True Confession

UPDATE at the end!

Luci went to play video games and spend the night with Bryan and Valerie Saturday night. We saw them all at church Sunday, and they begged for "more time, mama!" so we let Luci stay Sunday, too.

Enter the ice storm, and then five inches of snow. So thankful to see the sun this morning--but in reality it may be tomorrow late afternoon before we can get to her to bring her home.

Now it's Friday, and I miss my baby! This is the longest we've been apart since she came to us in August, 2005.

Yeah, I know, "she's doing fine," "she's having more fun with them than you," etc.

If you have a child who suffers from adoption trauma with its separation and anxiety issues, you'll understand.

yesterday: the main road to town

                                                                        our road

today: the sun came out!

She made it home! John said this last turn, into our driveway, was the worst part of the trip.

I'm so glad to have my darling home.

(I think she's glad to be home, too.)

Happiness!

It was coming down horizontally for a while!

Luci's tree house is back there, somewhere.  Can you see the pink?

A few minutes later, there was so much more.  Any snow here is a treat!

JT and Luci made this Mickey!

Luci's comment

We've prayed, and done the spoon thing.  So now we have just enough snow in the yard to sled on in the morning!  Yay!

As the snow came down after supper, Luci stood at the living room window, looking out on the back yard.  John and I were still at the table, talking.  We heard the sweetest thing from Luci.  She didn't know we could hear her.

"Thank you, Lord!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That snowflake is from here.  It looks like an interesting site!

sn*w

 John built this!  The fort has 3 windows, too.  Really good job, John!  He's using an infrared scan (a Christmas present) to measure the temperature of the snow blocks.  (hint:  it's below freezing)

 Luci used this fort for throwing snowballs at mommy.  Hmmph!

Snow Day!

Nine inches of snow, measured on our deck. Unreal, wonderful snow!

The neighbor's dogs "helped" JT sled down the hill.

There's an angel in there somewhere...

The road less traveled...seems like my whole life I've chosen the more unusual path...

Our house.  I love our home.

Wish his eyes were open!  Otherwise, I love this shot.

I was there, too.  John insisted I get in some photos.  Nice of him to let it look as if I helped with the snow girl.  Nope.  I stayed inside until it was done.  I'm smart that way.

Bryan worked at building a snow fort.  Luci called it an Ee-Gloo.

And this little booger had too much fun chasing me with snowballs!

Blizzard in Time-Lapse: 40 seconds long

December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

From Mike Black Photography

Now, for Today~~

We finally got some snow...enough to make things beautiful and to make some snow angels on the deck.

and an itty-bitty snowman

my favorite photo today

Snow!

We have an inch-and-a-half now and it's still coming down! So exciting. The best snow all year and it wasn't even predicted.

We got two robo-calls from our County Superintendent this morning (hello! we homeschool!)...first one said school was delayed 1.5 hours, then canceled altogether. This is nothing like what the East Coast got, but it's enough to put the county into a panic. We have no snow-removal equipment. Also, there was a terrible wreck about a mile from us the last time we got a dusting...3 people were killed, so no chances are being taken.

Homeschooling plus "official school snow days": They don't really matter. We will do a shortened version of school today. Right now the kids are studying physics: how fast you can go down our hill on a sled! YAY for snow!!

Some Books

Since weathermen around here start saying "SNOW" as early as possible (i.e., about 6 days before it might, perhaps happen) I had plenty of time to get to the library and check out some picture books about the cold stuff. One of the favorites is Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers. A really beautiful book.

We didn't get much snow, but what we did get made a nice transformation. The back yard:

and our road. This kind of iciness made for 2 days of missed school for the area kids.

Snow Day!

This really should be called "Almost Snow Day." Schools in all of north Alabama were shut down for today, and some for tomorrow. All because one inch of snow was predicted. Yes, ONE INCH. We have maybe, just maybe, one-third of an inch at our house.

Just enough to make a snow angel that shows up. So JT and Luci bundled up and went outside.

After a little while, I heard this soft tapping on the back door. Now, don't look at the dirty door. We have kids, after all, and they touch things. But can you see the pink thing at the bottom right of the door? That is Luci, and she wanted in. All I could see was the top of her head. Her gloved hands could not turn the knob.


Here's how a clever young man gets enough snow together to make a snowball:



And then he tosses it for joy!

Merry Christmas!

Did Santa come?
Tossing paper out of the way.

Some favorite presents
.
John got a rototiller. Making the garden plot last year was so difficult with our rocky soil. This should help.

Luci makes a pretty bride!

JT likes his gloves and Chuck Norris shirt.
Bryan got some movie-making equipment.


My favorite: SNOW. The flurries only lasted about 45 minutes, but it was enough to give everyone a big smile.

And, since we never know when it will snow again, Luci begged to make a snow angel. Notice that she's barefoot! She was only out there for about one minute, so don't fret too much about it.



We really need a good snow! :)