Happiness

It's been no secret. We've been wanting snow. I told the kids in December that if it wasn't going to snow outside then it would inside. And I then proceeded to cover my kitchen in paper snowflakes. But then miraculously . . .

it snowed! I was praying for a white Christmas and we got it! I wasn't the only one thrilled in the house. Waking up Christmas morning, as we opened the blinds in the boys' bedroom Jaron let out a shout of excitement. He then promptly insisted we get him in his snow gear so he could play in it. Who cares about presents - let's get out in the snow!

The timing was a little less than ideal however. Our big surprise gift for the kids was a swing set. We have a great neighbor/ward member who gave us this swing set. The plan was to move it secretly on Christmas Eve and then surprise the kids with it the morning. I had great visions of them running out the back door to go play on it. Well . . . that didn't exactly happen. It was a tense hour or so as I furtively peaked out the blinds at our work crew (Clark, my dad, home teachers and other friends). I never expected it would be such a temptation for the kids to look out the closed blinds but they wanted to see what was going on with the weather. I had a close call with a child almost seeing.

We never would have guess that we would have this type of weather. It wasn't pretty at 4 pm. The rain that started that morning turned to frozen ice pelts. Apparently, it felt like BB's smacking their faces. And I don't even need to tell you about the wind. It was crazy! But they got it up, sans the slide. It looked like it magically appeared Christmas morning all covered in snow.

Despite the wind and the cold we still took the swings for a test ride. Eliza loved it. And typical Eliza screamed when I removed her. She hasn't been back on since. (I haven't been willing to brave the cold.)

The snow is still on the ground. I love the look of it. And it snowed again the other night and we have more predictions for falling flakes. Clark and I even crazily went out on a Christmas Eve stroll (about 11 pm). It was bitter cold, the falling snow was more like intensely blowing bits and it was a short lived walk but incredibly fun.

All told, the snow has brought some happiness to our household.

Hoarding & Tearing

I'm writing this post for my dad. You see, my dad writes a Christmas letter that is sent far and wide. It's pretty darned famous in some circles of our little social world. As a child, it was a source of much embarrassment and amusement. Embarrassment in all the things he finds amusing about you, tweaks a little for humor's sake, writes it in a letter, then sends it to all the parents of your friends and the parents of the boys you have crushes on. Amusing to laugh at all the stupid things your siblings did. This is the time of year in my family you are extra cautious in what you say. My dad really just compiles his material from about Thanksgiving on. I was practically accused today of withholding any jewel comments made by my children. I confess, I do hoard. But I have my own Christmas letter to write. But my dad, who also treasures our blogs for the wealth of material (as long as he only has to read about 2 to 3 months back) also accused me of not writing enough about my funny little boy, Russell.

So here is what Russell was up to today.

Russell loves books. He enjoys going to the library. He'll sit for about 2.3 minutes while we read a lengthy book. Russell particularly loves the privilege of looking at books in bed during nap/quiet time. And why I haven't learned my lesson that Russell also gets quite a thrill out of tearing pages out of books, I can't answer. I wish I could say that this was his first book to destroy. But every family must have at least one child that enjoys ripping books. Russell seems to be the one.

What I find amusing about this book is that while reading it to Russell and Jaron last night, Russell noticed that the book had been previously ripped and then patched up. He asked, "Did I do that?" I went on to explain that he was not the culprit of the destruction on that book. Well, today he decided to remedy that. And it wasn't just one page. He started with the first and every page thereafter until I happened to be walking by his room and heard the tearing sound. 10 pages. 10 pages out of a 24 page book. I'm glad I caught him when I did. Gosh, it sure is getting embarrassing to go to the library and return these books!

So there you go Dad. I wrote about Russell.

Call Us Crazy

Last night after a busy evening, Clark and I finally got a moment to talk. He proceeded to tell me how Madison, Wisconsin was expecting a blizzard. We pulled out the computer looking for reports on how much snow to be expected and talk of school and business closings. While digesting all the information there was a small pause in the conversation. We both then turned and looked at each other to declare, "I wish we were there!"

A little bit of it is a longing for the snow. But a lot of it is longing for a place that in our hearts is still home. It's a longing for the warm memories and thoughts we have of people and a place. So call us crazy, we wanted to be in a blizzard!

So any Madisonites reading. We miss you. We think of you often. And we hope you enjoy the snow, the shoveling and you stay warm and safe!Jaron (22 months) and Clark playing in the snow in Madison.
Winter 2007

O Christmas Tree

We went on our annual hunt for a Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. I love getting real trees and it's fun wandering the Christmas tree farm looking at tree after tree. We decided to get our tree this year in Kansas while visiting Clark's parents for Thanksgiving. I laughed when we showed up to the farm and they pointed out that they had fresh-cut Wisconsin fir trees! I was very tempted to bring a piece of home with me to Oklahoma. But we went hunting for our own Kansas grown Scotch pine.

The weather was beautiful and warm. No hats, mittens or coats needed. Although we did enjoy apple cider and hot chocolate. Eliza had no problem wandering aimlessly with us as we considered each and every tree.

Russell contemplates a tree just his size.

Checking out the leaves.

Ok, I laugh myself silly every time I see this picture. I even asked Jaron if he thought he looked funny in the picture. He didn't think so. Was this excitement about getting a tree? Or posing for a family picture? Nope, he thought the sun was in his eyes so this was his attempt to block the sun and still pose for a picture. Hmmm, no one else seems to be squinting. And we were so glad that Grandma and Grandpa Miller could join us on our search!

Is it Cold Yet?

Not really! Sorry cold weather friends. It's the beginning of December and the weather is just barely turning cold. And come on, it's really not that cold. But alas, we had to discover if people had hats, mittens and what-not to wear.

Poor Jaron. He's desperate for snow. Every day he tells me it's going to snow for some reason or other. A while back on a bright sunny day with puffy white clouds in the sky he walked outside, looked a the clouds and said, "Mommy, I think those are snow clouds." Oh really?

Eliza enjoyed trying on her hat. Thanks to a Wisconsin friend. Maybe that hat - and of course Eliza - might actually see some snow this year.

Birthday Buddies

Here is Neil and his buddy, Eliza. They were both born on the same day though miles and miles away from each other. I'm convinced that she "delayed" coming to spend more time with him. And then we she discovered she was being induced he decided it was time to come too.

It is fun seeing them together although it must be confessed, he is much better at sitting than she. She is up and about and walking and climbing and getting into everything. (She loves the dishwasher. That silly child.) We look forward to many family get-togethers where these two "buddies" can play and enjoy having a cousin the exact same age. What will they be like 10 to 15 years from now?