Easter and General Conference

I wasn’t going to write anything about this last weekend because it was really hard for me – but a few days have given me perspective and now I can talk about it. First, I have a real issue with the Easter Bunny. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that we mask the most important event in the world’s history with a bunny. Its stupid. Easter is about Jesus Christ, his Atonement for all mankind and his marvelous resurrection. I think life is too short to be teaching our kids that Easter is about a bunny – not Christ. That being said, we have always done the Easter bunny. I make sure that we talk extensively about what Easter is really about and even make sure their basket has a big empty egg (to represent the empty tomb) and a picture of Jesus Christ after His Resurrection. This year I was excited by the fact that I might be able to get away with not doing the Easter bunny, by telling the kids that the Easter bunny doesn’t come to Italy. I did buy some Easter candy before we left and brought it with us, in hopes that it could just be from mom and dad. The kids talked endlessly about whether or not the Easter bunny was going to come to Italy, so Saturday when we went to the grocery store – I told Ryan to buy a few things to give the kids. With the stress of the move and setting up our apartment – I really hadn’t given much thought to it, and even that night, after we put the kids to bed, Clark came out and asked me if he could put something by his door so the Easter bunny could leave him something. I gave him 2 kitchen mixing bowls, one to put outside his and JR’s room and one for the girls room. That night we filled the bowls with the few things I had brought with me and what Ryan bought at the store. I also laid out their new Easter Sunday clothes.

Am I glad we did the Easter bunny? Yeah. It was fun for the kids, but honestly – it was just the way it should be. A very small part of the morning. The excitement lasted about 10 minutes. Perfect. I asked Ryan if we could read from the Bible and talk to the kids about the true meaning of Easter. We read the account of the resurrection from each of the four gospels and talked about it. The Spirit was there and we were able to share our testimonies of the Savior with the kids. On Saturday afternoon I was able to go to the Church and watch a broadcast of the Women’s Conference. It had been 2 weeks since we’d been to church and I was feeling the desperate need to have some spiritual input. It was wonderful. When it was over, I asked the Sister missionaries what the schedule was for General Conference. Since we are 9 hours ahead, the Saturday morning session aired at 6pm and the afternoon session aired at 10pm. She said that they broadcast the morning sessions live at 6pm both days, the priesthood session at 11am Sunday and the Saturday afternoon session at 2pm Sunday. That only left the Sunday afternoon session that wasn’t broadcast. We tried to watch the Saturday morning session at home, Saturday night. We don’t have internet at our apartment yet, so I was using my phone as a personal hotspot to give our computer internet. It was cutting in and out so bad, that we seriously got maybe 15 minutes of the 2 hour session. Plus it was dinner time, and between making dinner and wrestling the kids to eat – it was just chaotic. We decided we’d go to the church at 2pm Sunday to watch the Saturday afternoon session. Sunday morning Ryan left for the Priesthood session around 10:30am and I decided to make him chocolate chip cookies. Or attempt with my Italian ingredients. I had planned on making cinnamon rolls, but when I got out the mixer we ordered, the bowl was tiny! There was no way I could make my bread recipe or even a regular cookie recipe in it. I had to make something, since the tradition in the Johnson family is to make donuts during the Priesthood session, I couldn’t leave Ryan with nothing. After making the cookies – I had to book it to get myself and the kids ready for church. We needed to be ready so when Ryan got home, we could go back to the church. It was also lunch time, so I was feeding kids, doing the girls hair, getting the boys dressed and myself ready at the same time. Ryan called me on his way home from Priesthood to tell me he was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and would get home only in time to turn back around. I made him a sandwich, since he wouldn’t get to eat lunch, packed up my bag with snacks and drinks, a backpack with toys for the little ones and we went down to the parking lot to wait in the rain for Ryan to pick us up. I finished my makeup in the car and we got to the church right at 2pm. We went upstairs where they had been broadcasting in English only to find it totally empty. No projector. No computer. No missionaries. Ryan had just been there an hour ago and was told when he left , that it would still be set up to watch the Saturday afternoon session at 2pm. I was devastated and disappointed. I thought, there must be a mistake. I found an Italian who was watching the broadcast in Italian- who spoke enough English to help me. The mission office is in the same building in the church, so we knocked on the door to see if we could find out what was going on. We found some American missionaries that were in a little room watching it on a computer screen. One tried to get a hold of the Senior missionary who had set up the broadcast for the English speakers, but to no avail. So we packed the kids back up in the car and made the 25 minute journey back home. I was so depressed. I wanted and needed that spiritual outpouring so badly and had no way to get it. Ryan, realizing the struggle I went through to get us all there, got all the kids together so we could take an Easter Sunday family picture.

He knows I love to take pictures on such occasions, and even though he hates it- did it for me. I then made myself lunch and Ryan sent me to my bed to take an nap. It was much needed and I did feel slightly better afterwards. We then made a very Italian version of one of my everyday dinners, not something I would ever make as Easter dinner. We tried again to broadcast the Sunday morning session (at 6pm Rome time) and had a bit more success this time around. It was doing pretty well until my favorite speaker, Jeffry R. Holland, got up. We got the first 3 minutes of his talk, and then the internet went out. UGH! We put the kids to bed and after cleaning up the kitchen, Ryan and I sat on the balcony and talked about the day and our new life in Rome. It’s hard. Things like General Conference – that are normally easy and a normal part of life, are difficult and cause disappointment and frustration. I also realize that I have been extremely spoiled, and the fact that we go to any of conference via the 3G connection of a cell phone is pretty amazing. I know that the whole conference will be available by tomorrow on lds.org, and for that I am extremely grateful. It does make me stop, take a set back and look at the big picture. I have a Savior who died for me. I have the ability to repent, be forgiven and feel the Spirit of the Lord guide my life. I love the Savior. I know He lives. That is what Easter is all about.