The Egg Hunt and the Ramen Queen

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . a little neighbor boy coming over to play. I'm glad Daniel likes playing with his big sister, but I think it's good for him to play with someone his own age, too.

. . . an early Easter egg hunt with lots of friends from church.

. . . hearing a little girl at the park squealing with delight when she saw her daddy arrive to join the Easter party.

. . . remembering an aria from Wright's Unfinished Opera di Ramen. During a finals week years ago, a college friend composed several operatic numbers about ramen noodles to demonstrate that anything sounds sophisticated when you sing about it in Italian. I sure wish he'd finished that opera.

. . . finishing everything on yesterday's long list!

And another thing . . .

. . . whenever I come up to my parents' cabin, I always stay up too late and eat way too many sweets. Good times.

Lots To Do

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . listing all the things I need to do in the next 24 hours. It's a long list.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . talking with other women in the ward about what they do for family home evening. I got lots of good ideas.

. . . finding something I lost.

A Pixie, A Pirate, and Too Much Mint

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . another unfortunate encounter with some automatic doors that flatly refused to let Daniel open them. He cried the whole time we were in the store, and for most of the drive home.

. . . getting distracted and dumping way, WAY too much peppermint extract into some ice cream I was making. I tried to compensate by adding more of the other ingredients, but the resulting ice cream was still so minty that it literally made me feel sick. I had to throw it all away. Sad.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . making funny faces at Anna in the mirror.

. . . the big kids playing dress up together. Joy was a pixie and Daniel was a pirate (which, incidentally, raises the question why we encourage our children to dress up as murderous thieves with atrocious personal hygiene).

Daniel and the Doors

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . Daniel sobbing because some automatic doors swung open on their own before he could open them himself. I tried to prepare him for that phenomenon before we reached them again on our way out, but he was still just as devastated the second time.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . having lunch with an old friend.

. . . sitting at the table with Joy, eating slabs of homemade bread slathered with Nutella.

Matching the Apostles, Loving the Iranians

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . making a matching game for home evening. I printed pictures of the Prophet and apostles, then printed pictures of things associated with them (e.g. an airplane for President Uchtdorf, a gavel for Elder Oaks because he was a judge on the Utah Supreme Court, etc.). It was fun to read short biographies of the Brethren, and learn so many interesting details about their lives--everything from Elder Holland gaining a testimony of the priesthood to Elder Scott putting a train whistle on his parents' car.

. . . hearing a public radio report about an Israeli graphic designer who inadvertently sparked an small anti-war movement, simply by making a poster of himself with his young daughter holding an Israel flag, and adding the message "Iranians, we will never bomb your country. We love you." He posted it on his Facebook page, and soon thousands of other Israelis were asking him to make similar posters with their pictures. He has since started another Facebook page devoted to the posters and the idea behind them. It's appropriately titled Israel-Loves-Iran. While I don't know how much impact the movement will have on government policy, it brings tears to my eyes to see such poignant reminders that, while politicians may demonize each other's regimes, their citizens can still see each other as brothers and sisters in one big family.

Reckless Abandon is Overrated

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . Joy giving me a big hug when I was feeling really down this morning.

. . . Anna eating like a champ during Sunday school. I officially love those baby food pouches that can squirt onto a detachable spoon.

And another thing . . .

. . . For me, “living with reckless abandon” involves staying up until 4:30am reading a book. And as in most cases, such living sounds energizing and liberating in principle, but in reality it becomes less satisfying the more hours you keep at it, and you end up deeply regretting it the next day. I woke up three hours later devoid of any cheer or energy, with the mental reserves of a gnat to cope with the petty quarrellings of my children over who got to turn on their bedroom light switch or press a certain key on the keyboard. It was one of those days when I wished life had a Restart button so I could just skip ahead to tomorrow. I’ve resolved not to read at night anymore unless Phillip is still awake. When he gets ready for bed, the reading session is over.

Burgers and Hugs

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . Daniel running over to give me a big hug.

. . . having In-N-Out for lunch with the kids.

. . . Joy sitting on my lap while I tried to teach her to crochet.

. . . snuggling Anna.

. . . eating ice cream with my sweetheart.

. . . reading more of a good book.