Winter's almost over

My musings: The other day when I was driving home about 9pm in the land I now call Iceland I pictured myself getting stuck out in the cold. I wondered how long I would last until I froze. I despise being cold so I hoped it wouldn't be long. I pictured a fitful night sleep and being heartbroken because I woke up only to be cold and lost again. I was grateful that night that I didn't end up stranded. Grateful to have a warm car. Grateful for my warm boots, gloves, hat and coat to keep me warmer during winter months. Grateful I was going home to my family. Grateful to have a husband who can take good care of our kidlets when I have to be away from them. And grateful that I don't have to be away from them too much. I was grateful for a full dinner earlier that evening. And grateful for the trials I've

been given to make me appreciate those things.... and that one of those trials was not to be stuck, lost in the cold iceland. I felt like I came close with church on Sunday being 55 degrees inside and sitting still for an hour inside the building. How that makes me appreciate warmth! Time to thaw. Springtime anyone?

January Fun

January was a crazy month of snow and days off school because of snow. But, this is how we spent some of our time. The kids got two small spirographs from grandma & grandpa and spent several hours the first morning after getting it making spirograph prints, coloring them and setting up a store downstairs to sell them. So fun!

My friend was doing a fundraiser and had little A practice for her on location. Isn't she such a doll?!

This is what I spent a lot of my January on. I just hope they are appreciated! I did these for our Young Women at church to remind them of their individual worth as daughters of God and included the first phrase of our 13th Article of Faith which is our theme this year "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous and in doing good to all men." The girls did as much as they could on them but with snow days I ended up doing most of them, but it was a fun project so I didn't mind much.

Ice Harvesting!! A farm near us does projects that they include the public on most every weekend and this weekend it was ice harvesting. We got to do a lot! We didn't do the sawing of the ice but I plucked the ice out of the pond with a long pole and the kids all helped me slide it over to the ramp where they also helped pull the rope to get them (40-50 lbs. a piece) up to the ice house. This replicates what farmers did back around the turn of the century to keep goods cold. Really fun experience!!!

Helping pull up ice blocks hand over hand. :)