Pepperella

Our family just watched "Cinderella" in the theater. Lately, as I have considered the hierarchy in our home, in the context of that movie, it has made me uncomfortable about how our loving and devoted puppy may perceive her life in our house as low man on the totem pole.

Here are a list of inequalities that I am concerned may be breaking her heart:

• Can't go potty in the special "potty room", but must go outside…even in the rain
• Must sleep in the mudroom
• Is not allowed on the furniture
• Is left home for many fun outings
• Can not dine with the family but must eat the food put in her bowl or whatever can be scavenged off the floor
• The other two kids in the family are undeniably favored

"Have courage and be kind…"

Happy Easter!

I know I'm a day late, but my Easter was unexpectedly busy… 

The Easter Bunny left my kids a unique treat (amongst the regular fare) in their baskets yesterday. He also left an egg in their basket that was empty except for a paper with a portion of Luke 24:5-6 on it. I loved these small ways to keep Easter focused on Jesus Christ.

Easter Party Games

I love everything about Easter time… springtime, the fresh colors, the candy, renewal, and the celebration of Christ's Atonement and Resurrection. This weekend I threw an Easter Party at our home for my family. Here are some ideas I came across during my party planning (I didn't get to everything, because I also wanted the kids to have fun just playing).:

Games/Activities

• What's Inside the Egg?: Fill easter eggs with different objects (ex: jellybeans, rice, popcorn kernels, etc.) and have guests shake and guess what each egg holds.
• Decorate Easter Eggs
• Bird's Nest Cookie (2 options): 1. Pipe green frosting onto a sugar cookie using a star tip or multi-opening (grass) tip to make the "nest" and top with Cadbury Mini Eggs*. 2. Frost cookie with white frosting, top with shredded coconut dyed green, and top with mini eggs. *Let's face it- we always need an excuse to buy Cadbury Mini Eggs. Here is a yummy and quick sugar cookie recipe I found that does not require rolling out.
• Easter Egg Hunt Board Game (takes 2 players about 15-20 minutes using all the eggs, so use less eggs for smaller kids)
• Egg Roll (aka: the game played on the White House lawn each year): Contestants line up and race pushing their eggs with a wooden spoon across the finish line.
• Egg Basket: Contestants stand behind a line and try to throw plastic eggs into a basket.

Religious Celebration

• Easter Matching Game: Print off 10 or so pairs of pictures depicting Christ to use like traditional memory game
• Easter Week: 
• Countdown: Here's a great resource in the April 2011 Friend. Read in the Bible each day about Christ's week leading up to the Resurrection. You could hang up a picture each day and keep it up during the week as new ones are added.
• OR you could read all the scriptures at one time and have kids put the pictures in the right order.
• Pictures:
• Saturday-Passover
• Sunday- Triumphal Entry
• Monday- Cleansing the temple/Healing
• Tuesday- Mount of Olives/Judas
• Wednesday- Nothing recorded. Review the Parable of the 10 Virgins
• Thursday- Sacrament/Gethsemene
• Friday- Crucified
• Saturday- Christ laid in tomb
• Sunday- Resurrection

Cecile Pelous

I found this story incredibly inspiring. It's so easy to get caught up in the worries of trivial things and forget what brings true happiness- service. And for me, that starts directly in my own home. I can't live in Nepal and help orphans, but I have a husband and two little loves to look after.

I'm a Mormon and Mother to 79 Orphaned Children
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsy3DJXpLyQ

Small Towns and Business

After life in the suburbs with multiple big box stores and several malls within a 5-20 minute drive, moving to the country has been quite a change. While some chain stores do exist, online shopping is wonderful, and some items just have to wait for a trip to a bigger city... I still had to learn what businesses or resources where available for more immediate needs. This is a definite learning experience. People always talk about the slow pace of European towns. I have found the same attitude that exists there is alive and well here in America.

• Businesses do not have websites and some don't answer their phone or have answering machines. Plan on going in person.
• Businesses may close for lunch
• Post office closes at 4:30
• Some businesses may close early for the day- but return if you call
• Business hours close at 6:00 (one local restaurant closes when their food runs out).
• Business days may vary
• Some inventory has been on the shelf for years

But the one adjustment that did not take long to get used to? Customer service. 

You will be helped, there is much more flexibility, you will be chatted with, and a store owner will do what they can to solve your problem. My local hardware store has won my heart, because it is staffed with knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful people who know how to answer my questions. When I pulled up at closing time and they were locking up the store, they even offered to run in and get me what I needed. You won't find that at your local big box store!

"C"

Our family made it to "C". "B" was a rocky road that I won't force you to relive with me, but we survived! We've been settling into "C" for a few months now, and my transition shock finally seems to be thawing enough to blog. 

"C" happens to be a very small town that I would never in a million years imagine myself raising a family. This is definitely a new chapter for us. I'm not sure how long this chapter will be, but it's been an interesting change in scenery and I am finding new and funny things about my surroundings every day. I've also found beauty in a place I once branded hopelessly ugly. Or maybe my standards of beauty are lower? 

At any rate, this is a chapter of making the most and finding the best in the circumstances we've been given. Which I suppose has been our goal wherever we've lived, but this time it's accompanied with some cultural adjustments: We are City Mice learning to be Country Mice. Big Fish in a Small Pond. Mormons in the Bible Belt. This has already proved to be a fun combination.

I know who we were when we arrived. I'm just not sure who we'll be when we leave. Should be a fun journey!