Because He Lives

I am overcome with gratitude on this beautiful Easter day. My life has meaning and purpose, and I get to be with those I love the most FOREVER. We shall live because He lives.

Below are the lyrics to one of my very favorite Easter related songs entitled "Because He Lives" by Sally DeFord. My roommate, Lisa, sang this with a guy in our ward last year, and I had the pleasure of accompanying. They both have angelic voices and I will never forget that performance. Happy Easter!

Because He lives;
Because He rose in mighty triumph from the grave
I put my trust in Him, and seek to follow Him in faith
Because He lives
Because He lives, I shall find strength
To stand against the tempter’s power
He is my refuge and defense in every troubled hour
Because He lives

Because He lives, I can bear whatever burden may be mine
I am encircled in the arms of love divine because He lives
Because He lives, He will banish every shadow of my pain
Every sorrow will be swallowed up in Him
For in His hand is healing for the weary soul
This I know because He lives

Because He lives
My heart is filled with peace amid a world of fear
And through the blindness of the night,
In Him I rest secure
Because He lives

Because He lives
There is no task so great that I cannot endure
I bear no heartache that His tender mercy cannot cure
Because He lives

Because He lives I will fear no darkness
Because He lives I will walk in light
Because He lives I will praise His kindness
Because He lives hope shines ever bright
Because He lives I will seek His righteousness
Because He lives I’ll follow where He leads
Because He lives I shall conquer even death
And I shall live because He lives!

Because He lives I will rejoice in Christ and glorify His name
And with the willing voice of gratitude proclaim:
My Savior lives!
Because He lives He will banish every shadow of my pain
Every sorrow will be swallowed up in Him
For in His hand is healing for the weary soul
This I know, because He lives

Baby Bunnies

Okay, I think we can all agree that anything baby is just adorable. Wait until you see these baby bunnies though. Oh my goodness. My mom was at her presidency meeting on Tuesday when one of the woman's daughters brought in a few of their ELEVEN baby bunnies. Let's just say they presented a bit of distraction to their meeting. My mom: "Totes worth it."

Fast forward a few hours. My cutest ever sister-in-law, Emily, flew in to Utah on Tuesday to defend her thesis (you go girl!) and we had planned to have a girl's night together. As we were driving home from a delicious dinner, my mom started telling us about these baby bunnies. She suddenly said, "Do you want to go see them?" Emily about had a heart attack in the back seat because she was so excited. She talked for the rest of the night about how she could smuggle a baby bunny onto her plane ride home. She even asked, "Okay, on a scale of 1-10, how mad would Richard be if I brought home this bunny?" Those two. Love them. Anyways, my mom gave the woman a call and we headed on up! We got there and her 5-year-old daughter came into the room carrying a bag full of 4 baby bunnies over her shoulder. She was just as adorable as the bunnies. We were in heaven and got to play with them for about 20 minutes. Get this, one was named Chubs. How perfect is that?

This one, however, is Tiger.

I tell ya, this girl was beyond happy.

A perfect ending to our girl's night. I love these girls. Yes, you too, Chubs.

Meeshelle

Meet the one and only, Michelle Smith.

She is just the greatest person, and one of my very closest friends. We went to elementary school, junior high, high school, and college together, but we didn't really become close friends until our senior year. I thought it would be a blast to room with her at BYU, but was sure she had other plans to room with someone else. Lo and behold, we ended up together in Wells Hall 154. We roomed together our sophomore year as well, until she moved out to marry her sweetheart, Justin. College presents so many growing experiences and it was wonderful to share so many of mine with her. We've stayed close ever since. She was my maid of honor at my wedding, and I just love her! She is kind, thoughtful, spontaneous, talented, adventurous, and such a good listener.

A couple weeks ago, we met up for dinner after not seeing each other since Robbie and I got married. It had been WAY too long. I loved catching up with her and we never ran out of something to talk about. She has done some pretty incredible things in her life, and never ceases to amaze me.

Now, some pictures for your enjoyment. My goodness, I have so many embarrassing pictures of us from our freshman year. Luckily for you, I chose to not include those. We were so crazy. I've never had so much fun in my life. Love this girl!