Snowglobe!

This morning I woke up, went to let the dogs out, and saw this ...

It's like waking up inside a SNOWGLOBE!

I LOVE how the snow is clinging to the trees, every branch is totally covered. I drove my daughter to her basketball game and every tree on every road was totally covered in snow, I LOVE that!

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? ~J.B. Priestley

In the car today my daughter said 'Isn't it amazing that God made every single snowflake unique? I mean, just look at how many there are. If I were God I would have run out of designs a long time ago - but He didn't. He created more unique designs than we could ever imagine!'

A snowflake is one of God's most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together! ~Author Unknown

Ski Trip

We took a short trip up north this past weekend and had a great time going skiing. Skiing is one of Bob's passions in life and he is thrilled any time he gets to go. I kind of like it ... I could probably take it or leave it but since he loves it so much I try my best to love it too. I do have fun when we go, but I'm only able to get a few runs in before I get too tired and sore ... must be getting old!

Anyway, we enrolled the girls in ski school ... H has been twice already and we knew she would love it. She was so excited to go. J had never been, and doesn't do so well with new situations (especially when we aren't there!) so we had no idea how she we do.

We dropped them off and signed all the forms and they both went in with no trouble. I checked back on them about a 1/2 later and they both we still all smiles and enjoying watching a movie while they waited for all the kids to show up and get ready to head out to the slopes.

Bob and I were out skiing and decided to take a quick coffee break at the lodge. It was a nice day so we stepped out on the deck to see if we could see the girls ... you could see the hill they were on about a 1/2 mile away and we could see their little pink jackets. Bob suggested we ski down there to get a closer look at how they were doing ... then we heard it. Screaming. Screaming and crying. At the top of her lungs. We knew right away it was J. We could see her sitting on the ground with her instructor and we could distinctively hear her crying "MAMA!!!!"

So we skied down there as quick as we could and actually had to walk back uphill to get to her. She was so upset she wouldn't even tell us what was wrong for about 10 minutes! The instructor said everything was fine and that she just started crying out of the blue. So I spent the rest of the day with her, and she finally told me that she missed us and that going down the hill was scary. I felt so bad. I told Bob that there's no reason to push her to like skiing and that we'd better wait till she's older to try again (old enough to want to do it).

Anyway, overall we had a fun trip and H had a blast. After her class she did a few runs with Daddy which she loved! Here are some pictures ... I have no pictures of J on skis because taking her picture when she was that upset just seemed cruel!


On the lift with Daddy.

Christmas pictures...

So I have to say, this Christmas was definitely the most special one we've had yet. It always seems like we put all this hard work and effort into planning a big holiday and it either becomes so stressful that it's not much fun ... or, someone gets really sick and all the plans must be re-arranged.

This year we were fortunate, and the sickness waited until exactly the day AFTER Christmas to start ... and I didn't allow myself to get all stressed out about little things so that I was truly able to enjoy every moment of the season.

I recently heard a few people say that Christmas is not their favorite holiday. They prefer Thanksgiving because it's just food and family - very simple. I, on the other hand, love everything about Christmas. I love that it's not just for one day, but for an entire month! I love listening to the carols for weeks, I love getting lots of cards in the mail, I love going to Christmas parties with friends, I love decorating the whole house and enjoying all the pretty lights, I love planning and shopping and wrapping things for the special people in my life, I love sitting at home on a snowy night to watch Christmas movies and eat popcorn, I love the foods of Christmas like fruitcake and egg nog and Christmas cookies, oh and yes I do love baking cookies too! There are so many things to love about this holiday!

A few years ago when H was about 3 yrs old, she saw me packing everything away into boxes after the Christmas season and said 'I'm gonna miss Christmas!' ... well, as much as I love Christmas, I'm usually ready by January first to start putting things away for another year. I'm ready to stop eating all those yummy fattening foods, to get back into a normal routine, and start a new fresh year!

So what was so special about this year?

• Well, first we got to enjoy several warm, cozy nights at home as a family. We played games and watched movies and enjoyed the falling snow outside.

• Second, we had a snowy December! That always puts me in the holiday spirit! We had a couple of fun days sledding and playing in the snow too.

• Third, we enjoyed a couple great Christmas parties at friend's homes. Great friends, great food, great fellowship!

• Fourth, we got to enjoy all our favorite traditions, without anyone getting sick! Yippee!

• Fifth, the girls were really into the spirit of things this year, their excitement was contagious!

• Sixth, H accepting Jesus as her personal Savior on Christmas Eve -- the best gift any parent could ask for!

• And finally, our families. They are all so special to us. We had my Mom, Bob's parents and Aaron & Glenna all spend the night on Christmas Eve and it was so much fun to all wake up together on Christmas morning.
  

Here are a bunch of pictures to enjoy ...

My Mom and J

My Mom and H

The girls loved their new vests and hats

J checking out some new toys while Casey supervises.

Glenna and Bette, all tuckered out from all the excitement.Flower centerpiece from the shop where I work.

Ready for Christmas dinner

YUM Daddy! You're a great cook!

With Bob's parents.

With my Mom.

Aaron and Glenna

Mom and I

Bob and I

My family.

With Grandma S.

LOTS and LOTS of cards!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ...

everywhere you go!!!

Yesterday was an A+ day. The kind of day that makes it really 'feel' like Christmas is on it's way. We got a big snowstorm!! I know some people dread these types of storms, but not me. If it's going to be cold for the next several months, it might as well SNOW!

We started doing our school work in the morning but by 10:30am the snow was coming down in droves. The girls kept begging to go out and could hardly focus on schoolwork. It was a great motivator to keep them working and get their stuff done!

We waited till after lunch when the snow had started to pile up to head outside. We sledded down our hill, the girls made snow angels, we went on a snowy hike through the woods behind our house with Bob and just had a blast.

Here is our house as the snow is coming down.

H angel ...
J angel ...

Rosy cheeks ...
More rosy cheeks ...

Sledding - I think pretty soon we'll need a bigger sled!
Hiking in the snow with Daddy ...

I'm just a big kid at heart - I was jumping on the sled and flying down the hill too!
Yesterday's snow was much too light and fluffy for making snowmen ... so H went out there today and found that the snow was much more sticky ... so she made a family of snow people! I know she doesn't have a hat on --- I wasn't home, she was with Daddy ... so blame him! :)


After coming in from the snow we had a yummy cup of hot cocoa, then pulled out this ornament making kit that I'd bought. The girls had a great time making lots of ornaments ... here is the sled ...
And a whole bunch of trees, sleds and snowflakes ...
A little later we made a batch of sugar cookies. The girls have more fun playing with the dough than actually making cookies. I learned that if I give them each a small chunk of dough to work with they will stay busy for hours! We cut them out into trees, stars and gingerbread men and we'll decorate them on Saturday. YUMMY!

Finally, one of the best parts of our A + day, was that Bob got to stay home! He's not usually home with us on weeknights so it was such a treat - and he even cooked a delicious lasagna for us for dinner. It was awesome.

Now you know why I said it was an A + day, don't you??!!