Preparing for Easter

We had two very special activities that we participated in leading up to Easter this year. A few years ago a Jewish couple in our area was converted and joined our ward. They were instrumental in bringing about our first Easter activity:

Preparing the tables for the meal.

Even Xander had a role in the evening, being the youth who brought the bowl of water to David for the ceremonial washing of his hands.

Peggy lent me the cloth to wear on my head as I also had a part in the Seder, lighting the candles and speaking some lines from the program.

The place setting for Elijah.

What an amazing evening! Many of our ward members were there, several couples from the other ward helped out by serving the meal, and the Spirit was felt by all. I am so grateful for this sweet couple, Michael and Peggy Galumbeck, for making this wonderful event happen for all of us.

A Night with Christ was the second special Easter activity and we did this one with our young women. Throughout the evening the young women and leaders visited several rooms where, through scripture reading, songs, and readings, we all learned about the concluding events in the Savior's mortal ministry.
The Last Supper -

scripture reading from scrolls and time for journal writing about individual thoughts, impressions, and feelings.

Sister Foote did a fabulous job.

Sister Paul talked to the girls about the Garden of Gethsemane and we sang I Stand All Amazed.

The girls learned about the trial and judgment of the Savior from Brother Klein who was dressed as Pontius Pilate.

We reviewed information about the Jewish and Roman leaders involved in the decisions regarding our Savior.

Sister Brown taught the girls about the horrors of crucifixion.

In Sister Nelson's room we learned about the burial of our Savior and read some beautiful scriptures and quotes regarding what Jesus Christ was doing while His body lay in the tomb.

We finished the evening learning about the glorious Resurrection; David did a great job talking about the importance of this significant event and what it means for each of us.

What a wonderful evening that really helped bring my focus directly to my Savior during this Easter season.

Temple Trip

In late March the young women had a Family History Night activity where we learned about the different ways to find family names in preparation for our temple trip in April. The girls had a great time looking for new family names and the Kleins even have lines that go way back due to royal blood. It was pretty cool!

And then on April 5th - temple trip! Let the picture taking begin!

The youth from our ward that made it on this trip - Sydney, Molly, Savannah, Xander, Carolyn, Megan, and Emma.

I am so grateful for wonderful men such as these who are there to lead and guide my son.

Our fabulous young women!

What a blessing to be able to go to the temple with my children!

I missed out on attending the temple with Xander for his first visit so I made sure we got a picture to commemorate our first time together.

Irish Pubs and a Wedding in Yonkers

One Sunday in January one of the sweet younger ladies in my ward handed me her wedding invitation. Her fiance was one of Noah's primary teachers last year and I just love them both and was so excited that they thought to include us in their invitations. When I opened it up and saw that they were getting married up in Yonkers, New York, however, I was super bummed knowing that we wouldn't be able to attend. After church I showed David the invite and expressed my regret at not being able to go. He started laughing as he informed me that of course we were going because he was the one marrying them! We decided we would go up Friday morning after the kids went off to school, spend the day in New York City, stay overnight at the hotel where the couple was getting married, enjoy their wedding Saturday afternoon, eat dinner at the reception, and then head home Saturday night. So, the hunt was on to find someone willing to take our kids into their home. We weren't able to do that but we did find something better; my fabulous friend Elinor agreed to sleep at our place Friday night so the kids could sleep in their own beds and then she'd head home Saturday morning. I was so excited to get this little overnight getaway with David.

Early Friday morning I dropped Bryan at the airport (sad) and got home just in time to send this wee Irish lad off to school!

And then we were off! It was a gorgeous day and we got up to NYC in no time!

Our plan of a big sightseeing day in the city started to unravel at the seams almost as soon as we got up there. Our thought was we'd check into the hotel in Yonkers and then park our car at the nearest train station and get into the city that way. Who wants to drive in New York City??? What we didn't count on was our inability to find a station with any kind of parking. After over an hour of driving around with no luck we decided to throw in the towel and find an Irish pub to celebrate the holiday and stuff our faces while watching March Madness. It turned out to be the most brilliant idea!
We ended up at Maggie Spillane's!

Eating corned beef sandwiches, listening to the heavy Irish brogues behind the bar, and watching a ton of exciting college basketball games on multiple TVs turned this into one of my most favorite St. Patrick's Days ever!

We spent several hours there and then headed back to the hotel for a short nap. Unfortunately I came down with a massive migraine that evening which really made things tough. David and I did venture out for some pizza at this little street corner pizza shop but my headache really put a damper on things. Thank goodness it was gone by Saturday and we had such an amazing time at Jeanne and Paul's wedding. We were treated to some very different elements in this wedding than we're used to. They're both from Africa and, although from different tribes, some of the wedding traditions are the same. There was a lot of pre-ceremony dancing which I loved! Paul really knows how to bust a move!

Jeanne was an absolutely beautiful bride!

Another wedding under David's belt. He always does such a fantastic job!

The reception was right in the hotel so we were able to enjoy some hors d'oeuvres and drinks while the couple finished up some official wedding business and then everyone headed into the reception room for dinner.

The food was delicious and there was even more dancing to watch. It was starting to snow so we didn't get to stay long but I'm so grateful we got to be with these two on their special day.

One thing we missed while we were away - Noah's basketball team played in the championship game Saturday afternoon. Thank goodness his sweet coach didn't want him to miss it and provided rides to and from the game for him. I was able to grab pictures from some of the other parents.
Getting ready to start the big game!

We ended up playing the only undefeated team in the league. They had beat us both times we played them in the regular season and I know our boys were concerned about that. But guess what? The victory was ours!!! I hear the boys played their hearts out!

Trophy time!!

We Love Our Uncle Bryan!

We always treasure our visits from Uncle Bryan! Along with all the stimulating discussions about history and politics, he keeps us entertained and laughing! And he and Noah are two peas in a pod, as one can easily see.

He spoils the kids and always takes them to Barnes and Noble for a new book. Once there we for sure have to get fraps!

Once we got home, Noah got right into reading in typical Noah style!

The night before he left we picked up Shamrock Shakes to honor St. Patrick's Day which was the following day.

Until the next visit...

The Walters

The kids were off for another snow day but the roads were clear and the weather was decent so Bryan and I decided to stick to our original plan of visiting the Walters Museum in Baltimore. We just had to get all the snow and ice off my windshield first. Thank goodness Bryan came out to help me because I was having no luck!

He really put some muscle into it...with a little serial killer thrown in!

Absolutely everything is perfect about this picture!

What a treasure this place is. Other than the construction on the roads all around it that had us driving by it three times before I could figure out how to get in the parking lot, it's in a great spot in the city and easy to find. Plus, it's free!
We checked out the Egyptian section first because it's my favorite and I have a very kind brother. I was amazed at how much they had!

Bryan and I could not get over how brilliant this blue was! It was absolutely stunning!

Every room is filled with outstanding pieces from so many different areas of the ancient world.

After leaving the ancient world, we discovered rooms filled with Middle Age as well as more modern artifacts.

A few things from Central and South America for Bryan.

I always take lots of pictures of the knights for Noah.

We had lunch at this neat little restaurant across the street and then were planning on exploring some of the historic neighborhood and monuments right by the museum but I can't even begin to explain how frigidly cold it was so we decided to just hurry to the car. The wind was blowing, making it even more miserable. I grabbed this one quick picture of Bryan before frostbite had a chance to set in.