Memorial Day

Luckily it was warm enough this Memorial Day for a pool day!

Aunt Holli, Brent, and cousin April and her family came down to enjoy the day off. We also celebrated two birthdays...Finn,

and Londyn. The oldest grandchild on my parents' side. I can't believe she is 10!

We headed to Doug and Jami's that evening for a barbeque on their new beautiful deck. The weather was perfect and a day off was much needed.

Maybe he should have lathered up a bit more...my "little lilly", or as he likes to call himself, "The Great White"!

Mother's Day

Conner and I started off our Mother's Day morning with my Mom.  My Dad had brought her cereal and half of a banana and called it "breakfast in bed". We thought she deserved a little more so we made cinnamon roll pancakes. They were incredible! After church we ran to Conner's parents to spend some quality time with his wonderful mother, then headed back to my parents to talk to Marissa! This was the scene when we walked in...

It was so great to talk to her. She sounds fabulous. She only had 45 minutes to talk so things were a little crazy with so many people fighting for her attention. She loves her mission and even bore her testimony to us in Spanish. I'm pretty jealous of this time in her life. She is growing so much. We hated to say goodbye but look forward to Christmas when we get to talk to her again. Hopefully we'll be able to Skpe!

A beautiful new painting for a very deserving mother.

Conner remembered that I too am a mother this year and had this beautiful arrangement waiting for me Sunday morning...although with all the "hints" I was dropping I would have been surprised if he would have forgotten. He went one step further and got me tickets to Josh Groban this October. It will be fabulous!

I'm feeling quite humbled this Mother's Day. First of all, I really do have the most wonderful mother in the whole world. She will drop ANYTHING for me! The second I need her, she makes herself available. She has been, is, and always will be my very best friend.

Secondly, Conner's mom is an incredible lady herself. She too is so willing to help us with anything we need. I got pretty lucky to have two Mothers who care for us so much.

Lastly, I finally get to be a mother this year! We are so incredibly excited and feel so ready for this new chapter in our lives. 10 more weeks to go!

Easter

Easter was fabulous this year. I always love Easter Sunday. I love waking up to jellybeans left by the Easter bunny, wearing a new spring dress to church, remembering the Savior, his atonement, and resurrection, and enjoying Easter egg hunts and a delicious Easter dinner with family. This year Conner was under the impression that the Easter Bunny had already come. We received a beautiful baby crib from Craig and Jerrie and had put a down payment on a beautiful baby rocking chair. Little did he know he would wake up to a jellybean trail leading to his Easter basket… What a wonderful surprise!

He received an Under Armor baseball shirt that he had been eyeing at Scheels. How did the Easter Bunny know he wanted it? He was thrilled. And I got my jellybeans, so I was happy. That morning, we made resurrection rolls – rolls that had a magically hollow center when you cook them… This is to represent the empty tomb on Easter morn. They almost worked.

Next we dyed eggs and then I made sugar cookies for my young women's lesson.

We had church that afternoon and enjoyed lessons about Jesus Christ and the resurrection. We then went to my moms to hide all of the Easter eggs before the kids arrived. Cam and Tiffany, Nic and Heather, and Conner and I enjoyed a beautiful ham dinner and all the fixins with my parents. We continue to miss Jon and Jenny, Julianne  and Garrett, and Marissa. We wish they all could have been there! We were anxious to eat. and the kids wanted to get the hunt started.... But Grammy wouldn't let anyone eat until we all had a chance to say something that we loved about Easter. The kids answers ranged from jellybeans and chocolate to Jesus. My mom was emotional when she said how grateful she was for Marissa sharing gospel messages on her mission. Then, of course, we all started to cry. Conner says us Egberts are crazy. He says that when one of us starts to cry, the waterworks begin! It's true. It was a nice moment in our busy Easter Day before we all scarfed down honey baked ham, garlic mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, deviled eggs and Lion House rolls. We were stuffed to the brim but had to find some room for my Mom's homemade carrot cake. After all, she only makes it once a year. Following dinner, we had quite the Easter egg hunt. The kids loved it! It was fun to see how much Luke had grown since last year. He was really into it. I think they were all rich by the end… After all, Grammy had 100 dollars split between all the Easter eggs! I love springtime. What an appropriate time of year to celebrate the life and resurrection of our Savior. I know that He lives and have a testimony of His life and teachings. I know that through Him we will one day be able to return to our Father in Heaven. My testimony is growing every day and I am so thankful for the gospel and it's guidance in my life!