Crazy Times Scrapbook, March 2024

This was of particular interest to me because I'd been working on op-eds for an advocacy campaign about the child tax credit for this very bill for my nonprofit job. Unfortunately, the bill stalled, but hopefully the op-eds helped change some minds, particularly amongst the politicians who will be voting.

Immigration

It's the classic airplane-in-distress wisdom: Take care of your own needs first, and then you can help others more effectively. 

I think this is one of the reasons for and "benefits" of so many immigrants being allowed in. It does help the job numbers look better.

Common sense.

Trump/Biden

I can't believe she actually said this on the air! "Unfortunately for America, the court isn't necessarily wrong that this is the way the Framers wanted it to be." Unfortunately!?

Trump wins the election in this poll at this time.

Tik Tok and China

I've been saying it for years: get rid of TikTok in America until it's out of China's hands.

News alert! It just passed yesterday in the Senate! 👏

Read all of this! 🠋🠋🠋

Americans as a whole can be so dumb and shortsighted...

Culture

Bring back marriage and children.

Miscellaneous Craziness

This is happening right before our very eyes.

I have zero regrets about giving the Covid vaccines a hard pass.

This was a crazy and tragic disaster.

Around the House in March

 A few sights and scenes and random things from around the house last month...

Illumination!

Romeo giving Violet some side-eye...

These two are a cute pair and they also look alike (except that one's a dog and one's a cat 😄).

Pretty daffodils for the first day of spring

One of my favorite lunches is a baked potato with steamed broccoli. It's a delicious and nutritious combination! (Just ignore the big dollop of sour cream! 😆)

I'm happy to report that I am a genuinely happy person. 😁

Out and About in March

 These were the outings of March...not the Ides of March, because outings are so much better than ides. 😆

Sam and I went over to my mom's house for dinner and to celebrate my nephew Rocco's 15th birthday. 

Sam and Shane horsing around. They still have fun together!

I went out to lunch with Sharalyn, Meredith, Christine, and Pat to celebrate Pat's birthday. It was good to see Pat again. We're no longer in the same ward and I don't see her very much anymore. (She was in my ward when I was growing up.)

The biggest outing of the month was on a very rainy Saturday to go to Worcester with a big group of church friends (plus Beth, who is an honorary church friend 😄). We saw Little Women and then went out to dinner. It was a lot of fun!

 I hadn't been to a musical in awhile so it was especially nice to see one again. I'd seen Little Women on Broadway twenty years ago when Sutton Foster was playing Jo, and she sang the most delightful song about Massachusetts. I enjoyed hearing that song again, even though it wasn't sung by Sutton this time!

And those were the picture-worthy outings of March! (There was also this one that got to have its own post!)

Happy Easter 2024!

 It was my first Easter in my new house, so I took pictures of how I decorated so that I can reference them in the future. It's been a pleasant surprise to me that most of my holiday decorations fit because my new place is a lot smaller than my previous houses were, but somehow they do, and without looking cluttered! I've only had to set aside or get rid of a few things so far.

I should have had a pretty dishscape going when I took this picture!

That week my ministering sisters dropped off a pretty bouquet of tulips for me.

Here's Sam's Easter basket. Unlike John's, I did spend money on this one!

And I did a basket for me, too, because who else is gonna do it? 😉 I got myself my favorite chocolate bunny from Harbor Sweets and a new pair of pajamas (which I needed and were on sale) from Lands' End.

On Easter morning, Sam and I did our special traditions, which is always so nice and meaningful. 

I really missed John being there. 😢

I hosted Easter dinner in the afternoon for my family. My mom had gotten these pretty sugar cookies for the occasion, which I put out on one of my Sydenstricker plates. Because I'm such a good hostess and all. 😆

This is my Easter selfie with Christ. 😊

And here's my Easter selfie with my not-so-little-man Sam AND Christ!

I don't have a fancy dining room anymore, but I still have my nice table and buffet and a pleasant, light-filled dining space. It's a little tighter than what I used to have and I don't like the carpeted floor, but it works well.
I'm so grateful for my home.

I'm glad that the Church has been emphasizing Easter and Holy Week a lot more in recent years. I love how the focus is so much on Jesus Christ. This is what it's all really about.

He has done this for me.

And this. I've experienced it for myself.  

My trials have helped me turn to Christ in ways that I never really had before, and my relationship with Him has grown much deeper over the last several years as a result. I'll be eternally grateful to President Nelson for his guidance in helping me to understand better how to do this. I know he's a prophet of the Lord because following his counsel has brought me so much closer to the Lord and has helped me to come to love the Lord's house, the temple, which has also helped bring me closer to Him.

I love my Savior so much, and I know the day is coming when I'll see Him and live with Him again. Until that day happens, He is with me every day as I abide in Him and He abides in me. It's a beautiful way to live life—in fact, it's the best way to live life!