Why do I let them paint in my house?

Seriously?

It always turns into an ulcer-inducing event for me.

I am so anal, that I only let them use one color paint at a time. NO MIXING! That is why I bought 20 different colors in the first place. If you don't see a color you want, pick another color.

And then there is the washing of the brushes. Half-assed washing and then dipping into the paint without dabbing on the paper towel is not allowed. Ick, then your paint gets gross and milky...it all looks like mud.

Oh, and somehow Josie managed to drop her paintbrush on the floor and it rolled end over end like a NASCAR crash until it landed bristles down on my carpet. Now I have another clean area with an orange dot in the middle. Right after that, she dumped the jar of blue paint on the floor and it splattered all up the window and my leg leaving me with blue paint on my jeans. At least they are my junky jeans. Thank goodness for small favors.

Ah, well, they had fun in spite of my high-strung parenting.

Our Snowboard Vacation - Part 2

It's been so long since part 1, I'm not sure where to start. So we'll go back to how cold it was. Fortunately, Saturday was not nearly as frigid as Friday. It was, dare I type this...bearable. Of course, I was not really interested in getting back out on a snowboard. Ever. I was frustrated, sore, and felt like I was slowing Shaun White...er, Jason down. So I sent he and Jonah out and had some down time with the little kids. Jonah did well, but still had some issues with stopping. And maybe a few with standing. It seems that she spent more time eating snow and making snow angels than skiing.


Jason did enjoy throwing a snowball or two himself.

Being the wonderful husband he is, Jason talked me into getting back out there, so I did. Ouch! I was feelin' my age. Actually, I was feelin' my grandmother's age. But I persevered. OK, I quit after one trip down the mountain. I managed to get myself onto the lift and more importantly, back off the lift and drag my mangled self to the room. After a nice warm lunch and some rest, I was ready to take up space on the warm couch and watch movies with the kids.

Jason and his brother Jordan went out that night and did some night skiing (no thank you!) and I got to spend time with my cutie pies watching...you guessed it...more movies.

Sunday was by far the most awesome day. Saturday night we got 4 inches of snow and the snow continued on throughout the day. I have finally seen "powder" East Coast style. Looking down from our window, the snow was so white!! It really hurt your eyes at first.



The snow was soft and had much more cushion than the previous two days. I was finally starting to get the hang of snowboarding again, and some of the soreness from day 1 was wearing off.

And then...cockiness. Yeah. A byproduct of getting the hang of it is pain. Pain brought about by humiliating falls trying to perform the simplest of moves: turning quickly.

People are very nice when you are laying flat on your back with your head facing downhill. They try very hard not to ski over you and you even get the occasional "are you okay?" I found that a thumbs up was sufficient to get them back on their way, though. Now I understand why so many snowboarders were wearing headgear. I'll remember that for next time. Snicker. Next time...

Now, the amount of snow we got Saturday night was great. But the amount they were calling for Sunday night was just plain scary. Another 8 inches. The van was covered enough for my liking Sunday.

So we made the decision to escape Sunday afternoon and try to get off the mountain before we were snowed in. Good choice, because Snowshoe got another 9 inches Sunday night. We left after lunch and the roads were just wild!


Here is my view from the side mirror (notice the snow on the side of the van)


And at one point, Jonny and Barbara's vehicle completely disappeared when the wind blew snow across the road. Yes, there is a car in front of us in this picture. Being silver, it completely disappeared.


We drove on through the night and arrived home at about 3 am Monday morning completely exhausted, but so happy to have such a great trip together.

"Hey, kids! Who had fun?!"


Ah, well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad.

God, can you hear me up there?

That's what I keep hearing Jorja say (and Josie repeat) across the baby monitor right now. Wow, have I been in her shoes. Guess I need to go let her know that He does...

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

Psalm 33

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.