Good Call

How "today's generation" spends a snowy evening

                                     

3 days later, this snowman is STILL standing

Fun!!

This is unbelievable

Who said a boogie board was just good for the beach?

      The weather man called it right this time. It snowed. A lot. This snow makes the bit we had a few weeks ago (the one where we missed 2 days of school) look like a walk in the park. It snowed all day yesterday and started back again this morning. As I sat on the couch this morning and saw it start back, I literally said I wish it would stop snowing.
     The kids are having a ball. Outside. They have a touch of cabin fever being inside.
     We're hoping that soon it will begin to melt and the roads become passable. Braxton lost a day of spring break yesterday and we're still not sure when they'll make up today. I'm pretty sure it's safe to say tomorrow is a no go too. Whoever said "we're due for a good snow" must be happy. I'd say this is a good snow.

SNOW WAY

 

 

Schools let out around here about 11:30 yesterday. I couldn't leave until all of my students were safely off campus so Dad was "on-call" to get Brax off the bus. As soon as I left work I went to pick up the wild woman and we got home and relieved Dad. For hours we kept looking out the windows wondering where all the snow was the caused us to get out of school early. Brax asked over and over again if school was cancelled and I tried explaining that something needed to happen before we could cancel school. About 5 pm that something started and when the kids woke up this morning they were so excited about what was outside.

Braxton is experiencing his first snow day from school and Mckinley has just seen her first snow.

Because is snows so "much" around here neither of my kids have "snow gear" so we compromised and layered our clothes and wore bags on our shoes to keep them dry for as long as possible. We came up with our on version of a sled. My last words were "don't break it. That's a perfectly good box." Brax slid down great. I got in and got scared when I got half-way down and saw a car coming down the street. I literally busted out. So much for that box.

Whatever. It worked for a bit. Then we got cold and came on inside.

Fun stuff!!

 

An Angel Among Us

I used to have this crazy dream that I'd be out walking along a street and would stop at an intersection before crossing. I'd look to the left, then right and then I'd stop. I had just walked into my mom. My dream would then go as far as me thinking if I'd be mad at her or how I'd react when I saw her just standing there. Would I tell her how angry I had been? Would I tell her the heartache that we had all felt? That dream stopped about 10 years ago. I concluded that if I DID bump into her I'd hug her and tell her how much I had missed her. And then I told myself that she'd always be in my heart.
SIXTEEN years ago on this night Mama left us. No one suspected her departure. No one knew how sick she was. No one realized how different our life would be from that point on. Next year I will have lived longer without her then I ever lived with her.
I now think about all the things I'd want to tell her if I bumped into her and I think that there is NOTHING I'd want to tell her. If I had it my way, I'd keep all the years and events she missed for myself. I wouldn't trade them. I've met some amazing people, learned some amazing lessons, and visited beautiful places. For all the hurt and pain that losing her caused my life, I'd never trade it. It's all made me who I am.
What I'd want more than anything is for her to hold and meet the people I regret she never got to know.
 "Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

There's a New Sheriff in Town

I think we might just have taken next year's Christmas Card pictures. These kids are a trip. Mckinley received a pink cowgirl hat and a pink gun. I didn't ask for them to be in the picture. I don't think she would have taken it if I had told her she couldn't. Brax got a race car track from Maw Maw and Paw Paw. He won one similar to it this summer. It "mysteriously" disappeared. The thing took up a whole room. Literally. This new one is a perfect size.
                 Here's a picture of Brax when he got his cowboy hat and gun. He was just about the same age.
  

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

Some of my most favorite memories of Christmas were baking with my mom. She was a pretty incredible woman and she just had this way about her that made everything 10x better (my dad does this pretty well too). Baking Christmas cookies with her was awesome. It was fun, and messy, and a group effort, and delicious, and I could go on and on. She always had a list of about 10 things she wanted to bake for the holidays and she always accomplished this.
This year I wanted to do just a hint of baking. I wanted this to be one of the memories my kids grew up with. I talked it up big time. They put on their aprons.
They lasted for 2 minutes. Literally. And told me let them know when they were done.
I'll try again next year.

Christmas Chaos

                                     

    The chaos has set in for sure. Every year I say that when the next year rolls around I will be finished with my shopping before December, I will not rush, rush, rush, and I'll take time to enjoy the season. It's like for 335 days I don't know when Christmas is and BAM- the time is upon us again. Although another season is here and I, A) haven't finished my shopping and B) I do rush, rush, rush, I am enjoying the season. I still have tons to do but I'm going to enjoy doing it and really focus on how fortunate that we are so blessed to be healthy and to have as much as we do. I have also been reflecting on all the changes that have taken place since last year this time. We have so much to be grateful for.
    Just this past week we had Braxton's Pageant at church. My little shepherd had a line in this years play. He did really well.  And just look at how much fun he was having too. No matter what he says Mckinley had a good time. When Braxton's group stood up to sing one of their songs she pointed and said "My brudder!".
    Last Thursday we made the trek to the mall to see Santa. When I picked Mckinley up that afternoon and asked her if she was going to see Santa she said "uhhhh Nope." And she didn't. Wouldn't even wave to him. Once we got back out to the car (I didn't even buy the photo of Brax sitting on his lap. He was seriously disgruntled that his elf had not arrived) "Norman" the elf was sitting on the car seat patiently waiting for us to come out. He's been into all kinds of mischief since!

And the Band Plays On

It's not just from my childhood, or my dad's, or even his mothers. We are now the proud new owners of a piano that goes back almost a century. I have a picture of my grandparents standing in front of this piano at their wedding.
I like antiques and even more so when I know the history behind something that has been in the family but I almost am speechless when I look at this piano. The history it has. And now my children will have it become apart of their childhood.
This was moved to the house last night "after business hours" and bedtime for my two and was in the house in less than 30 minutes. When the kids woke up this morning they walked in almost in disbelief. Mckinley whispered  "a big one".