Thursday, February 18, 2010

Snow pic!

This is the parking lot of my favorite grocery store. It puts it in perspective when you see my big 15 passenger van next to where they had to pile the snow.


Thursday, February 11, 2010

The snow is over.

I get a mixed feeling when the snow ends. It many ways it is great to get out of the house and back into the swing of things. However, at the same time it is so nice to watch that sweet blanket of newness fall, snuggle with my kids, read, watch a movie, eat lots of snacks and live in pjs.

Today was sunny and beautiful. Peter was on call for work but with the snow accumulation at the airport most flights were cancelled. He is back to work tomorrow.
This is how we spent today:





The kids had such fun sledding down the hill near my parents house. What precious memories they have been making this week. 2010, the year of the record snow storm!


Abi spent most of her time on the green sled. She has grown so much she looks like an adult coming down the hill. Also, no, that is my 9 year old.





It was amazing to see Daniel fly across the street. Every time he went down the hill on his red sled, he came flying, face first and taking each jump as if it were nothing!


I was hoping it would show up better, but the second mark that Peter pointed out (where Daniel said his face mark was) was actually a huge snowplow tire mark. :)

The marks that showed up after his red cheeks warmed up again.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The little brave snowboy.

This 6 year old boy brings in our fire wood. Today, in the big storm, he thought it was a good idea to just run out in his thin t-shirt to grab a few pieces. He went back and forth about 5 times. He was very brave. He was very strong. He was very cold. But that is the way he wanted to do it and being that he is the one with the most energy I decided it may not be such a bad idea to let the cold wear him out a bit. Good job John!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

This girl turned 12 today...

Happy Birthday Dear Ashley!!!
We love you so much.
xoxo, Daddy and Mom



Peter was able to be home today. We had a nice birthday breakfast for Ashley, she opened gifts, we relaxed a little, went to PF Changs for lunch, hit Target for her to spend a little birthday money and are now home where she is learning how to use her new camera from her grandparents while the snow is slowly beginning to fall. We are expecting 10-20 more inches of snow. This has been an amazing winter. For my now 12 year old, who prayed (when she was 7) every single night for a year for it to snow, this winter has been a sweet blessing. She said it is God's birthday present to her. I think I agree.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

You mean we can build snowmen taller than Daddy?!

To borrow a saying from my dear friend: I feel like a mole.
We have emerged from the house-cave into the sun and have enjoyed every moment of our day. Here are a few highlights...


Ashley, Isaiah and Abigail head out for an adventure.

We were able to walk to my parents where we visited with my Mom. She read to the boys for a while and they almost fell asleep. Please pray for her as she continues her battle with Lymes.

Dad walked us home and snow plowed our neighbors driveway. So nice.

This boy is usually moving too fast for my camera. He was doing a little dance in this shot but I caught his sweet face. He has a love-hate relationship with the snow. He looks happy enough here, but when his hands get cold he is a miserable boy. In this shot he was 10 minutes from my having to strip him out of his snow suit and wrap him in a warm blanket while I puffed hot air (no laughing here, okay?!) on his hands.

Everyone was pretty happy in this shot while they sat on their igloo. John is having a bit of trouble due to his boot coming off and his deciding it was a good idea to walk in his socks across the yard. I am giggling while I write that. By the way, Isaiah is 2 minutes from the whole blanket, hot air puffing thing in this picture.
What better thing for dinner than "Candy Bar in a Bowl?!" It's also known as oatmeal. Tonight we covered it with butter, sucanat and honey. Mmm, mmm, good.
No, they don't all use pacifiers, but they tried them out tonight. One of these is a real paci user (I am not telling which one) and the rest are test driving. This has to be one of the cutest shots of my boys. So sweet. They sat cuddled this way for Bible time this evening and then fell fast asleep after their big day.

Ashley is standing beside me as I write this. She will be twelve in two days. Where has the time gone? Am I old enough to have a pre-teen?! There is so much left to teach her... Happy almost Birthday Ashley. xo By the way, it's about time you started hearing a bit from her on this blog. That is part of my plan for the next year. Stay tuned!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Snow snow snow snow snow!

The snow has stopped falling and we have record amounts on the ground. I had to shovel my way in waist deep snow to get to our heat pump to make sure it was clear of snow drifts. Peter left on a trip before the snow began to fall. He was originally schedule to come home tomorrow night but his flight has been canceled. We hope to see him on Monday before the next storm comes. There is a chance for 6-8 inches of snow on Tuesday or Wednesday. Below are some photos from last night and this morning. Since then we have about 10 more inches on the ground. I shoveled the driveway last night but this morning doesn't prove it. The snow drifts are up to my door handle on my big van. The kids and I have spent the afternoon watching The Music Man. They love it and it just happens to be one of the movies on my list for school for next week. I can check that off the list. The picture below is of the girls standing in front of the shed. They didn't shovel it out, the drift just landed that way. Isn't that cool?!
Well, we have 20 minutes left of our movie. I think I will get everyone back together to finish it. Oh, here they come anyway! They are getting restless however if I let them go outside I may lose them in a drift. Just kidding, they will be headed that way in about 30 minutes now that the snow isn't blowing at 35 mph!








Friday, February 5, 2010

Texas in an RV

So we went to Texas for a little vacation...


Our rental RV broke down on our first day, on Saturday afternoon, when no one in town could help fix it. We limped it into a campground where we sat for 2.5 days until the rental company could have it towed. This is what we did during those 2.5 days at the little "Mom and Pop" campground. This may have been our best time together. Isn't that always how it goes?


Looked for tadpoles...

Climbed a tree...



Planned a wedding where Ashley's future husband climbs a tree to carry her down. The bride and all the bridesmaids will carry pine needles.

Took a nature walk...

Played in the water...heard gun shots as it was the last day of duck hunting season...talked, held hands, sang around the campfire and enjoyed simplicity. There is joy in no phone and no computer!

In the afternoon of the 3rd day the tow truck arrived to take us to a mechanic. We told the rental company that we needed a van to pick us up as there are 7 of us. They sent a 5 seater PT Cruiser. Umm. No. Once we were towed to the mechanic, this is where they had us wait. Yes, it was that dark and that small. We decided to brave the highway and walk the quarter mile to grab an expensive burger.


The highway wasn't as crowded on the walk back to the mechanic. When we arrived at the shop we were told that the RV was his now and that they were sending us a new one...in a few hours. Umm, where are we supposed to go? So, he was kind enough to let us stay. We started packing for the move. The new RV arrived 2 hours after the shop had closed. We moved in the dark and started the drive to meet up with family, only to discover that the RV the rental company brought to us was still winterized. I am grateful for a husband who can be peaceable on the phone as I am contemplating flying across the table to give them a piece of my mind about the five children in my care. Peter was firm...and learned how to de-winterize an RV. While we were driving we started to notice a gas smell. The refrigerator! He had to call them about that one too. They told us to turn off the gas, so we went without heat that night. It was only 40 degrees in the vehicle. And on and on and on...So much so that the guy taking the calls said he hadn't seen a log that long in a really long time. In spite of it all, we still had a great time and learned more than anyone could possibly want to know about RV...unless of course you are contemplating purchasing one, which of course we are...shocked?



This is the farm we liked. 30 acres and a nice sized house with a boys dorm on one side and a girls dorm on the other.

The Texas traveling crew on our last day together. We hope to see you soon as we miss you already!

Dinner at Risky's BBQ before heading to the Ft. Worth Stockyard Rodeo. This was our second time there. Yea, we really like it!

The kids like this form of travel. We had too many sodas and snacks all with the benefit of a table upon which toi serve them.

Our last day at Cooper Lake. We saw many hog and deer prints while we strolled through God's gorgeous creation. One evening at the campground we counted 12 deer. The children were thrilled. Peter wanted his gun...

But I was busy threatening the RV rental people with it.


The kids and I ended our last nature walk with a cap gun fight around the RV.

Our last evening was spent by the campfire, then playing our new Kids Sequence around the little RV table, smelling a strange burning smell coming from the RV, discovering the electrical panel had a problem with the battery negative, calling the company, driving two hours into town, cleaning out the RV and sleeping in a hotel. The rental company was sorry for the problems we encountered and wound up giving us many of our nights free and a coupon for our next rental. Yes, we will use it.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Birthday Boys!

These two shared another birthday yesterday!
Happy 3rd Birthday Isaiah!!!
Happy **th Birthday Peter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!