Puzzles

I have decided to keep a puzzle out on the puzzle table throughout the winter.  Son C and Little Man, in particular, really enjoy working on puzzles, and it's fun to see them take shape.  Here is our latest one.   Little Man did most of the quilt portion in front by himself!  I did most of the border, and son C did most of the house.  Isn't it pretty?!

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

Why yes, that IS frost that has formed on the face of our fireplace doors!  And that is WITH our heat on.  So thankful for a wonderful working furnace!

Reposted from February, 2011 (because I need to be reminded!)

Reposted from February, 2011 (because I need to be reminded!)

What's in a Valentine?

Do you know the origin of Valentines Day? Contrary to the complaints of some, it is not a holiday created by Hallmark just so they could make more money selling cards. For hundreds of years Valentines Day has been celebrated as a feast day in the Catholic Church. I am not catholic, and certainly do not claim to be an expert, but I do know that St. Valentine was a real person who was martyred for his faith. There were several "Valentines", but the one commonly referred to was a Roman priest who was executed by Claudius II around the year 270 A.D. Claudius was at that time persecuting christians, and Valentine provided assistance to them. Claudius considered this a crime and ordered his execution. He is said to have penned the jailer's daughter a farewell before his death, signing it "from your Valentine."


So, what should Valentine's Day stand for? Doing the honorable thing, the right thing, even when it's unpopular. Serving God wholeheartedly. Trusting Him in the face of death. Loving others from a pure heart.


The modern American trappings of Valentine's Day bear little resemblance to the devotion and sacrifice that started this holiday. We've made it into something else.


But it's good to remember the beginning.


Is my heart set on following God no matter what? Trusting him when life falls apart? Praising Him in the midst of trial and storm?



If it is, then my life is a valentine. A love letter to God. One that He delights in.



We love because He first loved us. ~ I John 4:19

Ice Festival!

Sea serpent

Olaf!

 It was c-c-c-c-cold but f-f-f-f-f-f-fun!!

Wordless Wednesday

Snow Fun!

Here are some pictures from two different sledding days we had recently.  We currently have no snow, but during the Christmas break we had LOTS of it, which was very fun! 

Son C trying out his new snowboard for the first time.  He got pretty good at it, pretty fast!

Second daughter H had never ever been sledding before.  She had a blast!

And just to prove that I was actually there too......

Son L coming down, and son G running to intercept him.  There were several attempted collisions between a sledder and a non-sledder, fortunately none succeeded.

 Little Man coming down.

 TX cousin K in the middle.  It was her first time sledding too!

Here are all 6 children coming down the hill at the same time.

Son C after he had mastered the snowboard.  He was so excited about this!

Son L catching air.

Not only was I *there*, I actually went SLEDDING too!  Here is a pic of my back as I was just starting down.  It has been decades since I have sledded, and I tell you what..... I have been missing out!  I could hardly believe how much fun it was.  Seriously.  Looking forward to next time!

December First Tradition

December first arrived, time to use our candy ribbons!!


The children take off one hershey kiss each night as a way to countdown to Christmas. This is something me and my sisters did when we were growing up, so my kids are second generation candy ribboners!


A literal hershey kiss!


Yay for December!

Snow Day!

Well, the promised storm DID arrive. The snow blew in just about the time it got dark last evening, and lasted through the night. For much of the night it was blowing sideways, and it was hard to tell this morning exactly how many inches we had gotten.


We took the day off school, like our public school counterparts. It took us several hours to dig out the driveway, working in shifts. We played in between. :-)




Parts of our yard had very little snow, and other parts had huge drifts. The pictures really don't do it justice!



The depth beside the whole length of our front sidewalk was a pretty consistent 10-11 inches.


Front of driveway, before shoveling. Notice the car tires? Almost completely visible! Yet off to the left was a huge drift up against our garage door.


After shoveling.


Sidewalk up to our porch, before shoveling. You can barely tell anything is supposed to be there.


And after shoveling.


It was a bitter storm, but sure looked beautiful today! We all enjoyed it immensely, and then came inside and enjoyed our nice warm house immensely too!

Winter Fun

Is there anything better than curling up with a good book and a warm blanket on a cold day?



First snow child of the season ~ when we had only about an inch of snow!


Second snow child of the season.




Puppy chow and hot chocolate!

Dare I?

Put the winter boots away?

Or do you think it will snow

the

very

next

day

if I do??

Snow Day!