Easter Egg Drop!

"The approaching helicopter held the bunny who then dumped the eggs onto the field below."

Well, here are photos from Anna's first easter egg hunt. We went to the Shawnee Egg Drop which was held at a church right up the street from where we live. I must admit, it was a lot of fun sharing in the moment with Anna. She is such an amazing girl and I have been overwhelmed recently by the joy in my heart that comes from being able to share in her adventure into adulthood. She is growing into such a wonderful person right in front of me and God has given me the ability to stop and behold her. It really is amazing. This easter was really fun. We, as a family, have never really participated in all of the easter festivities in the past because of the church's attempts to "sanctify" the holiday by making it about Christ's resurrection and yet hosting easter egg hunts and people dressed up as bunny's at the same time. I have finally come to the decision to just enjoy the holiday for what it is... an easter egg extravaganza, filled with chocolate crosses and jelly beans. I will seek to teach Anna and Micaiah about the magnitude of God's love for them revealed through the death and resurrection of Jesus apart from having to explain to them why men are dressed up in bunny costumes.

Boys will be boys

Micaiah absolutely loves being outside. Today the temperature was only in the 40's and yet he would have been content to stay out on our patio all afternoon. Maybe its the sense of adventure that he enjoys so much. Or maybe its just being outside. Either way it is a lot of fun watching him. He becomes so outgoing and lively when we allow him to freely play out there. We also finally got a picture of him doing "the monkey" as we call it (the last picture). While trying to get him to walk he will sometimes cheat and do "the monkey" as if trying to fool us. It is one of the cutest things he has done thus far.

Fatherhood

Recently I was reminded of the importance of the father's role in developing their children's identities. In conversation with a co-worker the other day he shared with me an excerpt from a book that he has been reading which states that children receive their identities through their fathers while they receive nurturing and compassion from their mothers. I guess I could say that I have known this for some time down in the recesses of my heart but I have not been relating to my children accordingly. The book states that daughters want to know that their beautiful and that they look to their fathers for that affirmation. It also states that sons want to know who they are and that they "learn" that primarily from their fathers as well. Having come from a fatherless home I can personally attest to this truth. I spent most of my adolescent years doing everything I could to find my "place", to find out who I was. That pursuit has had some very regrettable consequences but in the end I can't say that I would do anything differently. Nevertheless, I don't want my children to have to go through the same journey of trial and error if they don't have to. I have now determined to remind Anna each and every day through my words and actions that she is beautiful, both inside and out, to show her that she is lovely and desirable and to give to her an example of how the men in her future are to treat her. I have also determined to live in the conscious reality that Micaiah is constantly watching me to figure out for himself what it means to be a man, to be a son, a husband and ultimately a father. I must admit that the sobriety of this responsibility is great, yet the joy of it is far greater.

Photo shoot gone bad!

Amber had this awesome idea of getting Anna to pose in front of these really cool fountains the other week. We had just decided to rent a 16mm-35mm wide angle lens that day so I was sure the photo was going to look really cool. She had snapped a few off but then realized there was some guy in the background so she waited a little while for him to move on and then set up for one more. At that moment a gust of wind came though the courtyard we were in and produced the above image. Amber and Anna were soaked but poor Anna got the worst of it. I think the temperatures were only in the 30's that day. Thankfully I had taken Micaiah to the other side of the courtyard to look at something so we were able to remain dry :) I didn't realize how wet Anna had gotten until after she started whimpering and complaining that her hands were cold.