Evening light & a few thoughts


redtulips

The glories of spring are in full swing around here, one day a mere bud and the next a flower.   The timing couldn’t be better with Easter coming on Sunday.  It seems that everything is in a hurry to bear witness!

cherrytree

Tonight I glanced outside and saw the setting sun illuminate the blossoms on our cherry tree.  It was so white, so radiant, that I stood in awe for a moment.

vases

The same light seemed to bathe our home in beauty as I walked from room to room.  Simple objects were changed by the glow as they reflected the day’s last, intense rays.

grace

I’ve been reading Sheri Dew’s new book, Amazed by Grace.  I’m almost done (it’s very short) and have enjoyed it immensely.  It’s been excellent preparation for General Conference and Easter.  I suppose it’s also why the evening light struck me so powerfully tonight, illuminating simple things like cherry blossoms and glass vases in a way that made me realize how often Christ’s grace does that for my simple, meager efforts.

guestroom

Other random things:

1.  My office/sewing room is also our guest room.  My to-do list has taken up residence there in the form of small piles I need to do various things with.

2.  Eric and I went on our Friday night date at 3 pm today.  It was the best time to get away with all our kids tend to have going on Friday nights, and also guaranteed that we’d be awake enough for intelligent conversation.

3.  I put my pajamas on tonight before 6 pm.  All I want to do is sleep (and hope I can knock this junk I’m fighting)!

4.  As beautiful as spring is (and it certainly has been!) things are awfully brown.  With so little moisture this winter, parts of our lawn are looking really bad.  It made me unreasonably happy to turn on the sprinklers tonight!

sprinkler

5.  I have a number of gifts I need/want to sew before the school year ends.  I hope I can start over spring break.

sewingtable

The week has been a good lesson for me in remembering the difference between essential and necessary things.  It’s Friday night and I find myself falling into the weekend like I fall into bed at the end of a long, hard, good day. Exhausted, relieved, wishing I’d accomplished more, hopeful for tomorrow, grateful it’s time to rest.

Beach Trip: Easter Sunday


Easterbags1

We began our trip to the beach with Easter Sunday.

Easterbags2

My younger children were a little concerned about celebrating Easter on vacation.  Would the Easter bunny find us?  What about an egg hunt?  I was more concerned with somehow having the holiday stand out as a sacred day in the midst of a vacation.  I did some brainstorming and it all worked out.  I couldn’t bear to pack our Easter baskets, or to buy new ones (although I considered buying sand pails but decided it was more money than I wanted to spend).  I settled on some 59 cent gift bags, found at Target, and which came in exactly 8 different patterns, three of which could pass for boys.  Lucky me!  They were small, compact, colorful, and perfect for our celebration.

Easterbags3

The children awoke to find candy filled eggs hidden all over the beach house, in their shoes, bags, beds, etc.  A small egg hunt took place and then we headed to the beach as a family for an early morning walk.

Easterbeach

The tide was very low and the girls were quickly absorbed in hunting for shells.  It makes me smile to see them do this, because I remember so well this treasure hunt from my childhood.

shellhunt


shellhunt2

On this Easter morning we found 5 unbroken sand dollars!  Small, but perfect (and rare at this beach), Easter morning gifts from the sea.

sanddollar

Soon we found our way to the jeddy where starfish awaited us.

starfish


jeddy

My husband found a Dungeness crab which he carefully caught for everyone to inspect.  We admired it for a few minutes before returning it to its home.

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crab3


crab2

No one else was on the beach that morning and the children were full of delight and wonder at being where we were.  There was a feeling of happy reverence all around us and we enjoyed soaking in so many evidences of God’s love in an environment unlike what we usually have on Easter.  My sons began tracing Easter messages in the sand on the beach.

heisrisensand

Before we left I managed to bake a couple of batches of lavender shortbread in the shape of chicks, bunnies and eggs.  They were my humble contribution to the Easter dinner my mother-in-law so graciously hosted for all her children and their families.

dippingcookies

One of my favorite parts of the day was surprising our next door neighbor in Newport Beach, who we talk to every summer, with some of my cookies and an Easter morning hug.

Eastercookies

It’s funny how you can know people in such an impersonal way and yet grow to love them so much.  Shasten has lived next door to my Grandpa for as long as I can remember, and in the last 10 years or more I’ve enjoyed talking to her every year.  I admire her flowers; she is patient with our many children.  We’ve watched her son grow up in our annual snapshot-type friendship and she’s watched ours grow the same way.  I guess it’s a little like exchanging Christmas cards, but better, because you get to talk to someone kind and wonderful.  Sharing cookies with her was, perhaps, the most joyful moment of my day.

Eastercookies2

And then we were off to the San Diego area to attend church and gather with my husband’s family.

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This lovely scene greeted us as we walked up the driveway, and we were wrapped in the heavenly scent of orange blossoms like you wrap up in a quilt on a cold night.

orangeblossoms

I’ve never experienced anything like it.  I was amazed that the scent of two trees could fill the air of such a large space.  Later in the evening I ate dinner alone outside at that table just so I could savor the scent while reflecting briefly on the day.

orangetree

For a girl who’s lived all her life in places with four distinct seasons it was amazing to see a tree covered with both fruit and blossoms all at once.  Gorgeous.

pinkroom

My mother-in-law has a a room she’s painted pink.  She keeps all the toys in there, and the children spent the afternoon in imagination heaven, building castles, dressing up, and anything else they dreamed up.

Eastergarden

I contented myself with soaking in the beauty of her yard in the full splendor of spring.

Eastertree


Easterflower


lion


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By the time everyone else arrived I was busy in the kitchen, which was where I spent the rest of the day.  I don’t see my in-laws often and it felt good to serve by managing the kitchen so they could visit.  I enjoyed watching my husband from a distance as he so thoroughly enjoyed being around his brother and sisters, parents and aunt.  At the day’s end my feet ached but my heart was full of gratitude for all the gifts we’d enjoyed in just one day: hearts filled with the spirit, beauty, family, friends, service, good food, time together, the beach, and most especially the reminder that Christ has already won the victory for us.   A beautiful day.

Joy, week 14 – Easter Edition



Happy, happy Easter!  What a wonderful, joyous day it has been!  How grateful I am for the mission of Jesus Christ, for his perfect example, his Atonement, his resurrection.  My heart has been so full of happiness today.


I don’t have much to say about the week.  We spent most of the week sick, and by Friday were back on track.  We had a soccer season start this week with a win that felt awfully good.  Saturday was busy and on Saturday night my husband and I took our five daughters to see the BYU Ballroom Dance performance.  It was spectacular, as always.  My favorite parts of the evening were the moments when our two year old was so swept away by the music, the moves and the costumes that she would suddenly start waving her arms around or jumping and dancing.  It was adorable.

The unusual week changed our Easter celebration and I learned a good lesson from it.


The decorations were never unpacked.  Only my ceramic lamb made an appearance but it was enough.   I am learning that celebration is an important part of feeling joy.  It’s when we recognize the moment as something worthy of our notice, when we allow our hearts and schedules to focus on those things that bring joy.  Savoring such moments also provides us with joy down the road as we recall warm memories.


I’m learning that too often I envision productions when a spirit of celebration is sufficient.  I picture so much, my list gets long and struggling to live up to my own expectations can kill the celebration if I’m not careful.  I let go of the production this year and let our Easter celebration be simple.


Years ago I bought some old rail road spikes to give my children a better picture when they think of the nails in Christ’s hands, wrists and feet.  They joined our simple vignette as well.

Everything was simple.  The food was traditional but simple.  The day was gorgeous… sunny and mild with the sound of sprinklers  running and children talking.   Blue hydrangeas and vintage blue china made me smile contentedly.


I’m sure that next year my list of things to do for Easter will be equally long again, and I hope I’ll be able to accomplish many of them.  Still, it was good for me to see how things can play out with equal amounts of joy when I am unable to deal with the list.  I want to remember this lesson and take it to heart.


It’s spring break this week, and the timing was perfect.  I am always a relaxed mom when there’s no school on Sunday.  Tonight my brother and his family stopped by and we talked until late, knowing that we weren’t messing up a school schedule.  I’m excited to shift into low gear for the next five days.

Have a great week!
Jennifer

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