After pictures, missionaries, Easter, oh my!

Monkey's personal playground :D

This sits just to the side of our home, within our fully fenced in yard. Ah, bliss is not worrying about passing cars while my son lives his dream life out of doors at much of the waking day as possible! Even Bear Cub has learned to climb up the ladder and go down the slide all by himself! (With Zoo Keeper Mom hovering close behind, of course!)

Bear Cub and Cuddle Bug's romping room
Yes, you see right. We have one crib, and one pack 'n play. They have reached the point of being too big and rowdy to sleep in the crib together. We have been debating whether we can hold out long enough to move straight to toddler beds.. but we are just not that close! Anyone out there have a spare crib we could borrow for the summer? Pretty please? I feel bad for the twin who gets the pack 'n play, so I at least make sure to rotate them fairly for naps and bedtime.



Monkey's VERY OWN room!

My beach-front property, and favorite room in the house.

I love lighthouses, can ya tell? Monkey and I have a similar aspiration; to get to sleep in a lighthouse someday. He happens to love Pete's Dragon as much as I do, where the love of lighthouses started for the both of us, just about 25 years apart.

I did not have any good shots of our living room taken at the time I uploaded this batch of pictures on to the computer. I have since taken them, but now I cannot find the power cord to connect the camera to the computer! Technical difficulties. Living room yet to come. Maybe I will wait to post that room till we actually have our pictures hung and my nicknacks placed. Who KNOWS how long out that will be. No holding of breath allowed!

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Missionaries

Now, onto another subject all together. This week has been very eventful, in the good way! I tend to use that phrase in a 'trying to not sound so pessimistic but slightly sarcastic' kind of way.. but this time, I really mean it positively! I digress.

Anthony's youngest brother arrived home from his two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Indonesia on tuesday, and we were there in the airport to greet him. I have previously only been on the arriving end of such an occasion. It was just as exciting to be on the waiting end. (Well, almost!) Uncle Ashton looked amazingly different since the last time we saw him, as he had lost 80, yes, EIGHTY lbs. since we last saw him! And, since we learned we were expecting again the day after he entered the MTC, it was the twins' first opportunity to meet him. It was a joyous occasion. Then, we all headed back to the home in West Jordan for an overnighter. The next day, everyone had taken off work to spend the entire day with the new arrival. We had a blast. We got home late wednesday night, that being last night. Tomorrow, as soon as Anthony gets home from work, we are taking our bags, filling the van, and heading back down for another three days/two nights with the Park family, celebrating my personal favorite holiday, Easter.

My lil bro Nate's mission papers were submitted to the Stake President this last sunday, so our family is about to be blessed with another uncle serving for the next two years. It is a blessing to be able to write and support a servant of the Lord - and especially touching to read of their experiences, trials and triumphs, and see the hand of the Lord in molding them into who He needs them to be for the people they are called to not only serve, but love unconditionally.

I myself served an 18 month mission to Guatemala City Central. Nine years ago, on February 9th, I began my missionary service, and my life was changed for the good, changed forever. I took residence in The Land of Eternal Spring among the chapines, (Guatemalans), and they took a permanent residence in my heart in the process. This topic is worth a post all it's own, so, I will file that away for a future day.

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Easter Saturday/Sunday

Ever since I was young, I always remember celebrating "Easter Saturday" with the baskets and egg hunts and all, and then having a spiritual celebration of the Savior's resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is a tradition I have brought into my own zoo, er, home. Monkey is at an age that I am really excited to share both aspects of this wonderful holiday with him.

Let me share with you what we use Easter Sunday morning. When I was a young teen, we had a church activity to create an egg carton full of plastic easter eggs - each one of the dozen containing a small scroll with a verse of scripture on it, and a token item to represent it. I was thrilled to find it again just before my parents moved out of my childhood home. Halelujah! The eggs are numbered 1-12, and the story is told as you open each one in succession. One holds three dimes - the thirty pieces of silver which bought betrayal. One holds a tiny cross made of tooth picks and wire. One holds a stone - representing the one rolled away from the door of the tomb by heavenly messengers. And the last, the best, the wonder of it all - the 12th one, of course, is empty. What beauty is found in that emptiness. The Empty tomb is the most absolutely breath-taking scene this world has ever or will ever produce. Matched only by the humble birth, and the yet-to-be glorious reunion of this Earth with her King.

Yes, I love Easter. :D

Do share with me how YOUR family brings the reason for this season into the hearts and minds of your family! I would love to read all the wonderful things you do, as well.

Goodnight, blogosphere!

Parenthood readiness test

How To Know Whether or Not You Are Ready to Be a Parent

Mess Test:
Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Now rub your hands in the wet flowerbed and rub on the walls. Cover the stains with crayons. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

Toy Test:
Obtain a 55-gallon box of Legos. (If Legos are not available, you may substitute roofing tacks or broken bottles.) Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream. (this could wake a child at night.) Grocery Store Test:
Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop at the grocery store. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.

Dressing Test:
Obtain one live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag making sure that all arms stay inside.

Feeding Test:
Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend from the ceiling with a stout cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal (such as Fruit Loops or Cheerios) into the mouth of the jug, while pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.

Night Test:
Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8 -12 pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 8:00 PM begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9:00 PM. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10:00 PM. Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these too until 4:00 AM. Set alarm for 5:00 AM. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.

Physical Test:
Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.

Final Assignment:
Find a couple who already has a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet training, and child's table manners. Suggest many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run riot. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you will have all the answers.

And if after all this you realize there can be nothing better,
then you're ready! ~ Author Unknown


P.S. from me, Zoo Keeper Mom, who occasionally goes by the name of Heather - Stay tuned! The next post will be the long awaited for AFTER PICTURES of our home! Yes, we have only lived here for 40 days, but your patience is about to be rewarded!