Snow Break

Well who knew after our little trip north last weekend to see the snow we'd have snow at our own house just a few days later. The kids got out of school early on Tuesday then were out all day Wednesday and Thursday. Tomorrow is delayed start due to icy roads. We really enjoyed our little mini-break playing in the snow. We probably got about 2 inches of snow when it was all said and done.

 We love sledding on the long hills in our neighborhood and yard!

 It was great to have neighborhood kids to play with between 4 families we had 9 kids!

 This snow was too powdery to build a snow-anything so we put water and food coloring in balloons, let it freeze, then cut away the balloons and stacked them into sculptures. Looks cool.

 We made "maple candy" like on little house on the prairie. It's basically maple syrup and brown sugar boiled to hard candy temp then poured on snow. It freezes instantly making this hard candy that kinda taste like butterscotch.

 It was snow much fun!
Well at least on the first day when we played outside almost all day and had friends over for chili and chocolate chip cookies!

Today the snow was melting a little and it was still very cold! Our baby didn't go out much, complained of headache and just wanted to lay around watching cartoons mostly. When he woke up from his cat-nap he had a fever over 100 and we went to urgent care to find out he has strep throat. What a rotten way to end a fun snow break! No school for him tomorrow. Poor little guy.

Winterfest in Blowing Rock NC

Well if it's gotta be freezing cold we might as well see some snow! Even if we had to drive 45 minutes to get to see the snow it was still fun. We decided to take off to Blowing Rock, NC on Saturday to attend the Winterfest event. It was so cold! The temp in the car said 27 but the windchill made it feel more like 11 degrees. The snow falling was beautiful and the kids were super excited about it.

There was a lot of ice on the mountains but luckily none on the roads.

So excited to be in the snow I don't even care my toes are numb!

Ice carving demonstrations

Snowball anyone?

Hayride in the snow with complimentary quilts to bundle up in with strangers all enjoying seeing the sights of downtown Blowing Rock all snuggled in the hay behind a John Deere. 

Catching snowflakes!

Big brother gathering a handful of snow to get back at brother.....

resulting in this.  Payback hurts....

Warm crafts indoors at the community center sponsored by the Girl Scouts.

Mmmm....cookies!

Downtown restaurant recommended by the locals. Only open for breakfast and lunch and serve hearty comfort food.

Best hot cocoa ever!! Or maybe it just felt like a luxury to be warm after walking out in the snow.

We missed watching the 115 people who paid to take the polar plunge in the frozen lake earlier that morning (CRAZY!), and we didn't go tubing because of the windchill and crowds, but all in all it was well worth the drive just to play in the snow a little bit. Our oldest son said he was glad to see the snow and glad to leave it there. Apparently not a fan of the extreme cold. 

Fighting the January Blahs...

It's January. The time after being home together for the holidays when everyone has to go back to school and work in the just barely above freezing rain to face a ridiculous amount of homework and projects and testing. It's the time when new year's resolutions have lost there resolve and apathy sets in. Until now....

We started a new series in Kids Zone this month called "Blast Off" by New Spring Church. We are using this theme for both preschool and children's worship and the kids are really getting into it. I love the look on the kids faces when they come in and see a new set. It's like VBS every eight weeks but on a smaller scale. It warms my heart to see my own kids excited about getting to go to church. We are learning about God's Promises each week and it's a good reminder to me too that God has a plan and He ALWAYS keeps his promises. For grade school, Stanley is incorporating the promises of 10.7.3.1. into Children's Church. They are learning God's rules in the 10 Commandments, how God's Plan is revealed in the 7 days of creation, God's plan for me is as easy as ABC, and there's only 1 True God. 

What better way to start off the New Year than to be laying a firm foundation of faith for your children that will last for eternity.

"I'm in the Lord's army!"

A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We've had a great time just staying close to home this Christmas and New Year. It was a big blessing that nobody was really sick this year! Here's a few pictures of the fun.

The weekend after Christmas we took a little day-trip over to Raleigh and Wake Forest to visit some friends and see our old home.

Stanley's Alma-mater, Southeastern Seminary

Our first house together.