Lifesong

In The Beginning

I've been reading Genesis this week, and every time I read Genesis, I always wonder two things:

1. Was Phil Collins a Christian?

2. What was Eve thinking?

You know, because I'm so much better than Eve. I mean, God tells her she can have ALL this other fruit in this beautiful land, just not this ONE tree here. And Eve doesn't listen! And every time I read it, I think "C'mon Eve! Was it that hard? What's wrong with you?"

And then I remember that I get angry at my kids instead of choosing patience. And I assume the worst about a friend instead of communicating. And I resent my husband instead of offering grace.

And I think, "C'mon Megan! What's wrong with you?"

I'm no better than Eve, even though sometimes I act like I am.

And probably fruit isn't an accurate temptation in my world. But I think if I was Eve and God came to me and said "Megan (er, Eve), you can have ANY of these shoes, any one of them you choose, all spread out for you here, except this ONE pair of strappy heels here, don't touch this pair or you'll die" ........

sin would've still entered the world. I would've taken the strappy heels, because they were pink and stylish and just my size. Oh, and because I'm tempted to want what I want, regardless of the price. Maybe Eve didn't realize the significance her one action would have on the world. Or maybe she didn't care, because she really wanted what she wanted.

But don't we all?

We've been preparing our hearts for Easter around here, and I'm reminded again and again, as I read from Luke to my children and we act out the crucifixion, draw pictures, make our Resurrection Tree....I'm reminded....

That I have a tendency to get angry instead of praying for patience.

That I am really good at selfishly shutting down when I have been wronged.

That I'm tempted to choose shoes over a God who loves me.

That what's wrong with me is sin.

But what's right with me is God's love.

And I'm ever aware of the thankfulness that overwhelms my heart for this God who loves me and calls me His.

And so I toss those strappy heels to the side, because I'll take THAT kind of love over cute new shoes, any day.

How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called children of God. 1 John 3:1

Top Ten Facts on Thursday

1. It seems like it's been awhile since I've done a Top Ten, so I thought I'd try it out. Except instead of random updates, these will be random facts. See the difference? Yeah, me either.

2. Christian loves to draw. He draws all the time, everywhere, on every surface and on everything. (Well, except walls - he is a rule follower.) And he actually draws people, which gets lots of comments because it's not every day you see a three year old drawing people. But it sure is cute.

And I know what you're thinking - on a counter? With a permanent marker? Next to a candle? But, rest assured....well, rest assured that I really don't have an excuse for any of those things. Sometimes, it's just the way it is.

3.  A blackberry smoothie for breakfast covers a multitude of sins.

Sins like a messy kitchen and whiney children, to name a few.

4. So will peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

John has banned me from baking anymore, because these are just amazing and they all disappeared very quickly. Which is bad for the ol' waistline. But sooooo good for the ol' taste buds. All depends on which you are trying to please, I guess.

5. The butterflies have been released.

Nope, not the ones in my stomach. They seem to have taken up permanent residence. The actual butterflies - and they are so grateful. They've been cooped up in their netty prison, while Christian pulls on them and carries them around and parades them through the house. I know they are happy to be free.

6. Ansley gets jealous when there are too many pictures of Christian and not as many of her. I don't know photographic proof, but trust me, it's not pretty.

7. Ansley only has a couple more months in the First Grade. So hard to believe. She has done very well this year, and continues to enjoy school (most days). Christian really wants to start school, he says, so we will see what that means for next year. But we are all really looking forward to the break that summer provides!

8. Kota continues to sleep with and interact with the kids, forcing me to believe that cats lose their minds at twelve.

 

9. In the Bad Mama Award for the day, I slammed Ansley's fingers in the car door today. Ouch.

10. As a result of John's school, he most often does his work after the kids go to bed so as not to interrupt family time. I have taken to reading in the evenings while he is working. This means that we never watch tv, and we are living to tell about it. I might be as amazed as you are. I have been reading some great books! We may continue this next year, even when there is no school, because I feel more productive.

So that's what's new with us. What's new with you?  

A Day in Pictures

10:46 am

1:16 pm

4:36 pm

  

Monday, 5:44 pm

Saturday's Main Event

Times two.

We had two Big Events here on Saturday. And I mean Big Events through a six year old's eyes. But sometimes when they are big events to a six year old, her Mama's eyes get clouded by tears.

Ansley has been saying for several months now that she wants to get her ears pierced. We are fine with that - we wanted her to be old enough to make the decision herself. So on Saturday, while John took Christian to get a haircut and Mimi was still in town, we headed to Claire's and got 'er done.

Ansley was SO excited, and so proud. She handled it in big-girl style, not even shedding a tear. I was amazed! I mean, the girl was grinning as the earrings were piercing through her ears.

She chose small little purple stones - amethysts. Her birthstone is sapphire, and she didn't want blue earrings. So, purple it is, at least for six weeks. 

She loves it, and reminds us each morning and night to clean them and twist them.

Also on Saturday, John took his bike to a local bike store to get his chain fixed. While we were there, we looked at a bigger bike for Ansley, and got to talking about her unstableness on her current bike without training wheels. He told us to take the pedals off and lower the seat, and let her "stride" around on that to get used to the balance. So we did when we got home, and seriously, in about thirty minutes she was far better than a whole springtime of effort last year.

I mean, she was flying. She is ready for that bigger bike now!

 
A great weekend full of lots of smiles for our sweet girl!   

The Pictures

I got our professional pictures in the mail and I wanted to share them. For the third take on these pictures, they turned out really well. You can hardly see how irritated the guys were.

Me and John:

Me and Ashley:

All four of us:

These are the tshirts Ashley and I ordered for everyone before we left. We thought they were so cute, and lots of people at Deer Valley thought so as well.

You can't see it as well in a photo of a photo, but our shirts say "snowbunny" with little bunny ears, and the guys shirts say "I am married to a snow bunny."

And always my favorite, the jump shot. A tradition now, I think - well a tradition of two years anyway.

I don't know how John and Mark get that high, because it's really hard to jump with ski boots on!

But after three tries, I love the way they finally turned out!  

Ski Trip 2010

We had a great time skiing with our good friends Mark and Ashley last week at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah (just outside of Salt Lake City).

This time skiing, I couldn't help but think of how amazed Ansley would be at ALL that snow, and I noticed all the little kids in ski school and kept picturing Ansley. So, maybe next year....we will see. But this year was definitely a fun, enjoyable time to hang out as couples and catch up, eat late dinners and sleep in, laugh and talk and get totally exhausted by skiing and not kids. It's a lot of work, that's for sure! 

This is one of my favorite stories from our trip. Ashley and I were getting ready for dinner after a day of skiing, and when we walked out, we literally had on almost exactly the same thing. Do you find that as crazy as we did? We laughed about it all night. Skinny jeans, boots, the SAME EXACT sweater and a pretty darn close necklace. The only thing missing was me straightening my hair or her curling her hair. We found ourselves quite amusing.

But back to skiing. Deer Valley has one hundred runs - yes, I'm serious. It was huge, and the runs were pretty long and some of them pretty challenging. It was very pretty, and we stuck to mostly greens, only doing blues on accident.

John made us pose this way. I think he was tired of the frozen smiles. It was a little chilly. But see behind us there, how it just suddenly drops off? That was a black. We avoided those like the plague. If you peered over the edge of that, you literally couldn't see the bottom. I was amazed to watch people skiing right down it, like it was nothing.

Me and Ashley stopping our speed for a quick picture:

John and I playing with the camera one night before we left for dinner:

Resort food is.....well, it's resort food. It's overpriced, and it's not what you would expect for the money. So on the second or third night, I can't remember....we had spotted a Ruth's Chris and decided to go there.

We were not disappointed. It was YUMMY.

It took us three times to get good professional pictures. Did I mention the wind? It was so windy on the top of the mountain that it was really difficult to get a decent picture. So finally on the last day, we were able to get some great pictures. I can't wait to get them, and I will post them. Ashley and I ordered tshirts for everyone, and they got LOTS of comments while we were there. We may have to market them. So stay tuned......

{And Mark and Ashley, as always, we had such a great time with ya'll!}