Happy Easter

        

Here's part of an Easter message from President Monson. I hope we can all remember our Savior at this joyous springtime of the year, and consider one or two ways we can bring the power of the Atonement into our lives:

"We laugh, we cry, we work, we play, we love, we live.  And then we die...

And dead we would remain but for one Man and His mission, even Jesus of Nazareth...

With all my heart and the fervency of my soul, I lift up my voice in testimony as a special witness and declare that God does live.  Jesus is His Son, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh.  He is our Redeemer; He is our Mediator with the Father.  He it was who died on the cross to atone for our sins.  He became the firstfruits of the Resurrection.  

Because He died, all shall live again.

I declare my personal witness that death has been conquered, victory over the tomb has been won.  May the words made sacred by Him who fulfilled them become actual knowledge to all.  Remember them.  Cherish them.  Honor them.  He is risen."

Love to all, 

Gramps

P.S.  Thanks to Linds for the email about the Atonement she sent to us all.

Victoria with G and G

Grandpa and I had a wonderful time in Victoria a week ago with G&G.
Flowers and sunshine everywhere - a bit hard to take :)  But other than that it was fabulous...

The world famous Butchart Gardens - a woman with a vision who transformed a limestone quarry....And its Victoria, so of course they serve tea!

 

                                               

Chemainus - known for its fabulous theatre and amazing murals...

It was a lovely break from the two feet of snow in Edmonton.

And G and G are great travel buddies...

Passover Seder Dinner

This past Friday, Andrew and I pretended to be Jewish for the night and attend a Passover Seder dinner.  We are in a Judaism and the Gospel class together this semester, and our professor was hosting the event, so we thought it'd be a fun opportunity.  Seder means "order" or "arrangement in Hebrew, but the main idea of the event is the retelling of the Hebrew exodus story.  There are many ancient rituals that are important parts of the feast, including drinking four cups of wine (we had grape juice instead :)) and several foods including matzoh bread, bitter herbs, and a lamb bone.  The matzoh bread is the unleavened bread representing the time when the Hebrews did not have time to let their bread rise so that they could flee from the Egyptians quickly.  The bitter herbs are representative of the bitterness of slavery, and the lamb bone of course represents the sacrificial lamb blood that the Hebrew slaves painted over their door frames to avoid the destroying angel.  There are other foods as well, but those are the most important ones.

The Seder dinner itself is often very very long - it often goes from sundown till midnight.  However, we did an abridged version that lasted three hours instead.  Our host really knew his stuff, having lived in Israel for several years and having been to many authentic Seder dinners hosted by his Jewish friends.  I learned a lot of things, like that you are supposed to lean to the left while eating or drinking the ritual foods, which is reminiscent of the reclining ritual of eating in ancient times.  Also, the kids often get involved by singing some special songs during the retelling, so we got to learn some of those tunes which was pretty fun.  All in all, it was an educational and fun time!

Wonderland

One of the advantages of living in a land that is covered with ice and snow a good chunk of the year is the winter sports.  Oli has been in cross country ski lessons this winter, and Nana and I have really enjoyed skiing with Jord, Char, and the boys.  Ruby has been napping in her ski chariot, pulled by her dad over the groomed trails.  We all get a good workout, and when the sun is shining it is a magical winter wonderland.
Love to all,
Gramps