Snowy Suprise

On our way to work yesterday I made the statement- 

'Connor I don't think we will get very much snow this year.'

We say our prayers in the car, and C. must have been praying hard for snow because....

low and behold I got a Snowy Surprise!

It began to snow and snow.

Is there anything more wonderful to the ears of a boy than the words:

There will be no school due to snow.

I think to myself, 

How will I get this done?  How will I get that done?

How will the students not regress?

But to be a child, when it snows-

Pure Delight

The snow was so light, it looked like powdered sugar falling from the sky.

Five minutes before I started dinner, 

Darren had the idea to go play a game of football outside.

ummm.  

ok. 

(my real thoughts:  do you know how long it takes to get snow clothing on and off??)

So the snow was falling, and the dinner was late, and we all went outside to play.

It was very exciting, but

this pretty much sums up Carlee's feelings about snow:

For Carlee-

No to Sand

&

No to Snow

All great sporting events begin with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Kickoff 

No... 

to this sled ride 

(I think she prefers a covered carriage or something).

Wait, maybe we have some type of comfort level here with the snow....

seeeee snow is prettttyyyyy

and COLD, 

Get me OUTTA here, I only do cold on ice cream! -Carlee

45 minutes of extra clothing and we have to retire after being outside for five minutes!

We watched the game from our fancy box seats, 

with our fancy Cheerios.

What a game!

Full of Action!

I would write more commentary here...

but I have little football lingo in my repertoire of vocab.

Logic will take you from A to B.  But imagination will take you everywhere.  
-Einstein

Tackle?

Every great player acknowledges his fans.

Since I couldn't be outside, I begged Darren to take a pic of C. sledding.

I had the best laugh watching Darren from my 'box seat' try to run after Connor.  

He nearly fell chasing after him, all to get me a picture!  

D. said the camera couldn't keep up with his speed. 

We are certainly not as young and energetic as our children.

Today Connor wanted to play outside, but I couldn't go with him because Carlee remained fearful of the snow 

(either that or she is a little DIVA trying to stay warm).

We waited until D. got home, and then I had a turn with Connor outside!

Snow Bomb down the Slide!

We tried to make a snowman, but the snow was so light.  This picture shows what our snowman looked like (maybe a little less of a lump).

Connor insisted on a snowball fight, but this was the best we could throw.

We caught little angel peeping at us from her window seat.

We had the most fun doing a little sledding,

and somehow Connor convinced ME to get in on the action.

 (NOT my best camera work)

After running up and down that hill with the sled, I'm thinking I'm going to sleep on the couch tonight, simply because I can't get up.

My muscles are SORE.

We warmed up inside with an indoor fort made of all the blankets in the house,

 a little Baby Yoga, 

a few a lot of m&m sugar cookies, 

and a little reading in a yellow box.

The cold snow is fun, 

but I am thankful for the warmth.

Celebrate

The day that Connor was born, I looked at that face and saw his father immediately. 
The day he begin to walk and put words together all I saw was myself, and it didn't always paint a pretty picture.
Too much energy, the need to talk winning over common sense, attention seeker, forgetful, social, imaginative, sensitive.....

When your a child, the world isn't exactly set up for the hyperactive, the whimsical, and the strong willed.  
I know the story well.

Lucky, God already called it and said all children are 'fearfully and wonderfully made'.  Too many adults don't get it, and sometimes I don't.

But TODAY,
we celebrate because at school... 
this BOY was a GOLD Medalist in Good Behavior for the first time ever.

We CELEBRATE!
We take nothing for granted,  
because this doesn't happen daily.

You Go Gold!

#proud

Scenes from the Weekend

A Light Dusting

Recovering From-

Flu, Colds, and Sick Bugs

(blah)

Lots of This

Marshmallows 

&

Hot Chocolate

This Show-

Where I have I been for five seasons???

I want to be a Braverman.

My favorite family....

Kristina's journey with her autistic son.

Max so bright and inquisitive.

Adam's compassion and patience.

Haddie, finding her place as a teenage daughter and sister.

I have laughed and cried.

Love. this. show.

Growing 

(those pigtails, I could die)

That Face

Cheering On My 'Baller'

(3 shots IN, this weekend)

Who am I?

Cheering you on like a mad "sports" mom!?!

(I've barley watched a basketball game before this.)

Friendships

Fake Tattoos

Showing off the Guns

Brother and Sister

Milkshake Date

The SLIDE 

aka. Mt. Rushmore

This 'Bubba'

Your NO Sand Rule

(it gets on your shoes and you don't like it)

Showing How it's Done

Love Notes to Sister...

Cleaning the House 

A Must: 

Emptying the Dustpan

Throwing everything away.... 

including the dishes.

Love is...

My Heros

I ran across some of the neatest ideas for a Superhero party

http://www.pinterest.com/showclay/superhero-party/,

and I thought how cool would it be to use that theme for Children's Church?  

With a son of my own, I realize church lessons can appeal more to our girls.  It offers a lot of things girls enjoy- stories, crafts, coloring, sitting quietly.   Young boys tend to access information in a different way.  To anyone who doesn't believe interest is a huge motivation to learning, ask Connor to read the same sight words he has had since kindergarten and then ask him to name all the NFL mascots, teams, colors, and quarterbacks.  It's amazing what they can remember! 

I think we have to show boys the bible is packed full of action, and remember Jesus was absolutely a mover and a shaker too, he didn't reach people just sitting quietly and following all the rules.

Lucky, Superheros are fun for boys and girls!

Prior I put this video together to show the kids a few of my favorite Superheros in their many forms (I went a little crazy with the clip art)-

DIY Super Hero Capes:

Take a plastic (b.day) tablecloth (you could use a lot of superhero colors, but I kept it simple with just black and red), 

just fold over the corners and attach some yarn to each side.

I glued a square to the back of the cape, but I now recommend taping with clear tape, and if you use the glue don't put it in the center because it shows up too 'globby'.

Handsome Model

Kryptonite: 

(substitute lime green rock candy for safety :) I ordered my candy rock in bulk off of Amazon and bagged individually.)

Matthew 26:41:  41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Stay away from temptation, rather than try to resist it.  How many times do we justify that sin is OK, just this once, as long as we aren't hurting anyone?

After teaching a story that explained how Jesus is our Hero from Luke 4:18, 

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me. He has anointed me

to tell the good news to poor people.

He has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners.

He has sent me so that the blind will see again.

He wants me to free those who are beaten down"

the kids decorated their capes in a Jesus is MY hero design.

With their SUPERhero capes, the SuperKIDS completed a short obstacle course that included a Spider Walk, Batman Basketball, Wonder Woman Toss, and eventually ending by placing the scriptures in order with the correct bible verse.

Creative Designs

Superheros:  

Fighting daily to keep the word of God alive!