I have photo evidence of most of our family this week. 
A photo check-in
Author: Angela
I write so my family will always have letters from home.
Thinking about This
I am making some changes this year for Easter at home. There will be more music of the season. I will place a wreath with the purple banner (above) on the front door. We’ll keep the tradition of tiny reminders and scripture readings during Holy Week.
There will be some Christ-centered celebratory decor to remind us of His Atonement and Resurrection.
And of course, we will keep our tradition of a special Easter dinner with our children. There are a few more personal things I will do, and I am looking forward to a great celebration.
For March
Lives full of praise, music, and thanksgiving are uniquely blessed. Being joyful and relying on heavenly help through prayer is a powerful way to be peaceable followers of Christ. Striving always to be of good cheer helps avoid being cast down in spirit.
Quentin L Cook, October 2023
On his way
For years, I noticed the palms placed in the celestial room of my nearest temple. I saw them as a symbol associated with the shout of Hosanna from the Psalms and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Hosanna is used in hope and praise and means, “Please save us!”
Not too long ago, the palms in the celestial room of my temple were replaced with fig trees. Every detail of the temple can be a symbol of Christ, and these are just my reflections on the pretty plants in the room, and I don’t suggest any hidden intent in the change of greenery! The fig tree can serve as a reminder that the Savior will come again in the last days, or in other words, he answers our plea, “I’m coming!”
While we await a glorious Second Coming of the Savior when all will see him, I know when I pray for help, he is already moving to my aid. He gently reminds me that he’s coming. He’s already taken care of everything, but he is on his way to comfort me while I wait for resolution.
Brothers and sisters, now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority.
-President Russell M. Nelson
Richard’s Birthday List
Richard celebrated a birthday recently. During the last year, here are some of the things I observed about him:
- He became a grandfather. He delights in this little grandson.
- He enjoyed his new upstairs home office, and worked from home until last September. He is now going into the office each day after nearly 5 years at home. What a change for both of us. He still uses his home office most evenings to put in more work hours.
- He went on two trips with friends to ride 4-wheelers. He knows how to work hard and play hard with healthy balance.
- He continued to serve as first counselor in the bishopric. I see the effects of his living a consecrated life in his countenance, his perspective, and his unselfishness. He becomes a richer version of himself each year.
- He began to use some of his humor when he conducted sacrament meetings. When he says something funny, the ward members repeat his jokes to me throughout the week. People are tickled to be caught off guard when he shows his funny side.
- He bought a new-to-us truck which makes him so happy.
- He worked hard to plan 4-wheeling adventures and other activities for the Ross reunion. This year, we rode to the top of Monroe mountain, went tubing in the Sevier river, and stayed in a historic home in Joseph.
- He planned an epic family and senior trip for Mark. We visited Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks and made so many memories.
- He continued to exercise in the gym and took his supplements. He is fit and trim.
- He watched over a plentiful apple and tomato harvest. We are still enjoying dried apples and salsa from his labors.
- He edited an incredible family video for Christmas. What a history he has created of our family with these annual videos.
- He helped Tim with lots of truck repairs.
- He took Mark and Tim skiing many times.
- I think he had a great year.
learning, impact, independence, beauty
Studying personality types is interesting to me. I have learned that a perfect day for my personality will involve studying and writing, listening and advising, having a project to work on independently, and some beauty for the senses.
Richard went on an overnight trip with the young men over the weekend. I wanted to avoid my usual pattern of desolately cleaning the house and watching a movie while he was away. So, I planned a weekend of writing, making gifts, eating out, and exploring an antique shop. Becky and Sarah joined me for lunch and shopping. Our time together was so good.
I never got around to cleaning, but I fed my fundamental needs for learning, impact, independence, and beauty.
Weakness to strength
As I paged through a journal I wrote in 2013, I was amazed at the things I did that year. All of our children were still living at home, so beyond the things I recorded in the journal, there were so many meals, so much laundry, and so much driving. One line stands out to me from this journal,
“My favorite sin right now is haste.”
By “haste” I meant that I didn’t take enough time to be still.
In 2025, haste is no longer a favorite sin. I have been given the gift to be still. True, I have less laundry and cooking to do now, but there are a few more dominant forces during the last 12 years that taught me to slow down.
First, the years of decision arrived for our children with college, missions, marriage, and beyond. I realized that the most important thing I can do for my children is pray for them. And when they ask for advice, I need an arsenal of inspired wisdom. I choose stillness so I can feel assurances of peace concerning my children and to help my children.
Second, I had poor health for an extended time which taught me to slow down. I was forced to stop filling my life with non-essentials. I learned to sit on the couch and listen to my family. I didn’t miss being busy, so as my health returned, I remained more present and unhurried.
Third, I had church callings that stretched me to study deeply. We had unprecedented and perplexing issues to handle, so I had to be still so I could see the path forward. I was perplexed so often that stillness became a habit.
This exercise of looking back over 12 years of personal growth shows me that my Father in Heaven works through many means to help me change. He wasn’t the cause of my difficulties, but he helped me to use these obstacles as stepping stones toward rest.
…my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
-Ether 12:27
A happy morning with these friends
In many of our neighbors’ lives there is much…exquisite goodness which can never be written or even spoken–only divined by each of us, according to the inward instruction of our own privacy.
-From Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
Unlikely Texas souvenirs
Richard and I made a trip to Texas a few years ago to visit our old home. Poor weather and sad news hounded us in many places we went. Defeated, we stopped in Georgetown during a deluge of rain and I waded into an antique shop, my feet soaking wet through my shoes. I was pretty down, and made myself buy something I would want if I were feeling happier. I chose three framed Currier and Ives prints of winter scenes. Perhaps the snow, which I don’t associate with Texas, was the reason I bought them. Our forever home is a snowy place.
We loved our years in Texas, but on this trip especially, it was clear that you can never recreate the past. And like these sentimental prints, my memories of Austin are a little idealized, preserved in a few printed images, and the people bring them to life!
Something to last a long time
During the past couple of weeks, I have spent more time than usual working on quilts. I have a monthly meeting of friends where we sew (and talk!) through the afternoon, and normally, this is the only time I give to sewing. This month, being more confined indoors, I have pushed forward with my work on 3 baby quilts in my free hours.
The work that goes into most quilts is significant, so they are gifts from the heart. Jenny Doan wrote this about the journey that a quilt will make in its lifetime,
Quilts have the potential to outlive you by generations. You don’t have to worry about the life they live, or what you planned for them. They’ll find their way. Quilts, like children, may not lead the life you intended, but trust me, they will find a path–and chances are, they’ll change lives as they do.
-Jenny Doan, How to Stitch an American Dream
I enjoyed Jenny Doan’s book. She is the queen of quite an empire and she has a great story.
