Pre-Easter

It has been the tradition for the past couple of years now to do a dinner for Easter with several of our friends in the area. We typically do a "re-Easter" and have dinner a week or so after actual Easter. Each year it's gotten a little bigger and better.

This year we broke tradition a little and had a "pre-Easter" dinner last night. It was a good time. We had a wonderful dinner complete with ham, deviled eggs, asparagus, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, rolls, spinach dip, and frog eye salad. SO much good food! (On a side note, I was pretty pleased that I didn't gorge myself totally...only moderately.) And for dessert we had two different trifles, lemon curd and orange curd. I tasted the Lemon one and it was delicious.

We also had an Easter egg hunt including eggs containing little trinkets to symbolize part of the Easter story of Christ's crucifixion and Resurrection and scriptures to go along with 'em. And of course, we had Easter candy. I ate a few jelly beans, robin's eggs, and sweet tart chicks, bunnies and ducks.

We then played a rousing game of Family Feud. I hate to admit that I was on the losing team...so sad. But still a fun time. (That's growth folks. I had fun even while losing.)

My only regret about the evening is that I didn't have my camera to capture a few good moments. (Perhaps the best was Lori eating a warhead for the first time. Priceless!)

Thanks to all who made the evening a smashing success! Here's to next year

Just Catchin' Up

Yesterday I was shopping with my friend Lori and she mentioned I hadn't updated my blog in a while. And she is right. But here is why...there isn't much to say. I'm pretty boring these days.

I typically get home from work and am so exhausted I sleep. Now, I'm not generally a napper, but these days I nap a lot. Then, I usually continue lying around and watching TV because I still don't have much energy. It's how I role lately.

Seriously, I've been watching a lot of TV. I've picked up shows I haven't watched in ages (American Idol) and I'm watching re-runs of long lost favorites (Veronica Mars). And I'm a little sad that Burn Notice and Psych had their finales recently. I'll miss them. But I am pretty excited to be welcoming back Glee and Fringe. I'm also pleased for Cycle 14 of America's Next Top Model. I know, I'm ridiculous. It really is all I do lately. So much so that things from Veronica Mars, Psych and NCIS have started infiltrating my dreams. That's when I know it's time to lay off a little.

In other news, Jacob and I had a really enjoyable St. Patrick's Day, with no pictures to prove it! We went with some friends of ours from the ward to participate in their St. Paddy's day tradition of picking out awful green clothing at Saver's for your spouse and then wearing said awful clothing out to dinner. Apparently Jacob and I were pretty kind to each other. We bought some nasty green jackets...but nothing compared to the amazing lime green pants our friend's husband bought for her. They were awesome! We then went to dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ where I proceeded to eat too much and make myself sick for the rest of the night.

That's the other thing about me these days, if I eat too much I am going to pay for it. And not just for an hour or two, more like still painfully full when I wake up in the middle of the night. It's bad. You would think I would learn. And I'm pretty sure after the Famous Dave's experience I have. NO MORE OVEREATING.

I have continued celebrating the random calendar holidays though. Well, sort of. On Johnny Appleseed day, Jacob bought applesauce. I ate some the next day. On the first day of spring (yesterday) I had enough energy in the morning to do some "spring cleaning." Mostly it was just cleaning but I'm calling it "spring cleaning" so I can say I did something for the first day of spring. On Girl Scout Day we debated getting some girl scout cookies or ice cream, but nothing sweet sounded good to me...so game over.

So there you have it. That's the lowdown for this Brunson family.

"Brilliant in the Basics"

For the past week I've been thinking a lot about this quote from Sister Beck. It comes from a broadcast/training for CES educators and her talk is called "Teaching the Doctrine of the Family."

Live in your home so that you’re brilliant in the
basics, so that you’re intentional about your
roles and responsibilities in the family. You
think in terms of precision, not perfection.

I liked the "brilliant in the basics" part so much I made it into a tavern sign or whatever for my dining room.


I guess I just like the idea of being precise about all the little things that are so basic to sustaining a family and personal testimony. Our Stake President has a list of 7 things that are essential for families to protect from Satan's attacks. These 7 things are repeated so often, but again are those basic elements to maintaining family and personal testimony.

1. Personal prayer
2. Family prayer
3. Personal scripture study
4. Family scripture study
5. Attend all 3 church meetings weekly
6. Weekly family home evening
7. Monthly temple attendance

I suppose doing these "basic" things actually becomes a lot more complicated when trying to manage busy schedules but I have been grateful for the reminder to strive for brilliancy in living the basics of the Gospel. And I'm so grateful to have a husband who also desires to be precise, though we may not always be perfect, in having FHE, scripture study and prayer together. Yes, sometimes or FHE turns into less than the perfect lesson and activity, but at least we are consistent. Yes, sometimes we only read one or two verses of scripture together before crashing into bed, but we haven't missed a night since being married. I'm also fully aware of all the areas that I can improve, areas that are currently less precise. And I'm grateful for my desire to make changes.

Here's hoping the reminder in my dining room will continue to motivate consistency in the basics for many years to come.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Well, really just planes.

When we got back from Vegas Jacob made me promise I wouldn't blog about anything plane related from our trip, it was his territory. (He claims I take all the good pictures and post them first, and he's probably right).

So in keeping with that promise I didn't blog about flying out of the smallest airport I've ever been in, seeing Air Force One, and entering and exiting a plane form the rear. But now I can link to his post so you can see the whole scoop.

Enjoy!