"Oh So Blessed with WINTER"

We were again covered with a blanket of snow over the night time hours sometime. We had a two hour school delay again. By the time I got out on the road to take the kids to school they were mostly just sloppy. The sun has now come out and the snow is finally melting again some!

The school has a snow mobile there today! I went back and dropped them a rope off so they can pull tubes! I'm sure they will have a blast with this snow today while it's still here! What a great winter to own a snow mobile!

Our driveway is a challenge again with my van! I kind of like the narrow strip with walls of snow on either side as I drive the half mile to the road but at the end it can get my blood pressure up a bit as it's deep and I often almost get stuck! Its been an adventure just making it to the road many time this winter!

We were plowed open in the last post by the helpful neighbor, Saturday evening Dave and I did a valentine date night out at a great Italian restaurant in Exton. We made a stop at the Parksburg Apartments to check out the newly installed carpet and got so stuck in that driveway!! Thanks to Danny for coming to our rescue with his four wheel drive truck and a rope! As we drove home we at times could barely see ahead at all!! The snow was blowing EVERYWHERE!

Danny waited at the drive just to make sure we made it in. We did but the way it was blowing we were certain getting out for church on Sunday morning was sure to be a challenge! It was great to make it home after our date night out.

Sunday morning Dave and I bundled up and walked out to inspect the driveway. It's never really bad until we get a little past half way out. This is where the snow blows off the field creating drifts over the drive! As we walked out the driveway Dave's phone received a text. It was Jonathan... It said..."It looks like you guys are headed to the North Pole!!" We laughed! They are used to seeing us going out on Sunday mornings in running gear not boots and big coats with hoods! It was sooo cold!!

We did make it out the drive after getting speed and bouncing out on the road but we did get stuck on the way back in after church and Danny again came with his rope!! You are so good to us Danny and Rachel Ann!!

It is so beautiful though...

Even though this driveway might keep me housebound a little longer then some I really like that we are back in...

Yesterday was again a normal school day!! Javon even went again! He had a fun Valentine party at Preschool. They made and decorated cute mailboxes, then when we arrived yesterday we put something in each mailbox for his friends and they did the same, so he came home with neat Valentine cards and goodies...

 

Ladies Bible Study was so worth the morning out of the house again! I start to feel the need for fresh breath after spending so many days snowed in! Mom and Kath are in Florida soaking up the sun so we missed them, they are always at this Bible Study to! (I love that my mom and sisters join in on this study with me!)  the lesson was on the importance of "Forgiveness" David repented and was forgiven for his sin of adultery. It was a great part in this story on the life of David that we are going through in this study!

 We to can be forgiven for sin! No sin is to great for God's forgiveness on a repentant heart! God even chooses to forget it! How cool is that?? We do not forget it but we can learn from it.

"Lord" Heal the wound but leave the scar, A reminder of how merciful you are, I am broke and torn apart but take the pieces of this heart and heal the wound but leave the scar. A memory of the place you brought me from!  (taken from the song, Heal The Wound)

After the mornings two hour delay I find it hard to even find a routine. It seems the two hour delay mornings have us scrambling to be ready on time way more then the normal time mornings even do! It's my fault of course as I tend to enjoy the slower pace mornings until all of the sudden I see we better get breakfast eatin, lunches packed, hair combed, snow clothes packed, home work gathered and a scrambling out we go... ~whew~...:) After barely making in back in the drive I did an extra long sigh once in the door again only to hear my phone ringing telling me "We need a rope" "Can you please bring one?" ~sigh~ Back out I go with a rope only to almost get stuck again!! My van is going through the mill this winter!! Check engine light has been on since the first snow storm! Probably some frozen snow stuck up in there somewhere that just won't thaw!!...:)

We made pretzel bark for Jordan's class party tomorrow... I enjoy my outdoor freezer for cooling things!...:)

Jordan will not be able to eat any of this, there is really nothing that he can take to share with the class that he can have and he still wanted to take something to share so I made this today. He is doing great!! He again lost three pounds when we weighed him on Saturday morning. (total of 17pounds!) We are having him jump on the scale every Saturday morning just to keep record of the lost weight. He is going down in pant sizes to! I will need to get his old Sunday pants back out before another church day rolls around!

Some of the new ideas we have created the past week...

This is a butternut squash. I cut it in half and baked it for an hour then stuffed it with goodies! I also used a spaghetti squash one day and that one was more of a hit. Inside I have a mixture of... Rice, (cooked) onions, venison, scrambled egg, peppers, and whatever greens I have on hand, often asparagus or peas? It just gets fried all together in coconut oil and seasoned with salt.. It is really good!

This was lunch one day... Brown rice chips, avocado, spinach with hot pepper sauce. Just get a chip and layer it with spinach, avocado and sauce and eat as a finger food. It is good...!:)

This is a breakfast scramble on top of greens. I just scramble lots of veggies and a bit of rice with an egg and it goes on top of the greens with some hot sauce, it to is yummy! We have decided the saying that says "If it's good spit it out because it's probably not good for you" is a myth. The food I have been creating is really full of flavor, it has me wondering why I waited this long to figure out how to make really healthy food taste so good!! And NO my taste buds have not changed!...:) I still love chocolate/salty and anything involving "butter and brown sugar!"  ~sigh~

It was green juice for me this week again... Kale, ginger, celery, carrot, apple... I tried to make some for Jordan but without the apple or carrot for a bit of sweetness it was really nasty and I did not expect him to like it!

Mom got a juicer for her birthday and has taken it along to Florida! What fun to juice the yummy fruits and veggies in the sunshine state!! She called this morning and we had a nice chat. She wanted to know what I juice so I'll post this for you mom... Have fun with it... The sky is the limit with a juicer...:)

People often ask "Why Juice?" Why not blend?? I like both. The Vita~mix blender is a huge hit to many people right now and I'd love to have one but I think both are a huge benefit! Just in two different ways. This might give a bit of insight to those who question the difference...

Mom and Kath...

Enjoy the sunshine state! On the phone this morning mom was like "You haven't blogged for awhile!" I told her she should be the one blogging right now!! My life these days seems to be everyday the same... "snowed in" "snowed in" "school cancellations and delays" "wet clothes" "prepare food" "laundry" "read books" "organize messy house"  Winter time things that after awhile make my mind go crazy and so ready for SUMMER!!...  Mom/Kath/Lori enjoy some Vitamin D for me and you know what else??? Go for a nice long run in the warm weather and send it to me!!... My runs are ready for warm!!...:)

I'm not whining am I?? I have so enjoyed this winter since we are back from Belize, it has been by far one of the funnest and most beautiful on record for us!! The sunshine was so plentiful and this in itself brightens the mood,  but now that it's getting sloppy and it looks like maybe more snow ahead yet, I'm thinking from now on I'm going to say "Oh no not again" rather then "Bring it on!" Bring on Summer and Warmer temps to our winter weary selves...:) I think all seasons are lovely but for some reason or another we seem to just get ready to see the next one come and the old one go...(except for Fall, I'm never really ready for winter)

Enjoy another WINTER DAY because we are "Oh So Blessed"