The Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem.

As you know, if you have been reading my blog for a while, we celebrate the last week of Christ's life the week before Easter. I thought this year I would post what the day's lesson is each morning so you can incorporate it in your own family.

Sunday is Palm Sunday. It is called that because that is when Jesus came into Jerusalem. The people waved palm leaves and shouted Hosannas and then set them down along his path. At our house we wave palm leaves and talk about the tradition we have in temple dedications of waving handkerchiefs and shouting Hosannas to God.
This year we also watched the new Bible video series' The Lord's Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem which can be found here. The story can be found in the Bible in Matthew 21:1-11. Enjoy!

1940 Census.

Can you feel the buzz? Can you sense the excitement?

We are just days away!!

The 1940 Census will be released for indexing on April 2.

Yahoooooo!

Go to Family Search. com and sign up to index!

It's addicting. I promise.

Making Friends And Careers.

Sam has been busy making friends with the kids. Iris is still skittish. We are hoping it wears off and she comes to trust the kiddos.Felix, on the other hand, has taken to Sam like butter on toast. He relaxes as soon as he's in his arms and will sit for quite a while. Mama Cass keeps her eye on them, but doesn't bellow as much when Sam has him.

Today I got to spend some time with the local 6th graders for career day at school. I had no idea what I was going into. They had given each of the kids a career, income, family situation (married, kids), a debit card and check book. There were stations set up all around the gym for auto loans, student loans, insurance, taxes, credit card debt, child care, piggly wiggly, clothing store, rent/mortgage loans and fun stuff.

I was at the auto loan table with another mom. We had several different cars, mini vans and trucks, as well as a UTA pass. The most fantastical and popular vehicle was the Charger. But at a staggering $781 a month plus insurance plus rising gasoline prices for just 15 mpg/city, we sold a lot to begin with and then ended up giving checks back so they could purchase the 2004 Oldsmobile Alero for $112 a month and better gas mileage.

Many of these kids got it. A couple of them wanted the Charger, but when they saw the price, were very upset that they couldn't afford it while their friends with more money could. One boy just started to look at the cheaper sedans when I told him that if he got the cheapest car, he could easily make a monthly payment AND put money away each month to save for a newer, better car. The understanding was immediate. He got it. And purchased the cheaper, older car. Later he came back and said that it was so unfair. He was a firefighter and risked his life and didn't make near as much money as his friend who was purchasing his second vehicle and still had thousands to work with for the month. Hmm. Ya think?!

Reality.

It hit them all.

One girl was married and had 4 children and after getting an apartment and paying for groceries and utilities, only had about $100 to purchase a car with. Ouch. She needed a mini van because she couldn't get her 4 kids into a sedan. But the cheapest mini van was $204 a month. So I advised her to talk to her rent adviser and see if she could lower her rent and then see about lowering her student loan payments. She came back after about 30 minutes with a relieved smile saying she worked it so she could buy the mini van. And she still had about $50 a month left over.

I just loved watching it all go down. I think if we, as adults with a career, family, mortgage/rent and other bills, were to sit down with a check book register and really take a look at what we have to work with, we might stagger ourselves. Are we being smart with our finances? Are we teaching our children how to be smart with finances by example? Are we setting aside our childish wants and passions so we can afford the basic neccesities of life? And are we ready for the time that we retire? Will we be able to retire? Hmm.

Reality.

Hits us all hard.

My JOY.

Time for some JOY. Because there is much.

First one of my favorites in the food aisle. Havarti Cheese. Can't get enough. Perfect to just eat right out of the bag. Perfect on grilled cheese. Perfect in a sandwich wrap. Wonderful, flavorful, mild and delicious. Havarti. How I love you.Of course, there are the new baby goats, Felix and Iris. Felix is the white and Iris is the black. They are so fun to watch. But what I find great JOY in is watching Mama Cass-the skiddish goat-protect, love, care for and mama her kids. Her Mama-ness amazes me. And in that I find great JOY.

And then there are these...
Isaac. Passing the Sacrament, collecting Fast Offerings, will be going to the Priesthood session of conference this weekend, loving the goats, making sure Vegeta and Biscuit are loved and played with, robots galore, writes like a pro and all around great guy.Samuel. Goat loving, gentle baby goat holder, trampoline jumper, creative builder of Legos and Bionicles, A great friend to some great boys, getting his Bear badge this week at Pack Meeting, lost a tooth but enjoyed sticking it out like this for a while, fun cuddler and all around super sweetie pie.Ruthann. Drawer of fine art, super helper for mom, baby goat watcher and wrangler, a great future in babysitting, activity day going and loving, super smiling friend, the best picture taker and wonderful daughter and sister.What more could a cheese eating, goat owning, mother of terrific kiddos want?? O My Heart.

Guarding Her Young.

You can't see them, but the kids are under Mama Cass. It's mighty windy outside. Raining, too. As soon as the wind whipped up loud, she herded the kids up against the house and positioned herself in front and then on top of them.

The Mama instincts kicked in right after birth. And I am loving it.

BABIES!!!

We have new babies at our house. Baby number one was born around 5:30 this afternoon.

It's a boy!About 20 minutes later baby number 2 came out really fast.

It's a girl!

We will show more fun pictures at a later time. Things are just so cute at our house right now!

Hey! Here's a cute picture...

Pregnancy. Hurts.

I'm wondering if you can see the similarities?

Me at 36 weeks, just before Isaac was born. My face says it all.Mama Cass, I don't know how far along, but very close to delivering. If you could only see her face... it says it all.

Baby goat(s) will be here soon.