Busy and Restful Winter Days

 

Our two weeks of Christmas vacation have been relaxing and it's been enjoyable to see, for the most part, my kids relaxing and creating at their own pace without having to rush to school or basketball practice or 4H meetings and such. I thought I'd take a few pics of the creations I've discovered the last few days.

 

 

Yahoo has kept busy prettying up her horses. One of the things that has tickled DR lately is to sit and just listen to Yahoo talk as she plays. She has these long drawn out, elborate and dramatic conversations with her toys that just leave DR scratching his head at the mystery of all ages of women!

 

Yip has come up with a new twist on his cardboard creations. I love the way that he used a root beer bottle as part of his ray gun.

 

Yap has slowly amassed a large collection of Legos. His most recent acquisition was the Lone Ranger Train that he made elevated this week.

 

A friend of mine just commented to me that she could see Yip and Yap both becoming engineers some day. I can see that too but I think they would bothe be very different types of designers. Their interests are just so different from one another!

 

Yes, this Christmas vacation has been rather restful and enjoyable.

Now, how to keep these restful days a goin' after school starts? Already this week we have basketball practice, a game, shooting sports, after school library....I need a nap!

 

 

I guess I'm a snowbird!

I've done just awful at blogging for the last few months. I guess it's a lot of things.

I'm busy. (Who isn't?)

We've been fighting colds and little stomach bugs off and on and honestly I just haven't felt good.

Mostly though I think I've been bad at blogging because anything I feel like blogging about, I know I've blogged about before. Which, on the other hand, isn't so bad. I guess that just shows the cyclical and seasonal, habits and traditions that our lives tend to take. The last few years bring the same fall/winter traditions of trick or treating, school music programs, gingerbread house building and somehow I just don't feel like blogging about those things again!

This winter however has been a bit different. We've had five snows this winter! The earliest was way back in October and our big one, 6 inches, occurred right before Thanksgiving. After the last three years of living in the worst drought in Kansas history it's really nice to see all this white stuff on the ground. Really nice since the infamous Kansas winds have seemed to back off and allow the snow to stay put!

I remember winter days growing up in Indiana where I just dreaded the cold winter days. I'm not even sure what it was about a snowy winter day that bugged me. Maybe it was having to get so bundled up in so many layers to go outside and get chores done. Maybe I despised it because my sisters and I spent so much time outside during winter weekends cutting and splitting wood to fill our wood burning stove. Maybe I just got cabin fever being stuck inside with six brothers and sisters. Who knows! I just remember not really enjoying winter much growing up in Indiana. I would have been happy with snow on Christmas and that's it!! I lived for summer!!

But this past weekend changed my thinking. Saturday night we received a lovely snow, 3 or so inches. The kind of snow that you see on made for TV movies that just fell gently and looked lovely under the moonlight. Then yesterday after church we had a beautiful sunny day, cold enough the snow didn't melt and no wind. I felt antsy and even though DR and the kids were quietly watching a movie I just felt like I couldn't stay in the house one more minute so I decided to take a quick walk around town.

My intention was a brisk 15 minutes of fresh air but as I meandered through our sleepy town my walked stretched to much longer. My light excersions quickly warmed me up until I had unzipped my coat, dropped my hood and stripped off my mittens. It was glorious! The sun was bright, the snow was clean and I felt that with just a few more trees I might have been at home in Indiana.

And at that point I realized I really loved being outside in the snow. Or maybe I just love being outside and I haven't spent nearly as much time out in nature as I did growing up. I think maybe it was God's way of telling me that I need to spend more time outside. Either way, it was lovely and I think I'll be thinking of snow differently from now on.

Snow Day!!!

We woke up to snow this morning, just a bit, but it snowed all morning long until we had at least 2 or 3 inches! Yay!! I love snow. The kids were dismissed from school because the weather is calling for even more snow later this afternoon, a possible 7-8 inches!! Bring it on! 

After trudging through snow on the way home, the boys were wet and ready to cozy up for a movie and hot apple cider. 

And a round of hamming for the camera! 

And like most of his free time, Yap has his nose in a book! Love how much this kid is into reading! 

Oh no, they aren't sad about school being let out early or anything are they? 

Isn't all that white just gorgeous? 

My crazy dog. When we get any sort of snow she prances around like the happiest dog in the world but if we get any rain, even just a little, she freaks out and takes off around town and scared of her own shadow! 

I sure hope we get more of this white stuff, we can always use the moisture! 

March - In like a Lion!

This winter has been so very different than last winter. We've had a foot of snow this year, just last week, where last year we didn't have much precipitation at all. Earlier I wrote about how much I am looking forward to getting our garden planted. I think last year we could have easily started planting by the end of March but that might not happen this year. It's been so cold!

I took the picture above about a year ago. It's hard to tell but Yip is in a t-shirt sitting on the bleachers, that's how warm it was last March. This March is a whole different ball game though isn't it? It looks rather the same now as in the photo above but we are cold (in the 30's and 40's) and windy and there is even a chance that we'll get some snow this weekend. Hoorah! Even though it's cold and I'm really tired of being stuck inside (usually sick), I'll happily put up with it if we get some moisture.

This March isn't just crazy here in SW Kansas either. My parents in northern Indiana just got 6" of snow last night. I'm used to Mud March in Indiana, not snow March. Who wants to bet you  might have a White Easter where you are? It's early this year you know.

Isn't this Indiana tree just beautiful? Just gorgeous. I don't need to tell you I miss snow trees do I?

I don't think anyone has complaints though of this odd March weather though, we all need the moisture but I'm thinking I might need to revamp my gardening plan a bit from last year! Crazy crazy!

Also a year ago I took this photo, remember? Ah!! Yahoo had turned three and later this week she'll be turning the big 4! She's so excited. I'm so excited that she'll be starting preschool in the fall! I'm excited that naps are almost a thing of the past. I'm excited she can dress herself, play outside on her own, and is getting a little less argumentative....a little.

 I'll try to post photos of her birthday party but it may be difficult since her party will be taking place in a car. Ha! A party in a car? Well, we're going to be on a trip and we are leaving on her birthday so I was thinking a party in a car might be a good way to fill in the miles, though I doubt we'll be blowing out any candles!

We're heading to Denver for part of our spring break. We only live 5 hours away and I'd hate to live so close and never visit. I've heard there are some awesome attractions! I'm hoping to have lots of photos to share later next week! Mile High here we come.

Where ever you are I hope you are getting the moisture you need as you plan a spring garden and are staying warm with electricity. See you next week!

That blizzard was a total letdown!!!

So yesterday I posted about our 4th snow day in a row and how a second blizzard was on our way with an estimated 6-12 inches. Well, guess how much we ended up getting? 

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Nothing!!! We received absolutely nothing. 

What. A. Bummer!!! 

I won't lie to you. I've been praying for a blizzard since December. Shoot, I'd be happy with a 3 month blizzard!

We Need MOISTURE!! 

Yep, we received 12" of snow but I'm greedy...I wanted more!! 

Well we are sure enjoying the snow while it lasts. I even kicked the boys outside Saturday (while Yahoo was stuck in bed with a fever) and made them play in the snow because, around here, you never know how long nice weather (winter, spring, summer or fall) will last. 

I'm kicking the boys outside to play in the snow when they get home from school today too! It's absolutely gorgeous outside today; sunny with no wind. 

Can somebody please tell me why piling all the snow in the middle of the road and only clearing the intersections makes sense? So if my friend lives on the left side of the road I have to drive past her house, do a u-turn at the intersection and then turn around to drive into her driveway. I've never seen snow cleared this way, ever. (Okay, stepping down from my Indiana road clearing rant.) 

I'm glad I kicked the boys out to play when I did because all this snow will probably have melted away by Saturday when the temps are to be up in the 40's. Well, that's what the weatherman says...shoot they missed a whole blizzard maybe they'll be wrong about the melting temps too!! 

Snow day number 4!

I'm not sure how many of you have been following the national weather news but Kansas is getting hit with a second blizzard today. The first blizzard we had was great!! We had gently falling snow, around a foot, that the kids were able to play in. Over the weekend the weather was actually gorgeous with lots of sunshine! 

This second blizzard however is not going to be good because of wind. Our weather forecast is calling for a possible foot of snow accumulation but I don't think that's going to happen. I woke up to look out the window and the snow was blowing horizontal down the street. The winds are blowing about 30 mph with gusts into the 40's! I thought it was great when I heard we were going to get so much snow but who knew that two blizzards could be so very different. 

So....this is snow day number 4. Though the boys have been out to play over the last five days Yahoo and I have not. Thursday afternoon she was running a temperature that spiked up to 104 a couple times. I thought it was coming down Saturday but no go, it spiked up to 104 again Sunday morning. Considering the blizzard that was coming we opted not to wait and DR took her to the ER yesterday morning. And guess what? She had an ear infection!! She never messed with her ears and even when I asked if they hurt she told me no. I think I'm going to have to invest in one of these because that's the second of my kids that have gotten ear infections without complaining about hurting ears.



By the way, that's called an Otoscope. Does anyone have one or ever used one? Are they hard to use? 

So Yahoo and I have been stuck in the house since Thursday. My boys don't know yet that there's no school, they are sleeping away and I'm not going to wake them! They've been able to play outside but not today. Over the weekend Yip even got to spend the night with his best friend so Yap had 24 hours of brotherless time! But that still didn't keep them from arguing and picking at one another when Yip returned. 

I'm just hoping we can stay busy enough today that there won't be too much fighting. We might have to get creative today with our indoor time...or I might just have to threaten them within an inch of their lives!! 

Snow day number 4. This must be some sort of record for Kansas! I don't think they've had a blizzard like this since 1971, much less TWO blizzards! Yep, it's windy. Yep, I'm stuck in the house with three kids and have a bad case of cabin fever. Yep, we are sick. But I wouldn't trade it for anything because all that means MOISTURE!! I'm already dreaming of what all that wonderful snow is doing for my garden plot. 

Yep, I'm in the middle of a blizzard but I'm still thinking of spring!! 

Snowed in...or getting ready to be.

"Snow! Woo Hoo!! No school for two days!", my children were cheering as they galloped off to bed this evening. I was cheering too, it was a lot of fun to have them home all day today! 

That's right, no school today and they've already cancelled school for tomorrow. 

Wanna know why? Because, as I have heard, we are in for one of the biggest storms Kansas has had for quite a while. The entire state of Kansas is already in a state of emergency due to the snow, rain, and ice we've gotten today and are preparing to get tonight. Today wasn't so bad....as long as you weren't driving. I guess we maybe received an inch of snow but we had a snow/rain/ice mix for most of the day. But I guess the big stuff will be hitting us overnight and all day tomorrow. 

This is a weather shot I just took. The purple dot is family. Hi family!! So happy to see that you are safely tucked away in Indiana trees!! I wish I had trees to block the wind. And hills, yes, those tiny Indiana hills would sure come in handy today too! 

The red dot is me in the flat land; without trees and hills. We are tucked in warm in our house though with plenty of food, movies, games, art projects and library books to keep us busy and comfortable for quite a while. Right now I'm snuggling on the couch with.....nobody. That's right, except for the kids, I'm all alone. 

See the green dot? That's Hays, KS. It might not look too far away but it's a few hours from here and that's where DR is right now, hopefully, warm and snug in a hotel. He had a business trip he left for Monday night and was supposed to get back this evening. No can do. The roads are treacherous (salt people!!) and he opted to hole up in a hotel for another night or two. 

 The big yellow sort of oval shape is the storm that is supposed to hit us over night. And when I say hit, I mean HIT! I've heard that in the next 24 hours we could possibly receive over a foot of snow....and I just read on one weather site that the worst of it is supposed to pass right between the red dot and the green dot. Right between my husband and I. 

...great...

I should have known something bad was going to happen while he was away. Last year when he took this trip I only had three kids throwing up all over my carpet in the middle of the night. If it weren't for all the welcome moisture this storm is bringing I'd almost wish to have sick kids than be separated from DR for who knows how long. No telling when I'll see my husband again! As long as he's safe though he can stay at hotels and eat at restaurants every night and I promise I won't hold a grudge!! 

Would you mind saying a quick prayer for us though? I don't mind being home alone. I don't even mind being snowed in the house. I am a little worried about losing power though. We have a generator and plenty of space heaters and a gas stove so I'm sure we'll be just fine in case it does go out but I'd rather not have to battle a power failure. So far so good though. The only battle I've fought today was with the stubborn dog who refused to go in the garage to spend the night warm and dry. I couldn't even drag her in!! 

I'm expecting to have plenty of down time for the next day or two so hopefully I can share our Kansas storm with you all. (And to give grandmothers peace of mind that we are all fine!!) Hopefully I'll be posting tomorrow!  

Kansas readers! (or anyone in the path of this storm) if you wouldn't mind comment and let me know what the storm is bringing you! 

Where's the SALT??

Often when I am in conversation with others the fact that I am not a Native Kansan often pops up. Over the weekend a friend asked, "Have you learned to enjoy living in Southwest Kansas?" 

I didn't answer right away. 

It's not that I don't like southwest Kansas, I do. But there are so many places and things I miss about Indiana at different times of the year. 

I never thought I would miss spring rains in Indiana. Ever spring my sisters and I battled mud in the barnyard as we went to do chores. I mean mud that would suck off a boot if you weren't careful. Yep, I miss that. 

Well I always knew I would miss a good shade tree. Growing up there were three large maple trees in our front yard that my siblings and I spent a lot of time playing around and in. I've yet to find a shade tree anywhere as good as those I grew up with. 

And of course I desperately miss Indiana's colorful autumn leaves. I had forgotten how wonderfully the humidity of Indiana permeates everything and creates rich, earthy smells...especially in leaves. 

(Thanks Mom.) 

More than those things though I miss certain places at particular times of the year. I miss my brother's crowded old farmhouse when we get together for Christmas. Granted it's never crowded except for that day! 

I miss laying on the sweet green grass to watch the 4th of July fireworks in Columbia City over the highway with semis driving underneath them. (Remember the year it was so cold we were bundled up in blankets, hats and mittens?) 

But the thing/time/place I've really missed this winter are the snowy Indiana roads....after they've been salted!!! Kansas needs to be introduced to my friend the salt truck. On New Years Eve we had 5 or 6 inches of snow. But for a week or more afterward this is what our town's roads still looked like. 

Of course the state roads were cleared. 

The town and dirt roads like the one below stay snow covered pretty much until it melts off naturally. 

Sometimes I see graders or tractors out on the roads working, but really there isn't much of a difference after they've been through. 

After driving on this I sure miss Indiana. In Indiana as soon as the snow starts falling the salt trucks are on the roads in force! Indiana snow doesn't have a chance to get to slick or packed on the roads; the salt combined with the friction from passing tires melts anything pretty darn quick. What Hoosier hasn't had the enjoyment of driving in slush?? 

Well, yeah, there IS that down side of having a lot more rust on your vehicles because of all the salt. MAYBE the salt makes Hoosiers a bit too confident when driving in bad weather. I'll take it though. 

Huh, never thought a salted road would be something to be homesick for! 

Woo Hoo we have Snow, snow, SNOW!!!

We woke early to snow. Everyone was up and eating breakfast by 6:30 and out the door playing in the snow by 7:00. 

They. Were. Excited.

It wasn't even light out yet! 

I brought out the camera and was happy I did because I loved the effect of the blurry snow falling. 

I have been praying for snow/rain for months because we desperately need the moisture out here. It snowed all morning and we made the most out of it. 

The kids and I all bundled up right after breakfast and played for over an hour before we needed hot chocolate and popcorn to warm up. After a movie we bundled up again before lunch for more fun time. 

I was so excited to see the snow this morning because it was sticking to the ground. We've had a few snow flurries during December but the horizontal winds blew all the snow, I desperately wanted to fall in my garden, straight to Oklahoma. 

In fact the snow we had a couple weeks ago, weathermen were actually calling for blizzard conditions which made me think, being that I grew up in Indiana and all, that we'd be getting a foot of snow. In reality the snow we received barely covered the ground because the 50 mph winds blew it all away. So in Kansas wind determines blizzard conditions, not amount of snowfall. 

The morning light cast a soft blue over everything. So pretty. 

Being that we live in Kansas obviously we don't have hills. I had forgotten that we had sleds packed away in the garage from our trip to Colorado a couple years ago. Needless to say the kids were psyched to play with sleds. 

Even if they had to pull each other around. 

Okay Father Winter...anytime you want to dump another 2 inches, or 22 inches, of snow on us I promise I won't complain! 

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Today was our church's Children's Christmas Program. I must say, of all the churches I've ever attended THIS is the way to do a Christmas Pageant. 

Rather than trying to get a group of squirrely kids to memorize lines and perform a Christmas play our church  actually gets the Christmas program all finished by October. While the weather is still nice a few months ago we gathered all the kids together after school and took photos of them dressed up in various roles of the Christmas story. Then it gets put on a Power Point presentation and the kids get to sit next to Mom and Dad and watch themselves in the "pageant". 

I'm sharing just a few of the photos the photographer (that would be me) took. By no means am I a professional but it was sure a lot of fun! 

The innkeeper turning away Mary and Joseph. 

I just love Mary's green fingernail polish...too cute! 

The choir of angels announcing the birth to the shepherds. 

We even have a very nice sheep farmer in the area that let me hang around taking photos of his critters for our pageant. 

This year we even had a "real" Baby Jesus. Bless that mother for trusting me to thrust her little one into the hands of a bunch of 6 and 8 year olds. 

But they sure did love him. 

Our "Wise Men".

Funny side story; my maiden name is Wise and I have three brothers. One of our ministers growing up would always get a kick out of saying, "Here come the Three Wise Men" when my brothers walked in the door. I guess that makes Yip and Yap up there half a wise man :) 

Yap

Yahoo 

Yip

Our little church has had such blessings this year. We started a children's Sunday School class (which I get to teach) in the spring and the first Sunday we only had 3 children. This morning we had 12 get up to sing and share poems in front of the church. What a blessing it's been to work with all these kids. It keeps me busier, along with a few more obligations I've added this year, and I have had as much time to blog as I'd like but that's okay. I get to see all those smiling faces on Sunday mornings! 

One gentleman at our church gave me the best compliment though. He said, "Next week I'll turn 85 years old and I've attended this church since I was 15 years old. I have never seen as many kids in the church as I did today." What a wonderful blessing! It's statements like that which give me hope for the future generations.