He Is Risen!

My Sweet Meredith Men!!!

Easter has come and gone and I'm still thinking about the pictures that I didn't get of my family, my perfect family portrait (because we all looked so perfect...). Ha! We all matched, somewhat, and I was going to capture my family at the precise moment when we were all looking at the camera and smiling. No, I wasn't expecting Hudson to completely cooperate, but I would've settled for him to not be screaming. Instead, Hayden was running from the camera, stopping for a split second to say, "cheese", with his face all scrunched up. You can make him sit down, but you really can't make him smile appropriately. I guess its a good thing that he hasn't learned to "fake it" like we as adults can do. I'm sure that there are several lessons that I can learn from this day.

1. Easter is not about pictures or outfits. I stress every year about what we will wear but in the end, the outfit has chocolate on it by lunch time. So much for pictures after lunch. Hudson was swimming in his outift because I wanted to make sure that he would wear it for more than just a day. I had some last minute sewing to do to make it wearable. But who cares besides me?

2. I let little things frustrate me that I shouldn't. I'm an adult and a mother. I teach Hayden to not get irritated or throw a fit, and yet I'm still irritated by the pictures that I didn't get. It's humbling to see how quickly sin can creep into the little things and become big issues in our lives.

3. Christ is risen. That should be at the forefront of my mind. Always. Everyday. Not just once a year when the season comes around when everyone starts looking for new outfits. I guess you can learn a lot from your children and how you do (or don't) interact with them and the things that you learn about your own sinful heart.

Here are a few pictures that I did get. You can see what I mean. I guess in God's sovereignty I didn't get anything to "boast about" or post for that matter, so I could learn a hard lesson for myself. Sanctification is a lifelong process.

My Sweet Hudson!


Our failed attempts of a family pic...Hudson was screaming.


Note Hayden in mid-"cheese", not a smile

A somewhat good pic with Mimi





We always have pics taken on the front row at church...it's tradition.

Hmmm...this was a lot deeper than I intended it to be when I started out to just post some Easter pics.

Cute...

A couple of weeks ago some friends sent us a picture of their daughter, Sophie. We had joked with Sophie's parents since before she was born that we had already arranged their marriage, since we wouldn't mind them to be Hayden's inlaws. :) Hayden hasn't seen Sophie since Thanksgiving. I put her picture on our "Fridge of Fame" and after his nap, he immediately found it. He asked, "Mommy, who's that?" I said, "It's our friend, Sophie". He replied, "Mom, cute!" "Excuse me?", I replied. He slowly and clearly stated, "Cute", for me to plainly hear again. I rolled my eyes and made him go tell his dad what he thought of his friend Sophie. Wow...I thought that two was a little early to notice a cute girl, but I guess its not.

Hot, Hot, ______

Hayden has a Kindermusik CD that he loves to listen to in the car. Today, he was riding in the car with Josh, but didn't have his CD. That didn't matter...he was going to sing anyway. One of his favorite songs to sing is "Hot, Hot, ____" to the tune of "Hot Cross Buns". He likes to add his own items in there, such as pizza, chicken, fries, etc. Well, today, as he got to the place to insert his item, he stopped (since he was singing on his own without music), said "Let me think", with a finger on his chin in a thinking "pose", and proudly sang, "Hot, Hot Mama. Hot, Hot Mama. One a penny, Two a penny, Hot, Hot Mama". I must say I was a little proud when I heard his new song too. Thanks for making Mommy's day!