Happy December! Here we are seven days in and I’m finally sitting down to type. It feels so good to my fingers. I’m glad I took keyboarding in HS just to fill up a spot on my schedule. I love to type. And blog.

I’m sitting here super tired but I have an extra 45 minutes and I’m determined to post some lovely photos that I took in the beginning of this week.

The children had a snow day on Monday.

And another on Tuesday.

The snow fall was beautiful. I ended up going outside with Caleb, Seth, Sarah, and their friend Jack from next door.

It’s always a sight to see everything covered over with white. Pure. Clean. Cold.

They love it when their dad plows the snow into a big pile. It inevitably becomes a game of “King of the Mountain” with snow as ammunition and a useful cushion to push your friend into. You can rough-house a little safer in a snow pile. Sarah jumped from the top into the soft snow.

I snuck around, trying not to let them see me. Sometimes when children catch sight of a mom they forget to play and start remembering hunger, thirst, complaints, and things that they want that only Mom can give or admire (“Mom, Look what I can do!”).

I wanted them to play.

I tiptoed into the woods.

They were following me, I think!

Yep, they certainly were. “MOM! MOM do you want to come watch us sled?”

I had to say “yes”.

The caught up to me and went on ahead.

But Seth turned around and said, “Come on, Mom, I want to walk with my moo-moo.”

He didn’t want me to lag behind.

And all of a sudden it wasn’t me and them. It was us.

It’s funny how God can turn a heart attitude around when I least expect it. I had been solitarily and somewhat sadly taking in the beauty of my surroundings when these dear children caught my attention and pulled me in to their world. They wanted me.

The hill was so very steep. I wish you could see it in real life. It’s so steep that they only wanted to go down 3 times each because it’s such hard work to climb back up. This is the photo I took while sitting on a throne made of snow. They were making the first trail so the sled would work.

Caleb went down first and the snow blinded him.

Then Seth flew down.

Sarah got ready.

“Don’t push me, Caleb!” she said.

“CALEB! DON’T YOU PUSH HER!” I yelled.

She was pushed.

(“it will make her tougher, it will make her tougher”, I chanted to myself as I took pictures)

Seth again.

And then Seth sat on Caleb’s lap and down the brothers went.

That smile!

I think the same one was on my own face, too.

Caleb was too suprised that he didn’t injure himself to smile.

The children walked back home one way, and I went another way. The air was quiet and cold. I admired the way the trees were each striped with white.

lines of brightness, lines of darkness

This is the beauty of a freshly fallen snow, as the wind cleans the trees off rather quickly.

It pays to get outside right away to soak it all into the soul.

Back inside again, with just a few scenes of what makes a cozy home even cozier…….

Happy Decembering, friends.

You are loved.