Friday, February 11, 2011

Snow Days ~ Scrapbooking ~ Spring Fever

    As I look outside, I see a few snowflakes gently falling from the sky.  Some cardinals were singing at their feeder a little while ago.  Seeing them against the backdrop of my very white back yard is such a beautiful sight.  Last week we accumulated around 20 inches of snow within a rather short period of time, and most of it is still here.  It made for an early out from school on Tuesday and all day off on Wednesday, and I will admit . . . I was a little giddy about it all.  Yes, there was truly much empathy in my heart for any and all people who had to be out braving the elements, but selfishly it gave our family a much-needed, God-given opportunity to be home together doing abnormal things, for my chauffeuring responsibilities to be temporarily suspended, for my sleep-deprived children to catch a little break in the middle of their week, for some yummy foods to be made, and for some scrapbooking to be done!  It was like a carefree weekend thrown smack dab into the middle of our week, and we LOVED it!  Here's a little glimpse:

A cardinal and a robin both!

Thankful for my guys who scooped most of the snow by hand and thankful for neighbors who help out periodically with their snowblowers!

Can't have a cozy fire in the fireplace without retrieving a little wood!  It was a tough job!  (Notice the garden fence stakes that are buried in the snow!)


Kelsey asked if she could try on my wedding dress . . .

. . . and then she dug up this old football jersey of Harris's from somewhere.  She loved this more than my dress. 

Haley's digitally scrapbooking AND letting Kelsey curl her hair -- a very sweet and rare moment between my girls! 


Jenny walked over to scrapbook with us!  Her car was stuck in our driveway from the night before.  She fits right in!

I'm just a little bit behind.  Yikes!


Nap time!



Heath still had to work, and he got in on moving more snow when he got home.  Good thing he has a girlfriend who will loan him a hat!
    
     All in all, it was just a very good little hiatus for all of us!  Harris was even home most of the time. 

     Last night as I crawled into our bed with its warm flannel sheets, praying once again for our furnace that has been giving us fits this week, I grabbed the nearest magazine just so I could unwind a little bit before dozing off to sleep.  It happened to be the April 2010 edition of the freebie that Hy-Vee sends me every so often, so this one was all about gardening and flowers.  Oh, how I love, love, love planting flowers in the spring!  At first this just seemed like a wonderful thing to be looking at, and thoughts of gorgeous, colorful blooms started filling my mind.

     But instead of my mind shutting down for the night, it started whirling faster than ever, and before I knew it, there was a notebook and pen in my hands.  Something had just hit me like a ton of bricks:  Haley's graduation party is just a little over three months away, and we have a LOT of things to do before then!  With her being gone to Africa last summer and with our fall as crazy as it was, we never even got her senior pictures taken!  We don't even know exactly yet when they will be, and we certainly don't know what she will wear.  We'll need to figure out her party:  the invitations, the guest list, the food, the decorations.  The deck needs to be restained . . . again.  The little bit of landscaping left from last year's list must get done this spring.  Flowers will need to be planted as early as possible this year.  The scrapbooking!  Not only am I five years behind in her albums, but we don't even have the pictures ordered yet!  So much to do . . . so little time.  (Obviously Heath's books weren't completed by the time he graduated, as evidenced by the above picture, and we survived.  I guess we will this time too, if necessary.  Grr.) 

     A few more snow days would sure be helpful.

     Wait.  No.  We've got enough snow to still have a snow ordinance in effect till Saturday.  Crazy. 

     The white stuff sure is beautiful though!

     But so is the sunshine!!!  Bring on the warmth!  My mind is dreaming of things like this . . . 




         

     Meanwhile, God just gave me this little reminder . . .


    It's a daily choice really.  Today I'm choosing to rejoice in the beauty of a snow-covered yard while sitting in my warm, cozy home.  I'm choosing not to worry about our furnace giving out completely on the weekend and trusting that the $80 repair will be all it takes to survive for a long while yet.  I'm choosing to be very thankful for the normalcy of life we've been experiencing lately and for the overall good health we've had as a family this winter.  I'm choosing to be thankful that Heath has been seizure free for two months and trying hard not to dwell on the fact that his first two seizures happened just a little over two months apart from each other.  To be honest, that one's a little harder for me right now, so I have to choose not to worry.  (He's doing great, by the way.)  I'm choosing to not stress about what's not getting done today and just enjoying the moment.  I'm choosing to just be thankful for life and seasons and all things beautiful and just enjoy today for . . . today.

     "Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again, Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:4-7

No comments:

Post a Comment