Happy Easter from My Family to Yours

Sometimes I feel like living in Arizona makes me a little “bah humbug” about holidays.  It’s because for me, my happy memories of holiday traditions are so tied to everything I would see and feel with the season happening at the same time outside.  And so this year, Easter sort of crept up on me really quickly and when I realized it was right around the corner, it made me just a little sad that there were literally no traditional signs of spring around me to remind me of Easter coming up.  No melting snow, or crocuses, or daffodils, or pussy willows, or rainy days, or sun finally coming out after cold weather.  I love all those reminders of life renewed and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I associate them so strongly with the holiday that celebrates our Savior’s resurrection, His triumph over death and His power to restore life to the lifeless.  But of course, the truth is, Christ’s Atonement is infinite and eternal, and that means no matter what the weather’s like, or where you live, or what you’ve done, or what you look like, or what bad things happen to you, He. Overcame. It. All.  He made it possible for us to repent and change and grow and return to live with our loved ones in God’s presence.  Because of Him, death is not the end.  I’m so grateful to have that knowledge, and especially to know that thanks to Him, my family and I can be together forever.

I love that LDS General Conference fell on Easter weekend because the inspiring talks and messages were just what I needed to bring more of that Easter spirit and to help me recharge and reset my goals for creating more balance in my life and becoming a better mother, wife, young women leader, and friend.  The missionaries in our ward joined us to watch two of the sessions and having their company in our home is always a treat and reminds me of my brother, Brad, who’s serving an LDS mission (coincidentally, here in Arizona, but not the mission we live in) and will be coming home in August.  Can’t wait to see him again! (and also Shawn’s brother Sheldon who’s coming home from a mission in June!) Besides watching conference, we also dyed Easter eggs and I actually cooked a real Sunday dinner style meal of ham, funeral potatoes, rolls, etc. and overall we just had a nice day together.

Even though we watched conference at home instead of going out to church on Easter Sunday, I couldn’t resist getting baby G all dressed up in her Easter best and taking pictures of her while she explored the contents of her first Easter basket.  My mom sewed that little dress for her, isn’t it the cutest?!  I love taking lifestyle pictures in our home like this.  I feel like they capture real life and the little moments I’ll miss when G grows older and we eventually move to a larger place.  Things aren’t exactly picture perfect or posed–the rug needed to be vacuumed, there’s clutter in the background, pieces of my hair had been tugged out of my braid by a certain eight month old, and my Easter gift to Shawn was not forcing him to take a self-timer picture of all three of us together.  But those less-than-perfect, everyday moments are the ones that make up the fabric of our lives.  And I just love capturing them.  I haven’t had any clients request in-home lifestyle sessions before, but lately I’m thinking I need to convince someone to try it out!  If you’re up for that, let me know!