Happy Easter!

We enjoyed a beautiful Easter Egg Hunt at the park today, followed by lunch with some friends. The kids are really loving our new house, particularly the yard. It has really made a big difference for us all. Our new place is all one floor, which makes keeping track of an active one-year-old much easier. It's also much easier to clean, not having to go up and down stairs. It's an older home, nothing fancy, but we are very happy here.

I've probably been a little vague in my posts lately in some of my references to life's ups and downs, wondering about assertiveness, etc. To be honest, life is wonderful. Having said that, this has been a melancholy time for me for a huge variety of reasons. Sometimes there is nothing "wrong" per say---there's just a lot "there" in my heart, in my head, and in life. I'm sure it's true for all of us. Anyway, I'm working on trying to relax and am trying to let go of the things I cannot control.

I realized something about myself. For as talkative and fairly open about my emotions as I am, I am also a very private person. This was sort of news to me, but it's true. I hold a lot in---there's always a lot more going on than I ever let out. Sometimes that's exhuasting. Sometimes I think it's a gift. Sometimes I think it's a curse. Maybe it's not as unusual as I think, but I sometimes feel like I'm on an island.

The kids are doing great---growing so fast. They are hilarious. Every single day they make me laugh. Abraham has started occasionally calling me "Lori" while Annabelle now refers to me as "Mother". Sometimes when I tell Abraham it's time to eat before William gets home he says "But our Father's not here yet!" The two of them are so interesting to watch. I just went in to check on them and Annabelle's in bed with Abraham. Before I could say anything she said, "I want to sleep with my brother" and he said "Ya, we're snuggle bunnies". I mean really, what's a mom to do? I just kissed them both and walked out.

Alexander is a special kid. My pregnancy with him was so scary and there were at least two times that we really thought we'd lost him. I look at him now with all his strength and energy, his beautiful smile, and I think of how incomplete our family would be without him. The second part of his middle name, Ping, means peace and he has brought so much of it into our family. I love being a mother. I love being their mom.

William is always trying to learn something new. He loves finance and economics and is studying those things in his "spare time". He has been studying the stock market and making predictions, then following how things go. He has been right on so many times and we keep thinking, if only we had something other than monopoly money to invest! Oh well, someday :)

We've been attending the Mandarin-speaking group at church for awhile now and it's going well. We've had three baptisms and our little group is growing. William serves in the Elder's Quorum presidency and I am teaching Relief Society. It's quite a humbling task for me but I only need to do it once a month so (theoretically) I have lots of time to prepare my lessons.

I don't know what our plans for the future will be. Right now, we're here and we're happy. Although it's incredibly expensive we do love where we live. It's a great community, the kids love their preschool, and we've met some wonderful people. Still, one never knows what's around the corner. I have learned not to care too much about where we are or what we're doing, as long as we're together.

I love my family. I have a lot to be grateful for. I wish you all a wonderful Easter and a fun spring break!!!