Snow Days

It's been a nice, long weekend around here. It all started Thursday with snow, snow, snow. It was a cold and blustery day and by noon the snow was falling and sticking to the ground. Abby got out of school early so our long weekend began early! It's Sunday evening and I just saw on the school website that school is canceled again  tomorrow due to the weather, so it's going to be an even longer weekend! ;) In Job it says that the Lord sends the snow to the Earth so that man will stop his labor and see His power. So we tried to do that this weekend...to just "stop and enjoy" His creation and our family.

Thursday was so blustery & cold, but you never know how long snow will stick around in Oregon, so around 4pm, Joel went out with the kids for some freezing cold play time. With the wind, it was way below freezing, so their sweet little cheeks were red in no time. Just time for a couple sled rides through the yard and then back inside for a hot-cocoa warm-up!

 Friday though, we woke up to a beautifully, peaceful blanket of snow outside. Elijah was the first to wake at 6:43, (surprise, surprise) and from his bed, he can look down the hall to a mirror positioned near the front door and it's windows. I heard him stirring so I went in and he said, "Mom! There is so much snow outside!" I said, "yes, and it will still be there later, go back to sleep, there's no school!" Yeah right! Like that was going to happen. He obediently waited until 7:00 to get out of bed and I heard both his and Caleb's feet running down the hallway. While they were happy to see the snow, it wasn't until around 10:00 that they even mentioned going out in it! 

We got everyone ready and out we went! Joel certainly got his fill of exercise this weekend, pulling all the kiddos on the sled! It wasn't long before little hands became cold and people were ready to head back inside. It was a kind-of trickle though, so I stayed out the longest. I had decided to build a snowman. It wasn't the best snow for it though. I had to build it from the ground and just keep packing snow onto it. The kids became bored with it quickly and eventually went inside to get warmed up. I stuck with it though, mostly because our kids have never built a real snowman and I wanted them to see one and for us to have a "family" snowman in front of our house. Caleb & Hannah were so sweet, cheering me on from the front windows and occasionally peeking theirs little heads out the front door to yell, "Good job Mom!" or "Wow Mom! You're doing a good job!!" It was so cute! Toward the end, a couple at a time ventured back out and we did all the finishing touches together. We named her, "Miss 30th Street"...the neighbors across the street also built a snowman, naming theirs, "Chilly Billy." :) It was Elijah's idea to use grass as Miss 30th Street's eye lashes. ;) It worked too! :)

 

Caleb didn't want to be in our family picture, so I had to work hard to get this smile from him for an individual one. 

They had more sledding and play time outside with Daddy in the afternoon. The neighbor boys were out as well, so it was fun to have sledding time together. Evan, (12 years old) was giving Hannah pushes on a sled and at one point, Hannah was pushing him. It was so cute! 

We attempted to watch the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics with the kids that evening. They didn't start until 8:00, which is already a half an hour past their bedtime so by 8:45, the kids were all squirrel-y and not really understanding, nor caring about what was going on so they were in bed at 9:00.

The following morning we woke up to a lot more snow and cold & blustery weather again. The kids never mentioned going outside, so we spent the entire day indoors. It was my favorite day of the weekend! To me, it felt like Thanksgiving without the hub-bub of a holiday. Just the relaxing and enjoying...all....day....long. It was so nice! We took our time getting up, even though the kids had awoken bright and early again. They were happily, contentedly watching cartoons, leaving us a few more minutes before opening our eyes. After that we ate a yummy breakfast, played Legos, listened to music (Kid's Praise albums!), played games, played more Legos and games. Abby & Caleb never even got out of their pajamas all day! It was such a relaxing day. So nice to not have anywhere to go or anywhere to be...just home...being family. There were moments of arguing and fighting about toys or games, I don't want to picture it as perfect! For the most part though, it was just enjoyable to be inside, watching/listening to the Olympics and just being together.

We invited our neighbors over to play games as well. Their boys were busy with friends during the day, so it ended up being after our kids were in bed. It was nice to be with friends, even though we're snowed in at home! They brought Pictionary over. Jana, Joel & their younger son, Drew were a team and they smoked Trent & I! It was fun though. After that, Drew headed home, leaving Trent, Jana, Joel and I to play a game of Hearts before calling it a night. By the time they ventured home, the freezing rain was in full swing and everything was covered in ice. Everything was so shimmery in the street light!

We woke to an icy, winter wonderland this morning! It was so beautiful! We ate a quick breakfast and then got dressed for an icy walk down the street. It was so fun to crunch the layer of ice and snow beneath our feet. The kids are so light that they really had to try hard to crush it, leaving them sliding on top of it instead. A couple of our neighbors driveways were completely untouched during this snow-stormy weekend, leaving their driveway like an ice-rink. The kids loved that! :)

 One of the ice-rink driveways down the street.

 Our snowy, icy home!