{happy} easter 09 :)

okay, so these are a lot of Easter photos of the dude. And technically I should probably only post 1. Maybe 2. But I didn't have the heart to cut any out...I mean look at the way those cute little chubby hands reach for the basket, then hold the egg, then pick up the grass, and then he's staring at the mess he's made...it's a process really, and I couldn't rightfully go excluding any key steps. (there is more to the post than photos of Van, if you care to keep reading) :)









and to make his dad proud, one must include the football in a photoshoot. Plus it's the only photo he would look at me for. Isn't he the cutest thing ever all dressed up?


I love holidays. Every time a new holiday is coming up I ask Jon what our family tradition should be, and then think really hard about it and usually don't come up with anything until after the holiday has passed. For some reason I'm totally into making our own traditions that will last while all our children are growing up and will encompass everything we hope to get out of the holiday.

Easter's kind of a toughie, because while we all know Easter is actually the celebration of new life for everyone thanks to the sacrifice and resurrection of the Savior, it can easily be drowned out among other things, especially since it doesn't really have a "season" like Christmas does—you know, a time when everyone tries to be a little better because of it. We of course succumb to the candy tradition and fill plastic eggs with many more sweet things than we need, but both Jon and I were hoping for a way to intertwine a spiritual tradition along with the light-hearted easter bunny tradition instead of separating them. One big pillow talk later on Easter night, and I think we came up with a good one (a small one), and I'm so glad.

Since of course we didn't decide on our new tradition until that night, Easter for us this year was simple. Simple=beautiful. We decorated some sweet eggs the night before {see post below for their full beauty}...


On Sunday morning, Jon had Easter basket duty and hid some little candies around the house for Van & I to find together, we had yummy waffles and strawberries for breakfast, and then headed to church for wonderful songs, talks, and lessons based on the Savior and His eternal sacrifice for us. I taught the Sunbeams (3-4 year olds) and I think I'm finally getting the hang of captivating their attention. We only had one emergency run to the bathroom, and no one pretended to be like a lion when we walked down the hall to class. This is an accomplishment. I even got to throw in a spiritual message to them, and I'm just hoping something stuck. I love coming home to tell Jon all my Primary stories, the kids are hilarious.

After church Jon and I took Van on a walk down a trail through a beautiful neighborhood in McLean. A place where the backyards and/or front yards look like this:

Yeah, don't worry, we weren't house-shopping, or even dream-house shopping (seeing as we don't have an extra 4 mil on hand), but the houses were AMAZING. We mostly just appreciated the 2 hours alone outside enjoying a quiet Sunday evening together. Except for that one part when I got bombed by a bird doing its business 30 feet above me. On my head. In my hair. I know, that's disgusting, it was pretty hard for me to keep from gagging too. Yuck. Jon thought it was hilarious, and I was just glad that burp cloths are now something we don't leave home without.

We came home, read the First Presidency Easter message (and LOVED it, it's really short, you can read it by clicking here), and recapped some talks from General Conference last weekend, which led to another long talk and inspiring new goals. I love General Conference, the inspiration of the leaders of the church, and the ideas I get when I'm listening to them of things I need to change and do better. It helps me to put things back into perspective, to remember what matters most, and to try harder to let go of what doesn't matter most.

I'm so grateful for Easter and for all it means for each of us. Elder Jeffery R. Holland (one of the 12 apostles of the church) says it so much better than I can, though. Watch and listen to his inspiring words here:




Here, of course, are new photos for your viewing pleasure. These are from our walk in McLean, pre bird-poop bombing.