28 April 2024

We are headed into one of the busiest parts of the year and with a graduating senior on the horizon there's a lot of added events.  On Monday Phil worked overtime so I held down the fort.  Arlo had tutoring and I have to take a minute to brag on him.  A couple weeks ago we got a summary of the progress that Arlo has made in the last year, we are so proud of him.  His independent reading alone has gone from a 3rd grade level to a 7th grade level.  

In the evening I had dinner with my friends Gretchen and Alyson.  We tried a place called Amelia's Mexican Kitchen and it was delicious! I enjoyed getting to catch up with them and having some grown up time.  Felicity had her last Symphonic band concert and I missed it.  The director didn't announce the concert until Sunday evening and I had already canceled my dinner plans with my friends once before.  I felt badly about it after Felicity reminded me it was her last concert and that she had a solo.  Ugh! 

Work was insanely busy on Tuesday, it seems like all of my most important meetings fall on the same day.  Phil was working so Jude had to hang out by himself while I was working.  I did find time in the evening to try a new technique on my embroidery machine and I made some thank you cards on watercolor paper backed with stabilizer.  They turned out so pretty.  To say I love my embroidery machine is an understatement. The kids had youth activities at church and I stayed home with Jude.

Phil had a Captain's meeting on Wednesday morning which meant he didn't get home until the afternoon.  Work was busy but manageable.  I was pleasantly surprised to get a voicemail from the middle school once I got out of my morning meetings.  A guidance counselor had called to tell me that she had a student who was going through a difficult time, but had mentioned that Arlo had been a good friend.  She just called to thank me for having a great kid.  What a wonderful message to get!  I was grateful she took the time to call me and let me know.  We do our best to teach them to be kind and loving to others and then send them out the door and hope they live what they've been taught.  I'm proud of the young man that Arlo is becoming.

Wednesday evening we had tickets to see "Hairspray" at Centennial Hall.  We had gotten Felicity an extra ticket to invite a friend for her birthday, but she wanted to invite Nana.  Unfortunately my mom hurt her foot earlier in the day so she couldn't go.  We took Helen with us instead and we had a great time; the show was wonderful.  

On Thursday Felicity had her Symphonic Band state competition in Phoenix.  They received an Excellent rating.  She also had her Senior Honors Night that evening and while Honors Night started at 6PM the bus didn't get back from the competition until almost seven.  She and the other band seniors made it just in time for the end of the ceremony and to be recognized.  I'm so proud of Felicity and her accomplishments this year.  Not included in her list of honors was the Green Valley Fire Fighters Local 4125 scholarship she has received.  We have lots of applications still out, so fingers crossed that list continues to grow!  

Arlo brought home a "Principal's 200" award from school on Friday for good citizenship.  His math teacher recognized him for his character in class and his attitude towards others.  

On Friday evening Phil and I had a date night.  We went to the temple for a 5PM session and then out to dinner at Oregano's. It was super yummy, and they took off half the bill because we had to wait quite awhile for our food.  We went back to the temple after dinner because we had signed up to clean as it was our ward's turn.  We were there with four other couples and it only took us about an hour and a half to finish up.  It was a lovely evening!

Saturday was full of chores, the first stop was Tractor Supply for animal feed.  Jude helped us load up.  We're expecting baby turkey chicks any day now, so we got some fluff for the brooder and some chick starter in addition to the chicken feed, goat pellets, and alfalfa.   

We then went to Walmart for some potting soil.  My lovely friend Olivia gave me several seedlings that were ready to be replanted outside.  I am, after all these years living at the ranch, still without a proper garden, so I'm going to try a porch garden this year.  

We went grocery shopping next and back home to work on cleaning and laundry.  A real exciting Saturday!

I did, however, get to finish two quilts that I got back from the quilter this week.  I made them custom labels with my embroidery machine and got them bound.  I also finished up the last of my gift-quilts, I'll be excited to share those with you soon.  I also made a quilt label for the fox quilt that is for my niece for Christmas, I'm just waiting for it to get back from the quilter. 

I may have also made her a pillow case to go with her quilt using left-over fabric from the quilt.  I learned two additional skills on my embroidery machine with this one project.  I learned how to applique and how to multi-hoop.  Essentially my design didn't fit in one hoop so I had to do it in two parts.  I'm happy with how it came out.

In the evening I worked on getting Felicity's graduation announcements ready to send.  The announcements were delivered early in the day and  I printed the envelopes and got them stuffed.  I'm happy with how they turned out.  I'm just waiting for the stamps I ordered to come in so that I can send them out.  

21 April 2024

It was another full week!  On Monday we were all home so we were able to celebrate Felicity's birthday.  Phil and I took her out to dinner, she chose Red Robin.  We had cake with everyone when we got home.  She didn't have any presents to open since we just spent a fortune on a prom dress, hair appointment, nail appointment, and new clothes for her senior photo shoot.  I did get her one gift though, we bought an extra ticket for Broadway in Tucson so she can bring a friend next week when we see Hairspray.  I can't believe my baby is a real adult now.  

The girls had an interesting day at school on Tuesday.  Felicity had her Senior Exit Project presentation and she did really well.  She's excited to start wrapping that up.  The school (along with two other schools and Raytheon) had a bomb threat.  The girls were a little frightened at first because they had them lockdown and the girls said the way they announced the lockdown you could tell it wasn't a drill. After a few minutes of them hiding in their classrooms they evacuated them out to the football field.  They sat out on the field for awhile before they allowed the kids that could drive to go home.  Clearly the girls weren't scared for long as they sent me "bomb scare selfies" thirty minutes into the adventure.

Tuesday evening our former presidency met with the newly called Stake Relief Society Presidency to hand off as much knowledge and training as we could.  I imagine it was a little like drinking from a firehose for them, but they're going to do great.  We took one last picture together, I sure do love these women.  

Felicity traveled with the concert band on Wednesday to EAC where they were participating in a competition.  She got to meet the EA band director and talk with him about a potential music scholarship.  She enjoyed visiting campus.  I'm grateful her band director allowed her to tag along (she's not in concert band, but he knew that she was attending EA in the fall and wanted to introduce her to their director).

I've been coming up with all sorts of ideas for things I can make with my new embroidery machine.  I designed and made a few quilt labels and decided to monogram my Easter napkins before packing up my spring decorations.  They turned out really cute!  I'd show you my quilt labels, and the quilts they're going on, but they're going to be gifts I haven't given yet.  Felicity went shopping for her birthday with Nana on Thursday and Phil and I went into Tucson for dinner and some quality time.  We had a lot of fun.

Phil was back at work on Friday and I had the privilege of going to the temple early in the morning.  My mom watched Jude for me and I heard they had fun.  They went for a walk and made pudding.  I got a kick out of the pictures my mom sent me, specifically a photo of the two of them in their wide-brimmed hats...two very white people, pale as they can be!

Time at the temple was lovely.  I then got to have lunch in Tucson with Phil's aunt Dorothy, which was also a treat.  We had Mexican at El Coronado and I really enjoyed visiting with her.  Felicity had "senior ditch day" so she was home in the afternoon to watch Jude for me so that I could do our neighbors' grocery shopping.  I took Arlo and Jude to get their haircut at Great Clips before I went shopping.  Jude sat really well this time all by himself.  Arlo got the back of his ear clipped; he said she clipped him and so he flinched and she said he flinched and so she clipped him.  Either way, he ended up in tears when she pulled out the alcohol wipes and I scored a free haircut...and at $17 for a child's haircut I couldn't be too mad, he'll heal.

Friday was my 32 week weigh in and I was very frustrated to see that I hadn't lost any weight.  I have been at a bit of a plateau for the last six weeks, only losing 3.6 pounds in that time.  I'm literally 4 pounds away from having lost 100 pounds, but my body just doesn't want to give it to me!  I'm going to try and not be too discouraged and keep going.  I'm 2/3rds of the way to my goal, it will take as long as it takes as long as I keep going.

Saturday was rather glorious.  The girls wen to work with my mom at the estate sale company and Phil took the boys fishing.  I was home alone for 8+ hours. I spent the whole day cleaning and doing laundry; the house REALLY needed it.  Ugh!  I live with a bunch of pigs!  I was glad to not have anyone underfoot or making messes while I cleaned in another room.  Now lets see how long we can keep it clean.

The boys had a great time fishing in the Santa Cruz.  I actually expected them back after a couple of hours, but they fished all day.  They didn't get home till after six.  Arlo said it was "better than video games" which at this stage in his life really means something!

Phil was back at work on Sunday so the kids and I went to church without him in the afternoon.  We enjoyed our meetings and I enjoyed having a clean house to come home to.  I received Felicity's senior pictures from the photographer in the evening and they are beautiful, I'm so happy with them.  I spent the rest of the night designing her senior announcements and managed to get them ordered before I went to bed.  Only four more Monday's left for Felicity before graduation.

14 April 2024

It was a busy and full week around Two Jack Ranch.  I love this time of year.  We're in the homestretch before summer vacation and the weather is beautiful.  On Monday, I got a very special delivery.  Last week I found a deal on an embroidery machine that I've had my eye on for quite a while and took the plunge and ordered it.  I have been having to pay someone to do digitization work (taking an image I create and turn it into an embroidery file) and someone to actually stitch out my embroidery work when I want to customize something.  Now I can do it myself!  

I spent the week working with the digitizing software and it's not as easy as using my cutting machine, but I'm getting the hang of it.  I created three quilt labels and stitched a pair of glasses on a fox in my latest quilt.

I finished a cute baby quilt for a friend this week and I love how it turned out.

Monday morning Phil took Jude to music class and then when they were done he met his brother and they took Jude fishing.  They had a blast and Jude still hasn't stopped talking about it.  How about a guest writer this week?  Here's Phil:

"Yesterday I was able to take Jude on his first fishing adventure. I wanted him to have some success to get him “hooked”. Thanks to uncle Kirby for taking time out of his day to come and help. Jude reeled in a total of 30 + fish and caught 3 all by himself. I wasn’t able to get very many good pictures because Jude was scared of the fish. He said they were “snakes”. We will have to work on handling fish and tying knots in the future, but you can never start them too young. My dad started me when I was 5 years old and I remember my first fish very well."

Felicity had a hair appointment on Tuesday, I wanted her to get a trim and have the color fixed from the last time she cut her own bangs and dyed her hair before prom and senior pictures.  I was pretty surprised when she came home with red red hair.  It is, however, very cute on her.  She's such a beauty.  Tuesday evening we fed the missionaries and then in the evening Phil had a couple of boys over for a wrestling practice.  Arlo had fun and I think Phil had a lot of fun too.  He wants to do a weekly practice with a few of the boys from our ward and from Arlo's wrestling team when he's home.  Phil was back at work on Wednesday and Felicity had her first in-person job interview.  She interviewed for a position at the Cinemark theater at Park Place Mall.  She felt like it went well, they said they would email her in a few days, so fingers crossed.

Phil and I snuck away for a date night on Thursday.  We went into Tucson and had dinner at Costa Vida and then stopped at Walmart, it was great.  I finished a second quilt this week that is a Christmas gift for my niece. I'm in love with how cute it is.  They're little foxes with fabrics from a collection called planetarium.  I even added hipster glasses on one of the foxes with my new embroidery machine.  I love it! The high school had a pep assembly at school Friday and they honored some of the seniors, Felicity stood with the other choir seniors to be honored.  I can't believe we only have 5 weeks left till she graduates. 

Friday evening Felicity and I met with the amazing Chantell Nicole Photography for a senior photo shoot at Gates Pass.  I love the Gates Pass area: beautiful wildflowers, cacti, saguaros, and the mountains and rock formations are stunning and right up close.  We had a great time and I'm hoping that the photos come out well.  I'll be making her graduation announcements as soon as I get them back.

Our Saturday was busy and Phil and I kicked it off with a 5K run.  I signed us up for the Green Valley Pecan Orchard fun run series and the first event was the 5K Nut Run on Saturday morning.  Phil got off work a little early so we could go together.  I was so proud of myself.  Since I started losing weight I have picked up running again.  I signed us up for this 5K, the Breeze in the Trees 5K in August, and the Pecan Classic 10K in November as a way to motivate me to train for them and to get out there and put some miles on my sneakers.   That's what I've been doing in the evenings for the past few weeks.  

I ran the entire 3.2 miles without stopping and came in 145th out of 241.  I was 13th in my gender/age category.  I was so proud of myself.  I have a long way to go, but I needed to start somewhere and I pushed myself and I know I'll do even better at the next one.  Not too bad for a girl that weighed over 300 pounds six months ago.  Phil on the other hand showed up not having trained at all, coming from work where he was up twice in the middle of the night and placed 30th overall and 4th in his gender/age category.  Go figure, he's a stud.

When we got home Jude helped Daddy load up the tractor on the trailer to take to a friend to borrow. 

Felicity had a nail appointment and spent the better part of the afternoon getting ready for senior prom.  I forgot to order a boutonniere, so I had her pick up a bouquet of flowers on her way home from the nail salon and I made one.  I think it turned out pretty well actually. Her date came by and picked her up at 4 and we got some cute pictures before they left.  I heard he took her to a nice restaurant for dinner and they had a ball at the prom.  

After they left for dinner and the prom, Phil and I went into Tucson had dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse and then went to the adult session of Stake Conference.  I gave a talk on how Relief Society can draw us closer to Jesus Christ.  I think it went fairly well.  It definitely had a different tone than I had anticipated.  I had planned to tell a joke right out of the gate and had a few more funnies sprinkled throughout, but there was a special musical number that went on before my talk and it was very pretty and reverent and when I looked out over the congregation and saw people wiping tears I realized that I couldn't just stand up and tell a joke; so my talk had a more reverent feel to it and I think it went well.  

Sunday morning was Felicity's 18th birthday, can you believe that?  I haven't posted her "things she loves" photo or added photos to her Facebook album yet since I'm waiting to get her senior pictures back from Chantell.  Phil was working so we'll celebrate on Monday.  I went to the general session of Stake Conference in Tucson where I was released as the second counselor in the Stake Relief Society presidency.  It was a little earlier than we anticipated, but our lovely President's husband got called to be the Bishop in their ward and so it was time for her to be released which means the rest of us were released too.  I'm a little sad, it has been a wonderful calling and a great opportunity and I have loved serving the sisters in our stake over the past two and a half years.  I'm excited to see what I'll be doing next.

07 April 2024

It was a lovely week and it just flew by!  Phil worked on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and did a little overtime Tuesday morning and Saturday morning so that was nice.  The overtime has been scarce this year so we are praying that opportunities for overtime present themselves more often.  The fire district will start to cover Rural Metros areas in the coming weeks before the officially take over all of Sahuarita in July.  The fire district is also in the process of re-branding.  Phil has worked for Green Valley Fire for the last 21 years, which will now be called Santa Rita Fire District.  I think I'm going to make him a new tee shirt quilt from his GVF shirts and see if anyone else he works with would like one made of their old duty and charity event shirts.  While talking with Phil's aunt last Sunday, she mentioned she had a friend with dementia that carries a teddy bear as a comfort item and thought it would be nice to have a little quilt for her bear.  I excitedly volunteered to make one.  Both Nana and Tata had Alzheimer's and  Grandpa had a form of dementia before he passed away; a couple of my great-grandparents suffered from dementia as well so its a condition near to my heart.  I was able to make this cute little quilt entirely from scraps and I love how it turned out.  It was also small enough that I could quilt it myself.  It came together quickly because I used scraps that were already pre-cut and I had it done in an afternoon.  

Monday after school Felicity and I went into town to go prom dress shopping.  She ordered a dress on Amazon, but it wasn't very good quality and didn't look very good, so we decided that we'd like to see what is available in person.  It was hard!  We wandered Dillard's for quite a while and there wasn't a single dress in the prom section that was modest all on its own.  We looked in the women's section and there were some dresses that weren't sleeveless and/or super short, but they started in sizes 5/6 which were too big for Felicity.  We ventured out into the mall and after much searching we were able to find one that was really cute, and with a little bolero jacket, made modest.  She was over the moon happy.  We bought some jewelry and stopped for dinner before heading home.  It was a great evening spent with my oldest.  Its not lost on me that these opportunities are going to be dwindling as we draw closer to graduation and college.

I was happy to have Phil home on Tuesday as was Jude.  They hung out during the day while I was working.  The girls enjoyed a band clinic at school with a UA professor on Tuesday.  I stole a picture from the school's Facebook page to share.  I did something exciting this week, I ordered my very own embroidery machine.  I've been having to send my .jpeg designs out to be digitized and then pay someone to stitch out those designs when I add customization to my quilts or other projects.  I have been wanting my own machine for years, so I finally took the leap and bought one when I found a good deal.  I'm excited for it to come in next week, I already designed three quilt labels I want to stitch and I'm sure I will find lots of other useful things to make with it!  I hope the learning curve is not too steep!

On Wednesday the girls used our Broadway in Tucson tickets to go see "MJ the Musical" at Centennial Hall.  Helen wasn't going to get to go this weekend while at her dad's so I was happy to stay home so she could go in my place.  The girls had a blast and said the show was excellent.  I'm glad they're having lots of advantages to hang out, I know that Felicity going to college next year is going to be a difficult adjustment for Helen.

Speaking of the girls, they had their last performances for the musical this week.  One on Friday night and a matinee and regular performance on Saturday.   I heard they went really well.  Helen got a picture of Felicity in her Nightingale costume for me and I got a sneak peek of the photos the photography class took this week too.  I'm hoping they got some good shots of Felicity.  Helen really enjoyed working behind the scenes this year and is hoping to make advanced drama next year so she can audition for next year's musical.  

Arlo went to visit his dad over the weekend and the girls were gone all day Saturday, but Jude and Phil and I enjoyed watching General Conference.  A favorite for sure was this talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland on prayer.  He is one of my very favorite speakers, but this years had me in tears for most of his address.  I also really appreciated a talk about the temple by J. Annette Dennis, this one about joy by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf.  I also thoroughly enjoyed a talk by Elder Patrick Kearon about the plan of salvation, I love what he pointed out when he said "Our Father's beautiful plan, even His fabulous plan, is meant to bring you home, not to keep you out." I loved that perspective.  I loved a lot about what we heard at General Conference this year and am excited that Arizona is getting another temple too!  We'll be looking forward to visiting the Yuma Arizona temple when its completed in the coming years, I'm so excited for the saints in the western part of the state.

In between sessions on Saturday I ran our errands and did our neighbor's grocery shopping. Phil and I enjoyed a movie together in the evening after Jude went to bed.  The girls had an after party for musical and didn't get home until 1 o'clock.  Sunday was more conference and cinnamon rolls and crochet, I'm working on a blanket for Felicity's dorm room in her school colors.  I love to crochet while I watch TV or listen to a book; conference is the perfect time to make some good progress on a crochet project.  We picked up Arlo in the evening and enjoyed some time together before baths and bed and the week starts over.

31 March 2024

What a lovely spring week.  We have been getting quite a bit of  rain which has been nice.  All the trees on the ranch are budding out and flowering...and the weeds are now knee-high as well.  I remember hating to pull weeds in the front yard at my Sahuarita house, now on five acres its almost impossible.  Phil did get out on the tractor and took care of some of the weeds in the front of the house which was nice. There is SO much to do before it gets hot.  The girls had one last late-night technical rehearsal Monday night before the musical opened.  I'll be glad when its over and can have my family home at a decent hour most nights.  

Work has been going well, and busy.  Phil worked on Monday, but was home on Tuesday to help me move furniture to get ready for the carpet cleaners in the afternoon.  At this point the carpet is beyond saving, the stains are out of control and driving me pretty batty.  I wanted them to come and clean to remove all the dirt and other "at the surface" crap that has been accumulating since our last cleaning.  At the very least when they were all done the house smelled better.  I can't wait until Jude is a little older and less gross and we can replace the flooring.  In the evening Phil got to give a safety demo for the Activity Day girls.  I heard it went well.  

The girls had their "opening morning" for the high school musical on Wednesday for fellow classmates.  We got to attend the evening performance on Thursday and it was wonderful.  Felicity did such a lovely job.  She was part of the ensemble and then was the Nightingale at the end of the performance with a very pretty, technically challenging, solo.  She had hoped that they would have an "understudy night", as she was the understudy for both the lead Winifred and the Jester, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.  We enjoyed the show immensely and are proud of Felicity's hard work and performance on the stage, and Helen's behind the scenes doing costume changes.

This week I worked on a project for the big kids' Easter baskets.  I made them customized water bottles.  They turned out great, I was pretty happy with them.  They'll get water bottles and candy and that should suffice I think.

Friday the kids were home from school for the long weekend and Phil and I had the opportunity to attend the temple for an early morning appointment to do sealings.  We had a great time and it was a nice way to start the holiday weekend.  

I had to work the rest of the day, but the kids were helpful in getting things tidied up as we were having company for dinner on Sunday. In the evening I helped Felicity fill out her first job application.  She is rather stuck on the idea of working at a movie theater over the summer break. so she applied to Cinemark.  Fingers crossed she can get a job for the summer and earn a little money before college.  

I am getting ready to make Felicity a tee shirt quilt as a graduation gift and wanted to make a senior tee shirt to put in the quilt.  I whipped this one up fairly quickly, I love how easy heat transfer vinyl is to work with.

Jude enjoyed having his siblings home this weekend.  Here he is helping Helen make some pumpkin bread.  I wasn't exactly thrilled that she was baking while I was trying to clean, but at least they were having fun together.

Our Easter morning was busy with preparations for having the family over for dinner.  We did some last minute cleaning up before church.  Arlo was able to give his very first talk in Sacrament meeting.  He gave a five minute talk to the congregation based on an address given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in April of 2009 entitled "None Were With Him".  Arlo was nervous.  Luckily for him, and us, our friend Steve was also giving a talk and sitting on the stand with Arlo.  I could tell he was chit chatting with Arlo and helped to calm him down a bit.  A couple of the other deacons came up to the stand before the meeting started and gave him a fist bump and vote of confidence.  The last time Arlo was supposed to speak in public it was for primary when he was about eight and he got up to the microphone, started to cry, and promptly sat back down without uttering a word.  This time, in front of the whole ward, it went markedly better.  We were all proud of him, he did great.  Here's the text of the talk he wrote and delivered on Sunday:

"Good afternoon, my name is Arlo Davidson and today I’m going to talk about how we can overcome loneliness and the hard things in life because of Easter.  In the last days of Jesus’ life his followers left him, the church turned on him, the government convicted him, a disciple betrayed him, and his apostles denied him.  He must have felt very alone.  When Jesus went to pray in Gethsemane Peter, James, and John fell asleep leaving Him alone to suffer the sins of the world.  His dear friend Peter denied that he even knew Jesus.  In my life I have had times when I felt alone, or like I didn’t have friends either.  I have felt left out and alone.  Jesus had to go to the cross alone even though He did nothing wrong.  Even Heavenly Father removed himself from Jesus for a time so Jesus could truly feel how we would feel when we are alone.  The good news is because Christ overcame sin and death we never have to be alone.  In John 14:18 Jesus said “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said “because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the …companionship of His Beloved Son, the …gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”  This gives me great comfort knowing I have all of those people in my life cheering me on.  This year I did wrestling.  When I had people cheering me on it helped me to fight a little harder and keep going.  The atonement also means that I can help others to not feel lonely.  When we are baptized we promise “to mourn with those that mourn; and comfort those that stand in need of comfort”.  We don’t ever have to be alone because of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.  “We [can] stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,” for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.”  I know the church is true and that Heavenly Father loves us and that Jesus suffered for us.  In the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen."

After church we came home and got cooking for Easter dinner.  I didn't want to hide Easter eggs since the sky was threating to rain, and it did not disappoint.  We had a great dinner with ham and prime rib and all the fun sides.  I feel badly that I didn't get a picture of my spring table setting or appetizer tray, but it was all beautiful.  We had our family, my parents, Phil's mom, his uncle Jack, aunt Diana, aunt Dorothy, and cousin Albert and his wife Phyllis.  We had a lovely time and I'm so grateful they all accepted our invitation to join us for dinner.  The kids got their Easter baskets after dinner and we didn't end up doing an egg hunt because of the weather. Last year I listened to the talk The Greatest Story Ever Told by Elder Gary E. Stevenson about the significance of Easter and how it should play a more dominant role in our worship and holiday traditions, so this year I tried to do just that.  I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for his sacrifice on my behalf.  I'm grateful that because He lives, I will too, because He lives I can be with my family forever.  Happy Easter everyone!