General Conference; Spring Break and Easter

Time at the Cabin

We decided it would be nice to watch General Conference at the cabin and we got a head start by heading up there on the Wednesday night prior. It was still cold and wet, but we (mostly Roy) managed to get some chores done. We were able to walk on Thursday, but Friday was pretty windy which made it feel a lot colder than it really was. Friday night Nick and Sara joined us which definitely made things a lot more exciting and fun.

Saturday we enjoyed conference, and in between sessions we had a fun activity. As you all know, Roy makes friends with everyone and Manilla is no exception. He has a friend that has done some work on leveling the dirt around our property and we've also interacted with him a little at church. Keith has a farm there, and in between sessions we met up with him to see all of his baby calves. Two of them had been born that morning. He put some bales of hay on the back of his truck and took us around his farm. It was pretty wet and muddy and there were lots of cow pies, so we didn't venture off the truck. Keith told us that because of the cold he had lost four of the babies this year. One was born right into a snow bank and, even though he arrived at 4:00 AM, it was too late for the calf. He was able to save one that had slipped into the canal at birth. This time he was out at 2:00 AM and found that this new calf was barely alive. He picked it up and immediately took it home and put it in front of their wood stove. After a couple of hours it started moving around. I didn't ask if it was hard for the calf to rebond with the mother. I didn't see any calves being hand fed, so I'm guessing not.

Ori, Cam, Effie and Avie

Sara told us that Cam's favorite animal right now is the cow, though he was quick to say, "Cows stink! Yucky!" At right Effie and Avie checking out a young bull and a young cow ready to give birth.

The lake is still frozen, but we were a lot more cautious this time. As you can see, there are parts that have defrosted. Though the ice is probably still pretty thick in most places, it was a little slushy on top.

General Conference

I appreciated all of the talks about Easter during General Conference. Easter is my favorite holiday because of the hope and faith I have in the Savior, in His literal resurrection, and in His promises that we can come unto Him for peace, comfort, and healing. Without Easter and the promise of seeing Thomas again, I'm not sure I could have ever moved forward 30 years ago. I know the Savior gave up His life and took it again. I know He overcame death and because of that, I can be happy in this life.

I loved President Nelson's talk on being a peacemaker. We live in a contentious world. President Nelson stated plainly (as it says in the scriptures) that contention is not of [God] but is of the devil]. I got a good laugh when he said,

At this point you may be thinking that this message would really help someone you know. Perhaps you are hoping that it will help him or her to be nicer to you. I hope it will! But I also hope that you will look deeply into your heart to see if there are shards of pride or jealousy that prevent you from becoming a peacemaker.

I guess I laughed because I was one of those who was guilty of thinking of who might need to hear his talk. 😀 Of course, I should be looking at all the ways I can be better at spreading peace, not thinking or talking ill about people, not judging, loving others and on and on.

If you haven't heard or read his talk, here is the link: Peacemaker's Needed.

This talk called to mind a story Elise told me on her mission. This could be remembered wrong, but she didn't remember well enough to correct me. She told me that while she was out tracting, she met a man who gave them a hard time for what they were doing. She had said that she was bringing a message of peace. He asked her why she didn't just join the Peace Corp. I remember Elise telling me that the message of the gospel is the only way to bring peace to the world. We live in the day when peace has literally been taken from the earth and the only way to find peace is through the Savior and His gospel.

Spring Break Activities

On the weekend prior to Easter, the Vances enjoyed their first Easter egg hunt of the year.

You can see in the first picture how determined Todd was to find a lot of eggs. In the picture at right you can see that he was also very scared of the Easter bunny.

The Jackson's did something fun for spring break, too!

The Vances stayed with us starting on Wednesday for their spring break. Our first activity was See How They Run at the Hale Center Theater. It was a fun, fast paced play. Hyeji helped out by babysitting the kiddos.

Catharine, Roy, Crista, Matt

Friday night Roy and I drove up to Emily's art exhibit. She and 5 other artists have opened a place to show and sale art. Tonight they featured her artwork. We bought a few beautiful pieces to frame and put in the cabin. One looks like the lake with the mountains behind, one is Aspen trees, and the third one is forest. They'll make a very nice arrangement. It was fun to see Emily.

Crista and Matt had a lot of fun with Spring Break activities while they were here. Nick's family was available to get together with them a lot and the cousins really enjoyed each other. Below are pictures of some of the activities.

They went to the movie Mario. Elise was at the same movie in Georgia at almost the same time celebrating Spring Break with her kids. It probably seemed more like Spring in Georgia than it did here.

Pickleball with Crista, Matt and Nick at Nick's church building.

Sara stepped in and let all the kids play at her house, so we could play undisturbed.

I had some beads for the girls to string. I got it out when they got a little feisty

with each other and needed an activity.

Dress-ups are always a hit. They were for my children at their grandparent's house, too.

Camden, Avie, Greta; Effie and Ruby

Greta and Bridget

Ori and Foster; Avie, Foster and Yuna

The lucky family this week were the Green's. They spent their spring break where it was actually warm--in Hawaii Finn was the luckiest because he was able to celebrate his 8th birthday while they were there. The day they arrived, they were pulling into the parking lot of their resort and lo and behold, Bruce was pulling into a spot, too. They were able to visit with the Bruce Cook family off and on during their vacation.

We have lots of April birthdays. Happy Birthday this week to Finn, Hyeji (our first official teenage granddaughter), and Ila (tomorrow). We have more towards the end of the month.