Any thoughts on the Passover?

There are holidays that I love and can't wait to get here. And then there are holidays that I feel reverent towards. And I know full well that the Passover is not a "holiday" per say, it does stand to be recognized for a number a reasons. I think you understand what I mean when I say that.
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A few weeks ago I was going through a "blue moment". I am sure you know what I mean. A moment when everything seems to go wrong and when it can't get worse, well, somehow it does. This moment for me seemed to last for weeks though. Talk about a party pooper!

At one point I had just had it. I was done with the floating raincloud over my head raining on my parade. I had such a nice parade... floats, life-size snoopy balloons, dancers... and well, they were getting all soaked. I had to do something.

Comments such as "get over it" or "give more service" or even the unspeakable "no one even loves you so why does it matter" seemed to assail me. I felt a little abondaned (since i am being really too honest here). I blame it on Screwtape. It wasn't until I began to realize somethings about myself that it dawned on me like a ray of sunshine after a cloudy day (nice tie in huh?), I needed my Savior.
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I still have a ways to go I am sure. And in like fashion, I doubt that Screwtape and all the other little helpers of that guy will just walk away and let me win. But I know I can and I know this because of everything that happened thousands of years ago, beginning at Passover.
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Here is an excerpt I wanted to share with you. From Elder. Holland. For my sweet friends that are having a hard time, I pray this will find you and you will know that you are not walking alone.

But Jesus held on. He pressed on. The goodness in Him allowed faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish. The trust He lived by told Him in spite of His feelings that divine compassion is never absent, that God is always faithful, that He never flees nor fails us. When the uttermost farthing had then been paid, when Christ’s determination to be faithful was as obvious as it was utterly invincible, finally and mercifully, it was “finished.”18 Against all odds and with none to help or uphold Him, Jesus of Nazareth, the living Son of the living God, restored physical life where death had held sway and brought joyful, spiritual redemption out of sin, hellish darkness, and despair. With faith in the God He knewwas there, He could say in triumph, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”19

Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said: “I will not leave you comfortless: [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].”20

My other plea at Easter time is that these scenes of Christ’s lonely sacrifice, laced with moments of denial and abandonment and, at least once, outright betrayal, must never be reenacted by us. He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will He have to confront sin without our aid and assistance, that never again will He find only unresponsive onlookers when He sees you and me along His Via Dolorosa in our present day. As we approach this holy week—Passover Thursday with its Paschal Lamb, atoning Friday with its cross, Resurrection Sunday with its empty tomb—may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,”21 for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen

Lydia Raquelle Hansen

Welcome to the world beautiful girl

"A baby girl...
one of the most beautiful miracles in life,
one of the greatest joys we can ever know,
and one of the reasons why
there is a little extra sunshine, laughter and happiness
in your world today."

Do you have friends like these?

Friends are relatives you make for yourself.

I am finishing a family history photo book. It is almost all only photos and it is a way for the toddler to "see" and "know" her aunts and uncles and grandparents since we are away from the majority of them. And I was scouring through pictures from Matt and Tia, I came across this one in my wedding album. 

We are missing a few people, Mark and Megan, Elliot and Channel, Joe and Jess, Brandon and Kami, Kim and Lane, and Ben just to name a few. But, most of us are here. And this single picture speaks volumes to me. 

What can it possibly say you ask?

Long nights up talking, learning what was important, witnesses to my first kiss at 19, late-night movies, dancing at the Mine Shaft, High School Prom dates, early morning seminary, just to name a few.

Most importantly, girls camp, and Youth Conference and testimony growing experiences.  

And now I am all teary eyed.... (deep breath) 

Without these good folks you see, I am not sure how those precious teenage years would have turned out. Mine were filled with laughter, T.P Runs, leaders who understood me and parents who guided me and friends to fill in all the blanks and keep me holding on when all I wanted to do was let go. 

Thank you for letting me in your life. Thank you for "being there" and thank you for your love even today. And most important to me is that I was able to find my best friend of all... the cute tall one in grey behind me. :)

There are Aliens among us

Uhm... anyone know where the little girl went too?

Oh boy, I think we've been here too long...

The other day I walked into the room and saw this abomination...

I can't have my daughter growing up with this blasphemous influence...is it time to leave Texas (Babylon) yet?

Houston Rodeo Picture Post

If you are not familiar with the Houston Rodeo, after this you will be. The toddler and I went with Tia and Anna to spend all day there. As you will see in the next pictures, we had a good time. 

I loved: The smell of the fresh hay and fresh wood shavings, the great photo ops, all the farmers and cowboy hats. The horses were beautiful and the pigs HUGE! Spending time with family and just being out it the sun made it perfect... oh, and that one of the goats ate my dress in the petting zoo. 

She loved: the fries, her cousins, chocolate raisins, petting the cow, hitting the bunny, riding the tractor, climbing on the benches, putting her hand in the public indoor toilet, sunning, sporting her sunglasses, watching Strawberry shortcake on her way home and picking the horses nose. 

Notice all the green? We went on St. Patrick's Day. 

Eye-candy?

My in-laws are really talented when it comes to the arts. I have been dreaming of getting a picture painted from my mother-in-law since I met her.

I came across these little treats of eye candy while moving and had to share them. It made me smile as I was looking through them and appreciate my husband that much more. I am not sure why, maybe it is just the nostalgia of days gone by. Ever have one of those moments?  Where everything goes a little blurry (think Saved by the Bell) and you go back in time... oh, I am starting to slip into past-land already.
Whew, that was close. I need to focus before going back there again.

Now, you get to feast your eyes on these. 6th grade pencil drawing of Pres. McKinley. Pretty good huh?

Starry Night 4th grade... Uhm, I am pretty sure I could not do that even now. 

"Fisherman in the blue shirt"

By: McKay Hansen 4th grade

When you read the title it automatically feels "grown-up" doesn't it?

On a side note: If you ever want a good laugh, go back and read journal entries from when you were a pre-teen! McKay and I could not stop laughing. Most of them started with-"I am supposed to be cleaning my room" or "My mom is so mean!" (which is FAR from the truth)

Blah blah blah

I just wanted, well, I want a lot of things. Let me start over...

blah blah blah

That's better.

I once was told if you can't get out what you want to say, just write blah blah blah over and over until something comes out. I wonder if that is the same as talking... do you think I could just say blah blah blah until something pops into my head?

What I am posting about is simple. It solves the question I get daily. (really, daily. how strange is that). "How do you post so often?" or "I need to be better at posting, how do you do it?" or "Why did the chicken cross the road?" I can't answer the last one but the other two I sure can help with.

Its the about the little POST OPTIONS button on the bottom of the text area when you are typing a blog. Go ahead and look. I'll wait.

Seriously, take a peek. I'm not going anywhere.

Did you look at it? Did you click on it.

Ok. Good. You get a gold star. There is a area in the right side titles post date and time. Click on the scheduled at. Did you see the date and time appear? You did?! Yeah, one more gold star. So you can write things ahead of time and when that date comes around, whola... you got a post up.

Usually I will sit down once a week and see what is coming up or what is on my mind and start writing. Or if I am going on vacation then I will make posts. This works GREAT for my business. What?! You didn't know I had one? Shame on you. Give me one of your gold stars and move your card to red. Its Make it Myne. I also contribute to If I Had a Nanny.

Which two are you?

This was shared by my brother Matt and it was too good to let it pass by. What do you think of it?

No dream killers allowed!! Thank you.

A ranch in Montana

see the baby grand in the corner?

We are not Millionaires. You too? And I am perfectly ok with that. We live in an apt and I am totally fine with that. And we function on one car and one scooter. And that's good for us. 

But sometimes... sometimes when the world gets too crazy and our neighbors have a party or the dog below can't stop barking... well, we talk. We dream. And we plan. 

The sentence usually starts out like this "Can we get { fill in the blank } for our ranch in Montana? 

The answer "yes, but only if we get two"

You see, this little ranch is our dream. Well, its mostly his dream but I like it so I adopted it as well. And in this dream there are certain rules. Just one. 

NO DREAM KILLERS ALLOWED.

What is a dream killer? Usually reality does it but sometimes it is saying no. When we first got married we got a CD set called "From here to Eternity" by Dr. Lund. If you have not listened to this yet, DO! Even if you have been married 50 years, please do. It is really remarkable. He addresses what a dream killer is. And you do not want to be that. EVER. 

Its nice having a ranch in Montana. So far, I have my chicken coop and he has is herd of cattle. Of course there are goats, sheep, and horses. And a pond with a boat and an island. And a river for fly fishing. A garden that blooms all year long (yes, even in the snow storms). There is a wrap around porch. There is a sun room, a reading room with books from the floor to the ceiling. Of course a movie room for the winter time and a basement full of our year supply for our family and neighbors. We have a wood shop and I have a craft room. There are ATV's and mine is pink. Of course there are snowmobiles and a guest house. They get their own snowmobiles too. 

Its nice having a dream. Will it ever happen? Probably not. Although if it does, you are invited. And we will probably turn it into a dude ranch for the summer time. That is another dream. Here's to you ranch! 

PS- every ranch worthy of being called a ranch has a name. Any suggestions?

Life without sweets

I have bad teeth. I like to blame it on my genes and my daughter. (please let there be SOMEONE besides me whose teeth got a little worse for wear because of pregnancy).  Sometimes I dream of having good teeth. The kind that are strong and healthy and brush and floss themselves.... big sigh.

But alas, that dream is not to be mine and therefore I must be content with my not-so-tough-teeth. What does this mean you wonder? Well, it means I use an electric toothbrush. I use floss. I use special toothpaste and special mouthwash. I use these items three... yes I said THREE times a day (well, floss just twice).

And I cut out all sweets.

That makes me sad.

Very. Sad.

But, I get to keep ice cream.

And that is happy.

Truth be told, I don't much miss the sweets. I did not really like chocolate or cake. And I only liked two pies. I was not a big fan of candy bars until I discovered Smarties in Scotland. If I ever have the chance to eat Smarties again, I know I will fail. Don't these look so yummy? Ugh... I am drooling.

oh, right, I don't eat sweets. And I am ok with that. Amazingly, I am not really tempted. Anytime I bake I noticed that I did not really eat what I baked. Maybe the yummy smells filled me up. Yes, that must be it. And now that I think about it, I do like the smell of cookies baking more than the cookies themselves. You do too!? What a pair we make.

So here is my posts to sweets. To no more sixlets or KitKats or molten-lava cakes. Goodbye my tasty tarts and salt water taffy and gummy bears. Farewell birthday cake and brownie bites. Because, my teeth are more valuable that sugar and calories.

And if you are in need of a Dentist in Housotn... You have GOT to check out Dr. Hamilton Calder. He is just wonderful. Great staff, top technology, friendly, affordable, and I could go on. And tell them I sent you. The girl who doesn't eat sweets.

A few good men

Well, one actually. Just one please. Just one good man to take out the trash, watch the toddler, (and I mean that in a "watch-the-toddler-responsible-way", not the "watch-the-toddler-dump-out-all-the-moving-boxes-and-toys-way). One who will load and unload the dishes, one who will fold the laundry and put them all away. Yes, all. His, mine and the toddlers. A man who will call to say "I'm passing by the store, want anything?" When I know for a FACT that he may very well HATE the store...and comes home not only with much needed diapers but also flowers. Just because. One who will make dinner, start to finish (including clean-up).
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Maybe if this keeps up, (getting what I want because I am a mom&wife&and entitled), I will be more willing to give him what he wants. Like playing tennis. Oh I do not like tennis. But we can't all have it all.
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These past weeks have been trying for me. Why? Probably because I am selfish and as stated... entitled. I am not sure what yet, but I am sure I am. And so, after a particularly exasperating day, I stuck the toddler in the tub.  Its her favorite place besides the water dispenser from the fridge. I grabbed my book (Fable haven for the second time around) and settled in on my porcelain throne for 45minutes of reading. Ahhh... big sigh. 3 minutes later, she wants out. Really?! Sorry, you have to stay in. I'm busy. And being the independent girl that I have, she climbs out. Well, attempts to but it is pretty slippery and I picture how it must feel to be a penguin. Or maybe a seal. The water is hot, the girl is out streaking the in the living room and I say "I'm going to take a bath".
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Silence. I am totally caught up in my make believe world.

knock knock knock (and i think... please please no. Just let me sleep in here)

And it is a certain good man with grilled cheese on a plate. And now I have a big goofy grin across my face. A book, a tub, and grilled cheese. Heaven.
                                   THE END.

141MPH. Can you believe it?

I have no idea if this is real. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me because I was laughing. I will clarify that I hope this does not make any one angry... I have DEEP respect and admiration for all those who put their lives in danger each moment to protect me and my family. But.. well, just read this. I think you will be laughing a bit as well. ( thanks to my aunt for passing it along)

Top This One For A Speeding Ticket

Two Highway Patrol Officers were conducting speeding enforcement on I-15, just north of  Oceanside  , San Diego , California ....

One of the officers was using a hand held radar device to check speeding vehicles approaching the crest of a hill.  The officers were suddenly surprised when the radar gun began reading 300 miles per hour and climbing.

The officer attempted to reset the radar gun, but it would not reset and then it suddenly turned off.

  

Just then a deafening roar over the treetops revealed that the radar had in fact locked on to a USMC F/A-18 Hornet which was engaged in a low flying exercise near this, it's home base location.

Back at the California Highway Patrol Headquarters the Patrol Captain fired off a complaint to the US Marine Corps. Base Commander for shutting down his equipment.

The reply came back in true USMC style:

'Thank you for your letter.  

You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet had detected the presence of , and subsequently locked on to, your hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to it, which is why it shut down..

Furthermore, an Air-to-Ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft had also automatically locked on to your equipment location. 

Fortunately, the Marine Pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status and was able to override the automated defense system before the missile was launched to destroy the hostile radar position . 

The pilot suggests you cover your mouths when cussing at them, since the video systems on these jets are very high tech.  Sergeant Johnson, the officer holding the radar gun, should get his dentist to check his left rear molar. It appears the filling is loose. Also, the snap is broken on his holster.' 

Semper Fi

Picnik

What a great website. Picnik. I have been testing it out and I like the results. So I posted some below. If you are looking for a good, FREE online photo editor, this may fit the bill. 

When we went bowling for free on Saturday, I took these snapshots. It was so warm and sunny it was hard to believe that it had been snowing earlier on... and that Monday would quickly bring rain clouds once more. 

Can you tell what I did here? I played around with the saturation and other things I can't remember. I also focused on the face and blurred out the rest. I know, she has crazy hair. Think "Daisy Maizy" or "Cindy-lou-who" That's because we started to go to a Dr. Seuss Party but could't find it. So this toddler was pretty tired

I made this one lighter and grainer. It was a bad shot but I am pleased with the results

And... Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss and to Caleb Larsen. 

Month in review

Well, I will forewarn you. It is one of "those" posts that no one really cares about. The kind where there are a lot of pictures that have zero meaning to anyone else. But, this is our family journal so it really doesn't matter to anyone but us. :) Hugs and loves.  And since i have neglected many pictures in lieu of blogging discussion, craft posts and wedding/party planning, here is a concentrated dose. In no particular order

Jaed Maliana with Ozzy Osburne glasses from the Valentines Party

Eating. Big surprise. She eats a whole box of cereal a week. By HERSELF!

Making a fort... or tearing it down. One of the two

Really into books and reading. She does this all by herself\f while I read my books. Its a nice setup we have

Please take note: Polka dot hat+rolled up jeans+black un-buttoned shirt (one of three layers)+ binoculars, sippy cup +one pink shoe+one brown shoe. She dressed herself.

Fifths diease. One word. Miserable. Miserable for everyone. No sleep, crying all the time, itching all over, gonna have some scarring... poor little girl! This rash was ALL OVER her little body. Her ears. face, feet... after two weeks we just have really rosy cheeks. And we have our little firebolt back

This doll cries when it wants to be fed. She is really sweet with her.. well most of the time. I have seen her throw her down and step on her a few times though... i am sure it was an accident. 

Loves to write.. on everything. Thank goodness for Magic Wonder Markers from Crayola

We went to a car wash. She was memorized. A little blurry but one of the few times she is still and I HAD to capture it

This is a guitar shirt I made. 

Watching the snow fall. It started out as ice and then became big flakes. We played in it but it was pretty cold

Got coupons for FREE BOWLING so we took advantage of it. Jaed even bowled. Can you see her ball down there? Yep, she got a strike. Actually, she got a LOT of good bowls in. As a matter of fact...

She was beating both McKay and me for most of the game. 

Final score: Makana: 93, Jaed: 87. McKay: 84

In two weeks she will 18month old. I am thinking I want to have a celebration for her... hmm....