High Five for Birthday Week

I love the whole month of February, but Birthday Week is by far my favorite week.  I love all the fuss.  I love the birthday coupons that appear in my email.  I love flowers and cake and balloons...oh yeah, and presents!!  I really love presents.  

Monday - Institute and a birthday lunch with friends.  Loved Institute.  Loved the lunch.  Loved the friends.  

Tuesday - Days that start with cake and end with cake can never be bad, right?  The kids combined their efforts and bought me the most gorgeous turquoise vase I have ever seen.  So excited to finish that dining room now.  Craig took the day off and we ran errands, had Mexican food for lunch, and popped over to the Rod's office to connect with them and finalize Spring Break plans.  Relief Society meeting that night with...guess what? yep, more cake!  And Megan and Emma sang their beautiful song together.  I love hearing my girls sing.  It was a pretty great birthday.  

Wednesday - I'm pretty sure Wednesday was my favorite day this week.  I stayed in jammies until 12:00, went visiting teaching (I love those women) and had a Cub Scout activity that did not require any planning on my part.  And it was too cold to wear that hideous uniform.  Great day.  Oh, and surprise birthday wishes totally helped, too.  Love those.

Thursday - My newly declared Temple Day with an amazing group of women.  I have never in my life wanted to be part of a Temple group.  I usually prefer to just go by myself.  But these women have had a standing Temple date for years and they've invited me more times than I can count.  Until last week, I always found an excuse to say no, but I loved being with them so much that I thought I'd go again, and I loved it again.  So I'm adding Thursday Temple days with these lovely women to my weekly schedule, and I'm so happy about that.  

Friday - Lunch with Amy, running errands, and exploring a new store in McKinney.  Craig took McKay on the Scout camp out so the girls and I went Spring Break shopping.  Perfect end to a perfect week.

Thanks for all the sweet IG and email-y and actual mail-y birthday wishes!  

Strings

Yesterday during a VT lesson, someone asked me how Craig and I met.  That's a potentially really long story and I've learned over the years to start with the edited version and then wait for follow up questions.  I start with "we met in high school..." and typically that's enough for the average inquirer.  With a story as personal as that one is for me, it aches a little to see people's eyes glaze over in the middle of it, so I don't continue unless they specifically ask for details.  Yesterday they asked for details.  It's been awhile since I've told that story in its entirety, so I was happy for the opportunity.  When I finished answering all their questions, they both sat back and said, "What an incredible life you've had."  

They're totally right.

People ask me all the time about my adoption story, and how I reconnected with my birth mother.  And when I tell them, they always say, "What an incredible life you've had."  

There are a handful of stories in my life that evoke that response from people.  

When I talked to those women yesterday afternoon and they marveled at my determination, my focus and my drive in life, I had to stop and tell them that I'm not actually determined, focused or driven.  Really.  If you ask anyone who knows me well, they would never use those words to describe me.  I don't stare adversity in the face and walk through it boldly.  I'm not courageous.  I quit when things are hard.  I curl up into a small heap of helplessness and cry when the road looks like it might be steep or even slightly inclined.  I don't keep running when I'm tired.  I don't put my mind to a thing and get it.  I am not strong willed.  

But there are a handful of things in my life that have pulled me, like divine strings, toward goals that I don't recall ever consciously making.  After 40ish years, I can look back with a bit more insight and perspective and see that wherever those miraculous, incredible stories have occurred in my life, I have had divine help.  Those eternal strings pull me when I would rather just sit.  They compel me to do things I would never attempt on my own.  Like joining a church my parents didn't approve of.   Like pursuing, hunting down and capturing marrying Craig. Like singing in an amazing choir.  Like writing this blog.

Sometimes I don't feel like writing it all down.  Sometimes I feel like maybe it's all just fluffy and won't matter to anyone now or in the future.  I get discouraged and impatient and I resist.  But that never lasts for long.  Something bigger draws me back to this computer and helps me remember the blessings that occur on a regular basis in my life, and I am compelled to write them down.  

I am so grateful to have retold that Craig story yesterday, to have bonded with those women, and to have been reminded of the remarkable things that have happened in my life.  There are more remarkable, miraculous, wildly improbable things coming.  I can feel those divine strings tugging at me to walk in directions that don't make any sense.  And fortunately after all these years, I know enough to stop resisting and just walk there anyway.  

Bloggy Sisterhood

Years ago, when we lived in Seattle, I took a newborn Megan and a two year old Savannah to the pediatrician for their well-baby visits.  Megan had to get a few immunizations and after such a traumatic experience, promptly fell into a fitful sleep on the car ride home.  

Craig travelled two weeks at a time in those days.  I was by myself.  With two small children.  In Seattle.  Where it only stops raining from July through September.  And I had to stop at the post office on my way home.  I don't remember what it was, but it was urgent and I had already put it off for too long.  I pulled into the parking space right in front of the little post office and I could see that no one was in the store.  It was steadily raining and Megan was finally sleeping peacefully.  Keep in mind that I was fairly new at the whole mothering thing and if I could go back to December 1998, chances are, I wouldn't make the same decision.  But in that desperate moment, I decided to take Savannah with me into the post office, lock the van, and not disturb Megan.  I positioned Savannah inside the glass door to keep an eye on the van while I walked 50 feet to the counter and mailed whatever it was I had to mail, and then another 20 feet to the post office box to retrieve our mail.  It took all of 5 minutes.  

As I struggled with a large stack of neglected mail, a very loud, very concerned woman came rushing to the counter screaming about a baby that had been left in a car in the parking lot.  The postal worker became alarmed and upset.  And I wanted to crawl into that little post office box and hide.  Obviously it was my car and my baby.  I was the only other person in the store.  The woman caught me before I got to the door.  She was in her 50s, I think.  And much taller and bigger than me.  And she stood too close while she yelled.  She asked me if I was that baby's mother and then positioned herself between me and the front door for what seemed like a decade, telling me how dangerous it was to leave a baby in a car, and how irresponsible I was, and how she could justifiably call the police and have both of my children taken away.  Savannah cried.  I held her hand and waited silently for the woman to finish and move out of my way so I could just get out of there and go home.  And I felt like the worst mother in the entire world.  For a long time.  

Years later, I had a similar experience, but from the other perspective.  The girls and I pulled into a parking space and noticed that the car next to us was still running.  When we looked, we could see a small child and a sleeping baby in a carseat.  I was worried at first.  And wondered who would leave their babies in a car?  But then I thought about a tiny baby Megan and what I wished that woman in Seattle had done when she saw her.  The girls and I got back into our car and just waited.  And we secretly watched those babies to make sure they were safe.  Their mother came out very quickly from wherever she had been and drove off to wherever she was going.  I'm sure she didn't even notice us sitting there.  But I felt a little sisterhood with that woman I didn't even know for those few minutes while I watched her babies.  

The other day, I got a frustrating email from someone regarding one of my posts.  And I instantly felt like I was back in 1998 with that woman hovering over me in the post office accusing me of being irresponsible.   

I think there should be some kind of bloggy sisterhood that we all belong to.  

I realize there are lots of different types of blogs and bloggers out there, but the mommy/crafty/lifestyle/photography/cooking ones are mostly blogging for essentially the same reasons.  We have something to say and this is a convenient place to say it.  We want to remember things or share things or testify of things or just try out public journaling.  Most of us aren't expecting millions of dollars or hoping for worldwide acclaim.  Most of us just post the trivial details of our days and are lucky if a handful of people read them.  

I think we have a responsibility as women who blog to chose our words wisely and to be kind with our comments.  Instead of criticizing and finding fault, we should uplift and strengthen one another.  Instead of assuming the worst, we should look for the best in each other.  Because I'm certain that we are all just trying to do good things and raise good families and write interesting stuff.  How much easier would that be with the support of other women who blog?

There are so many amazing, wonderful, inspiring women in the world who I would never have crossed paths with had they not started a blog.  I love reading about their families, their house ideas, their recipes, their challenges, their parenting tips, and their beliefs.  They say nice things when they comment on my blog and they make me feel like this blogging thing is worthwhile.  So I keep doing it.  We are not all the same, but we have a lot of similarities.  I'm so grateful for this miraculous internet that has the ability to connect a vast, diverse world.  And I hope to always use it for good things.  

High Five for Friday

1.  Flowers

On Tuesday afternoon, some missionaries showed up at my door with these beautiful little tulips.  Elder Christensen said, "Since I couldn't give my mom flowers for Valentine's Day, I thought I'd give these to you."  How sweet is that?  Have I mentioned how much I love these missionaries??

2.  Survival

On Wednesday, I mustered up all of the "inner-camper" within me and dragged myself to Home Depot to get supplies for these paracord survival bracelets for our Webelos activity.  And then I figured out how to make one.  They're surprisingly tedious and frustrating, but I felt a great deal of personal accomplishment wearing mine around all day.  The boys loved the activity and fortunately picked up the braiding technique a whole lot faster than I did.  Now we are all prepared to survive the next natural disaster, although I'm not sure how an 8ft string is really going to be useful in that situation.

3.  Reptiles

The YW had a reptile activity on Wednesday night.  Emma has decided we need a snake.  That is not going to happen.  I told her that I was so happy she got to enjoy this activity in a location outside of our home.   And I was secretly thrilled that I am not currently serving in YW.

4.  Hoodie

Craig and I went to the middle school yesterday afternoon to see the dress rehearsal of Emma's UIL play that she's been working on.  Holy cow!  Those kids are shockingly talented and the play was surprisingly entertaining, even without a single musical number!  :)
McKay even loved it.  

5.  The Temple

A friend texted me at 8:00 yesterday morning and invited me to go to the Temple with her.  I changed appointments, threw on a dress, and hopped in my car.  I love the clarity and calm that I always feel when I go there.  And I loved being able to go with a friend.  It was the perfect, unexpected break in the middle of a busy week.  

This been a great week, and I'm looking forward to an even better weekend: a camp out, mini missions tonight and tomorrow, and a special musical number in church.  (Don't be alarmed, even with my survival bracelet, I don't think I'm up for a camp out quite yet...Craig is taking the three kids who aren't participating in mini mission stuff, so that the house is free for teenagers.)  

Hope you have a great weekend, too!

20 Years

Dear Babies,

Today is the 20th anniversary of the day Daddy and I got married.  Oh, how the days have changed since February 19, 1994.  We didn't know then that we would have all four of you, where life (and jobs) would take us, or how our lives would look in 20 years.  But we had high expectations and we were anxious to start our life together, whatever it looked like.

In 1994, my head was spinning with excitement and the thought of all the possibilities that were ahead of us.  A hundred people traveled all the way to San Diego to be part of our day.  Nana sent gorgeous flowers from Hawaii even though she couldn't make the trip.  Grandma and Grandpa George were busy running around the Del Mar Hilton making sure all the reception plans were coming together.  The Grs had a room full of Thunells who were anxious for a wedding and for a week of playing in California.  Aunt Nance helped me get ready, and then everyone made a huge fuss over my dress and my hair and my flowers.  There was more food at our reception than I think I've ever seen in my life, but we didn't eat any of it because we were so giddy and happy.  Who could think about food?  It was a spectacular day.

Twenty years later, our day looks a little different than it did in 1994.  Daddy and I had breakfast with you and read scriptures, just like every other day.  We folded laundry together after everyone left for school.  I didn't even get to talk to him for very long before he started a conference call this morning.  At 9:00am, I am still in jammies and slippers and no one is making a fuss over me.  Our anniversary dinner will have to wait until tomorrow night because I have Cub Scouts this afternoon and he has YM tonight.  The schedules take precedence these days.  But today will still be as perfect a day as the one we spent together 20 years ago.  

I want you to know that as amazing as our wedding day was, it is the thousands of ordinary days that we've had since then that I am most grateful for.   It's not the grand vacations or the expensive gifts or parties full of people that I remember and cherish the most about the last 20 years.  It is sitting in church next to Daddy with all of you beside us.  It's the dinners around the kitchen table, the diapers changed, the sleepless nights, the endless road trips, the crazy, not so reverent FHEs, and the furniture moved into and out of a handful of homes.  It's yard work and birthday cakes and fingerprints and the sound of Daddy snoring.  

Daddy and I have become a great team over the last 20 years.  I design and he executes.  I have an idea or a vision or an inspiration, and he believes in it and brings it to pass.  I cry and yell and get frustrated and he is the calm voice of reason that puts everything back into perspective.  I procrastinate and become overwhelmed and he makes a list.  He brings us all together and I make delicious food.  He gives a great Sunday School lesson and I tie the little spiritual bow around it at the end.  He is consistent and reliable and I am hilarious and emotional.  He cleans bathrooms and I take care of sick babies.  He plans road trips and packs the car and I make a beautiful, organized nest out of the hotel room.    
    
That balance didn't happen overnight.  It has taken 20 wonderful, challenging, difficult, joyful years to create that and to appreciate it.  I would not be me without Daddy.  And he would not be himself without me.  There are two of us for a reason.  We are better together than we would be apart.  And we would not be who we are without all of you.  

I am grateful for who we have become over the last 20 years.  And I am so grateful for that February day 20 years ago in California because it was the beginning of a beautiful life with all of you.   

I love you so much,

Mommy

Family Home Evening

Last night, we invited the Grs to Skype into our FHE lesson.  We wanted the kids to be able to ask their grandparents questions about their childhood experiences, early years of marriage and spiritual experiences directly and to be able to hear their answers.  We are very fortunate to have grandparents who, through the miracle of technology, are accessible and willing to tell their stories and who can still recall with great clarity so many of the details of their early years.  

We weren't entirely sure how the night would go, but after the initial question, a great interview took off with a life of its own and an hour later, grandchildren were connected more fully to grandparents, children were connected to parents, and a couple of missionaries gained a little insight for their future discussions.  It was a successful night.  

Savannah started by asking how the Grs met, where they were married, and what their courtship was like.  It was hysterical to hear Grandpa tell his version of that story and then have Grandma come in and have to make a few minor corrections.  

One of the kids asked about the kinds of chores the Grs had when they were children.  I was shocked to learn that my mother-in-law never had to do any chores as a child and never learned to cook because her mother was a bit of a perfectionist and didn't want anyone else to do those things.  She liked her home to look a certain way and she knew that she was the best person to get the job done.  She preferred not to have an additional mess in her kitchen by inviting little hands to help her.  So all these years later, I have to say, I looked at my mother-in-law in a slightly different light knowing that everything she learned about being a housewife, she learned on her own.   Grandpa, on the other hand, was the oldest of five boys and with two working parents, and therefore was primarily responsible for all of the housework and cooking responsibilities after school.  No wonder he can vacuum and sweep better than anyone I've ever met!

We also asked the Grs about how and when they gained a testimony of the church.  Grandma was very candid in her response and told the kids that she didn't attend seminary regularly and that it wasn't until after she was married and pregnant with Uncle Bret that she had a desire to gain a testimony for herself.  And, as with everything else in her life, she decided to do a thing, made a plan, and went forth and did it.  Grandpa told us a story about how he gained a testimony while he was on his mission.  The missionaries were especially touched by their stories and instantly bonded with the grandparents after that.  :)

I can't tell you how happy I was that this night went as well as it did.  Craig and I weren't sure what kinds of questions the kids would ask or how engaged they would be in the answers.  But our hearts completely melted to see Emma and Megan frantically writing down their grandparents' answers, and all of the kids anxious to have the next turn to ask a question.  

I am so grateful to the Grs for the lives they've lived and the wisdom they are able to share with all of us.  And I'm so grateful to know a little more about each of them.  They may have inspired us to do this regularly!  

"Many people desire to know where they come from, but a sense of belonging is especially important for children and youth. A knowledge about their family history gives children of all ages a sense of their place in the world. It can also give young people something to live up to—a legacy to respect. Family history also provides an opportunity for children and teenagers to make a meaningful contribution to something bigger than themselves. 

Encourage children to talk to their living relatives, especially the older ones. Hearing stories about what life was like in the past helps young people connect to the past. This connection brings generations together and establishes strong family bonds.  

Tell stories about your life and the lives of your ancestors. Young people need more than facts and dates. They need the facts and dates packaged in interesting, meaningful, and memorable ways. The best way to create an interest in family history is by telling young people stories about real people. Fill your stories with interesting information, humorous details, and unusual facts that will capture a young imagination. Sharing family stories doesn’t have to be a big event; make it a common occurrence around the dinner table, in the car, or at bedtime." - familysearch.org

Surprises!

My little Emma likes to be included, involved, out in the world, doing something.  She is a mover.  She's my earliest riser and the first one to finish her Saturday jobs so that she's ready to GO whenever the opportunity comes along.  And for her, it always does.  This morning, she woke up at 8:00 so that we wouldn't forget to take her with us to the Scouting for Food activity.  She eagerly and happily paired up with her little Cub Scout brother and knocked on doors to "scout" for food for the Allen Outreach Food Pantry.  She was enthusiastic and competitive, and I'm sure she motivated all those other boys to RUN, not walk to the houses and collect as much food as possible.  After two hours, when I told her we needed to leave, she was reluctant.  They had already collected so much and she wanted to see her responsibility through to the end (and she also wanted to see if she and McKay had collected more cans than any of the other pairs.)  We left before all the groups returned, but they collected 535 cans that they took to the Food Pantry.  Huge success of a day for all those scouts!

Emma lamented all the way home about how waiting another 45 minutes wouldn't have ruined our plans for the rest of the day.  We were just running errands after all??  I put her off as long as I could, but she would not stop hounding me about the urgency of leaving that fun service project.  So I finally said, "OK, well, I can't tell you where we're going, but you should wear something cute."  And then she guessed.  Oh, that girl is so quick.  

Last weekend, I got tickets for the two of us to see The Little Mermaid in Dallas.  What awesome timing that they decided to go on tour just after the middle school's production of The Little Mermaid.  I knew Emma would be so excited to go and I wanted it to be a surprise, but I'm terrible at keeping secrets.  If I know it, then everyone else usually knows it, too.  

Emma and I had such a great day today.  We were both in awe of the amazing music and singers that we heard.  Isn't it shocking that you can be so intimately familiar with the soundtrack to a musical, but still be completely overwhelmed when you hear it live??  I was completely overwhelmed not just by the music, but by the set, and the orchestra, and the great seats that we had, and all the little girls dressed up with mermaid tails.  The whole experience was just great.  And on the way home, Emma said, "Mommy, you know what?  This was a great day when I only thought I was going to a Scout thing and then babysitting tonight!  But this surprise in the middle makes it the BEST DAY EVER!"  I love it when my kids say that.  I'm so grateful that we were able to spend the day together and that we have opportunities like this that are accessible.   

Valentine's Day H54F

Hooray it's Friday!  I can't tell you how happy I am to see the end of this week.  Five straight weeks of Craig on the road has definitely taken it's toll.  I'm much more balanced and happy when he's home.  And Valentine's Day is an even better way to end a week like this. 

1.  Candy with Scriptures

Each of the kids got a tiny little box of chocolates this morning before we read scriptures.  It's nice to start the day with a treat, don't you think?

2.  Lunch Surprises
I found these adorable little chocolate lollipops and snuck them into the kids' lunches today with a little love note.  I'm hoping someone will text me today when they find their surprise.  

3.  Love Notes
I think this is the second or third year that we've done this.  I cut out a million little hearts out of construction paper and we write little love notes to each other and stick them up on the kitchen cabinets.  It's so fun to see what the kids write to each other during the month.  

4.  Decorations Around the House
It's so nice to finally put a little color back up on the walls.  January seems so bleak after the house has been filled with Christmas.  I love that February comes just in time to revive me again.  

5.  Valentines
Last year we made homemade Valentines.  Every year we've made homemade Valentines.  But this year, McKay is in 5th grade and he's more of a minimalist Valentine giver these days.  He just wanted plain old store Valentines for his class this year.  I think my years of coming up with cute Valentine ideas and doing little Valentine crafts are coming to an end.  :(

Happy Valentine's Day.  I hope it's a wonderful day where you are and that the people who surround you have told you how much they love you today.  

DMCO

Thursday nights are DMCO rehearsals for us.  

Have I mentioned how much I love this choir?  

Well, in case I haven't quite convinced you, here's proof.  We're singing this in April...

It's just a folk song, right?  No big deal.  Well, it's not in my comfort zone, for sure.  I sing sacred, Broadway, and ballads…that's pretty much it.  But look at page four!  Those little x's are NOT the percussion line.  That's us…the choir is clapping for half a page!  And not just any old claps…these are the knee slapping kind.  And they're FAST.  Can I just tell you that I seriously almost curled up into a tiny little ball when they introduced this a couple of weeks ago?  And I've been in denial ever since.  

I have some very high standards about what I'm willing to do publicly.  

• I don't sing solos.  (Fine, I may have sung a couple of solos, but I don't like it.)
• I don't act.  (Well, unless it's for a Stake Book of Mormon pageant and I'm one of four women in the stake who looks like a Lamanite.) 
• I don't participate in stage productions.  (OK, I did do a few of those in high school, but I would NEVER do that again.)  
• I don't sing karaoke.  (Unless it's with the Rodriguez's…or the Thunell's…or maybe on a cruise ship…but that's it!)
• I don't play charades.  (EVER)
• And I don't sing with choreography, especially if it's the clapping kind and it requires coordination…and especially not if I'm standing on the FRONT ROW!

I have quit choirs before just because we had to SWAY.  It's true.  This whole clapping thing is an extremely big deal.  I cannot even visualize what I'm going to look like doing this.  It may be an epic disaster.  But fortunately there are 150 other people to look at and maybe no one will notice me.  OR…maybe the tubas will be big enough to hide me from the audience during this song...  

So, despite the nights I've laid awake planning escape routes, and even though I have less than zero confidence about my knee-slapping abilities, I'm staying in the choir.  That's how much I love it.  I will force myself to learn how to clap just so that I can sing How Great Thou Art at the end of this concert.  ugh…the things we do for art

Let me just say, though, that I think it's pretty sneaky that those Stewarts got us all hooked on the choir with the first semester of sacred, beautiful music before they chose to spring this little choreography surprise on us.  Very very sneaky… 

High Five for Friday

Some weeks seem longer to me than others.  And some weeks feel like a whole month's worth of activities have been crammed into them.  This has been a good week.  Busy, and then slow. Chaos, and then quiet.  Warm, and then freezing.  But that's probably typical of a mid-winter week with four (mostly teenage) kids and a husband who travels all week long.  

Here are some of the little things that I haven't already posted about.

1.  Morning Texts

She doesn't actually hate seminary, but it is a challenging year for her, and therefore she needs extra encouragement to get out of bed most days.  I set my alarm for 5:15 and start texting to wake her up.  Usually by 5:30 she's up and moving.  And always, when she comes home at 6:55 she's forgotten all about her warm bed and she has found something enjoyable about her seminary experience.  

2.  Business Trips Adventures

Well, there was no snow during this week's business trip in Miami.  No cars on fire .  No ice covered parking lots.  No treacherous travel conditions.  But there's always some adventure on Craig's trips.  That's Jacob Rodriguez (aka "Craig's travel partner of choice" these days) and that's Angelica that Jacob is holding.  Can you see her?  She's a monkey.  In a yellow dress and hot pink leggings.  At the restaurant.  Apparently she belongs to the owner and she has some sisters at home, but she is his favorite so she gets to come to work with him.  
Only in Miami…

3.  Hoodie

Emma is in this UIL one-act play coming up in March.  She and her fellow Little Mermaid actors couldn't get enough of each other or the experience of rehearsing for a show, so their drama teacher found a play that they could ALL participate in.  Oh, I love that woman!  My little Emma delights in being involved in stuff.  She is always at her best when she's busy and actively engaged in a good thing.  This is a good thing for her.  

4.  DMCO

Can you see this amazing music?  And more importantly, can you see that amazing alto part???  We get to sing a low G…that's the one BELOW middle C…twice!  That is an alto's dream, I'd like you to know.  This whole unbelievable piece of music makes my head spin.  I love the way it sounds even in rehearsal and I can't wait to hear it all come together with the orchestra as we get closer to the concert.  April 26th…mark your calendars.  You do NOT want to miss this.  

5.  Nail Polish

Over the Christmas break, Emma and I stocked up on new nail polish.  I typically don't paint my nails because it's kind of distracting to see all that color when I'm playing the piano or the organ.  But…in an impetuous moment this week, I decided to just do it!  I know, it's not exactly daring.  It's grey.  I think the name on the bottle says "WET CEMENT."  It's a little startling to look down and see anything on my fingernails, but I kinda like it.  I also kinda like that accent finger trend that everyone's doing lately.  Can you see the glittery one?  I know, it's more subtle than shocking, but that's plenty for me.  And btw...there is not enough lotion in the world these days to keep my hands from looking like elephant skin.  This dry weather is killing me.  

I'm grateful for all the little things that happened this week.  All those quiet, seemingly insignificant moments, when woven in among the chaotic ones, turn an ordinary week into a pretty perfect one.  Hope your week was wonderful and that either the sun is shining where you are, or that you have an electric blanket close by.    

More Winter

I think by the second week in February we should already be well into spring in Dallas, don't you?  

This is what we woke up to this morning…

It says 18 degrees, but it felt more like 1 degree when I opened the garage door for the girls to go to seminary.  

The snow started coming down right at 7:30 when kids were ready to leave for school so we abandoned our regular plans and I drove them all. 

By 11:00, this is what our street looked like...

So I tossed out my to do list, turned up the heater, and snuggled up to read a book for a few hours. 

It's always nice to have an excuse to stay inside, but I'm a little bit ready for warmer weather.  Remind me of that when it's 105 degrees in August.