magical jesus, jumping jacks in heels & letting go of the past. {easter, 2013}

on easter weekend we were so excited to have family with us for the holiday.  my dad, stepmom and stepbrother came into town and we spent time hunting easter eggs, swimming, and eating good food, and talking about the reason for the holiday.  trying to explain 'resurrection' to leah was fun, she kept saying jesus was "magic" because he died, was buried in a tomb and then poof! {her words} then came back to life.  who can disagree with that?  jesus is magic.

i have a new calling--primary chorister--and have to admit, it's one of two callings that i said i'd never want to be called to do.  {the other one being ward chorister--sense the theme?}  but i said yes because i knew the reason i was contemplating 'no' was solely due to the fear of it.  standing in front of people, even if they're just kids, and singing and teaching pretty much terrified me.  believe me, i tried to come up with another reasonable excuse to turn it down, and i couldn't.  easter sunday was my first sunday in the calling, and i was nervous but made it through.  i also survived a rousing rendition of "do as i'm doing" with jumping jacks.  and i was wearing heels.  and winded by the time we got to "i can do it high or low,"  but i survived.

the night before they left, my dad and i spent time together one on one.  we talked about the past, and laid some things to rest that were long overdue.  as strange as it seems to type that i'm proud of my father, i am.  the older i get, the more i appreciate the blessing it is to have good people in my life who love me, and who are willing to put in the work to have relationships built on honesty and trust.  forgiveness of old hurt comes easily for me, and i'm grateful for it.  i'm also grateful when others can grant me the same, and we can move forward knowing we have mutual respect and understanding for one another.

life is really a beautiful thing, if you choose to see the beauty of it.