Created at 5:30pm one day. Melted away by 5:30pm the next.
One of the many joys of living in Ohio: You never know what the weather is going to do from one day to the next. Thankfully, I had informed our daughter early on that Snow Momma might not last very long. In true form, Snow Momma was gone in 24 hours and still looks like just a snow turd in our yard just 3 days later.
Tap, tap, tap… “Mommy, it’s light out, ya know?”
“Yeah, but I’m not done napping yet. I’ll get up soon.”
Ten minutes later, I manage to crawl out of bed after my Sunday nap. Man, I love those things! (Well, who am I kidding? I like any kind of nap! I’m really good at them! But I digress…)
When I find Em, she’s sitting on the couch with a new set of clothes on.
“Mom. You know I accidentally slept with my clothes on last night?”
I’m wracking my brain and specifically remember her picking out a pair of summerish pajamas that she wore last night. I’m sure of it.
“Em, you DO realize that this is still Sunday, riiiight?”
“Oh, no! I thought it was Monday and I was going to school today!”
Fast forward about about 20 minutes and we were back out in the snow.
This kid has been looking forward to building a snowman since our first dusting of snow. Around here, you never know when or if you’re going to get this kind of snow again so we had to take advantage of it.
Now remember, it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve made any sort of snowman. I always have this idea in my head that it’s going to be really fun and really easy (because everyone’s snowmen always look really good).
However, those dreams are hardly ever my case.
(I apologize for the bad lighting in the pictures… we didn’t get outside until about 4:30pm and we were losing daylight fast!)
Example #1: Frosty the Termite Mound
Example #2: Lumpy the Snowman
Almost done... Snow Momma
Em's very own Baby Snowman
I started to make my own baby snowman and determined pretty quickly that my gloves were VERY dirty. Can you tell?
My Baby Snowman and if you look really close you'll see the hubs in the window.
Now that Daddy was up from his nap, we begged him to help us find a carrot from the fridge for Snow Momma’s nose and then finished our creation!
Nose in place and a kiss goodnight!
Momma Snowman and her maker
And when the Snowmomma was finished, we took a final opportunity to sled once more in the backyard before it melts this week. The track was fast and fun!
…. as a follow-up, when we came inside we told Daddy how tough it was to make the snowman and how much work it really was. He didn’t seem to be buying it.
Later, I found out he thought THIS was the snowman that we had been working SO hard on…
...really? This took an hour to make?
It wasn’t until he went outside to pick up pizza for supper that he became acquainted with Snow Momma!
Ah, family life. Hehehe…
Soooo. What are your thoughts? Do you like to make snowmen? Do you roll them or have to sort of pat them together like we ended up having to do? Are there special tricks to making snowmen?
We had quite a bit of snow come down overnight and today was a great day for sledding. The sun was out, the snow was deep and there was no wind to speak of.
I hopped on the sled and made a few starter tracks and the rest is history…
![](http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/weather/stared_snowflake.png" width="115" height="130" border="0" alt="Clip art of a snowflake, Click here to get more Free Clipart at ClipartPal.com"></a> "snowflake")
This morning is just one of those days. Cold air, crisp snow, crunching underfoot.
My last couple of weeks have been pretty rough.
It’s a stressful time at work, which leads to a stressful time at home because I have trouble shaking things that keep my mind spinning.
I’ve broken through the home stress with grace and mercy from my family and the crunchtime at work is starting to die down due to passing deadlines.
Which brings me to crunchy snow. Have I mentioned I love crunchy snow?
Days like these are the kind I wish I could capture in pictures or videos but you just can’t capture the cold, crisp air coming in and filling your nostrils and lungs and awakening you as opposed to the regular flinching and ducking your head like you’ve done for the past several weeks because the wind is what delivered that cold air.
Today actually brings the coldest weather we’ve had yet this winter. It was 7°F when I left the house this morning. The lowest we’ve had so far has been 13°F. I know this because our 5-year old daughter is our family meteorologist and loves checking and reporting the weather every day.
If 7° is what it takes to get crunchy snow. I’ll take it. The sun is shining this morning. The sky is blue. And, the snow is crunchy. I love the sound it makes as I walk across the parking lots and sidewalks.
It’s still not a great snow for snowmen or snowball fights but it will work for sledding. And that’s what I’m hoping to do this weekend with our daughter before the predicted rain comes. Yes, I’m going to go sledding, in the brisk air with crunchy snow. Hopefully the sky will still be blue and I can take my camera along for the fun.
If I do, I will share pictures because I’m nice like that. That’s how I roll (in crunchy snow).
Shortly before Christmas, Em got to have a sleepover at Aunt Shell and Aunt Laura’s house. She was surprised with a few early Christmas presents while there and got to work right away on them.
Aunt Shell presented us with this picture at Christmas. Em was unprompted and had written this on her own without copying it from anything.
There are some mornings when Em dresses herself and I just have to grin and shake my head. This was one of those days….
I recently ran across a new-ish organization that is supporting families that are interested in adopting.
The Sparrow Fund was started because they do not want anything to be an obstacle in the adoption process. They are committed to see ONE MORE child with a forever family and ONE LESS orphan in the world.
More from their website:
Thousands of U.S. families adopt internationally each year. The Sparrow Fund is an organization committed to encouraging and supporting these families as they prepare for the adventure of adoption. We do this by providing regular training opportunities as well as grants to families in financial need to enroll in programs specifically designed to provide counsel and comprehensive medical reviews of their referred child.
Adoptive families can become overwhelmed by the financial costs of adoption. Participating in a program like this is an added expense that is difficult to manage. There are so many unknowns when it comes to adoption, and we believe that preparation plays a significant part in making the unpredictable road of adoption a little more smooth. Worthwhile training and national programs staffed by professionals offer invaluable services to help prepare the adoptive family as well as their child.
We’ve been long overdue for some eye exams in our family. When we did kindergarten screening this past spring, we received a referral to have Em’s eyes checked. They told us she was a borderline case and it wouldn’t hurt to have her checked out by our family’s eye doctor.
I was due for my exam as well so we turned it into a mother-daughter visit.
Em thought these glasses were the bomb! 
A depth perception check. (Which we later found out that she struggled with this exam… she couldn’t see the shapes that were “floating” in the pictures.)
Emily is still “borderline” as far as needing glasses, but we were told that at this point glasses aren’t necessary. In another year or two when text starts getting smaller in books at school, we may be ready to check into glasses. Em was a bit disappointed because I think she actually wanted glasses.
In due time, girl… in due time.
The following is just a recount of our recent trip (put together by my husband shortly after our trip) to Walt Disney World to help us remember all the details as time goes on. You may find some tips if you are planning a trip (especially at the end) but this is mostly for our memory! =)
(Copied from tomhypes.com and I added in a few tidbits and pictures! — jenni)
Timing
We planned our trip for the first full week of December which was GREAT timing! The crowds were low and the weather was great… The temperature was in the 60s and the 70s with only one short rain.
Sunday - The Surprise!
The moment finally came after church and our family was the last in the building. I set up our video camera in my office and we invited Emily in. The video reflects it all as Emily freaked out at the news and spent all her energy yelling and running in circles around inside the church and then outside in the parking lot.
After a quick lunch at O’Charleys, we drove down to the airport. I dropped mom and Emily off with the luggage and went to park the car. After a quick shuttle ride, we were reunited and headed through security. Emily was just as excited about flying as she was about the destination and she grabbed the window seat. Mom was in the middle and dad on the aisle…. the same both ways.
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| Killing some time in the airport while waiting for her first flight (that she remembers!) |
After landing in Orlando, we met our driver of the Towne car service we hired. He helped us grab our bags, get loaded, and started the drive to the cabins of the Fort Wilderness Campground. We really enjoyed Demetrious, our driver, and he had great advice. He also drove us back to our cabin after we checked in which was a great blessing.
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| We made it! |
Since it was late, we followed the recommendation of the front desk and headed for Trail’s End Restaurant for a great buffet. After a filling meal, it was back to the cabin to get some sleep before our adventures.
Special Note: Our key card for the cabin also served as our tickets to the parks and we set them up so that we could charge on them, which was very convenient. You just have to be somewhat aware of what you are charging so you don’t go overboard. We did our shopping on the room card and our food on the debit card. (We did not do the meal plan, which we did not regret for our case… we didn’t need snacks throughout the days or desserts with our meals.)
The front desk is also where Emily got her “1st Visit” badge which was great as it starts good conversations in the parks and gets you some surprises as the week goes on.
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| Caleb and Christian… We had a fun time guys! |
