So long to ink and hello to lead.

If there is one thing I have had to learn about being a mom it's that you never mark your calendar in ink. Everything is penciled in with the underlying thought that at any moment something more important could come up for your children or they may just start running a fever and puking out of nowhere.

But I made the mistake of getting super excited about the Brooke Fraser concert tonight, which we have had tickets for, for over a month. I have been begging my husband to take me to a concert for years....literally. But we all know tickets aren't cheap and just when you have found them priced right you realize that tour date conflicts with prior commitements or it's in Canada. But we found these tickets over a month ago, the concert is about 25 minutes from our house and they were $20! We even booked our sitter weeks ago. NOTHING was going to stop us from going to this concert until Cola puked all over Mario and began to run a fever.

We knew what we had to do but neither wanted to do it. I called the sitter, cancelled and began to rack my brain who we could surprise with free tickets. I quickly remembered our realtor and friend who loves Brooke say she wanted to go but needed to watch her spending. She accepted our offer and her son will be here shortly to grab the tickets for them.

Cola's in a very deep sleep right beside me. I can feel how hot she is and I smell "sick". Sickness does have a smell. I'm not talking about puke but "sick". At the end of everyday, no matter how many messes I've cleaned, how many shirts I've had to change, how many tantrums I've had to soothe or how many viruses I've contracted a supernatural motivation comes upon me. It soothes my heart and calms my mind letting me know it's worth it, motherhood, that is. Motherhood is worth it. And after it soothes and calms it strengthens. I cash that strength in every morning for endurance knowing that I CAN make it through another day.

Have you ever felt really alone? And then felt the presence of God just for even a few seconds? The presence of one God makes you feel in the company of 1,000 supporters who love you. That's just like motherhood. You can be sick for days and care for everyone but yourself, cancel all of your plans, go without a shower and then comes their first steps or a faint smile and it's as though you have witnessed a lifetime of goodness in one single moment and you know it's worth it. The worth of that one single moment devalues the rest.

In twitter slang #grateful

Easter Weekend

I can't remember if mentioned Dalen auditioned for our church Easter production. He has been practicing twice a week for about a month now. He has absolutely LOVED the entire process of preparing for the play, not to mention performing in front of hundreds three times on Sunday.

Because he had worked so hard you can only imagine how upset we were when Friday night he came down with a 24 hour bug or food poisoning. We still aren't sure which but I do know it only lasted 24 hours and by Sunday he was good to go but very tired. He told me many times while throwing up "Mom, I am totally not missing my play!" What a trooper! Any mom knows how horribly painful is to watch you child puke and heave. You just have to let it run it's course.

Sunday was so chaotic and tiresome I didn't get one single picture of C in her Easter dress, which was hot pink and so cute on her. Oh well, we made it through the day that's what matters.


This is Cola out to dinner! She was turned completely around smiling at other tables.

We later went to Celebration and did some Gator watching. We spotted one!

This is Dalen waiting to go on stage. He got to wear comfy pajamas and a hospital robe since he played a sick boy!

I just ordered two more books. No, I still haven't found my Shauna Neiquist book. One that I ordered is Love Wins by Rob Bell. Can someone give me feedback on this read? Why is everyone saying it's so controversial??

Has anyone heard Lady Gaga's new Judas song? I won't comment...look up the lyrics if you haven't heard it.

Also, how about all this hoop-lah about the royal wedding!? I mean seriously! I feel like I have heard about it for a year now! Say I do already!

Oh the things you learn in the bunny line....

Why in the world did I wait until the Friday before Easter to get my kids' pictures with the Easter bunny made? The line was forever long (Actually it could have been longer but long is long) and what kid wants to be dressed up for a picture on a Friday?
This is Cola's hair picked out. Hopefully it won't be the only laugh you get from this post. The woman two places in front of me in line had three kids. One was a newborn baby girl named, Pebble. She also had two sons who were completely out of control. Seriously, they were so out of hand she had to leave. Their names were River and Leaf. I know, my daughter's name is Cola and I can't talk about strange names but I surely wanted to pry and ask what inspired their names. But I didn't because I know how annoying it is. And no, she wasn't a hippie or at least didn't look like it.

The lady directly in front of me had a newborn baby girl, Elin. This is awful and I should have made eye contact with her but I didn't dare. I left with her entire life story and she never even spoke a word directly to me. She tried for 15 years to get pregnant and finally did. My heart was happy for her, I promise, I just never care to hear about a stranger's contraceptive use and ovulation schedule, so therefore I didn't make eye contact. Horrible I know. I guess because she waited so long for a child she wanted the PERFECT posed picture. I promise I am not being sarcastic but I was totally patient. For a moment I understood wanting perfection after waiting so long for a baby but I did want to jump in and let her know her newborn didn't have neck muscles strong enough to hold her head completely straight and no your silly faces weren't going to make her smile because her vision isn't that sharp yet and she was standing 30 feet away. But we finally made it to the front of the line.

Dalen sat for a while as the lady looked at each individual pose 30 times a peice lol.

This is him in G. His inner model always comes out.

They gave away a mask with a purchase.

And here is our lovely, perfect, beautiful Bunny pic! lol, I really do love it. It so expresses Cola's personality. She hates new people, different things and will always let you know just how much.

I'm not that mom that is going to waste my time or anyone else's making my child smile when they clearly aren't going to. So She snapped twice and I snagged Cola and we were on our way.

What old pictures do you enjoy the most of yourself now? The horrible ones! So I know this pic will be a great laugh someday and it will SO go in her wedding slideshow lol. It's so the truth! We want amazing pics of our kids and I promise they won't get two glances when they are older they want to see the horrible outfits and relive the painful moments so they can realize how much they have grown.

I also have to share my heart about making your kids sit on the Easter Bunny's lap. These are my thoughts, if you don't like them no one forced you to read them...

Your child is NOT going to be traumatized for life for actually facing a fear. I promise....they probably won't even remember the experience. Our job as parents is not to make our children comfortable all the time, our greatest discomforts lead to our greatest victories. If your child is never shown they can they will always believe they can't. No you shouldn't force your child to do EVERYTHING, there is a time and a place but what harm is done to a child who is made to sit on a furry bunny's lap for 1 minute? They will scream and cry but if you are reading this chances are you have left your child to scream and cry in their crib more than once so that they learn to sleep alone. You probably don't have a problem doing that b-c it is more comfortable for you in the end. So for you who oppose the easter bunny is it because your child is uncomfortable or YOU are uncomfortable? Just some thoughts.....

This was taken on the way to the car.....see no harm done!

Back to my old habits....

I'm so serious if you want a laugh search "apartment reviews online". LOL!!! Seriously! I did this a year ago when we were looking for a place and I seriously was on the verge of abs from laughing so hard. So I was bored tonight and thought I would enlighten you a little!

"It's a green complex so you won't have no cold water b-c there is no grass and the pavement stay so hot." (What the heck??? I have no idea what this means!)

Seriously, do not read this next one if you have anything to drink in your mouth...
"Thinking of expanding your family? This is the place for you, the local Roach-tel. This place is a total descrase (sp!, lol!) !"

"Two words-Hooker Haven." (omg!)

"The structure of this place is awful. The builder build it so bad that one i heared my neighbor singing about ain't having drawrs on." (I am laughing so hard it's just not even containable. Gotta love the spelling and lovely grammar!)

"They are thuggish people roaming all day. They are white thugs but be assured, THEY ARE REAL THUGS! The ones who ain't thugs are aliens...." (Aliens? Real ones or illegal ones? People are just tooo brilliant!)

If you decide to try out this wonderful hobby of mine and aren't finding any funny ones try some of these searches...

apartment reviews slumlord, roaches, shoot outs, ghetto, bullet holes

you get the point! Hope you enjoyed a laugh...or 2!

Another PM post

Here is another PM post...uh oh you never what will be said in a PM post. Also, this is a post of random thoughts so either they will make no sense or way too much sense and I'll get in trouble by someone. HAHA!

Why do people keep secrets when the whole entire world is going to know soon enough?
Fear? Timing? Denial? Reputation? Not that I think everyone's business is mine but secrets often lead to deceit, untruths and result in broken relationships. There is no time like the now....

Since when is divorce funny? No there is no words of wisdom to follow or a funny punchline but rather a long pause in hopes someone can make sense of a very serious problem becoming a laughing matter. Just in case you want to know what I think and I am assuming you do if you are reading....divorce is NEVER funny to me, especially when kids are involved.

I've only set two people up in my entire life. One is about to celebrate their 10 year anniversary and the other is getting married in June. Should you get permission to hook your friends up or just allow a "hands on" occurence to take place? Or should you never hook people up??

My Girl

Just to give you an idea of how much Cola eats...yesterday I got a text during church from one of our youth members saying Cola won't eat and I think something is wrong! So I tell her to put my name on the screen and I will come check on her. I get to the nursery, she isn't running a fever, she's full of smiles and is playing activly. The youth member begins to tell me yeah, she's only eaten 2 breakfast bars, a fist full of animal crackers and had a cup of water! It was ONLY noon. So because she wouldn't go on and eat her lunch as well they thought she was sick. This girl can seriously pack it away! I mean all day long! After leaving church we joined church family for lunch and my pastor kept feeing her bread and everytime he would look down to give her another peice she had already crammed it in her mouth when he wasn't looking....lol. She is so hilarious! I'm not sure where it goes considering she is in only in the 8th percentile for weight.

This was us during service playing together. She is a girl of many faces that's for sure!

I loved getting to see her play with other kids. This little boy just dropped to the floor on a play mat and she began to pat him to sleep. She later got a blankie and put it on top of him.

And whole couldn't want to smooch these two little lips to peices! AHHH! So funny!

I kept asking Cola do your teeth hurt? She kept holding her little cheeks and holding her hand out like I don't know. Although I missed 2nd service I thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend some one-on-one time with her. She is one funny girl who is constantly smiling and observing.

Kids and Culture

Today was a great day and I hope the events of it will lead to a great post. Mario and I get really busy with our everyday lives and the kids and his job (what's new, we all do) and we have realized we don't spend enough time with our Youth Leadership. So, today we marked on the calendar as a day we were going to spend hanging out. We all met at one of our staff leader's houses which is AMAZING and happens to have a pool. It was so much fun eating, laughing, swimming and just getting to know each other in a very relaxed environment. As stated before in previous blogs, I was raised by great parents who loved God, worked hard and gave us every beneficial opportunity they could. I really appreciate that. As I reached high school (and it honestly wasn't until then) I realized not every family was like mine. There were a million different ways of life, many different colors of people and so many cultures and religions that I didn't even know about. Growing up I never traveled outside of the US (until my senior trip) or was never really introduced to any other cultures or countries. I really wish that would have been different. I met friends in college who were taken literally around the world (by their parents) as a way to open their eyes to the world. I have always wished that were different in my life and I have always said I really want to encourage my children not to make friends with others who are just like us. I had four FABULOUS friends in my life while in high school and with the exception of one we are all still very close. We were all alike in the sense that we were all middle class, we were all white and our dad's were all pastors in the same denomination. While I absolutely love those girls still to this day I can't help but to wish I would have had close friends that were different from us in addtion. I sat around a table today with individuals who were African American, Hispanic, Italian, Bi-racial, and yes, if you can believe it one Lebanese and Armenian female! I remember just sitting watching, looking at them interact with my children and occaisonally begin to speak in their language and think this is exactly how I want my kids raised, surrounded by one big fat melting pot of Heaven on Earth. I want my kids to know that every pastor who wears a robe isn't Catholic, that every person who drinks wine isn't a raging lush and that just because you are black doesn't mean you came from Africa. I want my kids to be challenged by the faith of others because if they aren't strengthened by the doctrine of others they will be weak and unstable when they are adults. And yes, I want them to know that while we do things in a very particular way in our home there are millions of other families who do things differently but with as much love for God and each other as we do. I can't go back into my teens and change the way I was raised. I can't go back and expose myself other cultures and races but I can do that for my kids and today I did that. I exposed them to people who are so different in color, culture, relationship, gender, backgrounds and yet we all came together and loved each other confidently in who were are. That's a beautiful thing! I'm glad that my kids will see people pray quietly and loudly and not think either way is weird or wrong. I'm super proud that my kids will see men and women alike doing God's work because they are equally capable. It excites me that I will never limit a friendship, relationship or possibility because of someone's race, origin or culture. Today I'm not regretful, I'm proud. And on to the pics... We had to keep a VERY close eye on Cola because she sat in this float and nearly fell asleep!

Mom and daughter.

One of my favorite things about my son are his eyelashes. You can see why in this pic! Aren't they so pretty and long?? He gets them from his dad.

A few of our leaders.

I am convinced this will be the year he learns to swim. He jumped off and got around fine with the help of the floaties.

And here he is Mr. Karate Kid himself! Ever since Dalen watched Karate Kid he has wanted braids. One of the women there quickly did his hair poolside, after washing it in the kitchen sink! We love it and Dalen is so proud!

Hood House

Cola has totally taken over Dalen's stuffed Tigger. I just love watching her drag him around because he is bigger than she is but she loves him!

Dalen is in the church Easter play. He plays a sick boy who later gets healed. He has done an amazing job and actually asks all the time do we have play practice today?? We are proud of him. He was upset in the picture above because Mario was out of town.

Someone spotted the Easter bunny! I have yet to find the kids their Easter outfits but I am on the hunt! I just love the navy collection out in Gymboree right now but its pricey! Once the kids have outfits we will get their pictures taken.

Cola has become super clingy to blankies. Not a particular one but she drags them around all day. I think it's really cute. She is also really starting to play with her dolls which is so cute. She pats their backs, gives them kisses and drags them as well.

Nothing too exciting to report just going from day to day...

Shortbread and Violins

I'm sitting in a new tea room I found close to our house. I'm still trying to figure out what's best, the shortbread cookies or the Swiss flavored European drinking chocolate. I have a lot on my mind tonight; where will we move, what will I speak on tomorrow to our youth, the pain in my neck and back and a few friends who have shared some major disappointments with me. I have a new chiropractor. Today was my first visit. I had tests, x-rays and an exam. Though my visit was pretty serious, due to very severe pain (again!) all I could think about was my single friend who would look SO SUPER cute with the doctor who was only 25. Anyways, they concluded my neck is that of a 50 years olds with a completely reversed curvature. Exactly how I planned to start my Monday! We will go over treatment plans on Friday and what my insurance will cover. My lower back is not in any better condition. I just finished Heaven Is For Real (it will be mailed this week, A!) and the one thing the little boy who went to Heaven harped on, is that Jesus loves the children. Of course, we know the common theme in the gospel is Christ's love for us all but then there are those hints he has an extra soft spot towards the little ones. This touches me. For now, my kids are kind of like his extra favorites?? If we are "like Christ" why is that it is hardest to secure consistent help in the children's ministry? I mean, really, think about that. I'm not being sarcastic but if we are really like him, why is it a begging match to secure help in the nursery? Something to think about. I don't have much more than that. Kind of light for now....

Books and Books and Books

I am kind of a strange reader. I will go a month or two and not read anything but magazines and my Bible and then for months I will read like crazy! Speaking of reading, I was strongly encouraged to read Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist and I had about 40 pages left in it and it has totally disappeared. Like literally, fallen off of the face of the Earth. Seriously?? I am sure I will find it in the bottom of a laundry basket or trash can or some place random my kids put things. I also, just finished the 2nd book in the Julia DeSmitt series by Nicole Baart. Second book was MUCH better than first and now I am dying to know what is left in the 3rd one which I ordered from Amazon last week. I also ordered Heaven Is For Real. It's a true story of a young boy who had a near death experience and went to Heaven. The first person to comment on this blog and say they want it, gets it when I'm done. I'll ship it to you if you are out of town. I also ordered Cake Pops. A book all about creative cake pops. I know I am a dork but I just can't refrain! What are you reading right now?? Someone recommend me something good....inspirational, a great mind spinning novel or something challenging. I'm always open to explore new authors.

The one time hoarding is ok

When I find good friends, I keep them. It's the one time hoarding is ok. After keeping them they are no longer good, they are great. Not because I kept them but because they stayed. They aren't who they were when we first met they are like fine wine that has sat, fermented and now ready to add great flavor and sweetness to someone's life. Man alone is creation at it's worst but man united by friendship is creation at it's greatest. I want to be the greatest. God had a plan when expressed the aloneness of man was not good. So he made partnership so we could be great. However, we have fenced our lives with a deep, dark abyss of stinging aloneness. Who will attempt the darkness of those waters so deep? Only the courageous, brave and determined-only the ones wanting to partner in God's plan for unity. Many times in order to be a part in the life of someone else it takes us braving that scarry abyss. You will make it across. You won't walk it, you won't swim it but you will have a moment like Peter and walk on that water and it becomes a rock solid foundation. The foundation to relational unity is solid because Christ is at it's core. This week I miss my friends. I couldn't remember that name of that road-was it 414, 434, 436 or 417? Yes, there are THAT many roads with a 4 in them. It was a day where Falmouth road sounded perfect because it's unforgettable. So I reached, literally reached, for my phone to call A (my super organized, detail oriented, really specific friend) and ask what that road was called. Then I realized, she isn't here and wouldn't know. Then there were those two days of being a shut in due to horrible storms and wanting to call C for a playdate with her two great kids. But they too are so far away. And of course my other friend A who is single, childless and laughs at my jokes...well she was 1/2 way around the world on a trip for work and literally the thought of her physical distance made me sick. I guess, I just want to thank anyone who has ever came to visit my island. The island of Megan that is surrounded by a pretty scarry and dark abyss of "leave me alone, I'd rather not be bothered". I am now seeing it took great faith and the hand of God to allow you to walk on water and land straight on the deepest part of my heart. You are all a part of my heart and because of each of you my heart is fuller.