Highlights of April

Winter Semester is over and I'm happy to announce that to date I've completed a total of five classes at BYU.  I now have one A and four A-'s.  Woo hoo!!!  I've had a lot more to keep me busy besides finals though and I haven't had much time to put all my thoughts and experiences down.  I've been anxious to connect.  So, now that I have a moment, I'll record a few highlights from the month:

Kaylee-
If there is one day my children anticipate almost as much as Christmas, it's April 1st.  The night before the big "Fool's Day", Kaylee excitedly sat down next to me, cupped her hands around my ear, and began to whisper all the tricks she had planned.  (Now, I'm extremely ticklish and her breathy funneled whisper made me shudder.)  She giggled amusingly with each attempt and soon it all became a game of tickling mommy.
When that got old, she resumed telling me in a regular tone of voice about her plans.  Enthusiastically, she revealed that she wanted me to draw a scary monster and put it on the inside of the toilet seat lid so when someone had to use the bathroom, they'd get a "surprise."
I did my best to keep a straight face - her idea was just too cute. "Oh, that's a great idea honey!"
I paused and then suggested, "But, I think the monster would be better if it was one that you drew."
Thoughtfully she responded, "I guess I could draw a stick-figure monster."
"You bet! It will be awesome!"
 She walked away proudly but kept the rest of her sneaky plans to herself.  (I wish I would have taken a picture of the monster she drew.)
The next day, after Joseph went to work, she began to carry out her other "secret tricks".  She dutifully spent quite a while taping full sheets of paper in rows stretching across the hallway.  I asked her what it was and she explained, "It's a giant spider's web.  When dad gets back, he's going to walk around the corner and get stuck inside it."
"Cool!" I said.
Then she grabbed a grocery bag and stuffed it with one of our couch pillows.
"Will you help me tape this to the ceiling?"
"Sure, what is this supposed to be?"
"Oh, you'll find out."
5:00 rolled around and Joseph arrived home from work.  Kaylee took him by the hand, "Come here daddy."
Carefully she positioned him underneath the bag with the pillow. She examined the ceiling and looked back at daddy, "You need to sort-of kneel down a little bit.... yeah, right there."  Joseph played along and tried to act oblivious.
When he was right where she wanted him to be, she swung a big stick at the bag above, knocking the pillow down squarely onto his head.  He pretended to fall flat on his face and Kaylee reveled in her defeat, "Ha, ha! Fooled you!"

Micah -
Both of my sons are never eager for a haircut... That's why I was surprised when Micah came to me requesting one.  "Look mom!" He said, pointing to the images on the computer.  "I googled 'boy's hair cuts' and this is what it showed.... super short on the sides and flipped up in the front."
"Would you like me to cut your hair like that?"
"Yeah, this is called 'THE haircut' because it's what ALL the boys have."
"The haircut?" I asked.
"Yeah, 'THE haircut', that's the name of it because when I googled boy's haircuts, that's what it showed."
"Hmm, I've never heard of that before."
"Can you do it like this?"
"Sure, I'll give it a shot" I said.
I don't think I was able to make it look just like the pictures he was showing me but he didn't seem to notice.  He was thrilled!  "This is the best haircut I've ever had!"
I think my favorite part was hearing him singing in the shower as he cleaned up.

Miriam - 
We celebrated Miriam's 13th birthday this past week and she wanted to take her friends Grace and Lila kayaking at Utah Lake for her party.  It was pretty windy when we went which made it a little more adventurous with the waves.  Miriam fearlessly and speedily led us out to the middle of the lake.  By the time we made it back to the shore, we had blisters on our hands from rowing. No one seemed to mind though.  We all had a blast!!

Chandler -
We had a really great testimony meeting in church this month.  My jaw dropped when I saw Chandler get up to share.  He's gotten up when he's been assigned to but I don't recall him ever getting up to bear his testimony on his own initiative.  He spoke so maturely and encouraged everyone to follow the counsel of the prophets.  He bore testimony that President Thomas S. Monson has been called of God and that this is the true church centered on Jesus Christ.  I was so proud of him, when he was finished, I felt like jumping from my seat and shouting "AMEN!"  Of course, I reigned in my enthusiasm and just smiled about as big as a mother can smile.

Joseph-
Speaking of beautiful testimonies... my husband gave a wonderful one as well.  He spoke of redemption and hope through Christ.  I bawled the whole time he spoke because I know where he's been.  I know how dark it was for him.  It's miraculous to witness the Lord working in His life.  What a blessing!

-Alicia :)