Opa was the patient, Dr. Sammy and Nurse Mercy tended to his water problems .  They said he was filling up with water, so buckets-ful were carried off.  Tissues were used to soak up the runoff. :)

 Art Time:  It was a snow day today.  Glorious snow day that ended in rain, fog, and no snow on the ground. :) silly weather.

Today's project was Crayon-Wax-Water-Color-Resist.

Beautiful. Easy. Simple.
Kids: put on a glove, grate crayons on a cheese grater. (the glove keeps soft little hands from being grated.... ouch!)
Mom: put out watercolor paper, heat iron.
Kids: sprinkle crayon wax on paper.
Mom: Place wax paper on top of watercolor paper and wax design.  Hot Iron for a very short amount of time.  Take off wax paper.
Kids: take watercolor paper (with melted wax on it) and sit down to paint!
Mom: put out water, watercolors and brushes.  Watch the kids create a masterpiece!

 Close-up of Sammy's art.

Date night a while back. :)

Winter Came Back, Spring is Covered Up Again.

They dug holes, pods for themselves to sit in. Cozy. Warm down in the snow, with cold wind blowing upon their faces.

Beautiful, isn't it? Clean, white. There is an awesome wondrous feeling about a world washed white, white with snow. :)

Revelation 7:14-17 "They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Isn't that beautiful? We are washed white and clean too. *sigh*

Share Love. Joy. Thanksgiving.

It was our day together, Mercy and I. We decided to make decorations, and Pinkify the dining room. I was thrilled with the outcome, and late in the day decided a party was needed to celebrate beauty, friendship, and pinkness. Spontaneous parties are not always well attended, however this one worked out quite well! Apparently I am not alone in wanting to celebrate beauty and friendship. :) happy me.

Mercy made fruit kabobs with me. yum.

Oh, time to get kids out the door into the deep surprize-snow! :) (I guess winter decided to visit us!)

Bird/Squirrel/Wasp Nest Scavenger Hunt

Early February, warm and blue, like no other "winter" I've known in this part of the country. We embrace the sunshine's schedule, and run out of our doors, into the crisp, fresh air.*sigh* I love this weather.

We followed deer tracks, which led us into a very thorny, twiggy, grassy part of the forest. All our eyes hunted for nests and animals. Boots were covered in mud, MUD, just think... we wore our RAIN boots today, instead of snow boots. What a strange year. Water trickled -TRICKLED- in a stream-bed, where there should be ice. Not this February, today we saw the lush, lively signs of Spring. The signs I usually look for in April as we wait for brown and green shoots to push through the last of the snow.

Hmm. Trickling water. The warmth kept us comfortable, however it also kept us away from the North end of the trail. We could not ford the water, which is usually ice. Ah well. It was nearing Maddy's nap-time anyway. So home we went to be filled with hot soup and tea.

.Family Times.

This sweet beautiful little one will be ONE soon!! :) We look forward to celebrating with her mommy and daddy.

During the months of December and January, we had a lot of family time. It was such a pleasure having everyone together at Oma and Opa's house! :)

All the cousins !! :)