Family, isn't it about . . . time?: April 2011

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter '11

Many ask why Mormons don't have crosses on top of their churches. Christ died, yes. But, the miracle happened 3 days later and that is what we celebrate. Christ lives. Because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ we know that there is life after this one. After we die, we too will be able to live again. Christ made this possible. For this, I am indebted and grateful to Him. I love Easter because that is when we celebrate the Resurrection with the rest of the Christian world.

This year, my Grandma's funeral was the day before Easter so I put everything together early because I knew Sunday morning would come quick and be a little hazy.

The cute baskets were ~~thrown~~ put together before we left for California. I love that it looks like Jesus is driving Conley's car and riding in the bunnies. Well, not sure I love it actually, but it does look a little funny.

The jelly bean trails led the children to their baskets. This tradition has been in our family since I was a child.

The kids loved picking up their trail and finding their baskets.

We actually took most of the Easter pictures before we left for the funeral. I am glad we did that as most of these next shots are from the first photo shoot. There are a few from Easter morning too. We are getting into a pretty good habit of taking holiday pictures in advance. We do this with other holidays and birthdays too. I would recommend this little "trick" as it's much less stressful than the day of the holiday.

Bradley had a great Easter. He is my kind of guy in that he loves holidays. He is so fascinated by the calendar and knows when everything is coming up. He gets so excited and I love it.

Jamison is such a beautiful girl. I hope she will never doubt how gorgeous she is. She takes my breath away.

Then there's this guy. Conley makes me laugh . . . all day long. Right now he is standing next to me telling me who's in these pictures. He pointing to the screen and saying (shouting,) "Conny, Conny, Conny." He loves to look at pictures, especially of himself.

Cora is my little princess. I love her and can't believe she'll be ONE in less than 3 weeks. This was her first Easter. She is one gorgeous little girl. And, she's about as sweet as babies come!

And here we have four adorable Vidal children. I love them.

Bradley and Conley get along pretty well. Bradley takes good care of his little bro.

The girls. As much as Jamison looks nothing like me, Cora is my spitting image. I'll have to dig up some similar pictures and do a separate blog on that topic.

Daddy and Daughter. Anthony loves his children. And I don't know four children who love their dad more than mine love theirs. They are lucky to have him.

After church we died a few eggs mostly just to say we did. It was pretty low key. Jamison was at Grandma Marshall's so it was just the boys this time.

We had a yummy Easter dinner and made fun cupcakes afterward. All in all it was a great day.

Until next year, Happy Keester from the Vidals.

Bradley - 4/2004 - 14 weeks old

Jamison - 3/2007 - 10 months old

Conley - 4/2009 - 12 weeks old

Cora - 4/2011 - 11 months old

Monday, April 18, 2011

1925 - 2011

Beverly June Bishop

07 August 1925 - 18 April 2011

I've only known one grandparent in my life. Grandma Bishop.

My mom texted me at 6 a.m. last Monday and told me to call her. I knew why she was calling. Grandma had died. The next hours and days were very emotionally draining as we began making final preparations for Gigi. Grandma was old. It was her time to go. But, that doesn't make it an easier to say goodbye to someone you've known your whole life.

Grandma has three daughters and 15 grandchildren. They were all able to drop everything and attend the funeral for Grandma. It was a great day. Everything was perfect.

Grandma's ten grandsons.

Pallbearers.

The Kelley Family

The Marshall Family

The Romberg Family

Grandma has lived down the street from me at my mom's house for the last 7 years. It will be different without her. My children will miss her too.

Because of Jesus Christ, and Heavenly Father's great plan of happiness, we know that death is not the end. Because Christ was resurrected, we too will be resurrected. We will be reunited with our loved ones when we are finished with this earthly life. Grandma Bishop has reunited with loved ones who have preceded her in death. How special that reunion must be going.

Till we meet again Gigi. We love you.

Just Because

I want to blog about Easter. And that blog will look similar to this one in that it'll be chock-full of my these cute kids. But, this is the Sunday before Easter and I thought I'd share.

Bradley - 7-years-old

Jamison - 3 years and 10 months

Conley - 2-years-old

Cora - 11 months

There were a few pictures where Cora was looking too, but Conley takes the cake on this one. I just had to use it.

I love my children. I love being a mom. It's hard and frustrating at times. I usually end every day wondered how I could do better. But, it's the most rewarding job in the world and I never take it for granted.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Reber Family Reunion 2011

Terry Marshall is my dad and Norine Reber is his mom. Norine has 7 brothers and sisters. These 8 Rebers and their posterity make up the Reber Family Reunion. The only sibling still alive is Ilene Reber Gifford. She is at the reunion every year and plays a large role in making sure we all get together.

Jamison with her nametag. The kids had a great time.

It was good to see Aunt Janice and Uncle Bob at the reunion. Here is Aunt Janice with Elizabeth's new baby Jane.

Uncle Bob is one of my favorite people in the world. He reminds me of my dad. He loves babies and his family. And, he is an extremely talented artist. It's always good to spend time with him.

The representatives from the Norine Reber family. Until next year!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Dress Like a Nerd

The Friday before Spring Break was "Dress Like a Nerd" day at school. Bradley didn't know what a nerd was.

I'm not sure I explained it too well. But, it didn't take much to tweak his outfit to nerdville.

Sadly, he looks much like me in 6th grade.

I think my boy makes a cute nerd.

He loved wearing his glasses.

When I picked him up he was still dressed like a nerd but it only took a second for him to ask, "Can I go back to regular now?" I love my little nerd.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

General Conference

We were fortunate enough to be able to go to General Conference at the beginning of April in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a great weekend and we were able to fill our spiritual tanks. The messages were timely. The music was inspiring. And we had fun with family.

Before the first session we took some pictures with Mya and Sarah. This was Mya's first time attending Conference and Sarah's been a few times. They were both so happy and excited to be in the Conference Center.

If you've ever wondered how they get that first shot when Conference begins . . . here is the answer. They were all set up and ready to roll, literally. (And this tidbit is for my mom: The man behind the camera is the one who told Quinn that "we're kinda under the gun here.")

Reflecting pond. Great picture. These two girls are beauties.

The Church's photographers took pictures of Mya taking our picture. They probably won't end up in the Ensign or anything. But, it was fun.

The famous temple pose.

A nice couple came to take a picture of our family. Tee hee. I'd be happy to take these two as my own.

Mack . . . warmin' 'em up. If you've never heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in person it needs to be on your list. They are phenomenal.

A few of the Apostles were "in the crowd" before Conference began. I felt very star struck as they walked by. There is such a special spirit about the Apostles. That's obvious I know. I just love them. It is so powerful to be in the same room as the Prophet, the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles.

This was taken after the session was over. We weren't supposed to be taking pictures, but I couldn't resist a few.

We took a few more pictures as we walked to our car. I think they turned out great.

Sarah and Sarah. That's my girl.

We watched the 2nd session at Ann's house. Afterward we were able to be in attendance as Coulson received the Aaronic Priesthood and was ordained to the office of a deacon. Anthony set up a photo studio in the living room. I think these turned out awesome.

After the ordination we headed to Loren's for the night. We enjoyed more Conference on Sunday and in between sessions (dubbed: Half Time) Anthony took pictures for Loren's family and Elizabeth's family.

Loren was as much as a ham as the kids. He's a character.

The Johanson family looked great in their pictures. We got quite a few smiles out of these cute girls.

Sorry Elizabeth. We told her we'd delete the "practice" shots. I love it though.

We headed home shortly after the photo session and had an easy ride home. It was a great Conference. You can listen, watch, and read each talk here.

The only hiccup of our trip was that we left this little guy home. Friday morning as I was getting everything packed up to leave, Conley came up to me and said, "hurts," while tugging on his ear. I looked in his ear and a nasty monstrosity was just oozing out of his ear. I handle blood and guts pretty well, but it was gross and it made my stomach turn and turn. He was in the doctor's office in the next 30 minutes being diagnosed with an ear infection and a small hole in his ear drum.

So Conley stayed in Las Vegas with his grandma while we went to Utah. It felt weird to be without him. I don't like being without my children. It was so good to be back to normal when we got home.