WInter Wonderland

So, this is pretty much the view I get almost every morning! Isn't it wonderful? After two weeks of snow, snow, and more snow, I have gotten a new understanding of the song " walking in a winter wonderland."

After last week's blizzard, we got hit with a second one. It didn't start until Friday, but we had to pick the kids up early from school. The snow was falling quickly and it was WINDY! There were times you could not see very far at all. The kids, of coarse, are loving it, and I thought they were adorable walking from school with their umbrellas. I do think that is a first for me. I thought they were just for rain...?? Guess not.

This was when the storm was just heading in.

Poor Lauren...she didn't make it into any pictures last week because she was sick. So, hopefully we got her in a few this time :)

Regan has made a new friend already. Are you surprised? Me neither. Hannah has already come over to play. I'm so glad that all the kids have found friends their age to hang out with.

We got to talk to many people this weekend and Granddad even tried out Skype. Yeah Granddad! :) Benjamin (my little photographer) wanted to take his picture. I thought it was cute. You can even see Benjamoin in the corner of the screen taking the actual photo.

Here's my baby girl posing for her monthly picture on the couch. She is 10 months old now. She is grownign up sooo fast...but seriously, she can really learn to say mama ANY time now. She is a Daddy's girl.

Here is a picture of Lauren at church. So adorable. She did so good, too. All the kids did actually. She really enjoyed all the music.

18" of SNOW!

Yes, it's true. We actually got 18 inches of snow! The kids didn't know what to do with themselves. They were so excited. They played in the middle of the storm when it was coming down hard and the next day when it was a beautiful, sunny day (but still very cold). And in case you are wondering, Katherine IS STANDING in the snow here. She was determined to walk through the deep snow with her brother and sister. She did decent considering her size. I did hear her say "I sinking Mom" and "I stuck Mom" many times. Yes, I did rescue her after taking the picture :)

This is just a random picture of the cars in our parking lot. I thought it showed how deep the snow was. It was a lot of fun.

This was in the middle of the storm (notice the streaks in the picture from the snow falling so quickly). We only had between 6 and 8 inches at the time, but the kids could not wait to get in it...we are from Tennessee you know...when it snows there, it will typically be gone in a few hours. I can tell you how excited they were when they woke up and there was still snow on the ground.

This is also in the middle of the storm. I liked the crinkle nose and all the snow sticking to her. It was very cold. It was so cold that when we came in, Jonathan was helping to get the kids out of their wet frozen clothes (literally) and he went to untie Benjamin's shoelace when the lace broke in half. I have never seen that one before. Our dryer has had quite the workout the past few days :)

This was the view from our apartment when we woke up the next morning. The kids were amazed that "God had made it rain sparkles" It was beautiful and it really did look like sparkles... there was a slight breeze and it was blowing some of the loose snow from the roof down to the ground and it just sparkled.

The kids dug a tunnel and even started making an igloo. Maybe they will get to finish later if the snow sticks around.

We wanted to put a picture of everyone in, but Lauren had a fever and didn't get to play. Good thing she's still little and didn't know any different. Regardless, here's three of us when we went on a walk.

I can now say that I have truly been sledding. In Tennessee, we mostly sled on ice or a thin layer of snow down a slight hill....but THIS was quite the hill. I even went down four times with Katherine. This picture is of Regan going down (she's at the very top) and Benjamin was a little machine...up then back down, back up, back down, constant with no breaks.

Here he goes!

I thought it would be appropriate to end with of picture of the sheer exhaustion. They have had so much fun, but have completely worn themselves out in the process!

Too Many Goodbyes!

Well, as you can guess by the title, this was a week of many goodbyes. We have said bye to so many people this week including our friends at church, my international friends, friends from my previous work, and family in Knoxville. Regan's kindergarten class at Amherst Elementary had a going away party for her. They had games and popcorn and gave her this cute Build a Bear (she named her Pandie)
As you can see below, the van was absolutely packed. The kids rather enjoyed it though...it was actually one of the more peaceful trips we have had (I guess because they couldn't really bug each other) We are settle in to our new apt for a little while. The kids miss their old house, but have already begun to make friends here and will even start school on Wednesday!



A couple stories from our first days here....

-After being here for one night, we were about to leave to make a Wal-Mart run and I couldn't seem to get all the kids together to leave (i.e. Benjamin) I went into his room and he was packing his suitcase..."No, don't go yet! I'm not packed"

-Katherine..."Not this house daddy"

-When we first arrived, we walked in the door and the kids shouted, "WOW! Look at the kitchen! It's HUGE!" (this only is funny if you saw how small our old kitchen was and the size of this one...still small, but apparently much bigger than before)

I'm sure there were more, but that is all for now.

A New Appreciation

This week we have gained a new appreciation for packing. It has been a frustrating and tiring process of packing, weighing, unpacking, repacking, reweighing and repeat. Now times this process times 12 pieces of luggage. Like I said, I have gained a new appreciation of the whole packing process. We are not finished yet, but have over half the bags at the right size and weight for the airlines. So, we are a little relieved.

We have had many special times this week including a great surprise. Two of my roommates from college were here and we enjoyed having lunch together and laughing together.

Regan and Benjamin made a trip to the radio station to visit Mr. Jonathan and see how things work. Katherine also had a very special playdate with her best bud, Daniel, at gym bugs.

After playing, we enjoyed eating at Chic-fil-A and getting some icecream. Mmmm, what a treat!

All the Kindergarteners received their very own Bible this week from the church. Regan was very proud of it and I was very proud of her as well. She liked practicing her reading and was able to look up her Bible verse from Sunday school when we got home.

This was the incedible cake that our friend made. We were quite impressed and it was DELICIOUS!!

I had to put this one in of Benjamin and his best friend. They are so cute together.

We had a great weekend with many friends that we will miss greatly. This is one of the newest little ones. We are so glad for the opportunity to get to meet several new little guys before we move.

And we end with this priceless picture....3 of the 4 roomies and our (mine and Jenny's) 8 kiddos ages 6 and under!

Snow in Tennessee

Well, we finally got some snow in east TN and it made some kiddos very happy. It was a very dry, powdery snow and was not good for snowmen or snowballs, but that didn't stop the kids from tryng to throw them anyways. Regan drew a snowman in the snow and seemed to be satisfied with that.

Lauren was all bundled up and enjoyed watching the kids play. She didn't stay out too long because it was a balmy 11 degrees outside.

The kids did some sledding in the driveway and had a blast.  They even tried in snowboard style :)

We also had fun playing with our friends.  The snow stayed around for several days because of the cold temps. 

Once we came in and started thawing out, the kids had some yummy hot chocolate.  This pictures of Benjamin says it all...chapped cheeks and a chocolate mustache. 

Regan also got to go to Claire's (a girly store for those who don't know) to spend a gift card that she received for her birthday.  She bought these fuzzy flipflops that she can wear in the winter.  She is definately related to her Auntie Em.  She would wear flipflops all year round if we would let her :) 

Grandmommy also came to visit.  We had a good time running around and getting to go out to eat while she was here.  I think we all put on a few pounds, but it was worth it!  It's always good to have family visit.  Until next week!