It snowed again! Yes, it did! And, while some of you wished it away...I was super excited. You see, I have not yet been able to play in the snow! I mean, it's snowed nearly once a week since Christmas and I keep missing it! Either I was sick...or at home when it snowed in Corinth...or in Corinth when it snowed at home. But, this time...I PLAYED! We pulled out the old sleds actually. My sister, brother, and I each have a Flexible Flyer sled that we've had since we were young. Doesn't everybody? So, we pulled them out!

To be honest, our night began with a simple supper during the fierce snow and cold temperatures. We drove around and called around until we finally found a restaurant that was brave enough to stay open during such conditions. On our way home, Daddy realized he had a sled in the back of his car. So he immediately stopped the car in Creekwood and tried to sled. After Teri and I pushed and pushed and grunted and grunted, we figured out the sled was bent underneath! Ha! Once we got that worked out, Daddy went sledding down the big hill. Teri and I couldn't stand it! We wanted to try it too! So, we stopped by the house to pick up the other sleds and headed back over to the hill.

Me, Teri, and Daddy

As usual, when this group gets together there are never any words to do justice as to how much fun and LAUGHS we had! It didn't take too long for this semi-slick hill to turn into pure ice! There were a few injuries, but nothing major! Fun far outweighed any pain! Now, I might also mention that we were all dressed to go out to eat! I didn't even bring a sweatshirt with me. I had on clogs with cutesie socks and Mama had on patten leather shoes! Hilarious! We didn't care! It's a snow day! I got the call that school was canceled, so we had reason to stay out LATE!

Daddy pushing me down the hill

Wheeeeee!

Me, Teri, and Daddy

At this point, Joe and Mama decided to sit in the car during this "little sledding stop." I think they soon figured out this was no "little stop." We were here for a while! Joe eventually decided he needed to give it a try! It was kinda like Pringles...Once you started, you just couldn't stop!

Joe and Teri

Then, I saw it! What's that? Why, it was my dear mother sporting the patten leather shoes! She decided it was worth the cold after all. And, there she was. Unable to stop. So, we turned the car off and kept going!

Go Mama! Pick your feet up! Ha!

One of the many great things about this adventure was the walk back UP the hill after we flew down the hill around the corner and down the next street! It was a fantastic way to work off our Mi Toro!

The crew walking up the hill (before Teri fell!)

...and down again!
Joe, Mama, me, and Teri

As you know, I had my camera out ready for any photo opportunity when I saw the cutest little red bench in the midst of snow! How cute! So, I made everyone stop for a photo op. I think they turned out quite cute. Christmas card quality!

Mama, me, Teri, and Joe

Daddy, Mama, Teri, and Joe

I'm not sure if it was all the screaming we did while flying down the icy hill or the fact that I put our activity on Facebook, but soon there were many friends and families who came out to join us. I know I didn't get pictures of everyone, but we had so much fun!

Daddy guiding Jude down on the the plastic sled

Daddy, Randy, and Hanna

Jake and Jude

Jennifer decided she trusted me to take her down the hill on my back!

So, I did! So much fun...even after the injury! Oops!

If you notice, I have on a HUGE pair of snowboots in that last picture. Well, remember how I was wearing clogs and cutesie designer socks? Well, after the first crash over the curb and into a beautiful yard, my socks were soaked! I'm pretty sure they turned to ice. Daddy had an extra pair of boots in his car. So there's the explanation.

After about three hours of sledding down the pure ice by the end of the night, we decided the only thing to do was take a midnight trip to Huddle House! Yep! That's right! And, I even wore those big ole boots!

My order? A nice hot cup of Huddle House hot chocolate! Ahhhhh, what a night! Grace gifts! How did you enjoy your snow day?

Winter Slump?

It's January. It comes every year. We know it's coming. It comes after the hoopla of Christmas. It comes just before Spring. And we know this. We go all November and December asking for snow. Then, snow comes. And, this year, it kept coming! In fact, it may be coming again! Yes, it might! We asked for it. We've asked for it for a long time. And it's here. So what will you do about these cold temperatures and this white stuff? My vote? Enjoy it! While browsing Facebook today, I couldn't help but notice all the "I hate cold!" and "Augh! Snow again?!" statuses. I completely understand the inconvenience and chill bumps. At school this week, our integrity word is "Optimism." I think we all could use a little practice. It can be difficult sometimes.

You should know that thanks to the Christian guidance of a good friend (and sister-in-law) I have become acutely aware of too much complaining. And, to be honest, chronic Facebook complaining bothers me a bit. No offense. Everyone has their quirks, and that's mine. I've worked hard in the last year or so to watch what I put out there...which leads to me watching my attitude toward circumstances. I continue to catch myself feeling overly stressed or aggrivated or tired. But, I can choose how I react. And, I can certainly choose how I react publicly. I can also slip up from time to time. Which makes me a bit nervous posting this because I'm afraid I might be called out for any non-optimistic comment I make. But, that's okay. Accountability, right? Ha! So, I thought I'd give myself and others a little pep talk.

So, in hopes of encouraging all those in the "winter slump," I've researched all the positive things about this time of year. After all, there are SO many more reasons to be thankful! God has given us so much! So, here we go...

1. We get to wear all of our cute boots, scarves, sweaters, tights, and great coats! And all that winter clothing covers and disguises fat rolls (for the most part). That's what I'm talking about!

2. We have a great excuse to curl up in a blanket, drink hot chocolate, and watch a movie! Some even get to sit by a great fire in the fireplace! Love it!

3. You don't have to mow or rake the yard! And, when it snows, you don't even see your yard at all!

4. No pesky bugs like mosquitos, bees, wasps! No pollen either.

5. Sales! Everything is on sale. Like...90% off in some places!

6. Soups! I love a good soup in the crock pot during cold weather.

7. No need to rush to get groceries out of the car. It serves as a refrigerator!

8. You can have a dirty car. Everyone will understand because it's too cold to wash it.

9. All the dog poo in the yard freezes, which makes it easier to scoop. If you don't scoop...it's frozen so it won't stick to your shoes.

10. Doctors claim that cold weather boosts your metabolism in your body's effort to stay warm. So people tend to lose more weight in the winter. Interesting fact! That probably only works if you don't eat extra like I do during the winter. But, just think what we would look like if we ate this much without our boosted metabolism! Ha!

There you go! A few reasons to enjoy these last several weeks of cold weather. I'm sure there are more. Can you think of more? Feel free to leave them in the comments. Enjoy your winter night! I'm gone to play Bunco!

Guess What!

It's snowing...again! Yay! Isn't it so fun to watch all the ways God chooses to decorate our world?

What a wildly wonderful world, GOD! You made it all, with wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations. - Psalm 104:24 (The Message)

Snow Day 2011

So....unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past week, there was a major winter blast that came through last weekend. What that meant for us...SNOW! And COLD! For those of you who don't understand the rarity, we hardly EVER get snow! But, this snow was marvelous! Fluffy! White! Perfect! Exciting! Freezing! And it came in huge amounts!

Me and Farley

I was beside myself with excitement and INSISTED that Russ and I take Farley on a walk to get the mail. He hesitantly obliged, and off we went! The snow had just begun, and I was in love! Farley loved it too! I put my snow gear on top of my pajamas, and we headed out with a camera of course.

Russ and Farley

You can see how much it snowed between the time we left the apartment and the time we got back. Just look at the ground and compare! We snuggled back into our cozy apartment for a while peeking out the window every once in a while and giggling with excitement. We decided we needed to take Farley out just one more time, and this is what we saw...

Russ braving blizzard conditions....ha!

Yay! It was a winter wonderland! Russ was freezing and in a hurry. But, I just had to take a minute to build a mini snowman before we went back in! I could NOT miss this!

My mini snowman

When we brought Farley in, he was shivering from the cold and had chunks of ice hanging in his fur. Bless his little spoiled heart! He was not meant for the outdoors! Ha!

Brrrrr!

He was in desperate need of some snuggle time to warm up. But Russ and I were much too excited to go to sleep. So, we stayed up watching the news, peeking out the window, and talking about how pretty the snow was.

Snuggle time!

It's still snowing!

The next morning, I jumped out of bed when Russ got up for work. Unfortunately, hospitals don't close for inclement weather. And I couldn't wait to see what it looked like outside! We had about 5 inches of snow covering the ground!

Dr. Russ

Oh, how I wish he could stay home and play!

Bye bye!

Instead, Farley and I spent the morning looking out the window as all the children ran around building snowmen and throwing snowballs. I felt a little goofy going out there alone and building a snowman. But, Russ promised to build one with me when he got home from work. So we waited by the window...

Unfortunately, that night I came down with an awful stomach virus and didn't get to build my snowman. I was sad, but really didn't care at the time due to the hugging the toilet part. Yuck! I did make a trip to Corinth for work later last week, and I enjoyed some of their 8-10 inches of snow! Did you hear that!? It was insane! There were snowmen in almost every yard bigger than me! In fact, the snow really didn't melt much at all until Friday. Craziness! I've not seen that much snow since the 80's!

We had a ball! Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!