A Winter Change

A winter storm can bring quite a disruption such as school cancellations, driving chaos, and the works.  It can also bring a change in pace and experiences that could not be had otherwise. 

When else can your son ski to a friends house or

snowboard and sled down the streets.

When else can you snowshoe  on your jogging trails and 

get such beautiful shots.

What other time would these two be able to build a terrain park and practice their skiing stunts on the golf course?

I welcome these disruptions wholeheartedly!

Lessons from Nate Saint

Sunday morning presented me with a great opportunity to improve my snow driving skills.  There was a dusting of fresh snow, the traffic would be light and Shawn was on my side.  Nolan piped up and informed me that to practice with the whole family on board would be a unacceptable risk.  Just like Nate Saint would find it to be an unacceptable risk to take more then a test pilot on a plane that he had just fixed.  Thanks for the input Nolan and I'm glad you have a good reading comprehension, but his father and I decided this would be an acceptable risk,  We all made it there safely.  I had to think about risks today as I considered missing my hair appointment due to our weather conditions.  Should I brave temps in the teens, wind chills in the single digits, snow covered sidewalks and a WTA ride, or should I brave showing my roots for a little while longer?  Of course going to the salon was more important!  What I would call an unacceptable risk was the light clothing Christian was wearing as he walked down to catch the same bus to get to his orthodontic apt.  There was a big difference between the number of layers and sturdiness of shoes we were both wearing.  I figured he would have to learn it by himself.  The irony is that he came home commenting about the crazy midschoolers he saw in town that were wearing such light jackets!  Really?  Lighter than you?  I guess it's all a mater of perspective.

Welcome Winter

This is what we woke up to yesterday morning, can you see the tip of the ruler?  It did get completely covered later on.  A foot of snow around here translates to a day off from school and a huge playground all around us.

Ethan left the house at 8am and did not return until dusk.

More then Mere Fun

Last week Nolan spent a few days in a beautiful chalet up in the mountains with his classmates and  the other BCS middle school students.  It was a given that he would have a great time, how could he not?  Hanging out with his friends, having a game room to his disposal, access to unlimited hot chocolate, a sledding & snow ball fight paradise at his door step.  However, when asked what  his favorite part of the whole retreat was, he took none of the above choices.  It was the Bible studies that he liked the most, the worship times and feeling God's presence in the room.  The theme was Faith in Action, and I can attest to the fact that it impacted him deeply, as he is living it out day to day amongst his family, the place which sometimes brings you the biggest challenges.  What a blessing to witness your son's spiritual growth and to have a community that fosters his realtionship with God.

2012 So Far

We welcomed 2012 surrounded by great friends and dancing to some good ole' 80's music (yeah, we are dating ourselves).  The first two days provided us some more rest & relaxation, enough to get us ready to hit the routine again.  By then we were ready to get back to work, school, carpooling, shopping, cleaning, cooking and laudry.  All the kind of things that we don't find worthy of recording on the blog or with our cameras, but that make up such big chunk of our lives.

The routine was broken by a school snow day,

by a hike

with my wonderful husband,

and by some sledding fun.

These fearless girls are the ones who inspired me to tear down the hill.

Although I can't take credit for being as brave as the young girls.  They hit "Suicide Hill" head first with no hesitation, it took me 30 minutes to get enough courage to go down it sitting on my behind.  Along with some other girls my age, I  found a more gentle hill, which we dubbed "Mom's Hill,"  to dive head first.