I lift my eyes up to the hills.... where does my help come from?

... My help comes from the Lord, the maker of the universe....

You can just FEEL the truth of this verse when you're up in the mountains...

*****

Yeah, we finally did it! We went skiing yesterday ~ and it was so fun. Well, for the most part...

We did not get to the ski area until after 11am, and then it was the rental mayhem that took quite some time,  so we did not get out into the snow until noon.

That's when it got tough. 

Nico and Anya had skied or snowboarded once before (Nico twice), so they were adamant about going on the lift right away, which was just not gonna work.... as we had three hot, cranky, fit-throwing and in-the-snow laying 4, 5, and 7 year olds (there are no pictures of that part of the day :-) )

Mike was about ready to head back home at that time :-)

We looked at each other, and said: Where is Big'e Anja when we REALLY NEED HER?????

Thank goodness we had decided at the last minute, to sign up the three older ones for lessons, otherwise I believe the afternoon would have turned ugly quickly.... but the lessons were definitely the best investment we made!

Once Anya, Nico, and Alex went to their lessons, we could focus on Elia and Nina. We pulled them up on a little hill, and they both caught on very quickly. Nina was quite a natural, doing the snowplow and figuring out the edges. Elia just wanted to go FAST, caring less about the technical details. But both of them ended up skiing by themselves after a while, which we were very impressed with. By the time they were tired, the lessons were over, and I had a chance to ski with Anya and Nico for a while. Well, Nico snowboarded, and he likes that much better, and he is learning! Anya did very well for only having skiied  twice, and I ended up taking her up on the bigger hill, and she did great!

Alex was all smiles after his lesson was over, too. Although he doesn't have the leg strength to do the snowplow, he did great once we put the little tip-connector thingies on his skies that we were had borrowed from our neighbors (as well as Nina's skies, and my skies! - Thanks, Pat and Jean!).

Anya and I were the last ones coming down from the mountain, and we were tired. 

And sore today!

What a great way to spend the day outside, up in the beautiful creation of our God, enjoying the snow, the sun, the wind. 

And today piles of laundry are waiting, and that's okay too!

Another benefit.... we already know what to get the kids for Christmas!! Yeah!

We also had the privilege of meeting another adoptive family, who adopted their daughter from Korea, and are now in the process of adopting a Waiting Child from China. It's so fun how there is an instant connection to other adoptive families! 

Here are some pictures of the gang!

Elia cruising down the hill

Nina and her Mama-lift

Getting ready to go down

Nico, the happy snowboarder (not having enough room under  his helmet for all that hair! )

I have flashbacks when I look at this picture! I had a green snowsuit when I was in 1st or 2nd grade, and I have pictures of me in the same snowplow pose than Anya! So funny!

Alex and his ski instructor