Sorry all the pictures are white... it's kind of a blizzard

Well, we are in a full blown honest-to-goodness BLIZZARD! Like the Little House on the Prairie kind - up until now my only picture of what it is even like. It is very white. And blowing.  Even in the more sheltered area of the yard, you can't look into the wind and even so, all of us girls' makeup was smeared all over our faces from the flying wet snow. Out on the road the wind is CRAZY blowing snow everywhere! You have to walk backwards into the wind, and oh how it howls through the pines!  We all looked ridiculous too, but when it's so cold (and windy), you start to not care what you are wrapped up in just so long as every possible inch of skin is covered!

AND, I just got a weather alert over my pager: All the highways are closed, so we are officially SNOWED IN!!!! Strange to think we can't even go 2 miles home if we wanted to.

Church was cancelled earlier so we had home church over with the Sahlstrom family and that's where we're snowed in!  Just hanging out in the cozy indoors!

This picture was when the wind was just starting to pick up, the visibility is worse now!  From Sahlstrom's we can still see the shop, but not the mailbox!

If you want to see more pictures you can go to my FB album here.  I miss you Josiah, Caleb, Anna, Noah, Grace, Isaiah, Lydia and Hope!  It would be so much fun to see your reaction to a blizzard and enjoy it with you!

It must be Spring!

Last Sunday we were riding snowmobiles and sleds (our 'one day of winter' as it seemed for this year); today we were riding the 4-wheeler and bikes, jumping on hay bales and flying kites!  We even found the first green grass!   Some family members absolutely went berserk when they spotted a robin at lunch - a robin means spring, I learned.  And SOMEONE shyly admitted they were even wearing their swimsuit under their clothes!  Maybe that's a little optimistic there, Erina!

This was last Sunday afternoon, and pretty much all the winter we got!

...and a parting shot of the cutest couple this winter:

And with that, winter is officially OVER!!!!!!!  Sunshine and warm weather, you are invited every day, so just keep on coming!  On the farm is the best place to be in the springtime! <3

~ Officially Winter ~

Maybe the Weatherman will be right!

Because look what's on the forecast for tomorrow!!! 

Disclaimer:  I'm sorry other angry-Minnesotans, if you dislike me because I am excited about alternate forms of precipitation; at least I am thinking positively about the new seasons in this frigid polar region in the north - in which you CHOOSE to live!  And if you can't think of anything happy (white Christmas anyone?) about six months of many-feet of white fluffy freeziness, then you should... um....  

...move to Florida.  Or Hawaii.

Waiting...

Every morning when I open my eyes I look out the window.  Every morning since the beginning of October - or maybe even end of September.  Ever since the trees lost most of their leaves and the sky got that "wintry" look.  Ok, I don't really know if it's a true wintry sky cause I don't actually know what it looks like come December or January.  But it's overcast, grey and dark.  So it must be collecting lots of white fluffy moisture up there, right?

Because every morning I'm checking to see if it snowed. :)  And every morning so far... not yet! :(

Snow reminds me of a new word I'm learning:  "winterize".  Everyone keeps talking about needing to "winterize" their camper or "winterize" their house.  I have yet to find out what it means... I'm just keeping my eyes open going to watch for how people do that!  I thought you just had to turn the heat on! :P

Being officially November now, I'm unashamed to say I listened to Christmas music ALL DAY!

CHRISTMAS TIME'S A COMIN'

Snowflakes falling my old home is calling
Tall pines are humming Christmas time is coming.

Can't you hear them bells ringin' ringin' joy to all here them singin'
When it snows out I'll be going back to my country home
Christmas times a' coming Christmas times a' coming
Christmas times a' coming and I know I'm going home.

Holly's in the window home where the wind blows
Can't walk for running Christmas time is coming.

Home fires burning my heart's yearning
For the folks at home when Christmas time is coming.

This song, sung by Steve & Annie Chapman, was my favorite for many years growing up!  Even into my teens.  You see, I liked it because I liked the words "country home".  Growing up overseas we called Hong Kong "home" and the States "home country".  With a dreamy look in my eyes as I sang along, I thought this song was written for just such a person as me - they just switched the words to make them rhyme better.  And the part "when it snows out" I thought was a phrase like "when the cows come home".  In other words, it would never happen because we lived in the tropics; the way it was very unlikely we would go to our 'home country' for Christmas.  We knew that Christmas for people in America meant going to visit family... for us of course, that was not feasible and this person who wrote the song dreamed - just like me - of the year it would finally come that they would go 'home' for Christmas.

My dream was finally realized when I was 16 and I had my first Christmas (that I could remember) Stateside!  (It was one of the best ever but that's a different story!)  Anyway, somewhere around then I realized that the song really meant COUNTRY home, as in, home out in the country.  It burst my bubble somewhat and I was actually genuinely sad when I found that out.  But even now this particular Christmas song holds a special place in my heart, if only for the memories of being blissfully naive thinking it was written just for me!  And now... I guess it IS written for me - my home's in the country!