SNOW!

It was such a wonderful surprise to have snow in December! And not just a dusting, but a good several inches! I know there are always people who begrudge the snow because it ruins their travel plans or makes it difficult for them to get to their jobs. But in my non-traveling, non-working opinion, the snow could not have come at a better time than the Friday afternoon before Christmas. Jackson's school got out early (fun!), so we came home and watched the snow fall while listening to Christmas music. What a great way to get in the Christmas spirit! Jason had his office Christmas party at lunch and then went to see a movie with some of his co-workers. After Selah got up from her nap, both Jackson and Selah were glued to the window and begging to go out. I figured it was better to give in to their requests and let them out the door safely before they used their united sibling power to burst through the window.

After we came back in, things went downhill a little. It seemed that they were getting into everything I didn't want them in. Jackson got bored. (Why can't I be one of those moms that thinks of cute snow crafts to do on the fly?) Selah was oscillating between making huge messes and being fussy. While I was cleaning up one mess, she would make another. I was trying to get just a few things done (and trying to clean up all of Selah's messes), and all I could think about was that Jason was having leisure time at the movies. Was it possible to be stir crazy after 4 hours of snowfall? Jackson took a picture of me while I was trying cure Selah's fussiness with an early dinner. The look on my face says it all:

Ooo, that frown is going to cause wrinkles! It was strange. I mean, on a normal day Jason wouldn't have been home from work anyway and we probably wouldn't be playing outside at that time. I'm not sure why the snow made it different, but I was certainly glad when Jason finally made it home. We let Jackson stay up late watching Frosty the Snowman and Frosty Returns...how appropriate.

Saturday morning everything was covered with snow! I love how everything looks when it's covered with undisturbed smooth snow. BUT, it can't stay undisturbed for long! After going through the 30-minute process of getting the kids dressed in fourteen layers and gooping Aquaphor on their faces, we walked down to our neighbor's house because (a) they have two kids for Jackson to play with, (b) they are incredibly creative and were using bread pans to make snowbricks for a snowfort when we got there, and (c) they had a sled. The kids had a great time playing with, eating, and making weapons out of the snow. In the afternoon, we were forced to stay home (so rare for us on a Saturday), so we made homemade chocolate chip cookies and watched a Christmas movie. It was wonderful! Thanks for the nice surprise, God!