Easter (Revised)

After Maggie informed us that Easter was really about a bunny, it was time for an intervention. We skiffed an idea from a colleague on how to celebrate Easter that we thought we would pass on.

In 12 Easter eggs, you put little object lessons and a scripture reference. Hide the eggs along with the boiled ones. When the children find them, gather around and talk about the objects and the scriptures. Candy is the reward for learning what each symbol and representation is! We are going to try it out this weekend.

For those wondering, here are the objects we put in the eggs:
1 - Sacrament cup - Matthew 26:39
2 - dimes (Judas) - Matthew 26:14-15
3 - twine - Matthew 27:1-2
4 - soap - Matthew 27:24-26
5 - piece of red cloth & thorns - Matthew 27:28-30
6 - Nails - Matthew 27:31-32
7 - dice - Matthew 27:35-36
8 - Soil, sand and rocks - Matthew 27:50-51, 54
9 - white cloth - Matthew 27:58-60
10 - stone - Matthew 27:60, 65-66
11 - spices - Mark 16:1, 3,4 Matthew 28:5
12 - Empty - Matthew 28:6

Bon Voyage

Best wishes to our friends headed off and serving their country - thanks for all you do!

Leftovers

Do you ever feel like you spend your life eating leftovers, and don't seem to remember the actual meals? Does that sound like the beginning to an odd spiritual lesson? Oh well, we enjoyed the leftovers from our trip to Olive Garden with the siblings. Good to see family this week, even when the time was limited due to unforeseen circumstances, thanks for visiting with us.

No Longer Working For CES

No, I have not been fired. The Church Education System has merely changed its name and adjusted focus a little as directed by the Brethren. I now work for S&I. That is how they would like us to abbreviate the new organization name, which is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Seminaries & Institutes". This is officially to (1) reflect to others that we work for The Church of Jesus Christ... and (2) to emphasize our separation from the Church owned Universities. (It seems obvious to me why this would be important. They function on a different standard and expectation set for their religious teachings - i.e. School educators are allowed to involve theory, personal opinion and current secular "scholarship" into the classroom without being fired. S&I employees are not. They answer to deans, we answer to Priesthood keys.)

So, if for some odd reason, our profession comes up in conversation with others, please inform them I work for S&I or for The Seminaries and Institutes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. CES no longer exists.

Graduation

Some of you have asked to be informed about BYU Graduation. David is graduating with a Masters in Educational Leadership and Foundations with an emphasis on religious education. He is top of his class for the department and depending on where the standard is set for the University, David will graduate either Summa Cum Laude or Magna Cum Laude. It will be held Friday April 25, 2008 at 8AM in the Smith Fieldhouse. Seating is by 7:30.

And no, we still do not know where S&I is assigning our family for the upcoming years. Updates will come as those plans are finalized, but if anyone is looking for a fair deal on a nice house in Utah this summer, let us know.

In the hood

The final way a University screws you over is by inviting in some overpriced graduation clothing company. Darn you Herff Jones! But, thanks Mom and Dad for the awesome graduation gift!

Word on the Street

The secretary for the program at BYU that I am in was a former student, and she informed me that I passed the statistics comprehensive exam last night. The others were a walk in the park, so it is unofficially official - I'm done.