up, up and away!

My man turns the big 4-0 on Monday.

It's our 15 year anniversary this year (in June).

We were invited to enjoy the Florida sunshine.

So, we said, YES!, and we're flying away on a jet plane,

just us two lovebirds....

 (not my work! hoop found here on etsy)

to stay with our friends-like-family

in the house they're renting on

sunny Siesta Key.

You can guess how excited I am, right?!!!
What a gift!

(not my image! vintage map photo found here on etsy)

Thanks be to God for providing loving hearts and competent hands to care for these monkeys while we're gone on our long weekend.

We know they'll do just fine without us.
But this big naughty baby on the other hand....she'd better not cause trouble!

You know what I'm looking forward to on the plane ride? I've been prepping a couple big embroidery projects and my hands have been itching for free time.  As long as the TSA doesn't consider my needle a weapon, then I'll be stitching away to my heart's content.

Flying is a RARE occasion but when I do have a chance to do it, I really enjoy it. I say that because I know so many people don't like to fly. No, I don't enjoy the cramped quarters or artificial air (yuck) but soaring up over those clouds and watching the land fall away underneath takes my breath away every time. I'm the one with her nose pressed against the window, whispering prayers of amazement and gratitude and praise to our great Creator God.

Yikes, it's 10:22pm and we're leaving at 4am and I still have to make my feet flip-flop ready!

Y'all have a lovely day, OK?
May you see HIM in it all.
Megan

on our Lent-Easter garden

{Reposting this from the archives again because it's not too early to get a start on this! I can hardly believe it's almost March!!  I'm looking forward to gathering all the goodies for our little garden this year.}

Oh, what fun we had!

Back from the woods came the dirt-caked boys with an overflowing bowlful of moss sheets...along with the flattest, "just-right" stones. Squirrelly second-born made a cross of two sticks...whittled to fit together.

I had left the house the day before on a pilgrimage to find the "just-right" miniature plants for our garden. And Lucy and I traveled to a couple of stores to dig up the perfect-sized pot.

You see, last year when my eyes beheld their first such a garden...a garden like a visual parable....a garden to remind us of what He did...why He came...how it all happened...well, I just knew we visual-learners would have to make our own.

Daddy tried to help us carve a tomb out of the stone (but apparently, rock flown home from the Red Rock Canyon in Nevada is WAY TOO hard for his drill bit. That's OK...we can envision it. Thanks for trying, honey!)

On Palm Sunday, we'll plant some grass seed and wait for new life to sprout. We'll light candles on the path leading to the tomb. On Good Friday, we'll place the cross...remember His gift. We'll also make a tiny caterpillar and place it in the tomb. We'll wait and anticipate and then we'll rejoice at the sight of the butterfly Easter morning. 

He is alive!

May all your paths

lead to Him today!

{beautifully rooted} home sweet home

Yes, home sweet home.

So cliche. Yet, so true.

To know me is to know that I have a serious case of wanderlust....a deep desire to explore and take in the great big world God made. That said, at the end of the day, there truly is no place I'd rather be than home with my family and all the comfort that home is.  I'm wracking my brain to come up with words strong enough to express how very thankful I am that home is where I get to spend my days, serving Him here with these kids He's given me to raise for this fleeting time.

Yes, I know that everything "bird" is overused nowadays but I do have to say that our home really is like a nest.  (I am a "contented sparrow", after all. :)  A place where the family of birds is safe and dry and cared for, a sanctuary where they are nourished, if you will.

Because I'm geeky like that, I looked up the definitions of "sanctuary" and "nourish"....

sanc·tu·ar·y   /ˈsaNG(k)CHo͞oˌerē/

1. a place of refuge or safety

nour·ish   /nur-ish, nuhr-/ 

1. to supply with what is necessary for life, health, and growth

2. to cherish, foster, keep alive, etc.

3. to strengthen, build up, or promote

And I asked myself, am I doing that? Providing a safe refuge for my husband and children and anyone else who comes through our doors?  Am I supplying in this place all that's needed for growth, health and life...spiritually, physically, mentally & emotionally? Am I cherishing, strengthening, building it up?  What do I think that looks like in practical terms?

{To continue reading,

please do click on over

to Beautifully Rooted.....}

a tradition: freezing time

A birthday tradition.

Since the firstborn turned one.

Photos of them in Daddy's shirt.
The same shirt that waits patiently in the closet for it's one moment in the sun every year.

Capturing them and their growth and tucking the memory safely away so it can be visited again and again.

How big they were when they turned 2.....the last year with baby teeth....the year before their face thinned out....

"It's not that big this year, is it Mom? I'll fit into it soon," exclaims the hopeful, newly 10-year-old.

I choke and think, "Yes, yes you will."

If I was energetic, which I'm not, I'd go dig out the photos from his baby years, when we couldn't find him inside all that fabric.

Here he was 2 years ago....

.....and last year.

Shamefully, we missed Mr. Oliver's birthday photo op this year.  So, we captured 8-1/2 instead of 8. :)

They really do change SO quickly.  Sneakily, too....right before our eyes but we're so blind to see.  I just realized recently that, duh, the cute gap between his teeth is totally gone now.  Awww.

2 years ago....

And last year's.

Bouncy girl wanted in on the photoshoot action.

I think I'll start taking pics of her in my wedding dress every year.

The dress that's sealed in a coffin box under the basement stairs. Did you do that? After the wedding, have your dress all cleaned and boxed up airtight, a box with a creepy viewing window nonetheless? I know it's supposed to keep it from yellowing but c'mon. I want my girlie to be able to try on my dress! I used to love climbing into my Mom's dress with its lace and crinoline and twirling around. That's it. That seal WILL be broken soon!

new to them: skiing

(Sorry for the uninspired title. Not feeling the title creativity today.)

A couple weeks ago.

A homeschool field trip

with the group from church.

Their first time skiing.

Daddy took the day off to come.

Mommy took pictures.

He gave them a lesson.

They LOVED it!

They did so great!

The boys were flying by too fast to catch many photos of them.

Soon the bunny hill wasn't enough of a challenge for her.

"I want to go up the chair lift with you, Daddy."

Up,up they went and down, down they zoomed,

her safe in Daddy's grip.

They're begging to go back.

So happy we said, "Yes," to going.

So happy they were willing to try something new and potentially hard.
So happy they're brave.

So happy  they discovered a new way to make the long Michigan winter bearable fun.

So thankful....#1,260 - 1,270

blindingly white snow

winter quiet

new discoveries

child joy

unusually mild winter

snow that melts!

green grass

the hope of spring!

the hope found in Him alone

the warmth of His love

the wonder of Him

Enjoy this day He's given you!

Megan

P.S. 47 seconds for the grandparents!