Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has finally arrived here in New England!  I was beginning to wonder if it would come since school was cancelled for snow as recently as the first week of March and there was snow in our yard right up until about last week.  The grass is not very green yet and we haven't seen any flowers near our home, but I am certain they are on their way.  At least the birds and other wildlife are showing up more often.  The girls are excited that they have seen a bunny running around more than once and we see deer, turkeys, squirrels, cardinals and blue jays on our property with regularity.  Here are some photos I took of the house and yard two days ago:

Things have been exciting and fun around here!  Of course the biggest accomplishment of the last few months is that we finally finished remodeling our living room, entryway and hallway!  Now it's time for the big reveal:

The paint color is Abalone.  It's not quite gray or tan or beige.  It goes well with everything, though, and I am quite happy with how it turned out!  We did learn a thing or two along the way.  We will have to repaint a portion of the paint since we got the wrong finish and I am finding it difficult to wipe off smudges on the wall.  I was sad about that at first, but I decided that life is a learning process and that I need to be content with progress when it comes to renovating the house and within myself.  The house does look much, much better than before and I am thrilled with the recessed lighting in the living room.  We spend a lot more time in there now in the evenings.  

Of course, we finished our remodeling just in time for all of our out-of-town guests to arrive for Emma's baptism.  We loved, loved have both sets of grandparents as well as my sisters Audrie and Alyse here for that sacred event.  Just before my parents and sisters left, Dave, Alice and I all went with them to New York City since they were going to be flying out of LaGuardia Airport.  We took the time to see the Museum of Natural History, the Manhattan Temple, Central Park, Times Square and ride the Subway.  Dave and I had so much fun that we took our kids back to New York this last Saturday.  It still boggles my mind that we are close enough to go to New York whenever we happen to have a free day.  We are getting better at getting around the City every time we go and we would be happy to take anyone who happens to come out to visit us along.  Here are some collages of the two trips we took:

New York Trip #1

New York Trip #2

Having the house remodeling done has allowed us to invite people over again.  So we had an open house to celebrate another event of great significance, Alice Joy's first birthday!  We had a little open house to celebrate and even though we told everyone not to bring presents many still did.  She felt so loved!  We really do have the best friends and neighbors here.  Her big presents from the family were a refurbished kitchen and a ride-on toy that plays music.  Here are some photos of our sweetheart on her special day:

My visiting teaching companion also had a birthday on March 16th, so we had her and her husband and another family over for dinner on St. Patrick's Day.  We didn't do anything really to recognize St. Patrick's Day, but we had cake and sang Happy Birthday instead.  It feels good to have people come over again!  

We also had several women and children in the ward come over on Good Friday for a potluck lunch and Easter egg hunt.  The kids had a ball and it felt good to have everyone visit.  I think Alice enjoyed her first time egg-hunting!

Easter Sunday itself was overcast and a little cold and gloomy-looking.  I managed to still feel the holiness of the day as I taught an Easter lesson to my primary class.  Sharing my testimony of the Savior always feels so good and I always welcome the chance to think about and honor Him a little more than usual.  The children, naturally, were thrilled to get Easter baskets that morning.  Alice Joy received a blanket and stuffed bunny.  It was a good choice for her since she didn't seem to be feeling too great that day.  Here is a photo of her sleeping right after her bath:

We found out on Tuesday that she had an ear infection.  Poor thing!  We were able to get a few smiles out of her as we took photos to commemorate the day after church.  I am glad that we kept things simple and didn't have anyone over that day since she was feeling under the weather.  Dave made it special by preparing a salad, roast beef, Bearnaise sauce, asparagus and baked potatoes.  It was delicious!

I am so grateful for the joy and peace the gospel brings!  I am so grateful for a Savior who lived and died for me!  I know that he has a plan for each of his children and that his plan for each of us is so exciting that it leaves no room in our hearts for jealousy or envy.  I am loving the interesting turns my life has taken as I have sought to give my life over to Him and am continuing to grow and change while I am here in the East.  Look below for the pictures we took on Sunday: