First Snow

Just last week we were enjoying our autumn weather and the peak of foliage here in New England. It was getting cooler and we enjoyed evenings and mornings in front of our fireplace.

Then, a dusting of snow greeted us a few nights ago. Our children loved being in the dark of the night watching the snow lightly fall on their faces. That light snow melted by the next midday.

This past Saturday afternoon it began snowing and snowed all night and by yesterday morning it had stopped. The weight of the wet snow broke many tree limbs and caused power outages throughout our state. We were fortunate to have power but, three large tree limbs were broken from two of our trees and one of our pine trees bent down to the ground. Thankfully, I still have my pink rain boots and so I doubled my socks, left on my fleece pajama bottoms and pulled on flared jeans over those and went out to start moving the branches to our back bog. Then I began to shovel the wet snow from our driveway. I was listening to our neighbors snow blow their driveways and was hoping one would be a good neighbor and help me out (I am without a husband or snow blower and no winter gear right now) but, none did.

I was about a quarter of the way through and family friends of ours from church showed up with snow shovels and mittens for the kids. Grant and Max had been wearing socks over their hands and they were so happy to now have warm, dry mittens to wear. The four of us shoveled our driveway in no time and the boys carried the heaviest limb out to the back pile of wood.
The Thompson's are wonderful, quirky people. They have hearts of gold and were our true neighbors yesterday. We thank God for them.
It's nice to know that I have help when I need it and help even when I didn't ask for it.
I was willing to clear the snow and clean up the yard on my own but, it was sure nice to have help!

Snow in April

 Yes, on the first of April it snowed. I kept hoping the prognosticators were just joking; that it wouldn't snow; that it would be in the balmy 70's.

 They were not joking. It snowed. And snowed, and snowed.

These are the views from our kitchen.

 What do children do when it snows that much? They build snowmen and then knock them over!

Do you notice they build them without gloves?

The best remedy for cold hands is hot cocoa with two marshmallows and whipped cream. 

Don't forget the straw!

Invite your friend to join you. Hot cocoa is best shared with others.

Spring, where are you? You were trying to emerge a week ago. 

Please return soon.

Brrr! Cold Day

Here in New England, we have been getting hit with snow storms, ice or freezing rain. The temperatures have been low. Last week, with the wind chill factor, it was -26 degrees Fahrenheit one night. BRR! 

The typical snow day consists of our children staying home from school. The school will call with a recorded message the night before, or at 5:30 AM, to notify us of the school closing or a two hour delay. The children are thrilled with snow days. I'm not always so thrilled. 

What a snow day represents for me: Helping four children find matching gloves and boots, hats, long socks and their own snow suits and jackets.
Then, helping dress these children in bulky snow gear.  This takes at least half an hour with the last child deciding to go out by the time the first one is coming back in because the dog stole their glove or knocked them over into a snow drift.

When one of these cold, snow covered children comes back into the house, they bring with them snow. Snow falls onto the floor, gets stuck in the folds of the snow gear, get tracked through the house and begins to melt. I am left wiping water puddles off the floor.

Maybe they come back in 10 minutes after they left. Maybe they come in to go "potty" and the whole process of removing and redressing begins again.

My Beloved and I suggest going out early in the day when the sun is out and it is warmer. Our children usually decide to go out right before the sun sets.  They have built snowmen, thrown snowballs at each other, find icicles and want to "save" them in our freezer. They sled and explore our woods and bog. We are under at least 2 feet of snow and more is expected to fall later this week.

Once they return to the home, they want hot cocoa with whipped cream and marshmallows and sip it through their favorite straws. They want warm baths, dryer warmed towels and to sit in front of the fireplace when they are done.

Winter takes a lot of work. 

Groundhog day is around the corner. I hope he doesn't see his shadow!

winter welcome

The days are short but, getting longer since Solstice. Our little ones are braving the cold and building snowmen, sliding down snowy hills, and asking for hot chocolate when they come in. We have placed towels by entry doors as the snow from boots melt and leave puddles on our wooden floors.

The snow blower has a place of honor in our garage and we have extra gasoline in case another blizzard strikes.

The mittens get lost or stolen by Pup-Pup. It seems each morning we are scrambling for glove and sock pairs before the school bus arrives.

Yesterday, Ben and Charlotte were "paper friends" (paper cut-outs) linked hand to hand as they skipped through our home.

My Beloved cut out paper snowflakes for them tonight.

We are eating comfort food and gaining our winter weight. Is is time to hibernate?

There is good news. My Beloved has some interviews coming up. We wait with hopeful expectation. 2011 is here. A new year. A fresh page. A new journey awaits us.

(photos, except two, taken by our 8 year old son Grant)