I had the privileged to share with my fellow threadbare mommas this week in our little group. I thought you all might enjoy hearing the thoughts I shared with them on community building. So here you go:
I was tip tapping around the web and found this verse I
wanted to share with you
9 Don’t just pretend that you love
others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good Romans
12:9 (TLB)
Did you read that first part? Don’t
just pretend that you love others: really love them
That one was a bit of a gut check.
Can I just make a little confession?
I’m not sure I’m that good at showing love to people. I mean my kids and
husband, ok, whatever. But past them?
Sometimes I just think I’m nice to
people so they’ll like me.
What goes around, comes around
style.
Oy.
So I’ma make you all a deal. I’m
gonna try running all my social interactions, both here on the net and in real
life, through a “this isn’t about me” filter.
I want my interactions to be about
you. I want to listen to you. To share Christ’s love with you. To support you
the best I can.
These are the secret burdens I carry. As a stay at home, homeschooling Mama I wrestle with not having a lot of face to face contact with the outside world. I’m busy with the kids, the house, the erranding.
I’m plain busy and so are my friends. The reality of the situation is that the only day I really have for intentional community building socializing is on Sundays.
So what then.
My choices really are live without community, or turn to the internet to fill in that gap.
Now you know why I (like so many other stay at home moms) spend way too much time on Facebook. You could call it bored unproductivity if you want. I have felt that way a time or two.
But no.
This fall I’ve decided to raise the stakes. To stop looking at internet friendships as weird and reach out to other moms who are too busy with home and work to invest in a face to face community.
With four other women (I lovingly refer to them as my internet friends. Hi girls! Love to you!) we’ve pooled our efforts under the loving guidance of (In)courage to create a facebook community known as Threadbare Mommas.
My lovely girl Sarah put it so nicely in our group description:
For those mommas who are hanging on to Jesus while their knees are showing signs of wear from scrubbing, tying shoes, kissing away tears, begging for mercy. We are here to encourage you, pray, and laugh with each other!
Our group, Threadbare Mommas, is one of a collection of groups organized by (In)courage to help disconnected Mommas like myself find likeminded friends who are looking for people willing to dig in and invest in authentic community.
Group sign ups are open starting this morning. There are a handful of women looking to invest in you, why don't you say hello.
Sarah also has some words to say about our group. Would you like to meet her?
So this week we're taking part in a blog hop with our friends from Adventures in Odyssey. Wee! Over the last few posts we've been talking about this month's theme Discover.
Discover how much fun service can be with Adventures in Odyssey’s A.C.T.S. challenge and contest!
We've already talked about why this project makes so much sense to me as a mother attempting to raise socially aware children. And the rewards the kids can get when they sign up for such a project on this post.
Yesterday we talked about why it is so crucial for our children to practice serving others as a way to help develop appropriate self esteem.
We also chatted a bit about service project ideas and I shared an exclusive link to a free AIO radio production titled The Business of Busyness (which my kids loved).
We just wanted you to know that we are just gearing up for a summer of fun and service! Check back to learn more about June's theme of Imagination which comes with it's own fun freebies, and in July our theme will be Grow (oh yeah, did I mention more free stuff?)
Hi friends!
There was so much to tell you about this summer project that Adventures in Odyssey has planned that I thought I'd break it up a bit and give you time to process each fantastic little nugget of possibility.
So last week we talked a bit about the scope of the project, today I'm going to share some more resources that they have available to help you as you serve your community. I particularly enjoyed this list of service ideas:
May 20: Serve Your Community- Go to a local park and pick up the trash or volunteer to plant flowers.
May 27: Serve Your World- Take a field trip to a place that recognizes fallen soldiers. Learn about the importance of the place and time of history. Pray for our current military and their families serving around the world.
June 2- Serve As A Family- Host a garage sale at your house and then donate the money to a good cause.
June 9- Serve Your Family-- Wash your dad's car as part of his Father's Day present!
June 16- Serve Your Community-- Make some simple cards and deliver them to a local nursing home. Most folks would love a visit!
June 23- Serve Your World--Send a care package to a missionary serving in the world.
June 30-- Serve As a Family- Host an ice cream party or BBQ for your neighborhood.
View the complete list here!
They also have a free audio presentation of the AIO Service episode called the Business of Busyness that you can only find here.
I don’t know about you, but as I look forward to my summer vacation with my kids I’m seeing an awful lot of white space. A glaring, in your face, void of whitespace that is screaming to be filled with activity. While my natural inclination is to compulsively sign my kids up for every single summer camp the YMCA offers, the smart part of my brain wants me to look at the big picture for our summer.
Do I want busy children or am I striving for engaged children? Children not busily carted from one place to another in the interest of keeping my house in order, but children engaged in projects and activities that make a difference in the lives of others.
My lovely friends over at Adventures in Odyssey, with Focus on the Family, recently contacted me to share a free summer program that they have arranged titled A.C.T.S. (A Call to Service) challenge and contest. Here’s how it works:
This summer, Adventures in Odyssey is joining with Christian bookstores across the country, inviting kids to participate in a Summer of Service. They’re promoting the biblical message, “When you serve, everybody wins,” encouraging kids to serve their families, their communities, and their world. Whether it’s baking cookies for an elderly neighbor or putting together a care package for missionaries overseas, kids will discover that serving can be a blast!
Kids who join A.C.T.S. can pick up a service log and collect fun character stickers for hours served at participating bookstores throughout the summer, or download a serving log online at whitsend.org. At the end of the summer, kids can record and upload a short video telling how they serve and why they’d like to become an Adventures in Odyssey Ambassador.
A hundred winners will get the brand new AIO Album, and after online voting, two grand prize winners (one boy and one girl) will get to travel on an exciting Good-Goers Mission Based Adventure trip to another country with a parent! The out-of-country destination will be announced on a live podcast May 22—hosted by AIO actors Katie Leigh (Connie) and Chris Anthony (Chris)—which you can watch at whitsend.org/acts.
In the days to come I’ll share more information about the projects that we have set up, so check back for more details.
Can we be honest for a sec? Like take a look at my closet of
secrets that I don’t want to tell you about – honest? I’d like to think my
vulnerability will help you recognize a truth you’ve recently wrestled with yourself.
I have this thing about numbers, an insecurity really. My
life was so much better before I could use statistics as a guide to measure my
popularity, my perceived self worth. The number of friends I have on facebook,
the number of people who visit my blog, and how many posts they read during
their visit. I sort of wish those numerical details had never been introduced
into my thought process.
There’s nothing like staring at a small number to make you
feel inadequate. Especially when your neighbor is flashing a big number.
Because they’re better than you. Hello insecurity.
I consistently remind my insecure self that a small number
of people who care is way better than a big number of people who just show up
to be counted. How many twitter followers do I have who follow me because they
think there’s something in it for them? I’ll like you, if you like me back. Ok,
spammer, that’s not the game I’m here to play.
So here’s the deal I’d like to make with you, let’s forget
numbers affect the way we interact, and care about each other. Lets invest in
each other because we care. Let’s stop skimming each other’s blog posts and
really read what each other has to say.
I don’t want you to comment on my blog because you want me
to comment on yours. I don’t want you to be a fan of my facebook page so I’ll
be a fan of yours. I want you to come here knowing that I’m interested in invested
in a community, and I’d love for you to be a part of my circle. And I’d love to
be a part of yours. Unless you write about auto mechanics or something I have
no reason to invest in.
I can smell spam from a mile away, and so can you. Lets both
admit that we’re better than that.
With those guidelines in place I would also like to point
out that I have put a little widget in my sidebar to connect you to my facebook
fan page. The logic behind the fan page is not to have access to one more way to
quantify my perceived self worth with numbers, but a way to connect with people
who aren’t in my inner circle of friends (yet).
I’m not about to ask you to
feed my insecurity by making my small number bigger, but I am going to suggest
that you be willing to invest in someone who doesn’t believe in spamming. To
invest in authentic community with likeminded people.
Whether this is a place you’d like to invest or not is up to
you. But if this is not a place you choose to invest, please find somewhere to
invest for reals. No one wants your spam.
I have another treat for you, today we have another guest post from my new friend Sarah Knepper, won't you join me in welcoming her into our group?
I love having friends. I believe friendship can help each of us lay
our own desires aside as we learn to care for others and bond with
people who don’t actually live in our own home. Friends have special
ways of making us feel appreciated, loved, and accepted.
Friendships
formed in childhood seem withstand time in some instances. I am still
close with a few women who have been in my life for over 20 years. I do
not see them everyday or talk to them regularly but I know that when we
do get together it feels no time has passed. The bonds we formed while
navigating through adolescence, college, and young adulthood have given
us love and acceptance for one another that can never go away.
As
I watch my children form friendships with others my heart overflows
with tenderness. Today I watched my daughter hold hands with her sweet
friend as they skipped around the playground. I observed by oldest son
bonding with his playmate while they left the playground and walked the
sidewalks laughing and whispering. And then there was my youngest who
has his own “best friend”. Those little boys are like two peas in a
pod!
One of my many jobs as a mother is to make sure my
children establish connections with others and give them opportunities
to bond with children that are like them. I believe it does our
youngsters well to meet people from all different backgrounds but when
it comes to training up my children, I want them to be surrounded by
others who have similar beliefs and morals.
I want my
children to be attracted to others who respect their parents and are
learning the ways of Christianity. This is not to say I don’t let my
kiddos play with children who aren’t believers. I also know we all have
times when we make very poor decisions and I know my children are not
separate from these ways.
Yet when I think of how I
want them to grow up, the decisions I pray for them to make, and the
people who I believe will support them in life I am led back to what is
said in Romans 15:1-5,
We who are strong ought to bear with the
failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should
please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ
did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who
insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the
past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in
the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same
attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with
one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in
order to bring praise to God.
Life is a journey for all of us
and if I can help my children set a firm foundation in friendship then
there is one more element of support on their sides.
Sarah Knepper is mother to three young children and remarried last
June. She spent three years as a single mother and has learned Jesus is
the answer to everything. She has a Master's Degree in Elementary
Education but is home for now with two of her children.
We've learned a ton at Bible school this week. We've learned all the normal stuff about God and Heaven and all that stuff that was the same as last year. We learned the latest round of Bible school songs, which yes, are just as annoying as last years songs. Shh. Don't tell the music ladies I said that, they'll throw me in the pool.
Anyway.
We did learn a few unconventional lessons this year. Annie learned how to volunteer. Or snarf extra snacks from the kitchen, candy from the welcome center, chat with all the other volunteers, make a cute name tag, and spin in the office chairs. Lets be honest, that's why we all volunteer, right?
Louisa learned never to headbutt Mommy while wearing a viking helmet. Ouch.
And Max, well... he learned nuffin. It's a good thing he's so darned cute.
Oh, by the way! Today's the last day to enter to win one of my extra copies of the book Risk. Go here to check out the details!
As I prepared my family to meet up with a friend the other day, I found myself making a list of all the faults I needed to point out.
- My son is the dirtiest child on the planet. I can't figure out how I have three relatively clean children and one scumball. Think Pigpen from Charlie Brown.
- My daughter's clothes don't really match.
- While we're on the topic, my other daughter has wild hair. Like crazed maniac hair.
Am I the only one who does this?
Like pointing out our faults to you makes our imperfections ok. As long as you know - that we know - we aren't perfect, life is good.
And don't sneer at me, friend of mine who shall remain nameless because she needed to point out all the places on her carpet the dog chewed on last time I came over.
Like we care. We came to your house to see you. Not your carpet. Ok, it is kind of funny. But if you hadn't pointed it out we wouldn't have noticed.
My friends invited us to the park to play together. Not for a fashion parade. It's ok to wear not matching dirty clothes to play in the dirt. Isn't it?
Why do we do this? Is it our insecurity? Fear of others judgement?
I'd just like to take this moment to say that I am not judging you. I don't care if your house is cluttered, or if your kid didn't brush his teeth. In fact I like knowing that your life isn't perfect either.
I don't want you to feel insecure about all your faults. I want you to be real. Let's make a deal, k? I'll stop pointing out whats wrong with me, if you stop pointing out what's wrong with you. We'll both know - that the other person knows - that no one is judging anyone.
For the last 15 months or so we have used photography as a means to fundraise for our adoption. Now that our adoption is complete, and the debt is mostly paid off the question becomes "now what?" Do we close the door on the project or go pro.
While a professional photographer salary would be really awesome right now (please don't look at my threadbare carpet and house that wasn't built for a family of 6) my role here is to put the needs of my children before my finances. So increasing my photographic workload isn't going to happen.
On the other other hand, there are a lot of people out there that we could help if I was making a little money. There are just too many starving people on this planet for me to hang up my camera strap and turn a blind eye.
So the short answer to the big question is "let it be what it is". We're hoping for more of a hobby job than a professional income. If you need photos, we will take them. We will continue to charge a fair professional price, with as much as half of it going to help support a local nonprofit that provides financial aid to orphanages in Max's home community in Russia, and other families in our community who are struggling to pay for their adoption. We will continue donating sessions to auctions and other good causes, and doing pro bono work when called for.
The bottom line is we have a lot of paying it forward to do, and we're hoping that you'll help us do just that.
I have some articles that I've written for an online news source that I haven't shared with you. Here are links to some of the recent ones I've written:
We've had so much fun reading these books and sharing them with you this week.
Guess what. We aren't done yet! Today we're participating in a blog hop! So hop on in and check out this little Q and A session we had with one of the authors, Marianne Hering. Enjoy!
1. What inspired you to write the
Imagination Station series?
Paul
(McCusker) had always wanted to write stories about the Imagination Station.
When looking to do a kids’ series about it, we chose early elementary to
introduce new readers to the Adventures in Odyssey world. We also wanted to
touch on a group of kids that didn’t have many Christian books written for
their level. There seemed to be a gap from picture books to later elementary
readers.
2. The Imagination Station device is
well-known to fans of the radio drama Adventures in Odyssey. Why did you and
Paul decide to use it in a book series?
It lends itself to stand-alone adventures.
It’s a fascinating device. Why wouldn’t he want to write about it? It allowed
us to write about settings outside of Odyssey. We’d like some of the books to
augment the history kids learn from public school textbooks or TV. The
Imagination Station radio dramas are also among the most popular. We thought
that kids would like them, that’s all!
3. The first
two books focus on the Vikings and ancient Rome. The next two books focus on
Kubla Khan and the War of the Roses and now books five and six take readers to
the Holy Land and back to Plymouth Rock. How did you and Paul decide which
historical events to write about?
Paul
and I aren’t the only ones who weigh into the decision. Paul and I have a
creative team that also includes Adventures in Odyssey writer Nathan Hoobler,
book publishing director Larry Weeden, and marketing manager Brock Eastman. I’m
fortunate to have such a well-rounded and experienced bunch helping decide on
setting, cover scene, and title. All that said, I do most of the research or
verify the other writers’ research for the book’s outline. I’ve written a lot
of historical fiction and had many of the ideas for settings and conversations
in my mind and heart for years. I try to choose moments in history that reveal
a hero’s Christian character and are historically accurate. The exception is
book 4, Revenge of the Red Knight, which covered the War of the Roses.
Because that war was so convoluted and political, it was difficult to find a
well-defined real-life hero we could hold up as a role model. The hero, Sir
Andrew, in that book is 100 percent fiction. The other books all have a
true-life hero as a role model.
4. How true to history are Showdown
with the Shepherd and Problems at Plymouth?
Let
me start by informing readers that it’s my intent to answer all of these
questions on TheImaginationStation.com website. The historical information is
already posted in the parents section for books 1 and 2, and book 7’s material
will be posted momentarily. I’m working on filling in the “what’s true and
what’s not true” material for books 3, 4, 5, and 6. Hopefully in the next week.
Showdown with the Shepherd expands on the David and Goliath story. For
readers who are not familiar with the story, we kept it as biblical as possible
while adding three time travelers and a catapult. The Philistines are still
gruesome and fearful and want to take the Israelites as slaves. Young shepherd
boy David is mocked by his brothers. King Saul is still afraid to fight Goliath
himself. David still whomps Goliath with God’s help. (I did get Goliath’s
helmet wrong on the cover. The Philistine helmets had a funky topper.--I missed
this because I was on vacation when the cover roughs came through and I didn’t
check everything as carefully as I should have. Sorry for that. I work hard to
get the details of the art to be accurate and feel bad when I overlook an
important detail.) The setting was as accurate as I could make it. I did ask my
boss to pay for me to fly to the Valley of Elah for “research,” but he wisely
thought that would be a waste of ministry resources. :-)
Problems in Plymouth—the events all happened, just over a longer period
of time than it did in the book. In reality, these events happened over about a
year period. In the book it’s two days. John Billington and his family are
real. John did get lost. Mr. Billington didn’t agree with William Bradford on
what to do about Indian relations. Chiefs Aspinet and Yellow Feather are real.
The Pilgrims did accidentally shoot some innocent Indians. The doctor is real.
The issue of the stolen corn is real. The Pilgrims did fear that Squanto was
kidnapped, and they set out to rescue him. The Pilgrims did bury their gun
powder. The storage room did exist. The meeting house was described accurately
as were the cannons. There were several types of muskets models used by the
Pilgrims. The details of the first Thanksgiving were basically accurate. We
depicted the traditional bell-shaped blunderbuss. However, many Pilgrims
probably had muskets without the bell-shaped musket. Marshal Younger and I took
some small liberties with the history (besides, of course, Hugh and the
cousins). For example I’m not sure who was actually on the shallop that came to
rescue John Billington. The dialogue between Bradford and Standish was based on
research, but the actual words were fictionalized. We did try to quote Bradford
in some places, but his language was so outdated we had to modify it a lot.
5. These books are geared towards
young readers, ages 7 and up. What is the number one issue that children
learning to read struggle with?
Speed processing. The kids who are slower
reading learners usually need more help with sight words and fluency. That’s
just practice at an accessible reading level. These are just slower readers in
general—I’m not counting kids with true auditory processing issues or other
learning disabilities, which represent between 3 and 10 percent. Most kids can
learn to read better with one-on-one instruction and a loving atmosphere. I’ve
posted reading tips on the website for each book and lists of words to practice
before tackling a chapter. See TheImaginationStation.com.
6. What kinds of books do you
recommend children read?
I don’t only recommend books. There are
fabulous magazines out there for this age group. Not all kids like fiction, so
magazines draw them in with nonfiction and pictures. There are some good book
series out there—I personally give my children the tried-and-true series
written years ago, like Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books. My boys enjoyed the
Horrible Harry books by Suzy Kline. My daughter was a Gertrude Chandler
Warner/Boxcar Children fanatic. Parents can ask librarians to recommend books.
One of my sons loves anything about animals in the nonfiction section—I don’t
make him read fiction unless it’s for school. I do have to review their books
first, and that can take a lot of time, but it’s worth it.
7. What are some ways that parents can
help their children develop their reading skills?
(Get their vision checked for not only vision
but for tracking issues as well.) Turn off the electronics and make reading a
fun time. You can read to them or they can read to you. Make reading an event.
Your kids will complain for about two weeks while the electronic addiction
wears off. Then they will be better able to engage in literary pursuits. For
free reading, let your kids read “easy” books. Don’t judge. If they want to
read Hop on Pop twenty times, that
means that’s where they are comfortable. If you push your kids beyond what they
perceive to be the right level, they will rebel. Better a lot of fluent reading
at an easy level than choppy reading at a higher level. Reading with starts and
stops is a bad habit to let them get into.
8. What encouragement can you offer
parents who may have reluctant or struggling readers?
I can encourage parents by letting them know
that there are GREAT reading programs for kids. Most kids, 60 percent, need
extra help at home to make it to the fourth grade reading level. That extra
help can come from parents who gently and lovingly make reading a family hobby.
There is no lack of teaching material, and your school districts should be able
to help you find the right tools. The biggest factor in children’s success at
school is a loving parent who takes the time to work with their children. One
of my sons could not learn to sound out letters quickly enough to “hear” the
word. I couldn’t help him, and so I hired a reading specialist who was more of
a cognitive trainer and we worked through his auditory glitch. There are some
terms to search “phonemic” awareness and “phonograms” that will help parents
read more about how to help emergent readers. When the kids know how to sound
out words, speed training on sight words can jump start their reading fluency.
On the website, TheImaginationStation.com, I’ve prepared this long essay on how
use a metronome to speed up your child’s reaction time to sight words. It’s
under the book The Attack at the Arena.
Don’t give up. Virtually every kid can learn to read well enough to go to
college if his or her parent(s) invest in them.
9. What do you hope kids will walk
away with after reading Imagination Station?
A smile and a desire to learn more about
history and faith in Jesus Christ.
10. Can you give us any “sneak peeks”
into what we can expect in future books? Here’s
the not-so-sneak peek. Book 7 is advertised in book 6, and I already have
material about it on TheImaginationStation.com. Book 7 is set in ancient Egypt
and involves a mummy and a scary tomb. Book 7 is at the printer right now. It’s
my favorite cover so far
Book
8 is exciting because we have a new author joining our team. We’re writing this
one with best-selling Christian author Wayne Thomas Batson. We wanted to tell a
pirate story, and since he’s an expert and had already written some fabulous
pirate stories, we asked him to help us. Book 8’s title is Mystery of
Starlight Island. Look for Wayne Thomas Batson’s “Focus on the Family
approved” pirate books, The Isle of Swords and The Isle of Fire
(for upper elementary and tween readers). Go to FocusontheFamily.com/resources and
type Wayne Batson in the search box.
Book 9 sneak-peek. We’re going to the most modern
setting yet. The kids will be visiting a famous person who lived dur
This week we're doing a series about the fun and interesting ways we distract ourselves from the frustration of our adoption woes.
We've already been to the pumpkin patch twice, today we're revisiting the Apple Butter Festival that took place earlier this week.
We go every year. Sometimes with friends, sometimes just by ourselves. This year we took Alex's buddy Jake so that he wouldn't be tormented by little kids at chuck e. cheese.
Highlights include:
a civil war era rifle demonstration where they shot
across the river
tossing dried corn cobs into an agitator that
separated the kernels from the cob
and Mr. Krepp's tent (my old
history teacher) who had Alex riveted for a good half hour.
The other day I hosted a photography workshop for some friends who had DSLR cameras but were stuck on AUTO. (Blech.) We met up at the local botanical gardens to test out some of the different functions on their cameras, and to talk through the mental processes I go through when I take a photo. Of course we all had our cameras with us and we each managed to snap off some rather stunning close ups. So here are a few of the ones I took.
My buddy Jody participated in the workshop, you can check out the shots that she took here
If you want your children to be creative, you yourself have to model creativity.
One of the best ways to model creativity is to have family art time. We as a family regularly sit down with art supplies, just to see what happens, no specific project in mind. Sometimes we're inspired by something we've seen, sometimes we just want to make something.
I love, love, love that our local art museum has a family art center that is stocked to the gills with paper, paint, and sculptural items. On certain days they open their doors to the public for family art time.
We recently took some friends of ours down to check it out. What's even better than family art time? Family art time with your buddies.
Our weekend adventure for this week included a spontaneous lunch with friends from church followed by a trip to their neighborhood pool. The beauty of showing up to a neighborhood pool is that you also see other friends you have from that neighborhood. Our kids had a rollicking good time with their buddies from church and we grown ups had a fabulous time ignoring them. That's why we pay the lifegaurds, right?
A few years back we had the opportunity to purchase the abandoned lot that was next to ours. It wasn't a very pretty sight, a saggy house that had seen better days, and mulch 6 feet deep that had been illegally dumped by a local tree cutting service. But we were tired of looking at it, and we knew that no one in their right mind would be interested in it. Being the gardeners that we are, we used up a fraction of the mulch, then had the rest leveled out and turned our attention to the house. We were originally going to have do a controlled burn with the local fire department, but after 3 years of trying to get that pushed through, they finally declined the offer. (I have to wonder if Walter's barn fire had anything to do with that decision.) Regardless, we put in a contract with a local demolition/salvage yard, and after some more waiting and red tape we are finally able to celebrate.
I think I just heard the entire community sigh with relief.
Earlier this week we had a lovely little ice storm that covered the woods surrounding my house in a layer of ice. At the time of the storm I was annoyed because it ruined a fun shopping day that I had planned with a friend, but I couldn't stay mad at the ice for very long.
As soon as the sun came out and the woods glittered like diamonds I was over my pity party and humbled by the glorious display. For a moment I was the luckiest girl on the planet, entranced by all the sparkle and glitter. I did get a few photos, but they don't really do the display any justice. Nevertheless, here's a tour of my ice kingdom...
We heard word of this storm over the weekend, before it hit California. A two wave storm that would drop 14-16 inches, blowing and drifting, and an inch of ice. It was enough to send our little community into a tizzy of preparations. Not us, mind you. One of the beautiful things about my life is that the kids and I don't have to go anywhere in order to function normally. Work and school all happens in this little hub that we call home. So while we have a constant pile of wet mittens and socks by the door, we hunker down and prepare for the worst, knowing we'll probably get a fraction of what is predicted.
So yesterday, while we were waiting for the second round to hit, we decided to have an impromptu play date with some friends who had the day off from school. Despite the frigid temps and biting wind, Alex and Jake built a snowfort. We moms on the otherhand, watched from the warm kitchen and kept the boys (and a few random girls that occasionally stepped out to assist them) supplied with hot chocolate. A very important job indeed.
What goes around, comes around
style.
A few years back we had the opportunity to purchase the abandoned lot that was next to ours. It wasn't a very pretty sight, a saggy house that had seen better days, and mulch 6 feet deep that had been illegally dumped by a local tree cutting service. But we were tired of looking at it, and we knew that no one in their right mind would be interested in it.
So yesterday, while we were waiting for the second round to hit, we decided to have an impromptu play date with some friends who had the day off from school. Despite the frigid temps and biting wind, Alex and Jake built a snowfort. We moms on the otherhand, watched from the warm kitchen and kept the boys (and a few random girls that occasionally stepped out to assist them) supplied with hot chocolate. A very important job indeed.
