Easter Blessings

Every year that I get older it seems like the holidays mean more and more as I watch some of my babies prepare to leave our little nest. Long gone are the days of frilly socks and giant hair bows. They now pick out their own outfits and hair accessories but as in days gone by, I still stand back and gaze in awe at their beauty.

We had amazing Sacrament speakers who set the tone for the day. Matthew played a Nephite in sharing time and expressed in his own words what it would have been like if he had been there when the resurrected Savior visited the American continent. It was powerful.

We spent the early afternoon preparing for the festivities. I found this amazing recipe for Sprinkles strawberry cupcakes. They were yummylicious! I made our families favorite green beans which can be found here along with the Favorites version of Mandarin-Almond Green Salad. My sisters took care of the rest and we ate to our hearts content!

If you ever decide to make these little puffs of sweetness be sure to also make the to die for frosting. I licked the bowl. Twice!

We mounted them on this lovely tree along with the bunnies Katherine made the day before. Once one cupcake disappeared, it was only a matter of seconds before the whole tree was empty!

My beautiful sisters, Crystal and Moni.


Sarah, Serina, Katherine, Ariana and Analisa.

Jonah goes into cousin heaven when Samuel and rest of the boys come over. Needless to say, they all slept soundly that night!

I first met Paige when he served a mission in our Spanish branch 22 years ago. He even attended my wedding. We jokingly call him our brother from another mother. It's been fun to be near him and his lovely wife Dulce. Their kids call me Aunt Claudia, which I love!

How lucky to have your BFF as your cousin! Love these two girls. Their beauty runs deep.

Can't have Easter without a hunt! Thank goodness the weather cooperated. There were so many kids we had to divide them into 2 groups. The littles and the bigs.

It has been so nice to have our Analisa home from Costa Rica. I will have to have her guest blog to share some of her amazing stories. You can still see a smear of paint on the back of her forearm. Pura Vida is her new mantra. I couldn't agree more.