Easter, Farewell, and Birthday

April's always been a busy month but this one seems even more so. One of my brothers, Andrew, left for his mission to Charleston, West Virginia this month and he is so excited and so ready to go. He is such an amazing young man and I know he'll be an amazing missionary who will touch many lives.

We had the opportunity to so to Utah conference weekend with some friends and it was so fun! Livy was thrown off her sleeping schedule a little bit as usual whenever we go anywhere but we still had a great time. That Sunday I surprised Peter and Livy with Easter baskets. Livy loved putting the basket on her head and playing peek-a-boo more than the little toys I got her, but she was so stinkin cute with it. I gave Peter all of his favorite candy, and he loved it! He didn't grow up with Easter baskets so I think it makes him feel like a little kid again to get something like that. It's hard to surprise him so when I do I'm more excited than him when he finally discovers whatever it is I've hidden for him.

My birthday was on Tuesday, the 13th, and Peter just let me be a lazy bump on a log for the day. =) I did have a migraine most of the day but Peter told me we can celebrate my birthday this weekend with dinner and a night on the town, so I'm pretty excited for that. He also got me a bicycle for us to go on rides together, Pres. Uchtdorf's new book The Remarkable Soul Of A Woman, and a journal that we're going to turn into our family's "Blessing Journal". Our goal is to write in it hopefully, each night and write down the little blessings we experience throughout the day. We got the idea in one of the Ensign and we both loved the idea because sometimes it's so hard to remember all of those little miracles and blessing we get to experience everyday.

Here we go

So, I hope that I can be better at keeping this updated than I am with my journal. Just an update on the Bensons: Livy will be 11 months old on the April 6th and I can't believe how fast this last year has flown by having her in our lives. She has Peter wrapped around her little finger and pretty much everyone who meets her. She is such a good baby for us and hardly ever whines. Well, except when mom leaves the room without her. Thankfully she's picked up crawling very well so she follows me from room to room. She's really loving walking with the help of someone holding her hands. I'm hoping she'll be walking by summer so we can having some great adventures.
Peter has finally settled on a career path. Yea!! He is going to be a Marriage and Family Counselor. He is going to be so great at it. He's the most patient, loving man I've ever met and we're so excited to be heading toward this career. He'll finish up at BYU-Idaho April 2011 and then we'll be off for an internship and then back to school for his Master's and eventually Doctorate. We're praying he'll be accepted into BYU-Provo for that. Peter has also been my wonderful teaching partner for our primary class for the past two years. Our class this year is made up of 10 ambitious 4/5 year olds. Peter has become the "security" of the class while I get to teach. They are the cutest little kids and I love going to church each week. They reach us more than we teach them most of the time.l
As for me, I've been at home loving being a mom. I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am to be able to do this at this time. I'm kept on my toes since Livy's ablt to get around. She loves to explore and get into as many things as possible. I've also just been letting my knee heal. I tore my ACL back in the beginning of January and wasn't able to get surgery so we're letting my body heal itself. Through several differetn trials that have presented themselves over the last 4 or 5 months my testimony has been strengthened by leaps and bounds. I am so grateful for the role the Atonement plays in my life, especially in times of trial, fear, and pain. I have truly come to understand it on a whole nother level because of things I've endured and continue to endure. The gospel is incredible and I can't imagine my life without it.

Here are just a few pictures of Livy from the last few months.