Making Childhood Memories

I'm really getting used to these snow days, I'll admit.  I love having Daddy T home (since he was working from home since he couldn't make it out of our subdivision, like everyone else on our side of the subdivision) and getting to play in the snow with B.  I love his excitement, how he begs to "pweese, pway in shnow!"  And since he said please, I can't very well turn him down.  After lying in the snow and making snow angels with him this morning, I showed him that he could eat the snow.  At that time, it had frozen and become great snowman-building snow and was basically like eating ice.  After I showed him that, he was perfectly content to sit on the retaining wall and eat snow all afternoon!  We had a snowball fight and he helped Daddy T build another snowman...in between bites...and then helped him shovel the driveway. 

I must say that I love making these memories with him.  I know he may not always remember them, but I hope that through the years he will look at these days as special and such a fun family time.  I remember loving the power going out and the ice storms and snow storms when I was younger.  Of course, we had a huge generator (and lived on a hill so it was like we were rubbing it in that we had electricity) and a furnace that kept the house nice and toasty.  My aunt and uncle and 2 cousins (at that time) would come over and spend the night/week with us since they would have lost power by that point.  I had so much fun bonding with them and playing games and coloring.  I absolutely loved the family time that we had then.  Those are some fond memories.  That's probably why, despite being cold and inconvenient now that I have kids, I love snowstorms and ice storms.  It gives you family time and memories that we too quickly rush past without noticing how much we've missed until we get to the point where it's too late.  I don't want to be that.  I try to daily take time to spend with my kiddos purposefully.  I don't want to regret that later.

Enough of that. Here's the pictures I know you really wanted.

My little snowman

Snowball fight.

Snow Angels...while eating snowballs.



B was feeding the snowman his snowball.  This was Daddy T's snowman.  Look significantly better than mine.  I didn't want to disturb the snow and the pretty yard more than I had to!





The best way to warm up after playing the snow twice in one day!

Book Review: A Billion Reasons Why

One of my favorite chick-lit authors is Kristin Billerbeck.  I love her writing style and her sense of humor.  I find myself laughing out loud in so many places, and this book was no exception.  Her books tend to be fast reads because they are fun and interesting.  This book was hard for me to put down, just like all of her other books.

The story line is about how Katie is dating one man because it makes sense.  He's stable, wants marriage, and has a plan.  However, she loves another man.  Everything in her knows this is wrong, but she just can't seem to break it off with her current boyfriend in order to be totally in love.  Will she do it or will she marry her current boyfriend and come to love him?  Not telling! 

I highly recommend reading this book if you like chick-lit, fun, and light reads.  You won't be disappointed by any of her books!




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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Our Winter Wonderland #2

The first winter wonderland we had was on Christmas day.  I'll post those pictures one day, but these are from today.  We got over 10 inches of snow and are expected to get about another inch along with some ice tonight.  We've already had cars sliding down the hill again.  You'd think they would learn to avoid our hill!

The snow was too powder-like to build a snowman.  That kind of snow was on Christmas.  This kind of snow was great for sledding, which our neighbors did.  They had a system of using the 4-wheeler to get to the top of our hill and then would sled down.  If I had known Mom and Dad had a sled at home, I would have made sure to have gotten it the last time I was home.  B would have loved it!  Daddy T, probably not so much since B would insist upon doing it "again, Daddy.  Shwide (Slide)!"

I'm mostly posting the pictures I chose for our family who live in warmer climates, so they may not interest you too much. However, I know my grandparents will love them!

Daddy T made snow cream for him and B.  B loved it; probably because it was sugar-filled....



He was frozen but did not want to come in at all.




Oops!  He thought it was funny to fall and jump.



This is how we get the snow off the drive...





Once he saw Daddy T measuring the snow, he decided he wanted that job.  He had no idea what he was doing, but he thought it was fun to stick it in the snow.



Book Review: Love At Last Sight

Love at Last Sight by Kerry & Chris Shook is a 30-day program that is designed to help you grow and deepen your closest relationships, including those that are friends, married couples, siplings, and parents.  Week 1 was probably the most challenging for me personally because it was about "The Art of Being All There."  Many times, I find myself distracted and not always "there" for those that need me the most.  I try to be and I want and desire to be, but I'm not.  It really made me think about some things in my life personally.

The layout of the weeks are as follows:
Week 1-The Art of Being All There; Week 2-The Art of Acting Intentionally; Week 3-The Art of Risking Awkwardness; Week 4-The Art of Letting Go.

At the end of each day, there are challenges for you to complete.  They are mostly reflective questions, but the questions help lead you to the change that you need/want in relationships.  It was an interesting read for me.

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I received this book free from Waterbrook Press and from Blogging for Books.  I was under no requirements to write a positive review; I was only required to write my honest opinion of the book that I read.

The Easiest Dip

I forgot where I got this recipe, but it's so good that we sometimes eat it for a meal.  It's simply 8oz. cream cheese, 8 oz. sour cream, a pack of taco seasoning, and a jar of salsa.  Yummy!  We then eat lettuce and tomatoes on top of it.  Have I mentioned how good it is?  Let me know what you think when you make it.

Pictures

These kiddos love to read together.  Well, Baby M likes to actually chew the paper and B has quite the challenge of keeping it out of her mouth.  He loves his sister most of the time.

B and his Pop lying in the hay after a full day of feeding cows, checking fences, throwing rocks in the pond, and who knows what else.  Pop was probably really ready for his nap.  B was just posing, I'm sure.  Apparently he got in once and Dad told him that the cows would eat him if he was with the hay.  That made it more difficult to get him to go back in again to lay on it!

This picture was when I was pregnant with Baby M.  B loves motorcycles and after one of our Sunday School dinners, one of the couples who had driven their motorcycle let B sit on theirs.  He thought it was fun and was disappointed when it wouldn't start.

Santa 2010....enough said.  He did go through the rest of the mall saying "I sit Santa's lap."  I responded with "well, you didn't really....you more like dropped off his lap."  He was proud of himself, though.  He had no problem with Santa as long as he wasn't sitting on his lap.  Good thing I expected this to happen so I chose the picture that had Baby M smiling instead.

After Kindermusik, there was a gymnastics facility that had open gym time.  This proved great for B to be able to go in and jump and get some energy out before lunch and nap.  Plus, I didn't have to worry about him jumping in anything he shouldn't for fear he'd get hurt.

Boot Camp-Orientation Week

This was my first week at Boot Camp for the orientation week.  I was extremely nervous about it because just the name in itself sounds very intimidating.  I like being active, but I don't really view myself as an athletic person.  I've played sports and like exercising, but I've never been the best at either of those.  I've been good, just not the best.  However, I do give my best, which I'm learning is all that matters. That's a huge thing for me to discover.  I've mentioned my fear of failure and disappointment a lot, so I'm proud that I'm doing something that I wasn't so sure I could be successful at. 

So, what do I think about boot camp?  It's awesome!  It works EVERY single muscle and despite it being very, very early in the morning, I have more energy and it's a great way for me to start my day.  I was sore after the first day or orientation, and that was just basically him showing us how to use the ropes!  We run on the bosu balls, since it's so cold out. 

We do our fitness test on Monday, which will consist of the push ups, sit ups and running a mile.  I personally hate push ups, so I'm not so sure I'll do good on that.

Where does my running fit in?  On the off days.  This is a 4-day program, so on the days that I'm not doing that I will be running.  There's a race in April I plan to run and there's one in February that I'm contemplating.  If anyone in my area knows of some races that are fun for beginners, please let me know!  I'm don't even mind going to the big city in the middle of my state to do that.

I'll try to post updates to my Boot Camp experience simply because I've been asked to.  I would highly encourage anyone to do it.  It's incredible....at least where I go.

Book Review: Love on Assignment

Love on Assignment by Cara Lynn James was a fun book to read.  It is based in the 1900s in Newport, Rhode Island.  At that time, it was a fancy place that those who were rich and beautiful would go.  So naturally, if a woman who is an aspiring reporter is asked to go there undercover, she would go.

Charlotte was asked to go undercover by her boss to check out Daniel.  Daniel was a young man who had lost his wife and had become a professor of religion.  He was well-known in the area for his very controversial topics that he chose to write about in the paper.  His articles made for great reads.  There was only one problem....he was writing for a different paper and not theirs. 

Charlotte decided to be his governess so that she could investigate a scandal that involved Daniel.  However, once there, he helps her to find her faith once again and to realize just how much God wants to be in our lives.  She has difficulty bringing this family down because of all they have helped her gain.  Will she protect the family or will she give him up?  You'll have to read it to find out!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Please pass the croup. Please.

Apparently the croup comes in pairs at my house.  B started to get sick when he came back from the country.  We thought it was just allergies, but apparently it's not.  He's been wheezing really bad, so we're back on breathing treatments and steroids (so much fun) for him.  Being the sweet big brother he is, he shared it with Baby M and now she has it, too.  At the same time.  So she's on steroids and refuses to sleep.  I'm just a tad bit frazzled and tired of fighting them to sleep or to sit down to take the breathing treatments.  I'm thankful that's all it is, but I will be glad when they both feel better and they get back on their routine.  I've accomplished absolutely nothing this week!

I'm sure that people think I must be crazy in the winter because I try to keep B away from a lot of people.  It's not that I just don't want him sick.  It's that when he gets sick, his asthma kicks in high gear.  I hate the breathing treatments because they make him shaky and wired and agitated.  I can never get him to take the full dose because he ends up shaking so bad that I have to stop.  It's either that or him stop breathing, so I chose the shaking.  Daddy T had asthma but outgrew it, so I'm hoping B does, too.  The bad news is that croup usually comes with asthma. Not always, but usually.  Not good news for this household!  Please pray that Baby M doesn't have it.  I'd hate to have 2 sick all of the time.

So, that's my excuse for my lack of updates.  I've simply been in demand and on duty 24/7 this week.  I'm tired!

New Year's Resolutions

I'm not really a New Year's Resolution type of girl, but I figured with all of the big plans we have planned for this year, why not?  So after thinking about it for a short time, here's a rough draft of my resolutions...

1.)Lose the baby weight.  (This will hopefully be a by-product of the rest of my resolutions.)

2.)Finish at least 3 months of boot camp.  Yipee!

3.)Run at least 3 5ks

4.)Run a 10k

4.)Keep my schedule simple and my focus on my family.

5.)Commit to not only reading through the Bible again, but also praying specifically for every country in the world by using the Operation World book as my guide.  I don't want to only pray for them, but I'm asking God to really lay a country heavily on my heart so that I will desire to know more about it and to pray for it all of the time.

6.)Limit the Starbucks drinks:)  I'm doing lots better, but I still have a ways to go to kick the addiction!

So, friends....what is your resolution?  Dare you share with me?  I might like to borrow some of yours too!