Let it Snow~!~!

WOW! What an amazing winter! With this storm, we got at least 12 inches. Some spots in our yard measured 9 & others 14, so I'd say 12 is a fair average. Yesterday Danny took the girls while it was snowing, but they didn't last long. The temperature was in the single digits & there really wasn't much you could do with the snow blowing in your eyes.

Today, however, we woke up to a brilliant white light shining through our windows which meant...a day in the snow!

Danny & I spent most of the morning shoveling our LONG driveway. When we first looked at the house, one of my first comments was, "Boy that would be a fun driveway to shovel!" At least we got our exercise today :0)!
Later, we all went to a big hill nearby to sled. Danny had the idea of piling all three girls on top of my back while I lay tummy first on a sled. Can you believe I said okay??? It was the most painful sledding run I've ever taken & I was just waiting for a big mouthful of snow. Thankfully, that didn't happen because I instinctively put my hand out to catch anything in my way. I'm sure the girls will ask if they can do that again tomorrow :0).

Anabelle's Famous American Wax Museum

Today at school, the second grade had their Famous American Wax Museum. Anabelle has been looking forward to this since she saw the second graders last year! When she got the assignment she made a long list of all of the famous Americans she could be (they were all girls of course). After much thought, she narrowed it down to Pocahontas & Clara Barton. When I told her Nanna had a dress from the Civil War period she could wear if she chose Clara Barton, she was sold! I think it was always very important to her to choose someone who had a good outfit :0). I was very pleased with her choice because I think there's so much to learn from Clara Barton. She was a teacher and helped build schools for children who couldn't afford to go, she worked at the Patent Office, she was a Civil War nurse who actually helped soldiers on the battlefields, and later started the American Red Cross. That's a lot of accomplishments for one lifetime.

Here's Anabelle!

Lovin' Her Monkeys

Sadie's special cuddle toy has always been "Mr. Monkey" who has recently changed to "Miss Monkey"...don't ask how :0). The other night I went into her room to tuck her in and found her sleeping like this~

How many monkeys do you see?

Shootin' Some B-Ball!

Anabelle & Elise having been playing basketball since Christmas time and they're loving it! They have been playing through Upward which is the same Christian organization they play soccer with. I'm amazed at how much they've learned. The referees blew their whistles a lot during the first few games, but the girls are now getting the hang of it! It gives me goose bumps to watch them beam after they make a basket!
Here are the Lady Blazers being announced and a few clips of them on the court. The second clip has Elise with an orange jersey & white sleeves & the third has Anabelle in an orange jersey w/ white sleeves. Notice Anabelle's fancy footwork :0).

Appreciating our health!

Well, most of you know Danny was in the hospital for 5 days with two lung abscesses & pneumonia. Thankfully, he's feeling better, but is still battling exhaustion and has 8 more weeks of strong antibiotics. Poor guy! The girls & I are thrilled he's back home with us!

Pleasure of Work

I have always struggled with finding the joy in everyday chores. I have a feeling I'm not the only one :0). I remember a few years back, our pastor Tom Berlin from Northern Virginia spoke about the importance of lifting up our daily chores to God. He reminded us that we are serving Him even with the most trivial job like cleaning a toilet! I think of that often while I'm folding my 4th load of laundry, clearing off the table with clutter for the 10th time that day, or sweeping the floor after I just did it two hours earlier! Right now I'm reading The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and there was a sentence in there that I thought was beautiful and so relevant to me as a mom.

"She held the fullness of every day in her hands, numbering the sweetness of children, the pleasure of work."

Christmas Morning!

I had to post some pictures from Christmas morning! Here are the girls after they got their new bikes from Mommy & Daddy. The second picture is of them with their oatmeal & honey masks that Anabelle got in her new spa kit. Sadie didn't move an inch for at least 15 minutes :0)!

I was so excited to capture Elise's excitement when she opened her new guitar!

You know how much Sadie loves her monkeys!!!

Christmas, A Trip to Wintergreen, & New Years!!

Okay...so here is our family Christmas picture. One nice & one crazy one. Yes, I'm giving Danny a karate chop :0).

Wow! What a busy few weeks! We had lots of family visits, lots of food, & lots of presents! I actually just got off the treadmill trying to burn off some of the cheese dips & fudge :0).

After Christmas, we took a trip to Wintergreen to go tubing & a little skiing. The girls LOVED tubing & we have a feeling no other sledding trip for the girls will ever compare. Danny was able to do some night skiing which was nice & the older girls got their first ski lesson. I personally enjoyed a break from cooking & cleaning! I also loved experiencing the thrill of tubing with my family & being in the gorgeous snow covered mountains. I can see myself living out there one day and becoming a true mountain mama...HA!

Here's video of Sadie riding down the tubing hill with me. Sorry for all of the screaming...that was me. They say you can go between 30-40 mph! Notice how relaxed she is and the song she sings at the end of the ride :0).

After our trip, my brothers & their families came over for New Years! I wished I could have teleported my sister over, too :0).

I saw this New Year's quote & thought I'd share it.

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential. ~Ellen Goodman

Happy New Year Everyone!