Adoption is a perfect picture of how our Heavenly Father, who saved us and adopted us as His own, loves us. Adopted children do not implicitly trust their new parents. And we are not inclined to trust our Heavenly Father, though we KNOW He has our best at heart.

And yet God continues to love us, to call us His.

I’ve told you all that adoption is NOT the perfect solution. It’s the result of brokenness, a fallen world. And it’s messy. But then, so was our own spiritual adoption.

The road to the cross… it was ugly. The wait had to have been painful for Jesus, knowing what was ahead. People let Jesus down, broke His heart. And the ultimate WRONG had to happen, the death of God’s son, in order to make things RIGHT.

Out of that hideous MESS, God brought redemption. He made us beautiful.

Also, this post.

From Momma Mindy’s blog, this post was excellent:

In one year, Scott and I were one of five couples who got married.
The women who spoke highly of their husbands are still married.

Not scientifically calculated, just an observation.

The response from many people is pity for a wife who says she is raising her children, but they would probably think how dedicated she is, how noble, if she would say she acclimates newcomers to this country by having them live in her home and training them how to speak the language, become mobile, learn to read and write, become useful citizens, and deal with the American culture without losing their sanity.

My photography setup was a room with windows and my oversized pink pillow.   For backdrops, I used my full black skirt, and then a white sheet … whatever works!

This one is my favorite!  His little smile makes me smile.

We first met Jenny when she moved into the house next door.   Over the past several years, Jenny has spent many days at our house, cooking, playing with Lydia, or just hanging out.  She lives a few miles away now, but she calls and talks to my Mom fairly often.

I was thrilled when Jenny’s mom asked me if I would do her senior pictures. We had fun digging through her closet for outfits, and curling her hair.  She has a great laugh!

I was talking with Veronica at one of her play performances in April, and she was saying she hadn’t messed up so far, and she had one more performance to go.  “Knock on wood,” I said.

Veronica looked at me.  “Megan, I didn’t know you were superstitious.”

“I’m not.” I laughed.

“Then why’d you say knock on wood?” she asked, puzzled.

“Just for fun.” I shrugged.  “Look, I just scheduled my piano recital for Friday, May 13 … trust me, I’m not superstitious.”

Veronica shook her head. “Nope.  You’re not.”

(Veronica and I at the play she was in, Annie Get Your Gun … super cool!)

Back to the recital.  In a burst of genius, I decided to learn a song that I heard exactly 10 days before my recital.   My teacher had the music for it, and it was only 3 pages long.  My teacher graciously helped me with it, and I did learn it – the actual performance didn’t go that great, but that’s OK.  It’s a fun little piece.

Oh, and the dress I’m wearing?  I sewed that the day of the recital.  That was one of those similar bursts of genius … can you hear the sarcasm?   I had a huge to-do list that week to get ready for the recital, and by 10:30 Friday morning, I was pretty much set.  So … I decided to sew a dress to wear.    I had the fabric and pattern, and it was already cut out, so all I had to do was sew it.  I did use a few shortcuts to finish it on time … really, who needs to worry about a zipper when you can pull it over your head? 

After the recital I had Emily record this piece for me, because the piano we got to play on was just so gorgeous.   This is probably my favorite piece I worked on this semester.

Last summer, Veronica and I were extras in the movie, Creed of Gold.  I was friends with the family who headed up the production, and we had such fun being on the movie set.  They actually call “Action!” before each shot, which I thought was just way too cool.

I asked Dad if he would go to the movie premiere with me.  I was so excited when he said we could go … and even more thrilled when I heard it was going to be a formal event!

We spent a few hours walking around downtown before the premiere, which was fun – especially with my camera.

I had my camera strap looped over a railing for the above picture.  I kept adjusting it and Dad was asking, “Are you sure that’s going to work?” He was quite patient waiting for me to take pictures of various objects, and even suggested a few shots.

In front of the capitol building:

That night we got dressed up for the premiere, and I got some shots using my tripod.   It was fun to see some of my friends at the premiere, and very cool to see the movie!  They put a lot of work into the film, and it was a lot more fun having met several of the actors – everyone laughed when the director came on the screen as a barista.

I’m so glad we got to go to the premiere – I wish Veronica could have come!   I had a nice time spending time with Dad, and I’m glad we got some pictures together.

Oh, another cool thing – the morning after the movie premiere, there was a half-marathon that started right outside our hotel.  Dad got up early and saw the start of the race, then he called me and told me to meet him downstairs in 20 minutes so we could go watch the end.  Well … I woke up again 15 minutes later, threw on a t-shirt and jeans and made it down to the lobby in 4 minutes flat.   Thanks to cell phones, I eventually met up with Dad and we did get to watch the first several runners cross the finish line.    That was fun to take pictures of, too … I especially enjoyed watching the people who competed in wheelchairs … it takes a lot of endurance.

The first runner …

“Don’t worry … the show isn’t dead.  It’s just – mostly dead.  It’s like that great uncle you have, who’s in and out of the hospital every couple of months, and has been for the last three years … it’s just like that.  It’s coming back – after a colonoscopy, and a couple other routine procedures for a show of its age … we’re just really busy right now.”
~ The Brothers Winn

^That quote, from one of my favorite internet shows (What You Ought to Know), pretty much expresses the current state of this blog.  You know … the blog’s not dead.  It’s just – mostly dead.

And I’m just really busy right now.

*grins*

See, the thing is, I don’t really want my little blog to die.  I like blogging.  And I have a grand total of 4 wonderful girls who tell me they actually read it on occasion.  (Anna, Leah, Veronica, and Essie, you gals rock.) 

So … the blog must go on.

Right now I’m sitting in the park, using public wifi (slooow), sitting under the pavilion to escape the misty drizzle, waiting for my brothers to finish their mowing job so we can go hang out with some friends for a bit.   “Planting Trees” is playing through my earbuds, and I’m downloading “Trees Hate You” on my laptop so we can play it through the truck speakers and die laughing.  And then quote the whole thing.  Then repeat the sequence.  (Did I just admit that I watched a Julian Smith video? Yes, yes I did.)  We’re nuts.  

I need to tell y’all at least a couple of things that have happened semi-recently, especially about the EPIC CollegePlus! get together that Robbie and I attended.  So many incredible stories and photos and memories.

This upcoming weekend is going to be Robbie’s open house, and I’m very excited to get to see all the CP!ers, friends, and relatives who will be there.  Out-of-town people will start arriving Friday afternoon, and I. Can’t. Wait!  And then after the open house Anna and I are leaving to attend the Homeschool Alumni National Reunion.  Which, excepting the extreme lack of sleep we will be experiencing by that point, should also be quite an exciting trip.

May your days be filled with gorgeous sunshine and delicious frozen strawberry lemonades … and I’ll talk to y’all soon.

Love,
Megan

The six-year old, adorable, woe-be-gone little boy face in front of me nodded solemnly. I was babysitting him and his brothers for the afternoon.

“It’s very important that you obey me and your Mommy and your teachers.  You know why?  One reason is so that you can be safe – if I tell you not to run toward the road that is so I can protect you.  The other reason is that when you’re older, you need to be able to obey God…”

I stopped abruptly mid-sentence … “Good grief, I sound exactly like my Mother.”

“You need to be able to obey God when God tells you to do something.  And when you disobey God, there are much bigger consequences then a spanking/time out.  So I’m going to give you consequences now, so that you won’t have bigger consequences when you’re older.”

Yes, that came directly from Mom.  Furthermore, she was exactly right.

It just feels a bit odd to be the person saying it.

…cut my hair.  It used to hang to my waist,and now – it’s between my shoulders and my chin.  And I don’t really have a clue what to do with it.

…taken CPR.  Robbie’s line – “I did so good my dummy started breathing!”  Actually, the best part of the whole experience was arriving early, and have one of the staff members come in the classroom and ask, “Are you here for CPR?”  What a loaded question … Robbie joked later he should have grabbed his throat and squeaked, “Yeah, do you have an opening?”

…we surprised my brother by having 9 visitors in our living room when he got home from the gym – one of his college buddies and his family.  It’s amazing how wonderful it is when believers spend time together, even when they’ve never met before.  Plus, it was really cool to be able to pull of a surprise like that for Robbie.

…accompanied a highschool band competition, and watched a few of my students do a local performance competition.  Also, scheduled my student recital for Friday May 13th.  No, I am not superstitious.  (Obviously.)

…felt like we were never going to be healthy again as various family members of the family went to the doctor’s over and over and over again.  Blegh. Since Christmas, our family has had colds, flu, pneumonia, sinus infections, ear infections, strep throat, and Dad had surgery for kidney stones.

…started taking fiddle lessons – I love it!  Namely, I love my teacher and I love hearing Scottish fiddle tunes.  Trying to actually play them myself I find rather frustrating.  My playing is – well, rather stiff!  But over all, I do enjoy it.

…lived through Ice Age 2011.  Also, learned about power outages with a generator.   It’s great, let me tell you.  It’s like having all the adventure of a power outage without all the inconvenience.

…and taken lots of pictures … what’s new?  Here are a few favs from the ice storm …

Daniel took the next two:

Some of you recall my saying in the previous post I needed to have this dress done by 7:30 on Saturday.  I finished it at precisely 7:19.

Because I plan ahead.

Not the best picture, but I had to take pictures, change clothes, and do my hair in 11 minutes.  (No, we did not leave on time.)

I had bought this fabric last fall, when I found out my old violin teacher was having a baby girl.  The paper lanterns remind me of Sarah, though for the life of me I can’t explain why.  But I love the way the fabrics work together.

Last week I found out Sarah was going to be at the concert Saturday night, so I decided to try and get the dress done so I could give it to her then.  Hence the rushed timetable.

I based the pattern off of a dress I found on etsy.  If I can find more of this fabric I think I’d like to make another one.  On the other hand, maybe my project stack is high enough as it is! 

I found this skirt at Goodwill.  It’s way too short, but I fell in love with the embroidery on it.  “I can make something with this,” I told Mom as I threw it in the cart.

It ended up being a purse.  I was really happy with the fabric I found to go with it.

Here’s another purse I finished this fall, using my own design:

I have four fat quarters that I’m going to try and turn into a baby dress before 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night … think I can make it?