I woke up yesterday and peeked out the guest bedroom window to find blankets of white snuggling the trees and land. As I crept out into the dark living room I turned on the Christmas lights and peered out the front windows. The light on the lower garage revealed the falling snow that I couldn't spy from the bedroom window.
The long awaited SNOW Day was here!
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| "Mom, let's have a snowball fight!" |
There is something so magical about watching the snow fall. On Christmas Eve there was a teaser of snow. We headed to town for groceries and a few last minute gifts. The locals tried to convince us that our "snow" we were enjoying was "sleet", but Ellie and I would not believe. It was snowing!
At one point inside the CO-OP while ordering lunch, I looked out the front of the store and paused to take in the beauty of our snow outside, creating a backdrop for the intricate paper snowflakes strung above the cash registers.
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| No slope too small to try out the sled! |
By the time we returned home, most of the snow had melted, but we walked to the creek and explored the bits we found, dodging evidence of deer and cow pies in "The Little Woods". The creek was flowing and many sticks and branches created a fun game of stick races. We found ice in the puddles at the lower hill and moved onto family fun inside that evening. On the way home from church in the dark the snow began to fall again, and as Josh turned on the bright lights we felt like we were blasting off in the Millennium Falcon on down the highway back home.
Christmas Day is a post all its own so I will speed ahead. After Christmas we went to see Into the Woods and had fun in town at dinner. We visited family in town and then home to a raucous game of UNO and Ellie danced for us.
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| I love Mason's new Viking hat. |
The next morning the weather reports would come true and the grounds were covered in white. We bundled up after breakfast and headed out to find Uncle Don starting up the 4-wheeler to plow the driveway. The kids plopped down to make snow angels, threw snowballs and grabbed the sleds.
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| Hi Grandma! |
We started out by the creek. There is something about playing in nature that allows the imagination to automatically run wild. The kids were instantly in another world pretending away, painting a story for us, the snow as their blank canvas. We were in search of shelter and it was cold and wintery and we had to press on.
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| Our tiny Snowman by the creek |
As Don plowed we had to move on to new locations in search of our shelter and we trudged up the hill with our sleds filled with snow.
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| Hi Uncle Don! |
Life was hard in this story, but luckily there were smiles among the "hard times" of finding shelter.
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| Mom and Me |
Daddy joined us with an arm full of supplies. Grandpa's red bowl and spoon peeking out sparked curiosity and our game welcomed him in as he found food in our "food cave".
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| Daddy's snow snack! Cinnamon ice cream = delicious! |
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| Snow wonder! |
We took a walk with Uncle Don to gather wood for the fire and the magical day was taken to a whole new level.
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| A day in the snow and a fire to roast marshmallows |
Daddy and Ellie put the snow brick maker to good use and continued building their shelter.
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| Ellie and Daddy's shelter |
While Mason built his alongside the snowy garden beds. Snow continued to fall steadily providing more snow as we cleared it to build.
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Mason's Shelter
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| Snow Selfie |
I made sure to stand back and take a breath and fall in love with my family all over again.
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| I love this man! |
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| Merry Christmas Babe! |
The sleds needed a break from hauling snow bricks to speed down the hill. We carved out tracks and shared many laughs.
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| The perfect sledding hill |
I imagine we'll remember these moments for years to come. There is something about how we play together outside as kids that fuels our soul. Standing at the top of the hill watching these two brought back many memories of times I shared with Chris. Seeing Grandpa smile through the window at them was great fun, too.
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| Siblings making memories |
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| Dad and Me |
Back to the shelter, there was a door to build to go with this window.
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| The first window, Hi Ellie! |
Lunch was made by the fire. S'mores sandwiches were on the menu.
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| A quick break by the fire |
The door began to take shape.
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| More progress |
Another quick break to walk with Grandma to the mailbox. We stopped on the way to check on our tiny snowman. Ellie named him.
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| The Snowman was later named Uncle Chris! |
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| Winter Library |
The church parking lot was untouched. So calm, so beautiful. The kids were hesitant to touch it, but ended up carving their initials: M E
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| "Ellie, don't make too many tracks this part is the smoothest of snow." |
After all that it was time to head to bed. The shelter was ready for us.
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| "Come into our shelter Mommy, it's time to sleep." |
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| Time to wake up |
I wonder what today shall bring!
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| All in a days work! |
1 comment:
Jen, your writing made me feel as though I was right there with you! Thank you for this awesome blog! It sounds like you are having a fun, restful and snowy vacation. Lol! That's wonderful. All is well with The Big, Brown Lawn.
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