Easter

We started our Easter celebrations on Palm Sunday. We listened to Rob Gardener's Hosanna and the kids laid their blankets down on the ground to welcome the Savior and we all shouted Hosanna. We had just experienced a Solemn Assembly during the morning session of conference so the spirit was so strong. I was getting choked up just trying to tell my children about the Savior's triumphal entry and what it meant for all of us. 

On Monday we talked about the Savior cleansing the temple and then we cleaned our house, which is always a favorite for me. 

 We tried our hand at baking soda/vinegar tie-dye eggs. Everyone was super stoked to use the rubber gloves. It doesn't take much to get these kids excited. 

 Matchy Matchy! This was the best photo I could get of these two...why take a normal photo? 

Friday we had beautiful weather so we decided that would be the day to have an easter egg hunt. The kids filled the eggs with Jelly Beans (that our good friends the Kasters had dropped off the week before), chocolate chips and marshmallows. So yes, I hadn't thought ahead about what we would put in the eggs, not that anyone is surprised. But the kids were just fine with what we had and they loved stuffing the eggs which made life easier for me.  

 Like I said, they make an effort to not take a normal picture. 

 Eliza was so excited to get eggs and even more excited to eat what was in them. 

 Friday night we had a Passover Seder. I tried my hand at Matzah bread and Matzah Ball Soup. The Matzah balls looked a lot worse than they tasted so I considered it a win. The kids were excited about the grape juice and Tanner learned that he likes horseradish. We tried to do some of the prayers and stories that are done in a real Seder,  but our focus didn't last too long. And I realized later that I didn't even have the first page of the program, which would have helped it to make more sense. There's always next year! Though our Passover meal should have been on Thursday if we wanted to do it the same night the Savior did, it was kind of special having that meal to break our fast with. Mariah and Chet decided they would fast during the fast in March and on Good Friday. They only fasted one meal but I was so proud of them. They decided they would do it on their own and had such a great attitude about it. 

Easter morning the kids woke up and went on their Easter Scavenger hunt. Even though we do it every year and I use the same things in the eggs and the same scriptures, they really enjoy it. Although I do think they are getting too old for me to use the same clues each year; which is a bummer. At the end they each got a chocolate bunny. 

Eliza insisted on the boots 

We had our own Easter service at home. I'm grateful that we have been able to partake of the Sacrament each Sunday. Austin decided he didn't want to wear Sunday clothes or come to our Sacrament Meeting and stayed in his room; Eliza was jumping off the arm of the couch most of the time, but I still felt the Spirit. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I have can share with my children of our Savior Jesus Christ. He wasn't just a good man who performed miracles and taught the people. He atoned for all of us and after being crucified, rose again, and because of that I know that there is hope for me too. How grateful I am for the Savior's atonement and the sanctification, peace  and assurance that his priceless act gave me.  

Gus and Eliza were pretty excited about the Resurrection rolls. 

Mariah's Spotlight

Mom: What is your favorite color?

Mariah: Blue

Mom: What is your favorite food?
Mariah: Pizza

Mom: What is your favorite animal?
Mariah: Dog (Gus is her favorite)

Mom: What is your favorite book?
Mariah: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Mom: What is your favorite movie?
Mariah: Onward (We just watched it the other night and she was giggling throughout the whole movie.)      

              

Mom: What is your favorite song?

Mariah: Thunder by Imagine Dragons

Mom: Who is your scripture hero?
Mariah: Esther

Mom: What is your favorite dessert?
Mariah: Ice Cream

Mom: What do you like to do for fun? 
Mariah: Read (Almost daily I have to make her stop reading and go do something else.)

 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?
Mariah: Dance (We like to jam out in the kitchen)

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?
Mariah: Play games, even though he usually wins. (Tanner is loving this stage of our older two because he can now play games that he actually enjoys playing with them.) 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Chet?
Mariah: Bounce in the bounce house. 

This picture...It has been so amazing to see how these two are just perfect for each other. 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Austin?

Mariah: Play monkeys

Sometimes Austin will decide he is mad at the world and it's usually Mariah who can cheer him up. 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Eliza? 

Mariah: Blow Bubbles

Mariah is so patient with Eliza, which isn't always an easy thing to do.

Mom: Who is your best friend?

Mariah: My Family (This made me so happy, I want my children to always be best friends.)

Mom: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Mariah: A singer and maybe an Author. (Mariah still loves to belt her made up songs around the house. It can be a little fraying on the nerves at times, but I love seeing the joy that music brings her.)

We couldn't have asked for a better first child. Mariah is a leader and a great help around the house. I rarely have to nag her to do her morning routine. She usually does her piano practice all by herself and she is loving it. 

She's a great student who is learning that it's ok to fail and that as she learns from her mistakes she will be able to progress and improve even more. Because of her love for reading she knows a lot about a lot; which makes homeschooling easy for me. She reads to her siblings often as well. Sometimes when Chet wants her to play with him and she wants to read they will compromise and Mariah will read to everyone. 

Mariah has wonderful confidence in herself. She loves admiring her reflection. One night while she and Austin were in the bath together he dumped out a bunch of soap. When I asked Mariah why she didn't see him dump the soap out she confessed, "Because I was talking to my reflection.". She loves wearing her hair down but with her volume and waves it can sometimes look a little crazy. One day when I was trying to get her to let me fix her hair she said, "You think my hair looks messy when it's down but I think it's beautiful. In fact, I wish I were in front of a big crowd singing with my hair down.". I can't make this stuff up people. 

She's a perfect blend of girly girl and tomboy. She loves to dress up and get pretty but also isn't above wrestling like a wildcat or getting dirty with her brothers. 

Holding a snake and then painting Eliza's nails. 

Mariah loves all her cousins and has loved having some live close. She and Annalie are perfect with each other. Their personalities mesh well and I think their friendship will be one that will last forever. 

Mariah tries her hardest to do what is right. One Morning after a rough day before, Mariah said, "I've decided that I'm going to try to be my best today." And that is what she does each day; she is always looking for ways that she can bring joy to her siblings, and I ask a lot of her and she is such an amazing help. Most mornings she gets Eliza out of her crib and brings her out to me. She is becoming perceptive enough to see when I'm having a hard time and tries to help me. 

Every stage is felt so deeply with your first. Some days I feel guilt about Mariah being our Guinea Pig child, but she is so forgiving of our many mistakes in this parenting journey. She loves so deeply and is full of joy and life. We don't know what we would do without our sweet Mariah Jeanne!

Mariah's Baptism

 On April 5, Mariah chose to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She had been looking forward to this day for a very long time. She also had planned on both sets of grandparents and her cousins from Missouri being there. But the current state of things changed all that. We asked her if she wanted to wait but without any hesitation she said she wanted to be baptized now. She handled the disappointment well, but there was a day where she came out of her room crying. I held her and we were sad together but after that she never looked back. I'm so proud of her for not dwelling on what might have been and still finding the joy in the experience. 

It ended up being our family, the Bishop and his wife, Brother Jacobs (a counselor in the Bishopric), and the Elders at the Baptism. Thanks to technology, her grandparents were able to be at the baptism through Zoom. Grandma Crossley gave a wonderful talk on Baptism and Grandma Young spoke on the Holy Ghost. Chet played prelude music and said the opening prayer and Austin and Eliza made sure to provide the background noise. Mariah played Baptism on the piano as a special musical number.

 Chet has been just as excited about Mariah's baptism. It's been so sweet to see his support and enthusiasm. He is already looking forward to his "new suit and scriptures" that he will get at his baptism in 18 months. 

 We came out from the baptism to see this chalk message. Someone had come during the baptism. It made Mariah so happy. Natalie had contacted family members and asked if they would send a special message to Mariah, and she loved hearing everyone's kind words. Even though our friends and family couldn't be there, it was nice to know that others were thinking of her during this special time. 

Although it wasn't how Mariah had envisioned her Baptism to be, it will be something she never forgets. We are so grateful for her and the choice she has made to begin on the covenant path with her Heavenly Father through Baptism. 

Celebration Week in Quarantine

We kicked off the Crossley week with April Fool's Day/Our 9th Anniversary. The night before I drew mustaches on the kids and then acted like there wasn't anything on their faces when they woke up. It was pretty entertaining to hear Chet and Austin: "Austin, why do you have a mustache on your face?" "You have a mustache on your face too!" All of this was done in a grumpy, just woke up, manner. Mariah was pretty tickled about it all. And that was the extent of the jokes in our house that day. 

 We were able to get a babysitter to watch the kids so that Tanner and I could run some errands. It's hard to get too romantic during a pandemic but we tried. We initially were going to order sushi to go from a restaurant that appeared open online but wasn't. So we settled for drive through and then did some home project and grocery shopping. But it was still wonderful; thats what staying in the house for weeks will do to ya. Lowered expectations are wonderful.

 I insisted on a blurry family selfie, I knew this was the best we were going to get and I'd be pushing my luck to ask for a do-over. Although we've only been married for 9 years I feel like we have done a lot. Four children, six states, multiple surgeries, medical school, residency...we've done a heap of livin' these last nine years. It hasn't always been peachy but it has been just what we needed. I'm grateful for the growth we have made and that we love each other even more through it all. 

And just for fun, here's a cheesy photo of us from our honeymoon. We are now at the point where we feel old when we see pictures of us as newlyweds. 

The next day was Tanner's birthday. He took the day off because we were supposed to be picking up his parents from the airport, but COVID-19 ruined that plan. So we ordered steak from a local restaurant and enjoyed Tanner's traditional strawberry shortcake. Tanner bought a chainsaw for his birthday because his wife is a horrible gift giver, but the food was good and thats really his love language. 

The oldest three made birthday pictures for Tanner too: 

 I'm not sure what Austin's was...

Chet's said, Dad I love you. You are the best dad. Happy Birthday Dad.

Mariah's trying to be funny, and it's cute. 

 The next day I got a wild hair and decided to paint the kids bathroom. Chet was so excited to remove the wallpaper and was actually a good help. I was able to convince Austin that it would be really fun to pick up the wallpaper fragments and Mariah danced and did lip sync while watching herself in the mirror. So I guess she played her part in entertainment. 

 Eliza wanted to help tape off the bathroom and was very proud of the work she did. 

 After being up way too late decorating and painting the bathroom, Mariah woke us up bright and early for her birthday. She was satisfied with the decorations, phew, and thought her new mirror made her room "look like a castle!". We had Birthday/Conference crepes and thoroughly enjoyed them. Conference was wonderful and the weather was beautiful so we could play outside between sessions. 

Mariah set up a Conference Game for Chet. While using his slingshot his goal was to hit all the good choices. I really enjoyed how glamorous Mariah made me look in the pictures, I often do housework in ball gowns. 

 Mariah said this is what I actually look like...nice

 Mariah got lots of books, some decorations for her room, chokers and a dress from Grandpa and Grandma Young. 

 I decorated the cake with the children around and stayed nice and calm the whole time. I think the spirit of conference helped me. 

 I gave each of them frosting rings just like my mom used to when we were kids. And then I made Tanner document it because if you don't take a picture it never happened. Thats why dad is the "fun one", because mom is behind the camera documenting it all. 

 We had Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner and then ate Mariah's birthday cake. Which according to my children was "beautiful and tasted good, not like Mariah's Unicorn cake which was beautiful but disgusting. Or Austin's Monster cake which was delicious but ugly." They are my food critics. 

 Austin fell asleep within minutes of the evening session of Conference. As President Uchtdorf says, "There's nothing better than a conference nap.". Or something like that. 

When I first put up the pictures of the First Presidency and twelve Apostles, Gus was totally freaked out. He was barking and growling and we got a good laugh out of it. But in all sincerity, I'm so grateful that through the turmoil and trouble of this time that there were millions gathered together in their own homes listening to messages of peace from inspired leaders. If you aren't a member of our faith and are curious about what General Conference is you can find out more at churchofjesuschrist.org .