Easter Long Weekend

Friday

Ken was off today. I wanted to take the dog for a walk at Greenwood and Fiona has been wanting to take pictures at Greenwood. At first I wasn't sure if Fiona was going to come with us, but she did. We had a really lovely walk. Fiona took a lot of pictures. Ken and I gave her a few tips here and there.

I love this picture Fiona took of Milo!

After we dropped Fiona and the dog off at home Ken and I went out to do some errands. We went to a new bakery - Nazareth Brothers to buy some gluten filled treats, and then I popped into Choko Mocko for some gluten free treats. Our next stop was elections Canada.

Kate was at work and she really wanted Ken and I to come in an vote, so we did. It worked out well, no line up - we heard later about crazy long lines at advanced polling stations. It was fun seeing Kate at work, and hearing great things from her co=workers. YAY Kate!

When we left the building, after sitting on comfy couches, we took note of the Thai restaurant we'd never noticed before. We thought we would pop in and grab some chicken pad thai to go. But that isn't what happened! 

We walked in and were told to sit anywhere, so we did. We looked at the menu, there was no mention of anything with allergens, so we asked. We were told we could order anything from the menu, everything was gluten free. We picked chicken pad thai and asked about two different dishes that we wanted with beef. Instead she told us to get pineapple chicken and beef pad thai, we said, sure. And we were not disappointed. The food was really yummy!

It rained on and off pretty good. 

I took the dog for a walk, Ken made up henna, and the girls got excited about going to the drive-in with Ken. The dog and I chilled at home, and Ken took the girls to the drive-in.

They had fun, watched two movies, and enjoyed a thunder and lightning show! The Stardust Drive-in is between Sharon and Holland Landing, just north of Newmarket which is a 45 minute drive away. They had a lot of fun and made some really fun memories!

Saturday

In religious terms, Saturday is the day of what... Jesus' body laid in the tomb. but his spirit went to the spirit world and organized the righteous to teach those that had not yet heard the good news of the gospel. (See: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2003/07/the-saviors-visit-to-the-spirit-world?lang=eng) Saturday in my mind is a busy day with so much going on - this is how it is in my world, in my mind, it's the day to get all the things done before Sunday. Jesus had his own busy day beyond the veil. But what of those that lived during his mortal life. For them it was a day of waiting, a day of profound sadness, as they had just witnessed the crucifixion of their Lord. Many think of Saturday as a waiting day, the days where you don't see the hand of the Lord in your life, the days where you only feel His absence. I see and have lived both sides of that story. Right now I see the busy-ness of it, not the waiting.

Last week a neighbour dropped off this flyer.

I remembered seeing the signs last year, but we couldn't participate. I was excited to participate this year. I filled some eggs and dropped them off Thursday after school. Veena texted me at some point and we agreed to meet up at 9 to go help hide eggs and be part of the fun!

It was so much fun hiding eggs, meeting neighbours and watching the kids have so much fun! Silvana, her husband and their son Oliver were the Easter Egg Hunt hosts. Silvana was lovely. The picture below is Veena and I after hiding eggs, we really had so much fun!

Silvana is inside the bunny suit and pictured along with Alice and Fiona are Veena's kids Avron and Avlyn.

Avlyn and Fiona checking out their haul!

Next up it was time for our family Easter Egg Hunt in the basement. I had packed the eggs the night before and got everything ready, then took pics and then the fun began.

Ken and I had fun watching the girls find the eggs and treats! Twenty plastic eggs each this year and extra candies hidden all in groups of three. I might have bought a little too much candy!

After that Ken and I went on a shopping extravaganza. Home Depot, Winners, Homesense, then Sobeys. We looked at paint colours for the vanity downstairs in the powder room bathroom for some finishing touches.

Ken thought Alice would like these shoes, but from our previous shopping trip, I knew she wouldn't.

Ken got reading glasses from Home Depot and he loves that he can see!

Alice found the bunny ears so I could get the pic I wanted of Milo!

Milo and I went for a walk around the neighbourhood.

And then we went back to Winners with Alice and Fiona because they were sad they weren't included in the first place. Alice was able to find shoes and a purse for graduation. 

And I might have purchased a belt bag (aka a fanny pack) that I'm still having second thoughts about...

Sunday

Ken and I took the dog for a walk down to the beach and back. It was a cold morning but the sun was shining brightly, and we were both glad to have hooded sweatshirts as neither one of us wore a hat, but maybe should have!

In church today I was playing the organ and the piano. We sang the new hymn Gethsemane as the opening hymn, and I played it on the piano. Then I walked over to the organ to play the sacrament hymn. Then I walked back over to the piano to play He Sent His Son - the musical number that the primary children performed. The words of the song are really beautiful. 

I love how the lyrics are emphasized by the music. There's a line, "He sent his son to die for us and rise with living breath" and the music totally matches the lyrics with the melody rising into a triumphant chord. The primary children sang their little hearts out and it was beautiful.

After that Lori LaFrance spoke. She spoke about the Savior's last week and the doctrine being taught, and the things we can learn. One of the things she spoke about were Easter lilies and how much they mean to her, and the scripture Matthew 6:28-30 "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you?" She spoke of the comfort these verses provided at a time of grief in her life. She spoke of the beautiful Easter lilies that Janelle gave her this week. And after she spoke I played a piano solo arrangement of "Consider the Lilies".

Back story. Last week after church I had felt the nagging of an impression, but didn't really think that's what it was. I spoke to Ornette about the program for Easter Sunday, and were there enough musical numbers. I had wanted to play "Consider the Lilies" a piano solo, but had also waited until the last minute to mention it and felt like I was being self-serving. Which in hindsight is just messed up. I want to uplift and share love with music, and yes there are times I actually enjoy performing, so sorting out where God's needs for loving His children and my needs for performing were a bit muddled in my brain. Anyway, later Sunday night Ornette emailed me to ask what it was I wanted to do, she placed the piano solo as the replacement for the intermediate hymn. I'm so grateful that Ornette followed her prompting.

Back to church on Sunday. Lori's talk was the perfect introduction to my musical number. It felt perfect, like it was meant to be. It was a tender mercy for Lori, and for me as well. After church Sheila came to talk to me with tears in her eyes. That after Alain died, she didn't know how she would go on and that song helped her. She said it was especially powerful to hear it without words, to just hear the music and think of the message. I am so thankful for promptings and the beautiful things that can happen when we follow those promptings.

Fiona took this selfie of her and I between the musical number and the closing hymn. David LaFrance was the concluding speaker and his reflections were really heartfelt and uplifting. He told the story of one last hike with Nathan and Ryan before Nathan left on his mission - Mount Marcy. (Mount Marcy is the highest peak in the Adirondack mountain range in upstate New York.) He talked about how hard the hike was and how he wouldn't have been able to do it without one of the boys carrying his pack, and another pushing him up the path. 

After church today, Fiona's sacrament cup was my laundry treasure. This felt so very poetic and perfect.

Andrew came over mid afternoon with the ribs, and he and Ken started preparations for Easter dinner. I took the dog for a walk and Andrew went bike riding with Alice and Fiona. 

It was fun because I saw the girls and Andrew head north up Pickering Beach, we started out in opposite directions and didn't quite crossover which was okay, because Milo would have pulled my arm off!

We missed Kate, but we had a lovely dinner of ribs, chicken wings, mashed potatoes, corn bread and carrots and parsnips. 

Ken and I watched an episode of Great British Bake-off in the basement while the girls hung out. Ken and I actually went to bed before any of the girls did. 

Monday

Ken doesn't have the day off today so nothing too exciting is happening. But I decided that I couldn't not paint "eggs" this year. I kind of forgot about it actually. I think I remembered/realized that we hadn't done it yesterday and thought, tomorrow! 

The girls and I went to the beach mid afternoon to grab egg rocks; rocks that we would paint in place of eggs. It was windy and wet, so it was a quick trip - we drove down, no walking.

After the trip to the beach I got gas for the pilot, eventually walked the dog and eventually made dinner and we eventually ate dinner. And then Alice helped set up the table and we painted. Tensions ran a little high at times, but we had a nice time painting rocks overall. Ken and the girls do such a beautiful job painting rocks.

I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and His infinite atonement. I'm grateful for my forever family. I'm grateful for long weekends. I'm grateful for chocolate eggs, for neighbours, for a beautiful church family, for beautiful music, for dog walks, for children, for making happy memories. I'm so grateful for all of the love and beautiful things and people in my life.

Kate - a first job!

We are currently in the middle of a federal election. A few weeks ago Kate learned from one of her teachers that elections Canada would be hiring a few high school students who can speak French to work at the election's Canada office in Ajax. Kate applied for the job and was hired. Ken and I went into the election office in Ajax where she works and voted today. We saw her, and heard from two of her coworkers that are so impressed with her. I wish I had taken a picture! She was so cute when we came in.

Her first pay stub came in the mail the other day. I have a picture of her holding that. We're so proud of our Kate! Your future is SO BRIGHT!!!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Friday after school I had actually left on time so when I thought I wanted cookies that I can only get at Healthy Planet I thought, why not! And then when I pulled into the parking lot I thought, I want a Roots sweatshirt. I popped into Roots, and they had a light pink sweatshirt with a half zipper and a collar, not a hoodie, so I bought it and thought, happy birthday to me. Next I walked into Healthy Planet and they had gluten free Jamaican beef patties which I had mentioned to Ken as missing just the night before, so I bought one (and the cookies) and thought, Happy Birthday to ME! So far, the weekend was off to a great start.

Saturday morning when I finally got out of bed and came downstairs in my new pink sweatshirt, Ken had set out all of my birthday cards and gifts. Alice and Fiona, with help from Ken, got me a new hair dryer. Kate, with help from Ken, got me a new lap desk for my computer. (Kate helped herself to the old one!)

After that, Fiona and I took Milo for a long walk. Fiona wanted to take pictures for an art assignment and many pictures were taken. It was pretty gray this morning, but no rain, so we'll take it. The sky is pretty fun to take pictures of when it's cloudy. I took a bunch of pictures too.

Ken and I had talked about leaving the house around 11 to head downtown, but Fiona was in love with our photography adventure, and I wasn't doing a great job of watching the time, so we didn't leave to go downtown until some time after noon. Our first stop though was Choko-Mocko and then it was off to the Distillery District.

We walked around Bergo - I think our favourite store? They sell a lot of stuff, and it is fun. I loved this Periwinkle Chrome Piggy Bank, but I will admire it from afar as $420.00 isn't in the budget for pigs in my piggy collection!

I love how cooperative my kids are to take pictures with me.

Ken too!

We love the treats, the open air walking between shops, the people, the activity, a little dog we met named Beans, the art instillations, it's just a fun place to go!

Next we popped over to the St. Lawrence market. We hadn't been in ages. It's been so long the girls don't remember it at all. We walked through to the new north building which houses a Farmers Market on Saturdays. The girls didn't love the crowded south building. By the time we made it to the north building everything was winding down. We got there at about 2:45 only to realize it was closing at 3 so we pretty much missed the farmer's market. Ken did find himself an Easter Eggnog so that was fun. And he also bought a large measuring cup which he had wanted for a while!

Then we drove up Mt. Pleasant and then north on Yonge Street almost to York Mills to a restaurant called Riz. It's a gluten free Chinese Restaurant and it's very yummy!

We almost made it through the day without losing our minds...almost. Dinner got a little tense, but was still yummy and good.

After we got home Alice and I took the dog for a walk. It was a nice walk.

Alice hid behind a tree.

My Soma chocolates! 

After that I chatted to Suzanne on the phone and then I took Alice and Fiona to shopper's drug mart. My birthday offer from PC Optimum was 20,000 points if we spent $50 in Shoppers Drug Mart. That translates to $20 to spend. The girls and I had no trouble at all spending the minimum amount! After that it was home, a little tv watching with Ken and then to bed. 

It was a busy full fun day. I loved my birthday fun! I'm so thankful for my family. We're all far from perfect, but we're here for each other and we do love each other! Happy Birthday to ME!