The Easter Bunny even found us in St. Kitts

Happy Easter to all!

What a wonderful day! Austin and I really like this Easter Bunny thing, especially me. Creating the magic is so much fun. We have been so very blessed and got a lot of goodies from a friend who is moving. One of the items was a pink tent. We set up the tent in the living room and hid Eden's Easter basket inside. Her expressions are priceless! She loves awing and her eyebrows can't get higher at times. The great thing about this age is that simple is perfect. St. Kitts doesn't do the plastic egg or Easter egg hunt thing, so we had to settle for hard boiled eggs. The only disadvantage was that we had to hide the eggs after church so they wouldn't spoil. Eden loved it. She loved it so much that Austin kept secretly taking eggs out of her basket to hide them over and over. What fun! 

It has been wonderful watching the Kittitians celebrate Easter. It's like Christmas here. Everything shuts down. They celebrate Good Friday and Easter Monday (though I can't figure out where the Monday came from). Austin keeps saying that we need more religion in America like this. It's really cool that it's so widely accepted and openly celebrated. So, they don't to the plastic eggs, but they do fly kites. I guess that's their tradition. We drove past maybe 100 kites on Good Friday, kind of cool. Kites, and salt fish are their traditions, I hear. They eat salt fish, coconut dumplings, and veggies for Easter... much different than ham and funeral potatoes, right? 

I was grateful to be teaching in primary yet again today. It's wonderful to feel like you are making a difference. There was a boy in class today, visiting with his neighbor, who is not a member of the church. He was very pleasant and seemed very intent on learning. Surprisingly, the kids in class didn't know the real reason we celebrate Easter aside from the fun and treats. That left me with an exciting yet challenging task. How do you explain everything- Christ, the Atonement, that He died to save us from death and sin, and the Resurrection, plus the whole story- in one class period? As I started teaching about the Atonement and how Jesus Christ went to a garden to pray, he said "Father in Heaven..." this boy stopped me and said he didn't understand. How could God pray to himself? Wow. The truths we take for granted. Like I said, what an exciting opportunity for me! I tried my best to explain that we all have a Heavenly Father, who is God. Jesus Christ's father is also God, but He doesn't have an earthly dad, so that made him a God too, but they are different beings. We have a few light bulb moments in Primary. That was one.  Another was these kids learning that when we die, because of Jesus Christ we don't go to hell. Many- too many- think that and they aren't afraid to say it. 

Eden and I spent one morning at the park this week. We invited all the moms to join us so there was quite the party. It is such a joy for me to watch Eden. She is such a people person and loves being friends with everyone. Although Eden is the youngest one in her group of little friends, it doesn't stop her from jumping in and running around with everyone and yelling from one person to another. We have passed the "I have to be by mom all the time" phase. She's a free spirit now. Joanna, our friends also from Utah, was there with her 6 year old, Grant, and her twins. Eden really likes Joanna and is comfortable going to her now. She was getting a stroller ride from Joanna when we hear Grant yelling from the bathroom. I ran to his aid and as I suspected, he was in need of toilet paper. I handed him toilet paper and turned around to see a real, live, 8- inch centipede crawling toward us. Ew! That's the first live one I've seen (thank goodness). All I could do was say, "Grant, wipe fast!" because it was corning us into the stall. Needless to say, we booked it out of there. I never want to see one of those again. 

On a happier note, I have to brag. Eden is wearing big girl panties and keeps them dry. We have had a couple of days where we have been out and even then, she hasn't wet her pants. We have a potty-trained 15 month old! Yay for saving money and laundry! Go Eden!

Just look at that blue sky!

Now 26

Once Austin gets to his second set of block exams, time flies. We can't believe it is already March! I have started to get in my own groove and can't get nearly enough done in a day. One of the additions to my schedule includes going to the school gym with another mom three times a week. Eden is a trooper and sits in her stroller while I exercise. She wants to do everything mommy does though. After watching me, she knew exactly what to do with the weight. It looks like it's her size, but boy is three pounds heavy when you only weigh 22! That's my girl! Eden was doing overhead presses and bicep curls nonetheless. Go Eden!

Austin's birthday was March 1st- like it is every year. Lucky for him, this was Leap Year, so his birthday was moved back a day. I say lucky because he would have had tests otherwise. It was a very Happy Birthday for him because he came home early from school. That never happens! 

You can't have a birthday without cake and ice-cream, so that's what Austin got. It's about the only thing Austin got, but he is so easy to please and loves sugar, so it was a happy day. The store was out of candles so Austin got to blow out matches instead. Sadly, they wouldn't stay lit! After maybe 4 tries, I think Austin got to blow out at least one. None of them lasted through a song of "Happy Birthday" though. 

You are seeing the same picture over and over again because it took that many tries to keep the match lit. Austin was nice and played along. He poses so well you wouldn't know otherwise.

 Eden LOVES her baby doll. She doesn't get vary far without her these days. It's darling to watch her pat the baby's back, give her hugs and kisses, and feed her baby. She's really quite the good mini mommy, but it's trouble when Eden wants to bring the baby in the shower. The baby can't get wet and if the baby doesn't get wet, Eden doesn't want to either.

Eden's other new favorite thing is coloring. She loves her little chalkboard from Grandma Cutler and anything that will draw. That includes the walls and her hands. It's amazing how fast they figure that out! It keeps me on my toes.




It has been raining a fair amount lately. It's beautiful! We love it even more because it cools down the weather. I can't believe it, but we actually put on jackets to go for a walk one evening. I'm not sure that will ever happen again so we had to take a picture. Kisses from us!

Anyone remember the story of the Hungry Caterpillar? Does this guy look familiar? I noticed these caterpillars in our backyard. Over maybe two days these caterpillars went from being three inches long to doubling in size. The picture doesn't show how HUGE they are, but these bugs are almost 6 inches long. Hungry Caterpillar was right!

The mom that goes the the gym with me cam over with her kids one afternoon to make cookies. Those never last very long. Yum! That's our week in a wrap. Church keeps us busy- I taught three lessons today. I guess that's expected in a branch. Primary, Sharing Time, and Temple Prep are all in a row. Austin had an early morning EQ meeting too, so we were at church for over 5 hours. I love it all. Truly, I love teaching and the chance to study. There's an added spirit when preparing as a teacher that brings so much clarity to topics. But Oy! 5 hours is a long time for anybody, so go Eden! She is a super baby to last that whole time.  The school had their regular Sunfest party at the beach this weekend too. I should have gotten pictures, but totally forgot! It's not very often that Austin gets a break to play. He would have been happy sleeping in, but I made him come with us and we all had a good time. He was able to play volleyball and throw around a football besides enjoy the gorgeous scenery. It's much prettier than when we arrived on the island. The Atlantic side was feeling the storm too, so we witnessed the thundering clouds and harsh waves on the drive. Amazingly, you couldn't even tell on the opposite side of the peninsula besides slightly colder water. The longer we live here, the more we realize what a rare and awesome opportunity it is to live here. Our circumstances may be humble and there might be things to complain about, but when isn't there. There is much wisdom in being grateful for all things. We are happy, healthy, and oh so blessed!

Learnings from Leviticus

I started reading the Old Testament again a few weeks ago. I'm now in Leviticus where all you read about are the laws of Moses and how to go about offering up a sacrifice. There are many kinds of sacrifices talked about- a meet sacrifice, peace offering, trespass something, a sin sacrifice, and probably more. It is hard to keep them all straight, and frankly, I'm glad I didn't live in Moses's day. It sounds messy.  

Anyway, I wanted to note two things: 

First, there is a string of chapters that talk about what is and isn't clean. Among the things that are "unclean" are leapers and people with other sicknesses. It seemed strange to me that God would can these people unclean, when we know that it has nothing to do with sin, but disease. As I was pondering on the subject, I believe an important principle was revealed to me. Personal revelation is awesome. Thank you, Holy Ghost!

We know that the whole Law of Moses was a type and a shadow of Jesus Christ to come. Keeping that in mind, there had to be an Atonement made for all things unclean. What I realized was that Christ Atoned for more than sin. As it says in the scriptures, "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people." - Alma 7:11

An Atonement was made on the alters for more than sin, but also pain, afflictions, sickness, and even birth- maybe because it is because of Jesus Christ that we can live. It is a beautiful representation of how because of Christ we have power to overcome all things. 

Today, we know well how to treat diseases- or plagues, as they were known. But here, I think it awesome that the Lord is being the master physician and protecting His people He is not calling them sinners, but calling them unclean and setting rules for them so they are able to live long and not spread contagious disease. He is literally preserving his people. Isn't that neat?

Okay, so the second thing I thought really neat is that the people of Moses's time were given their own "Word of Wisdom" of sorts. They were even commanded not to drink wine or strong drink just like we are commanded today! This whole Word of Wisdom thing isn't a new gig. It was given to Moses, it was given to Daniel, and we see other accounts, like John the Baptist following eating restrictions for religious reasons. So cool. 

The church never changes. 

Eyes to See, Ears to Hear

Austin and I were asked to speak in church on the topic "Eyes to See, Ears to Hear," based off the October 2015 Conference talk by Elder Kim B. Clark.

This was my talk:

I want you to imagine for a minute that you are both deaf and blind. Your world is dark and silent. You can even pretend if you want to close your eyes and plug your ears. I can guarantee that you wouldn’t last long like that. There are people in the world who are deafblind; those who can’t see or hear. One such person was Helen Keller. She is famous for all her accomplishments despite this disease. It’s all because her mentor, Anne Sullivan, taught her how to communicate by signing words on the palm of her hand.

Physically, being deafblind would be debilitating and challenging to say the least. But spiritually, we all have to overcome being deaf and blind, in at least some regard.

Just as Christ had the power to give sight to the blind and made the deaf to hear, He spiritually opens our eyes and ears so we can see and hear if we but have faith and follow Him.

And so, I want to compare Hellen Keller to each of us. We all have an Anne Sullivan, a mentor, who we know as our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost, is what sign language was to Hellen. It opens the world to our spiritual senses so we can see and hear.

The question can be asked, “What does Christ open my eyes to see and my ears to hear?” I am going to refer to a talk President Russel M Nelson recently gave about True Millennials, the people of this generation. President Nelson urges us to learn who we really are. With ears to hear, we can hear the spirit whisper what he says is a life-changing truth about how Heavenly Father feels about you and your mission here on earth. President Nelson promised “that when you begin to catch even a glimpse of how your Heavenly Father sees you and what He is counting on you to do for Him, your life will never be the same!”

That sure sounds like something I would want to hear, don’t you agree?

Once you understand who you really are, your next task is to open your eyes to what Heavenly Father wants you to become. When you become someone the Lord can count on, you can change history. 

You may not believe me, but believe President Nelson. That’s what he said! He says, “You will be asked to accept challenging assignments and become an instrument in the Lord’s hands. And He will enable you to accomplish the impossible.”

So, how do you do that? How do we accomplish the impossible? Well, it seems we have gone in a circle because it comes back to having faith in Jesus Christ and learning how to hear the Holy Ghost so we can see what His plan is for us.

We learn to hear the Holy Ghost by spending more time in Holy places: the temple, the chapel, our homes, or anywhere you can escape from dark distractions. A holy place is wherever there is ground holy enough for a member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost, to dwell. We invite the spirit into our homes by prayer, in temples by participating in sacred ordinances, and in our chapels by taking the sacrament. If you don’t find that your home is a holy place, make it one. Adorn your house with pleasing pictures, play appropriate music and tv shows, speak with love and kindness, and remember the phrase ‘cleanliness is next to godliness.’

Elder Kim B. Clark says that we can only have Eyes to see and ears to hear if we open our hearts and receive the Lord Jesus Christ, His doctrine, and His church into our lives. We do this by “taking His name upon us, acting with faith in His name, repenting of our sins, and keeping His commandments.” In other words, we take the Sacrament and our baptismal covenants seriously.

Prayer is key to having the spirit with you. Prayer invites the spirit and opens the door to which you go knocking. The mysteries of heaven can be unfolded to you if you but ask. And we better ask, because Elder Clark says, “Whatever level of spirituality or faith or obedience we now have, it will not be sufficient for the work that lies ahead. We need greater spiritual light and power.”

Service is yet another action that commits the spirit to being with us. If we serve with love, our hearts can be open to personal revelation because it is through service that we become more like Jesus Christ. What we should see and hear are all things that Christ would have us do, so it is that we will see and hear if we are “As He is.” What would Jesus do? Whatever Jesus did was seldom easy, seldom convenient, and was never for personal gain. Christ-like service requires sacrifice and selflessness. We need to be as Christ and clothe the naked, feed the hungry, liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and afflicted. We need to share the gospel and seek opportunities to bring others the joy that comes through knowing Christ.

We best hear the promptings of the spirit when we know what to listen for. Reading the scriptures and seeking out the words of the prophets can help us recognize the whisperings of the Holy Ghost and hear His voice.

Think back to the account of Third Nephi when Christ comes to visit the earth. Across the world, in Jerusalem, Christ had atoned, died, and his body lay in a sepulcher. For those three days, the Nephites experienced tempests, earthquakes, fires, whirlwinds, and utter darkness that covered the land. In the middle of the darkness, the people heard a voice. The voice was that of Christ telling them of the destruction of many people and cities and then inviting the people to come unto Him to be saved. 

Again, in the darkness, the people moaned and mourned for their great loss and Christ spoke to them a second time, saying that He would take the people under His wings as a hen gathereth her chicks. At the end of the three days, when the darkness ceased, another voice- that of the Father- was heard. It was not understood the first time, nor the second, but finally the third time did they understand the voice.

From this account, I noticed two things. Sometimes, it is easiest to hear the voice of Jesus Christ in the worst of times. When we are in despair and our world is coming to an end, Christ will be there. He will speak to us in our darkest hour and gather us under His wing. Our trials can bring us to hear and know Jesus Christ.

Second, if we don’t listen carefully we might not be able to hear the whisperings. It wasn’t until the third time that the people understood the voice of Heavenly Father. We need to make sure that we are allowing quiet time in our day so the spirit can speak to us. Likewise, we need to allow for spiritual growth. There are things that we might not understand at first, but after study, prayer, and learning, we can come to hear what God would have us hear.

What you will hear is something like the Nephites heard when their ears where opened the third time. “and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.”

Watch what happens next. When the people opened their ears, they heard the Father saying, “Behold, my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name- hear ye him.”

First they heard and then they saw. ” as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him.”

Once they saw, “the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.” Once they saw, they knew.

 16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:

 17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.

With eyes to see and ears to hear, we can see Jesus Christ and know that He is our Savior and sing Hosanna to His name. It is through Him that we know our eternal potential. It is through Him that we have the potential to accomplish our design on earth. It is through Him that we have power to do all things.

It is of Him that the spirit testifies. It is Christ which we seek to bring into our homes, chapels, and temples. It is Him who we are trying to emulate and He who guides our lives. 

I hope that we all make Heavenly Father our first priority so that the spirit can abide with us. I learned a long time ago that there is always time for God. When I was in elementary school, I had a carpool to get to school. One morning, I distinctly remember running late and hurrying to the front window to wait for my ride. I was in such a rush, that I didn’t have time to say my prayers and didn’t that morning. Well, I should have. My ride was late and there was would have been time to pray. I learned from that little experience that there is always time for Heavenly Father.

I love the quote by President Benson that says, “When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.”

That love is what opens our eyes and gives us ears to hear. It is because Heavenly Father loves us that he gave us the gift of the Holy Ghost, whereby we might know Him. I love my Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ and am eternally grateful for this gospel.