I know, I know, Easter was last week. I am hanging my head in blogger shame. But 20 years from now, when my kids read this, they won't care. At least I hope they will read this in some form or another in 20 years.
Chris gave a very nice talk in church on the Atonement. As soon as he stood up to walk to the stand, Alexandra started fussing, crying, and holding up her arms to him, moaning, "Papa! Papa!" Yes, I know he is your favorite human in all the world, but what am I chopped liver? Can't you just sit on my lap for 15 minutes and be content looking at him? No, she could not be pacified so easily, and I ended up having to take her out to the hallway to calm down. From there, she spied the open door of the nursery and went to go play with all the toys. I stayed out there to keep an eye on her, but was still able to hear his talk, as they kept the chapel door open.
And now, I just have to mommy brag for a bit. People are always telling us what good children we have, how well behaved they are, etc. We just smile and nod and don't let it go to our heads. Because we know that they can also be absolute terrors when so inclined, it just usually happens to be in the privacy of our own home that it occurs. But Sunday, I realized that they really are quite reverent children. When I got up to take Alexandra out, while Chris was giving his talk, I didn't have to say one word to them. No one tried to follow me, no one decided to get all wild since there was no parental supervision, no one got up 6 times to get a drink of water. They just sat there quietly in their chairs, right where I had left them, and continued to look at books or listen to the talk. The whole time! Yeah, my kids do rock when I need them to. Thanks guys!
We had invited the Elders over for Easter dinner and Sophie helped me set the table super fancy for them. The kids have this game they play, where they give all the new missionaries nicknames. It is usually a variation of their last name. Elder Ehlen is now Elder Elephant and his companion Elder Roberts is now Elder Robber. They call the missionaries these names to their faces, and then laugh hysterically. (See, they get rowdy at home, but no one sees it.) It is always fun to cook a big holiday dinner full of traditional American food for people who really appreciate it. My kids tends to turn up their noses at many of my childhood favorites, but the Elders are always so grateful to eat food they recognize. 🙂
They shared a very nice spiritual thought with us and then I proceeded to say goodbye to them so long that they missed their bus, and Chris had to drive them to the train station. Then it was scriptures and bed for the kids. A very nice Easter indeed.