Thursday, January 26, 2012

Snow... Snow... Snow...


Even though I don’t love SNOW... I do love the song “Snow” from the movie White Christmas and the sweet mixture of the beautiful voices of Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Danny Kay and Trudy Stevens.  Trudy Stevens wasn’t actually in the movie but instead she sang while Vera Ellen, the fourth star of the movie, lip synced the words.  Vera Ellen might not have been able to sing, but she sure could dance! We love the tradition of watching White Christmas every year!

This month we have had our fair share of snow around here.  First we drove North to the snow for a weekend of sledding, snowmobiles, games, good food and sweet fellowship and then the snow came to us….way too much for my taste!  Afer growing up in Alaska, I have experienced enough snow to last me a lifetime! Nonetheless, in the eyes of the children the snow has been outstanding fun and they have definitely enjoyed it.  Alas, I will write no more on the subject but instead, thanks to a recent English assignment, I will leave you with a few paragraphs on snow and the adventure it brings from Mitchell’s perspective.  


Snow: the smell of it, the wintriness in the air, the mesmerizing scene of intricate flakes falling from the sky, its silent beauty, and the frosty taste of snow flakes on your tongue. From a teenager’s perspective, snow is a blessing and a curse. It can provide countless hours of fun, but also countless hours of teeth grinding frustration while sitting behind the wheel. Most parents have an obvious distaste for snow, though the rare few who enjoy it make up for what the snow-haters are missing. Love it or hate it, snow is a beautiful manifestation of God’s creation.








Being towed behind a snowmobile or quad while riding an inner tube and flying over the snow at a high rate of speed is not the hardest thing to accomplish in the world, but it could be one of the more dangerous. Given this fact, it is beyond important to wear headgear while being towed. A helmet will protect you from flying ice or rock, a concussion, or possibly death. For example, if you get thrown off a tube while being towed on a frozen lake, the outcome will be much better if your helmet cracks instead of your skull. Please, for the better good of your health, wear a helmet.





This past week, I obtained permission from my household vice-commander-in-chief (mom) to venture outside of the protective, warm, and comfortable atmosphere of home; and into the arctic environment to be retrieved by a friend named Terry riding a mighty steel steed. Subsequent to manipulating my insulated carcass onto the back of his quad, the fun began. We went back to his playhouse, i.e. the farm shop, to retrieve a second quad for myself to ride. After doing so, we played like two good ol’ boys will do in the snow and on the ice. Of course, as we were leaving the shop, Terry tells me “don’t get stuck,” but how can you not! After getting stuck more times than I could count, doing brodies on our road that could’ve doubled for an ice rink, and losing feeling in my face due to the cold, I returned to my clement domicile. That night will be added to my mental file of accomplishments past, and things that were fun, but slightly stupid.








Thursday, January 19, 2012

"God Bless Our Home"





We have looked at those four words on this little clock for 18 years now.  Our dear friends Carl & Laurie Smith from Alaska gave us that little clock on our wedding day 18 years ago, January 15, 1994.  This past Sunday Chad and I celebrated 18 sweet and salty years! I love thinking of the years in these terms because you often need the salty to enhance the sweetness!  God has truly blessed our home.  He has given us new life both physically and spiritually, multiple joys and sorrows, countless tender and severe mercies and He has lathered us with His grace over the years.  He gave us the privilege of walking many years alongside Papa and Gigi as their earthly lives ended and their eternal lives began, all under His tender loving care.  God has truly blessed our home.  This little clock died a few weeks ago, a new battery isn’t doing the trick anymore.  It is one of the few remaining gifts from our wedding day and still hangs indefinitely in our bathroom as I don’t have the heart to take it down yet … maybe someday! Until then, may it be a sweet reminder of the precious time God has already granted us and to anticipate what He will do through our family in the many years ahead.


Thursday, January 5, 2012

Hunka, Hunka, burnin' love…..


My New Year’s Eve “date”…. How did I get so lucky!

(no, that is NOT his real chest hair)





The “Top 4” ugly sweaters of the night…..







It was quite an evening.... :-)