Ward shopping

So yesterday we decided to visit a different ward. We are looking to buy a home more west of Don's job and decided to see if the ward was any good. :) My brother mentioned that isn't how you do it but that is how WE wanted to do it. Being Easter the ward choir sang and had a presentation that was awesome. I really enjoyed it. I was so amazed at the amount of people that realized we were new. How can you not notice a family of 7 with five very active kids? But we had many people say hi to us and ask us if we were new or just visiting. It was probably one of the friendliest wards I have visited. The bishop even took us into his office and it felt like we were the most special people. He didn't act busy or like he needed to be somewhere else even though we ALL know how busy a bishop is. He just wanted to see if we had any questions about the area and the schools. He told us about the ward and it was just a very impressive ward. I felt so welcome. I love to attend Relief Society. It is my favorite class on Sunday. The thing I came away with was that they talked about first having faith then asking Heavenly Father for help and then the most important-------acting. It was all about CHANGE. I started thinking and realizing that were some things I wanted to change. And I love a challenge. But change is HARD. But how true it is to change we have to have faith and then we have to ask and then we have to act. I know I want to change a few things and I am grateful for lessons like this that help me focus and get back to doing those things that are important and bring me closer to Christ. That is what it is all about. I know in my own life I can tell a huge difference when I am praying and reading and doing those things that keep me closer to Christ. Then there are those times that I spend too much time on my blog or too much time doing other things and I can tell that my attitude is not the same. It helps me to attend church every Sunday so I can keep everything in perspective and try to do a little better. I LOVE Pres. Hinckley sooooooo much and his example is amazing to me. But he said, "Be a little better". I don't think that is asking too much.

I love any excuse to have fun so I love the Easter season. It is another excuse to have a party of to have family get together but I really think Easter has gotten too commercialized and that part I don't particularly like. But I love to see my kids happy and having a good time. SO we did an easter egg hunt at my sisters and Mohamed and Don hid the candy filled eggs so the kids could find them. It was such a cold day but the kids never mind that. The adults on the other hand were so cold and shivering. It was so fun to watch them.

As Sunday rolled around I had little time to reflect on the Savior but I took a little bit of time to think about Him and what He has done for ME. It is a little overwhelming to think of all the things that took place during the resurrection but to just think that Christ suffered for my sins and that he went through some pretty harsh things because he loves each of us. That is pretty amazing. I am so grateful for a loving Christ that loves me for me. He is so forgivinig and understanding of my weaknesses. I am in No way perfect and not even close. I have a long way to go but the thing I LOVE about the gospel and about Christ is that we are not expected to be perfect but we are expected to try hard and to do better each day. I know I will never be perfect in this life but I know I can try to work toward it. I remember in RS that Denise mentioned that the literal meaning of the word perfect does not mean without flaw. Literally in Greek it means a continuation of progression. So for us to be perfect just means we need to progress on a continuous basis. That really opened my eyes. The scripture that says, Be Ye therefore perfect even as I, takes on a whole new meaning now. We are not expected to be without flaw. I love my Savior so very much and I am so grateful to be a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I attribute every thing I have to the Lord. It is truly a blessing to know of His life and His teachings. I love Easter because it helps me to take some extra time to reflect on the Saviors life and to remember that He did die for us but that He does LIVE.