Snow!

January has been quite pretty with snow falling most days.  The kids have been enjoying it thoroughly.  The weather has been great for snowballs and snowmen and tunneling through snow drifts.

Back inside there is the usual January entertainment -- board games and card games, the trampoline and pillow piles, audio books and tons of snuggles.

Going Somewhere...

Christmas Time

Better late than never.  Here is a peek at our Christmas:

This year on Christmas Eve we let the kids open one small thing, and then we read the Christmas story from the Bible before tucking them in for the night.

Then Christmas morning, Todd and I were both up way earlier than Evan or Chloe which was really unusual.  I even had time to drink my tea before they came wandering out.  I ended up taking more videos than photos this year, but here are a few cute ones.

The kids opened a pile of gifts from Gramma and also the surprises they bought for each other -- something they look forward to doing every year.  There were so many smiles and thrills of the day.  Then all week following present-opening time it was a joy to watch them playing with and enjoying all the new things and incorporating them into their set-ups.  We've also been doing our new puzzles like crazy since a 500 peice puzzle is perfect for our family to finish in one day.


Evan's favorite things were his own calculator, a Narnia book set just like the ones I had when I was his age, and lots of Legos -- especially an amazing vintage Technic set we found that he loved.

Chloe's favorite things were her sewing kit, dozens of Schleich animals and bunny hutch, mini shaped puzzles, and a kaleidoscope that she hasn't put down in weeks.

Ruby's favorite things (in case you were wondering) were the piles of tissue paper, any open box, and gaining back her favorite spot right under the tree where all those pesky presents have been sitting in her way.  Peace at last :-)

Getting Ready

The tree is here and decorated.  Cookie-baking day happened.  Christmas music is now on the ipod. And this afternoon, Todd is home hanging up outside lights.   Christmas season has arrived at our home (a bit later than most folks, but we like it that way).   Now, it feels about right start watching a few of our favorite movies and wrapping all those hidden-away gifts.  And we'll probably have to do another cookie day since that first round didn't last very long!

December Days

Here you will find piles of : 

*cushions for climbing, bouncing, perching
*notebooks, drawing paper, colored pencils -- ideas for "crab stories" filling pages
*books.... everywhere
*blankets, pillows, warm cozy places, sleeping kitties
*legos, transformers, horses, playmobil -- toy collections that emerge every winter
*colorful thread, scissors, a tape measure -- dozens of "knots bracelets" being made
*RC toys, batteries, chargers
*snow clothes, boots, sleds
*tea bags, empty mugs, honey spoons

December days take some getting used to where we live.  Not to say we don't love where we live, because we do, but we just have to adjust.  The indoor rhythm takes over and outdoor time is more of a brief interlude.  We've been out walking quite often at night, to look at Christmas lights.  Those walks always seem to turn into runs -- to warm up, to burn off so much stored up energy, to feel alive!  This weekend we'll be getting a tree and putting up our outside lights, and soon there will be even more piles.... of new toys to play with :-)

Trying Out Acrylics

Chloe got some acrylic paints for her birthday this summer, but until just recently had not used them.  Then, inspriration struck and she suddenly wanted to try them.  We watched a few YouTube videos to make sure we had the basics down, but sadly Chloe didn't feel at all confident after all those "lessons."  (At least we learned about the wet palette for her paints.)  After a pep talk about acrylics being just like watercolors only thicker, she decided to draw a sketch and ended up getting right to work.

The scottie-dog idea is from the pattern on one of her sets of pajamas, but the rest of the design is all her own.  She really got into the blending, mixing, thinning, and layering process with these paints.  Using canvas was an all new experience as well.  It all just comes so naturally to her.

A couple of hours later, she held her finished product and was so extremely proud of herself.  After it was dry we took this picture.  Looks like we'll be needing to stock up on more canvases!

The Stray Dog

Last Thursday, in the middle of a blizzard, Todd found a dog wandering around in the middle of a country road while getting our milk.  Long story short, he ended up bringing the dog home to help it until we could figure out a solution.  The dog was a beautiful male German Short-haired Pointer with a collar on.

As much of a disruption to our lives as this was, it could have been worse.  This dog was so well-behaved and sweet that we all really took to him right away.  The kids helped to walk him, feed him, and play with him. He ended up staying overnight with us, and in the morning Todd started the search process by calling vets and shelters to report him.

In the meantime, we went on with life trying to figure out what we would do if no one claimed him.  None of us but Todd has ever really loved dogs and wanted one, but we were all really fond of this sweet guy we called Jake (since he responded to the sound of that name when Todd was guessing).

Jake slept a lot, obeyed commands, took treats gently from our hands, and was basically perfect in every way.  He didn't bark, jump, lick, or push anyone down.  Every minute we spent with him made it feel more and more like he was ours.

We made a vet appointment for the afternoon and planned to go to Petco afterwards to have him bathed.  We had no idea how long he'd be here but we had to plan for it to be a while.

By mid-morning, after a bunch of phone calls, the pieces of the puzzle were coming together.  A girl at the humane society had a friend who had lost his dog in Edinboro last night and gave us a number to reach him.  Within a half-hour we knew we had found his owner and they could come and pick him up at dinnertime.  This was an answer to our prayer, and I cheered, but our kids were heartbroken and crying.  They had really fallen in love with this gentle dog.

The rest of the day with Chase (as we learned his name to be) was filled with walks and cuddles, and when he finally left we cried both happy and sad tears.  Chase was going home where he belonged, but our house suddenly felt very empty.

The kids weren't even aware of the true miracle that took place here during that 24 hours.  Our whole family is now united in the desire to want a dog, not just because 'Dad wants one,' but because we all really want one.  So, even though Todd had resigned himself to waiting till the kids were grown, it looks like we could be raising a dog together sooner than we thought.  Who knows.