Snowy Day Update

Well, since the weather outside is "frightful," and being a couch potato is so delightful, and since I have no place to go...I might as well update our blog!

I've been wanting to do a general homeschool update, but I will do that in a separate post. So...family happenings:

* We've been hosting a once-a-month family community at our home and most recently met on Friday evening. This small group grew out of our Visionary Parenting Class that we attended at church in the fall. As a group, we decided it would be fun to meet together once a month for a potluck dinner and time of fellowship, along with a devotional that includes the children. There are 5 couples plus a single mom and I think about 20 kids all together. The meetings have been enormously popular with both adults and kids! This month we did a baked potato bar, complete with chili and all the toppings. Also once a month the moms meet on our own and the dads meet together as well. We're studying through the book Visionary Parenting, so we read a chapter a month and discuss when we're together without the kids, LOL. It's been a great way to foster good friendships that include accountability and prayer.

* We also enjoy our weekly growth group that meets on Wednesday evenings. This is another opportunity for fellowship and accountability with a completely different group of people! Most of the couples are older than we are, and several are empty-nesters or close to it, so we enjoy the opportunity to glean all we can from their wisdom.

* A new neighbor asked around to see who was interested in a ladies' neighborhood Bible study. Since I had briefly wondered about that possibility last fall, I was definitely interested, but a little cautious--it seems we already have a number of commitments. Right now our group is 4 women, all of us attending different churches, but I already love it. We haven't yet decided what study we'll do long-term. Our first meeting we shared our testimonies and prayed, and last week we discussed Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 and our roles as wives and mothers. Tonight we will discuss prayer and what we want to do as we go forward. The small group allows for maximum flexibility--last week we met on Wednesday night because of all the snow that canceled church activities. I'm enjoying the opportunity to build deeper relationships with other godly women, and we're praying for opportunities to influence our neighborhood for Christ.

* The kids have thoroughly enjoyed the snowy weather we've been having. Our friends in the D.C. area are definitely getting more than we've had, but after living in Las Vegas for 4 years, what we're getting is plenty for me, LOL! We've almost finished a Sam's Club-sized container of hot chocolate mix, and I've learned to deal with tons of snow gear in the laundry room. An upside-down table cloth works wonders for placing just inside the door for kids to get de-snowified. (Thanks, Claire and friend, for the idea!)

* The weather puts us in the mood to watch the Winter Olympics Games! Well, all of us but Tobin, who couldn't care less about any kind of sporting activity. It's definitely more fun to sit on the couch and watch the games than to shovel snow and exert our own bodies, LOL.

Our Snow Day

These are some pictures from Monday. The first one is in the front yard, just as it was starting to snow. The rest are in the backyard. Kenna was throwing a little "snowball"...the kids made little snowmen with giant carrot noses (the boy on the left is our friend Riley)...the boys worked on a snow fort...and Charis later made a big snowman after she had finished her tiny masterpiece. I regret I never got back outside to take a picture of her finished product, which was taller than Kenna, or to get shots of the whole yard covered with snow, but I was dealing with a non-napping toddler. Grrr. That's a whole other post which I won't write now, though!

Would You Believe?!

IT'S SNOWING IN LAS VEGAS!! And I mean SNOWING! This morning's vocabulary word was "accumulate," LOL. It has piled on the branches, and you can't even really see grass anymore. The kids are beyond delighted. When they first woke up, small flakes were coming down, but they were melting as soon as they hit the ground. I didn't let the kids go out for awhile, as it was muddy and just plain messy. But later it actually started sticking, so we all bundled up and went out to catch snowflakes on our tongues. (Arden kept referring to them as snow drops!) The boys cupped their hands and held them in front of their bodies, very still. When I asked what they were doing, they said they were going to collect snowflakes to make snowballs, LOL! Can you tell they haven't had much exposure to snow?!

We had friends over from "down in the valley," who said it was just raining at their house. So the kids had a blast with their friends, making real snowballs (as it had accumulated enough to actually play with by that point), little snowmen, little snow forts, snow angels (on the trampoline, ha!), and so on. It was a very fun break for all of us.

I will post pictures later. I started this post awhile ago, and now it's 7 p.m., the kids are in bed (Kenna never did nap...3rd day in the last 4 days she has shunned her nap, sigh), and I'm going to go spend some much-needed time with my hubby!! After the rehearsals and shows last week, it's very nice to have a quiet evening at home!