Baby It's Cold Outside!

Such an eventful week...ok the last 3 weeks! I say that because we have been "homebound" more or less with sickness, if it wasn't one of the kids it was me and then this weekend it finally caught up with Mike...Gotta love the winter months!

Despite all the sickness we've tried to have fun...in the snow that is. About 2-3 weeks ago we got some snow, unfortunately it was only a few centimeters but none-the-less the kids enjoyed it and of course here in the South they cancel school.

Thursday night was expected to bring lots of snow but Mother Nature decided to delay it a little. Around 9 o'clock Friday morning it began and did not end until Saturday morning, giving us about 4 inches. It started as a beautiful snow fall but then turned into sleet and freezing rain. When the snow was at it's best Mike & A were able to go out and play for a little bit the rest of us were getting over the stomach bug. Fortunately Saturday Z and I were feeling well enough to go out and build a snowman....well the snow was frozen solid from the rain and because it was sooo cold it remained frozen and quite slick. Because of safety....church was even cancelled. That has happened to us twice now, once here and once in NC. Everything has a layer of ice around it, I tried to take some pictures of the tree branches. Although it is cold and we are stuck indoors it is really quite beautiful looking at everything being snow covered and white. It may not last long since the sun has decided to shine so it will only be a matter of time before it is melted and gone!

Can You Hear the Snow Crunch?! ~ Video

Ice Chunks Will Have to Do! ~ Video

First experienc with snow

Ready, set....slide

Ice covered everything

(icluding the fallen snow)

How'd ya like to scrape this off? :)

She Did It!

Well A did it....she is no longer in diapers:) YEAH!!! It only took about 5 times (over the last 9 months) to get her to the point where she didn't lose interest after the first 2 days. She wanted to go when she wanted to not all of the time. I didn't know what to do, I had tried everything I could think of; from rewards to "potty time" timers and nothing seemed to work until a friend of mine suggested to have her clean up herself when she wet her pants. If you know A's personality you know she is quite stubborn and strong willed and has to do things all by herself but after 2 times she decided she didn't like having to do that. She is so proud to be a "big girl."

Holiday Catch Up

Wow the end of the year is such a busy time. Always something going on, somewhere to go and people to see! From Halloween to New Year's we love the holidays :) The kids had so much fun doing the various different things...

~Halloween~

Z went dressed as a Police Officer, A was Cinderella and S was Pebbles. Z was able to wear his costume to school but poor A was sick the whole week so she wasn't able to participate. But that didn't hinder the amount of candy we had in the house!

~Thanksgiving~

We were able to go to Utah this year. We decided to make it an adventure...packed the Entourage, loaded 3 kids and lots of goodies and were on our way. Thanks to good weather we made pretty good time, and the kids loved all the different "nature sights" they saw. It is always so much fun spending time with family. Z & A couldn't get enough of their cousins. Z wanted to play in the snow and fortunately the day after we got there it did snow so he got his trip to Utah wish...but only for the day, it ended up melting and we had good but chilly weather the rest of the time.

~Christmas~

We kicked off December with the parade, it was soo cold but fun. Downtown Franklin has so many activities throughout the year so we decided to enjoy "Dickens of a Christmas" which included meeting some of the characters from Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. Z & A had their first school Christmas program, afterwhich Santa stopped by and they were able to tell him what they wanted. It was fun to hear them practice the songs @ home prior to the program...they absolutely LOVE to sing. S even joins in when we start singing! This year we spent Christmas in North Carolina. Every year I tell myself that I will get my shopping done before the week of Christmas...maybe next year!! And as always Santa found us...boy is he good ;) Z got a remote control fire truck, A got a pink cozy coupe car and S got a musical jungle gym. We got a new digital camera (our old one has been broken for over 4 months, so I've been using my phone to take pictures). I must say it is much easier using a camera and I forgot how nice it is to have all the available options to take great pictures. I was also able to help dip chocolates...it definitely takes practice! The fun part of the whole trip was figuring out how to get it all back!! It was like a puzzle trying to fit everything into the Entourage...but I have such a smart and creative husband...he did it...of course I didn't doubt him for a minute. :)

~New Year's Eve~

We rang in the New Year with some friends! 3 of the 4 kids made it to about 10:30 but since A had taken a nap during the day she made it a little later but not quite to midnight and like usual all three (Z, A & S) were up at their normal time New Year's morning.

The Holidays are such a wonderful time; spending time with family and good friends, lots of fun activities to enjoy. But I am most grateful for the extra time to think about and be thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and what His presence on earth means to/for me. What better gift than Him and his sacrifice. All too often I get caught up in thinking about what I don't have I forget to be thankful for what I do have, I am truly blessed; a patient and loving husband, 3 children who see past my flaws and teach me what truly matters most, a testimony of the Gospel, its teachings & principles and so much more.
It's a little late but...

Happy Holidays ~ Happy New Year