Happy Easter!

It's become something of a tradition for me to post on Good Friday, so here I am. =) As a kid, my brother, sixteen years my senior, had the day off from work, and I had the day off from school. Good Friday meant a free day to run around Six Flags AstroWorld with him and thousands of Christian music-loving teenagers. We weren't there for the concerts. Easter was totally about the Easter Bunny bringing goodies, dying eggs, and hunting for them in the yard (or as adults, in the house...elbowing siblings and spouses out of the way to get to those money-filled plastic eggs).

I still love those traditions, but now Easter has a much deeper spiritual impact on me. It's amazing to me how I can be going along ho-hum in my faith or even feeling distant from God, and Easter comes along and renews my spirit. Just like that, I remember the reason I do the things I do. I remember how deeply grateful I am for my Savior. His Atonement and Resurrection are what matter. They are the gospel, and the gospel is exciting.

This week I've had the opportunity to learn (well, I guess I should say I'm still learning) the ASL translation to some of my favorite Easter hymns (Christ the Lord is Risen Today, He is Risen, and I Know That My Redeemer Lives). Their lyrics convey the joy I feel at Easter.

I hope all of you enjoy your Easter weekend! I think I'll take some time away from my reading in Psalms to read about the empty tomb. I also have plans to decorate a few eggs, make the dessert from my Pinterest Challenge, and take my girl to her first Easter egg hunt/petting zoo. I'm so excited about that last one!

Pinterest Challenge Update

I'm happy to report that I will complete all six of my Pinterest Challenge projects by April. I've been working away on each of them. Here's my progress so far.

1. Grilled Malibu Chicken. We made it and LOVED it. Everything I hoped for and more. This recipe will definitely be added to our menu board rotation.

The only modification we made was pureeing pineapple for the sauce instead of using pineapple juice. Yum, yum, yum. We also used fancy Stubb's hickory smoked BBQ sauce. That certainly didn't hurt.

2. Tab-Top Curtain. I think I'll do an individual post about this project, but here's a sneak peek.

I'm so happy with the way they turned out.

3. One Year Old Busy Box. This one is still a work in progress, and it'll get it's own post too (especially since my baby just woke up from her nap...), but here's what I've made so far: