actually too small for him to walk in so we snapped a picture and took him out of it. We'll save it for our next round little gourd.


This is Gabe looking as evil and menicing as he can- how's it working? Pretty cute pirate hu?

Our ward had a Halloween party on October 30th, avoiding the Sunday trick or treat problem. It was pouring rain so we did a "sit and treat" in the gym. It was 3 wards combined so it turned out to be scarier than any haunted house- more like a mad house of kids and candy. All of us damp and cramped in that little space. There were a few brave souls who stood out in the driving rain to serve soup in Styrofoam cups so that we could partake sitting in metal folding chairs and warming up a bit. A little crazy but a nice thought. The weather just didn't cooperate.