Snow in March!

The kids had a fantastic snow day yesterday! The snow continued to fall throughout the morning and is even still here today (but sadly, the roads are clear so everyone's back to school!). Joseph was most impressed with the snow. He would get down on all fours and lick it! Yuck! They all sledded down the back hill making sure to stop at the "yellow grass" before the lake - all except David's feet once! The boys enjoyed a snow ball fight complete with a fort thanks to Chris O. Caris loved the sledding and attempting a snowman at a friend's house. Joseph wondered why the rest of the neighbors didn't have on camouflauge coveralls! But after a day in the snow, even Caris was glad to be wearing them (with pink accessories, of course)!

Logic of the Sweet Tooth!

Caris (our pickiest eater, but lover of all sweet things) was trying to convince me that she should be able to buy an ice cream at the cafeteria tomorrow. She has a choral program at school tomorrow night which she has been looking forward to for some time. So her reasoning for the ice cream splurge at lunch ... "If I eat the ice cream at lunch, it will freeze all the words to the songs in my brain so I won't forget them tomorrow night!"

At least Charlie Brown didn't do it!

Okay, it's true confession time! When I was little I colored on the walls! In fact, I colored behind all the furniture because I knew I wasn't supposed to color on the walls! And even worse than that ... when we moved and all the furniture was removed therefore revealing my secret, I didn't even own up to it! I said, "Charlie Brown did it!" (Charlie Brown was my nickname for an adult family friend who liked to play like a big kid - and I loved that!)
Just an hour ago, I found Joseph and his best buddy happily decorating Joseph and David's entire rooms with wet sidewalk chalk! The furniture, toys, comforters, and doors were bright colors of the rainbow! I fussed and lectured while all three of us cleaned. I would love to call someone for sympathy but I'm sure I would just hear laughter on the other end of the phone!

The Gifts of Giving and Time Together!

This Christmas the best gifts any of us gave or received were time together and the sacrifice of giving! We enjoyed a fun-filled visit with Grandaddy; a special visit from Mimi; a trip to DC with MommaC, Papa Joe, Aunt Babsie, Uncle Leland, Jared, Jake and Zac; and a celebration of Jesus' birthday with Aunt Sue, Uncle Ed, Uncle Matt, and the Sanzones!
We were all blessed by having a family Christmas gift swap where all three children combined their saved allowances to buy Rich and I and each other presents. They also all made presents for us. They very carefully chose the gifts they thought the other would enjoy most. The gift of giving brought us all great joy!
One added blessing was the trips to the Marine Corps Museum and the Vietnam Wall with my Dad. We all learned a great deal about the sacrifices of war, the comraderie of those who share in combat, and how the war impacted him.

Birthdays!

We had fun celebrating birthdays in January! My mom turned 65 at the beginning of the month. The whole family kept a secret (which is amazing enough in itself) and my sister and I surprised her with a girls' weekend! Boy was she surprised! She cried and held us both as if we might vanish! The girl time and an afternoon with my great-grandmothers, dad, and Babs' family was quite a blessing (and a great birthday present for me as well)!

The little princess of the family turned 8 later in January! She enjoyed a family dinner at her favorite Mexican restaraunt and a birthday party with some of her friends and her cousin, Anna! The party was completely planned by Caris! I must say she was much more motivated to plan the details than to implement all of them! We all had a great time at the tea party for girls and dolls!

Trusting in my Heavenly Father

Tomorrow is Caris' birthday! She wants to have her doll dressed up for her birthday - including a special doll brush to fix her hair! This morning Caris saw that I have a new hairbrush which she thought would be perfect for Kit, her doll. She was very excited to have found a good solution to her doll's hair problems. Caris sobbed when I told her it wouldn't be best to use my brush on Kit's hair. She got more hysterical as she watched herself cry in the mirror. I told Caris that I promised her Kit would look beautiful for her birthday. I asked her If I keep my promises, to which she sniffed out a "Yes". So I said, "Then don't cry; don't worry about tomorrow; and go have a great day today!" Caris replied that she thought she was just too tired to go to school now! (Of course, she's at school!)

What Caris doesn't know is that I love her and know her well enough to have anticipated her dilemna and asked for a family member to buy her the special doll brush for her birthday! I saw myself in Caris this morning. How many times do I cry before God about something - health, financial, relational struggles- when He is lovingly trying to comfort me by telling me "Don't cry my child. I love you and know you. I want the best for you. I have tomorrow under control. Go enjoy this day I have given you." So often, I miss out on God's best plan for my life by looking at my own problems (in the mirror) and continuing to cry instead of trusting Him! I think I've found the good solution instead of waiting on His perfect solution. I think I'm too overwhelmed with my circumstances to take on the day ahead. So many times in His Word He tells me exactly what I was telling Caris and as a perfect Parent, I'm sure He even more so wants to comfort and give good things. Lord, I pray I will trust more in you as my good, loving, and sovreign Heavenly Father!

Life Lessons from Joseph

Yesterday I was quickly walking Joseph to the car after pre-school because it was misting rain and, of course, there were things to do! He was pulling against me a little. Then Joseph said, "Mommy, why can't we stop and pick up rocks and jump in the puddles?" And I thought, "You know, why not?"! How many times do I miss the treasures, miracles, moments of fun, and wonders of God's creation in my hurry to complete tasks or to not be inconvienced? Joseph and I slowed down a bit yesterday, jumped a few puddles, and picked out a rock for his "collection". Hope you have a moment to slow down and take a look around you today at all the opportunities and blessings!