Sunday, February 28, 2010

D-O-N-E

59/365

This was a busy weekend. We made the boys watch the USA/Canada Gold Medal Olympic Hockey Game. They weren't nearly as excited as we were. Then we went to our friends house to watch the Closing Ceremonies...which were advertised at beginning at 7, but didn't start until after 8. The Boys held out, fighting a good fight to stay awake...but totally conked out on the way home.



After 2 weeks of late nights with lots of Awesome Olympics, we are Done. I'm Sad they are over...it is very weird to contemplate that next Olympics, Chris will be 6 1/2, and Sam will be 3 and some change.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Best Friends

58/365

I am very blessed with a wonderful husband and two of the sweetest boys God ever created. I can say this in all honesty because I was able to step away today. And in stepping away, I am able to return and really ppreciate all the blessings that my boys are. I came home to smiles and hugs, and even though there was crying from Sam, he was mostly content to be with me, and instead of the noise hammering away in my head, I had my own mind together enough to Just Love Them.
My BF Kathleen and I ran away to Edinburgh Outlet mall to do some shopping, for the kids, and for ourselves. Easter clothes was the starting goal, and though we didn't cross everything off the list, we tried. And boy did we Shop Hard.
I have not shopped like that in a while. Oy do my back and hips hurt. And I am so sleepy I'm even going to go to bed before Olympics are over. But Boy Howdy, It was refreshing to shop in the kids' shops without having to maneuvre the stroller, be available to hold the door open for someone else, and most of all to sit in the bar to have our lunch. Just Us.
We finally arrived home, and our boys had gotten together for supper, and the kids wer all playing happily. And The World was OK.
OK, Sam wasn't happy, he took one look at me and started crying to tell me all about what he thought of me leaving him for 10 hours. But he nursed and went to bed, and the other kids were all happy. Especially happy was Chris, who got to spend some time with his best friend Emily too.



But the Mommies had a great time, the kids had a good time, and the Daddies did wonderfully! I think it's good for us Therapeutically speaking for us to be away from each other (me and the boys anyway) so that we can work up to Missing each other. The kids and Mommies all got a break, and the opportunity to Miss Each other. Which after the day, we all did. All in all, A Very Good Day.

Friday, February 26, 2010

My "Oympits" Hero

57/365

Chris would like to join the Olympics. He has been asking to go Skating. Everyday. I keep telling him that Mommy's broken toe is NOT going to fit into an ice skate, but that in another month I will. Tonight I promised I would taking him skating by my Birthday...maybe for my birthday we'll see. I want to make sure I can fit in a skate first.

In order to appease him in the meantime, I asked if he'd like to go Skating in the garage?

He did! Too cold to go outside, sunny but really cold. So we donned his Christmas skating garb...all Lightning McQueen--skates, pads, and most importantly Helmet; he asked me about a zillion times what the elbow pads were. It was funny. And headed into the garage. Chris was very excited that Mommy moved the car out. The garage floor is about as rarely seen as the playground in winter.



Then we went out to the garage. I think he wanted to practice Short Track. But he couldn't go very fast. I held his hand. There's just something nice, albeit bittersweet and fleeting when he holds my hand so Tightly.



He wasn't very comfortable just skating, and he spotted the red car. But he was not going to let him crawl into the car in the Skates. So, we warmed him up for Bobsled!



That bored him pretty quickly too. So he grabbed a broom, and he couldn't decide if he was practicing for Curling or Hockey.



Yeah Olympics!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Greenies

56/365

My friend Andrea's daughters favorite snacks are cold unsalted green beans. I had canned a batch this summer, and accidently forgot to salt a couple jars. So tonight we cracked into one, and we gave one to Sam to try.



He wasn't much of a fan.



He took a couple tortured bites, probably testing to see if the taste improved. Then he reached over and Dropped it. It went to the dog. So Fina, Hannah and Hailey are the only ones who like cold unsalted green beans. I can't blame him. I tried warm unsalted green beans, and they didn't do it for me either.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The P/C/S is not a POS!

55/365

For Christmas, the boys got me the Pampered Chef Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer. I tried to use it and it was a Massive Fail. It pummeled my apples into Mush. I ended up having to try sift through the mushed apples to save what I could. I tried a few apples before surrenduring entirely, and doing the batch of applesauce by hand, and ending up in pain. I was quite discouraged, thinking that this expensive new toy was a piece of crab...a pos.
So, after asking around on Facebook, my friends suggested different apples. So when the Bin Guys (Farm Fresh Delivery) were giving us apples last week, I opted to kick it up a notch and try again. We got 1 1/2 dozen Pink Lady apples.

And I hooked them up on the P/C/S. And started to peel. And it worked!



Look at how nicely it cuts! They have to be small crisp round apples, otherwise they turn to mush.



I was amazed at how pretty the spiraled slivers were.



Even prettier in the pot!



Happy Applesauce Making Day!

*On a sidenote, as I was writing this and posting pictures, I recall a dream I had when I was pregnant with Chris about wanting to stay home with my baby and make applesauce, this was a very Deja Vu sort of thing, writing about this.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A Little Proud

54/365



Gotta confess, Mama's a little proud that A. Sam discovered how to play the piano today, and B. How sweet my boys look playing piano together, and C. Chris got down, moved on to the next thing...Sam kept playing. Baby LOVES Music!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Caped Crusader

53/365



Chris grabbed a blanket and was playing Superhero, but he ran into an obstacle....Sam.

Ch. 3, Life on Planet Mom

This chapter's Title...I kid you not.

My Family Tree is Suddenly a Forest

Yeah, this one applies to me. I think this one strikes a little close to home.

1. Talk about your Mom and name at least one positive aspect of her parenting you admire. (Keep this short and sweet; second, related question below.) There are lots of things I think my Mom did well. She respected us as women, and let us Think. She taught us to do many different things so that we were pretty self-sufficient that I will continue. Eric wasn't too hot at sewing on a button, do his own laundry. But both of us learned how to Cook, which can be rare for boys. For me, I didn't have to have that many rules, but the few we had were important: The Golden Rule!-Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You, Do Not Lie, Obey your elders, and our mealtime rules-Try a bite of everything on your plate before you're excused, Clean your plate if you want dessert. (Those are fresh in my head because we've been Finally having decent luck with them with Christopher!)

2. What are the "movie clips" you wish to integrate into your own children's "emotional/mental movies"--the positive things you gained from your parents? My parents were always very vocal with their affection, I KNEW they loved me. My boys will know that too, loads of hugs and kisses, and hearing the words, to them, and between Eric and I, and among all those we love. I always remember holidays around our house, my family always made them special, and they will be around here too. Some of my favorite memories were when we used to go on Vacations together, road trips to visit our family (in Memphis and D.C.) but we always made those family trips fun with visiting Museums, Zoos, and historic places. We went somewhere about every year, (now I'm older I find this isn't as normal for others as it was to us) only a couple times we didn't visit family, but just as nifty. I also remember lots of laughter; with both sides we used to play a lot of card games, and laugh, we had such fun. I want the boys' memories to be filled with lots of love and laughter.

3. Has your relationship with a parent ever interfered with your relationship with your husband, as it did for Stephanie in our fiction introduction to this chapter? Stephanie was so close to her Mom that her husband left, because Mom was there All The Time, and she had to try to tell her mother to leave so they could work on their marriage. No...not to the stories' extreme. If anything, it was my fault. When we first got married, I would run to my mom at the first sign of trouble. And back in those days, my Mother in law drove me crazy, I was not used to a parent who micro-managed, and she wasn't used to us being self-sufficient. It made for a bit of a bumpy start. But we moved to LA and things were much different, much better, Eric and I learned to rely on each other. Things got so much better with my mother in law! I was tight with my mom, but not too tight until Chris was born. Then in an effort to let Eric to do MBA work, we would go stay with my Mom. We apparently overstayed our welcome, and our relationship became Strained.

4. How has becoming a parent brought your extended family closer? (parents or siblings or both) I became closer to my inlaws. They LEAPT at the opportunity to help us in any way they could. At first it was helping us with doctor's appointments, or shopping for us, playing with him for just a bit while Mommy napped, or taking care of the house/dog while we were in Hospital. Once Chris got older, they offered to have him come over and play, slumber parties so Eric and I could get a break. They go out of their way to help us. I was even surprised at how my Dad has helped out too. Seeing our parents love on our kids, see them all laugh and smile together makes me So HAPPY! I find myself closer to my sister, too, now that she's got a daughter (and 3/4), we are on the same page about so many things, moreso than we've been in years.

5. What has been the most challenging relationship within your extended family since you became a parent? Wow. This is the Whammy. I'm torn between the relationship with my mother and grandmother. Both have gone downhill fast since I became a parent. With my Grandmother, there were some behaviors that I endured when I was young, that I simply was not going to Stand By and let it happen when I saw it happening with Chris. So she has not met Sam. And my Mother, well, like I said, it was Strained with Mommy before I told Grandma Chris wasn't going to 'bother her ever again', then the rubber band snapped. But now my mother is mad at me, not speaking to me, for that and for my close relationship with my inlaws she won't forgive me either. That's a Challenge.

6. How important is it that your children know their grandparents? What is special about that relationship? It is Important. Our parents can share stories about us when we were little, and give them insight into an entirely different generation. And you can never have too many people love your baby.

7. How do your parents interact with your children? Do they ever do anything that bugs you? (I swear I'm not making these questions up.) Our parents are great with the kids. They are their favorite toys. Both their Grandpa and Opa don't mind having boys crawl all over them, tickling and laughter ensue. My MIL leaps in to do anything the kids need or want, no matter how exhausting that may be. My mother likes to play, but none of the work. Because Chris was the 3rd grandchild, the inlaws home was already childproof and had toys readily available. But on my side, neither house was childproof, and Chris would get yelled at anytime he went for the "pretties". It bugged me that they would yell at him, but not put their things higher. That has changed with the second grandchild at my Dad's, they even got a toybin full of goodies for the kids. Out of generosity, our family has bought big (in size) presents for the kids without checking with us, and we simply don't have room for them. That is frustrating, because I love that they want to spoil the boys, but we just can't have giant slides in the living room.

8. How do you stay connected with your extended family? If you have separated yourself on purpose, how are you involving others (friends or neighbors) in your child's life? Blogging! But I also Facebook, or email. I rarely make phone calls, but we use all of the above to set up visits in person. But we do try to visit some relative at least monthly.

*One of the suggestions this chapter had was that if your children's grandparents aren't close (either physically or emotionally) to try and find others, older friends or neighbors to help bridge that gap and give that boost to the kids from that age group. I'm Super Blessed that we've got so many relatives in town, I don't Have to do that, but I think it's a great idea to do so!

**One of my favorite quotes from this chapter: "We can choose to avoid difficult or uncomfortable circumstances almost anywhere in our lives...but it's harder to leave our families...maybe God designed it that way for a purpose;...we love them, so we give them second and third chances and endure irritating tendencies, concentrating on the greater good in the picture. This, in essence, is Grace in Action." I like it. I don't always do it. I'm one that backs out of difficult situations, ignores problems, doesn't talk about it among the family (on the internet sure!, but not with those that have hurt me), so I'm going to have to really work on this one.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Coed Naked Boys, PG

52/365

Bathtime is always a big hit around here.



And Oh Yeah, Chris is THAT Funny!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Bluebirds of Friendliness

51/365


What are the odds? That Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird would have a seat in the willow in our backyard!?! So Cool. It's a Sign. Is Spring Coming, or just other fabulously wonderful things.

But it most definitely put that They Might Be Giants song stuck in my head now.



Birdhouse in Your Soul

Friday, February 19, 2010

In Cahootz

50/365
I Found a boy and a cat in the bathroom, with Boy holding Cat's Tail, Cat in Bathtub.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Floor Picnic

49/365



It's snowy and cold, Still. But we got to borrow Bryn while her Mommy went to the doctor, for a "special lunch". So to make this special, we drove through McDonald's, and came home for a special Floor Picnic. Chris had gotten a glowing good boy report at school, so I had no qualms getting crazy. I even popped in Kung Fu Panda which Everyone loved. No one seemed to care about much else because there were chicken mcnuggets and TV. Sam was thrilled, he ate pieces of Chicken Mcnugget--just like the Olympians! And just like everybody else. Though he did keep diving for the kids french fries. But who wouldn't. Both my boys induced terrible McD's cravings while I was Pregnant, so it's not at all surprising they still love the place to this day.

Ch. 2 Life on Planet Mom

Interesting thing, this Chapter, entitled, "Who are you again? Oh yeah, the guy that I married." Funny how much we have become ships that pass in the night. This chapter freshened up my memory and has made me want to get back in touch with my hubs.

1. How has becoming parents improved your marrriage or made you feel closer to your husband? No one but Eric can understand what it's been like, all the stuff with Chris, the pain and frustration, of before, during, and after. We've both been there, and Eric gets me. I feel closer now because he understands me. Early in our dating career, he could spot a cute baby across a room, even before me sometimes. We still can spot the Cuteness a mile away, and it's even more rewarding when it's our own children. The best sound in the world is all 4 of us laughing at the same time, at each other.

2. Are you and your husband able to stand together as a couple when it comes to disciplining your children, establishing rules, or teaching them? Why or Why not? How could you draw even more together on these fronts? Yes. We're pretty spot on, on things. I wouldn't say we never disagree, usually it's things like, well I Told him he could have dessert and he's reminding me of it 2 seconds before bed. The differences are most noted by Chris, who is getting smart, too smart for us sometimes. Believe it or not, we had a bit of a crisis a few weeks ago with regard to Chris and school, and when we went to meet with his teachers, the subsequent discussions and Plan we put out really helped bring us back to the same page. We just need to do that more often--but without being called into the principal's office...

3. Do you have quality time with your husband? How do you carve out this time? What are some ways to can do that more consistently? Yes. We have been getting 1 datenight out a month for the last few months. Usually it's just us running the kids over to Mom W's house while we go out to eat, but we've been to a couple movies too. That's been nice. We don't usually think too far in advance. Sometimes he comes home, and both of us are just a drained, and we call Mom who is Thrilled to have some kids. If we planned more in advanced we could make more Quality Time out of it, but by the time we get by ourselves we're just hungry and tired. Scheduling dates would help. Last chapter had that quote about getting out 1 evening a week, 1 day a month, and 1 weekend a year. This one talked about what would we do if we had an ideal day. Eric and I talked about it. So, we scheduled a Mom's Day out for this month (my first since Sam!) and we scheduled an Eric's Ideal day for March. We both felt that our Ideal day would NOT be without the kids ironically, but just wanted to hang out with them and Relax. Can't wait to try. Hope I can sit still enough to relax.

4. Have you experienced the "Is this all there is?" question in your marriage? If so, how did you weather it? If not, how would you wetaher it, should it occur in the future? No. I have not. Eric and I are wishful planners and we focus on the next big thing. I think keeping the lines of communication and not only enjoying the present but planning fun for the future helps us keep things Fresh. And as our family grows, things keep changing, it doesn't get much chance to get stagnant. Sometimes waiting for the fun to arrive is hard though. We're in the throws of planning to build a new house, and it's not going near fast enough for me. I can't wait to move in to a new place!

5. What are the biggest obstacles to your feeling closer to your husband today? Any ideas on how you could remove those obstacles or at least chip away at them? I'm Tired. We've both been so sleep deprived, the idea of taking a date night, and coming home even later than usual just doesn't appeal. The idea of taking a date day, and risk missing naptime for anyone, doesn't either. I just want to Sleep. I told him, my ideal day would be Sleep in, take a big fat nap, and go to bed early. Somewhere in there, I wouldn't mind eating well. The Obstacle? If my children would/could sleep through the night, that would help immensely. To chip away at this? Well? I could let him cry it out, but we tried that last week, and he went 20 minutes before I caved. Sam may possibly be more stubborn than I. That's Scary. We'll just hope that once he's over this cold, and his teeth are in, that he gets better.

6. For single moms in the group: whom do you seek out the most as your chief supporter, encourager, and listener? For married moms in the group: Would you go to the same person in your life, if you were single? If not, whom would you choose? Obviously I go to Eric the most. But when I was single I went to my Mother, but now she won't talk to me, that's not an option. So I go to my Mother-in-law, and my girlfriends. God Bless Them, for They keep me Sane.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

48/365

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Fat Tuesday

47/365


My Best Friend and I met for Drinks today, Drinks at Starbucks to celebrate Mardi Gras. Then I grabbed my child from preschool, and some McD's and we went over for her tradition of Fat Tuesday Big Macs and some Fabulous Olympic Curling. (I don't know why I love it, I barely understand it, but I do!) Oh Yeah. Fat Tuesday. The Starbucks was for us. We're giving up Starbucks (and any other publicly purchased yummy drinks of the like) for Lent. No more Chai Teas, or Festive White Mochas for 6 weeks, unless we make them ourselves.



These were our last hurrah.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Standing Small

46/365



Quiet snowy day at home today. Sam was the only one of us dressed before noon. He's still pretty snoochy. Still doing a lot of screaming though.
But he may be feeling better, or teething-his gums look lumpy, and he was getting into trouble today, under the kitchen table, going for the dog's dish. And Rockin' On with big brother's toys.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Wery Willow Walentine's

45/365

Happy Valentine's Day!



Chris made Daddy a card. For real! He signed it himself, and helped cut, and glued hearts and colored it for Daddy.



We said we weren't going to do presents, but Mommy was quite pampered. Sam was up at 6, so I pulled him into bed, and slept with me until 8:30. We came out to find Breakfast of honey flakey biscuits coming out of the oven, and my freshly fixed laptop on the charger, open with a message of "Happy Valentine's Day!" scrolling across. There was even a little telltale box, I opened to find a pretty necklace with 2 pearls...one for each boy.
Common Theme....2 boys.
They boys had picked up a Willow Tree statuette for Daddy of the two boys, Brothers. But they must've kept a big secret from me, because apparently they 'shopped' with Daddy and also picked out Willow Tree ornaments with him. Luckily, I've got our receipt. But it was so cute, to see that we'd picked out the same thing. Great minds thinking alike.




Though each boy got Mommy an ornament, and once opened, each boy thought they were pretty neat. And they started playing with them.



Then we got dressed, went to church, where Chris was in rare form today. Afterwards we went for lunch at White Castle, having been on Valentine's Days in other years for dinner. Apparently, they DON'T do all the festive tablecloths and wait staff for lunch though. The boys didn't care, Chris ate chicken rings, and Sam tried some chicken too. We ate so much that after naptime we didn't care about dinner. The boys were being extra sweet brotherly boys today and frankly I was pretty happy to spend the day with them. So we took a Family Trip to the Grocery Store. Found it MUCH easier to just take 2 carts, one for each boy, so that when Chris would yell, NO I don't want that, that was OK, we'd put it in Sam's cart. ;) Sam was content for the whole trip playing with a box of rotini. (He got mad when we took it away to pay for it!) We drove through Steak and Shake (and McD's for Chris) and I got a strawberry milkshake with hot fudge-- Yum-O! And we watched the Olympics. A very happy Day.

Happy Valentine's Day from Chris and Sam!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Love, Me

44/365

I received a Valentine's Gift yesterday. I wasn't expecting them. Eric gets me flowers every year, and for a long time he got me roses, but they are so expensive, I told him he didn't need to do that. Then with the excessive expenses lately, we decided we weren't going crazy for Valentine's Day. He said he wasn't going to do anything. Surprise! Flowers! Love it! And they are so big fat and pretty too!



OK, so this was taken yesterday, but you can see the card, from my sweet hubbins, Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Me.



The flowers are opening up so pretty today, that I just wanted to pass on a bit of the joy of the blooms to share with all of you who love me, and whom I love too.



Love, Me

Opening Ceremonies

So, last night was the Opening Ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. I'm so excited to brag that I actually have a friend that is "working" the Olympics. I'm so excited and living vicariously through her.
For Beijing, we joined our friend's the Julius's for Chinese food and watching the Opening Ceremonies, complete with Slumber Party for the kids. A Tradition was Born!

This year, the Winter Olympics are in Vancouver so I contacted Tamsin with a request for some ideas of All Good Canadian foods. We wanted more than Canadian Bacon and Beer. She came through...and Beyond! Days later, a package arrived, Surprise!...Canadian Candy Bars!

So, Last night began with Canadian Bacon Pizza! Appetizer Pizza if you will. We sampled the candy bars throughout the night, Our favorite? The CrispyCrunch! Like a Toffee Butterfinger! Though I could eat those Coffee Crisps all night, smelled divine, but I was outvoted.



Our main course was Tourtiere, a French Canadian Meat Pie. Yum-O!



We got our Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground pork
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (Or in our case Kroger the refrigerated Pie Crust!)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a saucepan, combine pork, beef, onion, garlic, water, salt, thyme, sage, black pepper and cloves. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils; stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is cooked, about 5 minutes.
Spoon the meat mixture into the pie crust. Place top crust on top of pie and pinch edges to seal. Cut slits in top crust so steam can escape. Cover edges of pie with strips of aluminum foil.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove foil and return to oven. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.



For a Side Item: Poutine. Picture it: French fries topped with gravy and cheese curds. We found Cheese curds at Whole Foods, heated up a bag of frozen french fries and heated some jars of beef gravy. We didn't really Need to eat more than this. It would've been just fine to eat alone...but we didn't. :)



Oh and the Drinks!



Tamsin said that British Columbia is a huge grower of cranberries for Ocean Spray, so in that vein we got some Cranberry Juice, as well Canada Dry Ginger Ale, and some Canadian Whiskey--Crown Royal, and some Canadian Beer: Moosehead! We took advantage of the weather for Chilling.



Now, I'm not a big whiskey fan, but I do like Cocktails. So I made one up, our CANADIAN COCKTAIL. We mixed half a glass of Canada Dry Ginger Ale, with a splash of Crown, and top off with Cranberry Juice. Not Too Shabby!



Of course, the kids wanted their own special drinks too. So we made them. Chris only had a couple sips, but Emily LOVED hers. I swear, hers was Unleaded!



Now Sam was in Isolation. He'd been snotty coughing mess all week, and though he'd been without Fever for 36 hours, he hadn't stopped dripping. We thought that he'd had similar cooties to the Julius girls, but we weren't sure, so we didn't let any kids touch him. That was hard. But he had a good time, borrowed some 'cleanable' toys and played with Mommy and Daddy. He did great, and slept pretty well last night.



The Parade of Nations was not yet done when it came clear the kids were. No slumber party this year, so Daddy took the kids home, leaving Mommy to have a bit of Mom's night in...more drinking, more laughing...more Fabulous Olympic Fun. Proud to say I guessed Wayne Gretzky would be the Torch bearer too!

It's a Good Thing that the Olympics only come around every couple years, because I just can't party like that anymore. I'm So Tired, and going to get More Tired because you KNOW I'll be staying up late every night for the next 2 weeks!

Bring it on Olympics.

7 more for Saturday

So, if you thought Yesterday's photos that I snapped while taking Chris out to the Bus were nifty...Holy Cow! I thought God was doing a great job at 8 a.m., that was nothing to just a couple hours later! Enjoy these that I snagged after the Sun came out, while Sam was Napping.

1. The Poplar tree in our frontyard



2. The "wheat" plant (weed) in the garden



3. Rose branch (So Cool the way the ice crystals surround the thorns of the rose?!)



4. Red Oak in the backyard



5. Blue Spruce out back(Reminds me of my boyz, all three of them, I got this tree for Eric's 30th birthday, and how it's got a couple cute Buds, just like we have!)



6. Bird's nest in the tree out front (My Favorite!)



7. Icicle. The frost even hung to the icicle that was dangling on our front porch!

Friday, February 12, 2010

5 for Friday

43/365

It's always Darkest Just before Dawn.

Or in today's case, coldest just before a February dawn. This morning we had "freezing fog" which is something I'd never heard of before this winter. But BOY HOWDY, does it make the trees pretty! Took the camera out to wait for the bus this morning.

1. Check out the tree in our frontyard, and those down the street.



2. The Weeping Willow in the Backyard.



3. Frosted Purple Conflower



4. Frosted Spirea



5. Freezing Fog covered the branch to the tip, spontaneous snowflakes. How Awesome!



Even when the weather is "crappy", God does such an Awesomely Amazing job decorating.