Wintertime Snow

People who live farther north laugh at us sometimes for being so excited about snow here in NC or about how we get "snowed in" with not even an inch of snow and ice. That's ok. You can laugh. I'm gonna enjoy myself anyway! :)

And I did enjoy myself! I didn't think there'd be enough snow to sled, and there probably wasn't. But the ice on top of the snow made a perfect sheet to wiz down the road on. It was cold (again, you northerners may laugh when I tell you it never got below zero Fahrenheit that night) and yet the cold only makes it more exciting. It makes it hard to talk distinctly and when you put a smile on your face, it freezes there for the rest of the day! It makes your cheeks get rosy red and if you sled long enough, the rosy will even stay a few days!

 I've always thought birds in the snow looked so picturesque.

 I LOVE my sister's expressions!

Photo by Elisabeth

Photo by Mom.

 Yeah. We have some crazy neighbors. 'Merica!

Photo by Mom.

Photo by Mom

This is Cupcake.

 A day after the slice (snow/ice) we got some real snow. It was gorgeous! At one point it was coming down so fast is was like a blizzard! An NC blizzard, but still!

 It only lasted about 30 minutes, but it left beauty in it's wake.

That is our Giant Swing covered in snow.

 The dark clouds gave way to sunshine, making the woods glimmer.

You'll never know where I live....

I love NC. It is my home.
And I love you Northerners, too. You are my family.


Well... Some of you.

SC, Baby!

This is handsome Judah. He was so alert and his smile is amazing!

I went to SC with a few friends to see some of the girls from my church who live down there. It was such a great trip!

Am I seeing things or is that a hand rail?

This park is so gorgeous! Michaela is too. :)

Yeah. We're pretty awesome. These people have been such a blessing and encouragement to me in the past year. I'm so thankful for them.

Stitches

I used to be able to say, "Ive never had stitches before." Now I can't....

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving here at home is not the same as it used to be when there were like eleven people in the house to celebrate. And that was just when the immediate family was here. When other family came in or friends... yeah, that's a lot of people! But today it was only six of us. A quiet time right? Well, maybe some of the time, but girls can get loud!

 It was a good time though! Even Lydia helped cook! Her sweet potato casserole was amazing!

 I love aprons....

 I made a heavenly pie and thought it called for too little chocolate chips so I, ummm, doubled the chocolate.... It was good! More like a chocolate pie, though....

 Elisabeth made wassail! It was sooo amazing!

 And what else do you do on Thanksgiving but move the furniture?!

 "What? A shirt on my head? I meant to do that. Its a new style!"

 Though I felt like I was going to bust after our huge meal, it seemed as if we had hardly eaten anything! Boys make a difference! We need them back. Maybe for Christmas?! *fingers crossed*

We sang Christmas songs, too, because we can. : )

And we looked at OLD slides. I want this shirt. 

In case of rapture, this shirt will be empty.

In This a Passing Storm.

Rain beating on a sturdy roof

pouring down

sounding like a rushing river

in the sky

lightning bursting bright, sudden

flashing in the sky

thunder booming after flash

scaring me.

Wind whipping through the trees

parting black to see the light

gray, dimly lite, noisy

in the room.

Leaves stripped off trees

landing on the ground.

Gutters overflowing, water pouring

off the house.

Sudden seemed the lively storm,

but now

quiet. Calm

only slowly

dripping from the sky

leaf flutters down to earth

water slowly trickles off.

Black trees stark against a

gray sky,

soaked by passing storm.

it draws me in

this poetic trance

it makes me tremble

at the power

of this my great Redeemer.

He shows His wonder

He shows His might

in this a passing storm.

California, Day 11

Flying home was not quite as exciting as flying to CA. Except for the fact that we were FLYING HOME! 

 I was so tired, but I would open my eyes long enough to take a few pictures every once in a while.

 The sunset was AMAZING!

And when we got home, the house had been broken into and food was in the fridge and one the counters and there were notes and gifts and all sorts of welcome home things! Balloons, ribbons! It was so amazing to come home to that. We had friends at home who missed us. Makes a body feel loved, don't it?  

 And guess what else we came home to?! A colorful Fall! Leaves were everywhere!

Yes, its good to be home. But I do miss my people in California. I guess life is like that. We meet new people, we bond, and then, before we even realize what's happening, we don't see them every day like we have been and something inside just aches. So to you, my sisters. My brothers. I love you. I miss you. I hope to see you soon. Cause I had a blast! And I wish it could last.

Wow. That sounds like a sad ending.... Sniff.

This post is dedicated to Cindy, who I dearly love.