You Don't See That Every Day

One of the things I love about my husband is his interest in the weather. He enjoys tracking the weather and keeping me updated on what's coming. It's a pretty important factor in a farmer's life too.  snow dusting a few weeks ago   So last week he started sharing the news of the coming snow. 6 inches, no 12, no, now they're predicting 17 inches of snow in our corner of the world. Definitely not something you see every day around here. I don't think we've had that much snow on the valley floor since the 1960s.  And I admit, I'm kind of excited about it. Yes, it will put a dent in plans for a four day weekend, but life is all about being able to change, adapt and overcome.  And spring is right around the corner!  

The things about Easter in Oregon is you never know what kind of weather you will have. Will we be wearing raincoats or sweaters to hunt for eggs this year? Trying to find a pretty dress for each of my girls has been an endeavor of patience every year. Why, oh why, do stores in Oregon sell pretty spring dresses WITHOUT sleeves?????? We found racks of dresses with spaghetti straps, or thin straps, but very few with sleeves - and they are all short short sleeves. If I knew how to sew I might start a business in Oregon selling long-sleeve spring dresses! But we girls managed to find something new to wear - one of the few traditions we have for this holiday. And I managed to eventually get a good family photo of these silly kids. After church we drove to my sister's house for a family dinner. And the egg hunt. Notice the jackets? It was cold and wet outside! We managed to hide and find the plastic eggs in between rain showers.  Even the older kids searched - although or...

 oh, so this is what spring looks like?! playing in the front yard, drawing with chalk on the driveway, soaking in the sun Thankful for 2 days of sunshine!

In my corner of the world this week ... * there has been a lot of weather here. We had snow, lots of slushy snow. And now we have lots and lots of rain, and more on the way. We had a little scare of water reaching the garage, and the insulation sitting there waiting to be installed. Thankfully it did not reach that far. There are roads closed and many creeks and rivers flooding. * School was cancelled for all students in our area. My son spent the day today filling sandbags with other friends downtown. He really surprised us, wanting to go, and wanting to stay as long as he could, even while cold wet and hungry. Made me proud to see the glimmer of growing up shining through. * There hasn't been much progress made on schoolwork around this house. Since the Boy had Monday, and today, off from school, the girls did not get anything done either. And for some reason we spent more time learning in the kitchen, or playing in the front room this week than we did in the actual books. Bu...

This week has held many firsts. And not for the baby either. We had the first sign of spring on Saturday. G mowed the lawn for the first time, I went and pulled weeds. It was lovely! The next day, the first actual day of spring; was rainy and wet; and then the first day of spring break, Monday, Today my son made his first breakfast - sort of. He followed a recipe and made pancakes for everyone from scratch! There was only a little trial and error - he put in 3 Table spoons of baking powder instead of 3 teaspoons. But we were able to triple the recipe, and came out with only 4 pancakes leftover. Pretty good! And today also - the first run around the track this year; the girls and I went to the high school and did a mile.

I saw sunshine on the walls yesterday!! Really! Here in Oregon, on a day in January -- that is a rare occurrence. Looking up from the couch to the ceiling this is what I saw overhead (skylight). And outside one of the windows - no rain! It was a nice change of pace, if even for a little time. It gave me the little boost I needed. Today I went into the garage and cleaned out some more packed boxes. Packed back last year when we thought we would be moving, and in a new home by now. All my old bookshelves were cleaned off and in the process of moving them out, they were broken; so now all the books are in boxes. And for a family that loves to read, this is getting to be a hassle. I am looking for new shelves, and G mentioned he would like to build some for me. Of course there is this other project going on in the garage. G is building something else. Top secret. Not a national security kind of top secret, but rather an Awana Grand Prix kind of secret. So maybe when that is done,...

Today we had the first snowfall of the season. Now I know for some of our family this is not news-worthy, nor exciting. But for us in the Pacific Northwest the first snowfall ... ANY snowfall is cause for excitement and joy. Before bed last night we kept peeking out the windows to see how much more was coming down. Excitement was already building in our little hearts. Each time I got up with the (teething) baby I peeked out again to see what was there. Nothing coming down, but it was sure bright out. This morning the girls were up first and came rushing out with squeals. It didn't take long for the rest of the house to come awake. Thankfully they ate their breakfasts and got dressed before charging out to play. And thankfully school has been on hiatus this week too. The kids played outside all morning, even though there was no more snow and the sun was starting to shine. It was still cold enough though that melting wasn't very much of an issue. Tonight the snow is still t...