Caught Unaware

The forecast has shown rain for most of the week, so imagine our surprise when we looked out the window and found this:



One of the guys Ryan works with called and told him to get out of there while he could.  It's not a lot of snow, but it's the first snow of the season and the roads are a mess!  It took Ryan's coworker an hour to get from work to Hwy 217.  Ryan's going a lot farther than that.  I really don't know when to expect him, but as long as he's going slow and safe I'm glad.  There really isn't much accumulating on the highways, but it's a little slick and people are going through the annual exercise of remembering how to drive in snow.  It's silly how everyone has to relearn this every year, but it never fails, no matter how small the first snowfall, it nearly shuts down everyone and everything until everyone all of a sudden remembers that this is not that big of a deal. lol

As for us at home, Aurora didn't waste any time getting ready to go play in the snow.  But as you can see, even we are trying to remember how to do that...



Eventually, we got it right.  Well, Rori did at least.  ;)



We've gotten an inch so far and we're now forecasted to get another inch or two over the next 3 hours or so.  But by tomorrow, it will turn to rain and this will all be washed away.  Not to worry, I'm sure we'll get another little snowstorm or two before winter's over. :)

*Yes, my girls are in their pajamas.  I am too, actually.  I have a yucky cold and took a sick day.  :P

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UPDATE:  Ryan finally made it home safely.  It took him 2 1/2 hours.  (A normal commute is about 40-45 minutes.)  Where he works, the snow is up to 4 inches, and of course shortly after I started my post (mid-afternoon) the highways were accumulating snow.  Right now, the highway near where Ryan works is at a stand still.  He was smart and took the backroads all the way home, which were obviously still slow, but moving better than the freeways.  Things should start getting better soon, we have temps actually warming now and it'll stay above freezing overnight.  Then tomorrow the rain will come and this winter wonderland will wash away. 

Elder Holland's Testimony of the Book of Mormon

I mentioned yesterday that I challenged the RS sisters in my ward to read the Book of Mormon in 99 days.  Well, this is the video clip of Elder Holland's testimony that I played for them at the end of our lesson.  His testimony is so powerful, I hope to have a testimony as strong as his some day.  But I realize that he didn't just "get" his testimony, he has spent most (if not all) of his life being obedient to the things the Lord has asked/required of him.  And in order to have such a firm and unshakable testimony of the Book of Mormon specifically, it has required countless hours of personal study of it, prayerfully pondering and applying it to his life.  So I suppose if I truly want to have a testimony as strong as his, I at least know where to start. :)

Playing with PlayDoh

Our Christmas

We had a really nice Christmas!  It began on Christmas Eve with our traditional quiet meal, focusing on the first Christmas.  We read a new story book and enjoyed the simple "shepherd's dinner".  We invited some friends who are new to the area and don't have family to spend the holidays with; it was great to share it with them!

Then of course, came Christmas morning!  Our first Christmas gift was that the girls slept in until 8am!!!  I was up well before them! lol  I was able to start breakfast and have the cameras all set up and ready to capture their faces as they came down the hall to the family room.

We took video of everyone opening their stockings, but here are some pics of other presents being unwrapped.



My family draws names for Christmas; we have two exchanges: storebought and homemade.  We all get most excited about our homemade exchange, I think it's one of the best parts of giving/receiving at Christmas!  Here are pics of the gifts we received: 



(Top left) My brother-in-law, Tom, bought me a beautiful necklace.  It's hard to see, but engraved along the circle are the names of Ryan and each of the girls.   (Top right) Ruth made Acadia a mirror and a picture frame with her name on it.  (Bottom left)  Ryan is wearing one of the three sweaters that Debi bought him and is also wearing the "manly apron" that Tom made him.  (Middle Right)  Teresa gave me this box... what could it be?  (Bottom Right)  The Official Teresa's Question Game, of course!!!

We all loved our gifts. :)

The girls' big gifts came at the end of the gift opening.  They got a puppy AND a pony!



So spoiled... ;)

That afternoon, we went to my aunt's house for Christmas dinner.  Every time we go to my aunt's house, I look forward to the beautiful view of Mt. St. Helens through their huge picture window in their great room.  And almost everytime, it's cloudy and we get a beautiful, snow covered view of the valley and hills, but no Mt. St. Helens.  This year, however, it was bright, sunny, and clear!  I can finally show you what the view is like at my aunt's house:



It is just so gorgeous there! :)

Rori kept laying under their tree.  My uncle, Jeff kept teasing her that he was going to put a bow on her because she was a present.  She would then say, "No, I'm not a present, I'm a princess!"  lol  And isn't she though - and she was wearing a "princess" shirt, so I guess Jeff should have known better. ;)



We had a delicious meal and great company.  The kids (and Ryan, too) always love playing with the games in the basement (ping pong, air hockey, fooz ball, etc.).  We watched It's a Wonderful Life (in color - I think it was my first time seeing it in color; I liked it!).  By the time the movie was over, the cats were really getting to Ryan and Rori was getting tired, so we headed for home. 

We had such a nice day, it was a wonderful Christmas. :)

99 Day Challenge... repeated.

Again.

Today I taught a lesson in RS strongly influenced by Elder Holland's conference talk "Safety for the Soul" and Gordon B. Hinckley's First Presidency Message in the August 2005 Ensign.

Long story short... I challenged the RS sisters in my ward to read the Book of Mormon in 99 days, starting today. Day #99 will be the Sunday of April's General Conference. If you would like to take the challenge with me/us, follow along here. (The dates are different because I typed that up in 2005 when we were first taking the challenge, but the daily reading assignments are the same. Start with Day One today and go from there!) You can access the 99 day challenge reading schedule anytime by clicking the link in my side bar. :)

Up on the rooftop...

I seriously hear someone up on my rooftop right now. Did Santa come early??? He's not due for about 15 hours!

Just checked... nope, it's just Ryan doing some work up in the ceiling. ;)

Christmas Eve

I took this quiz this morning:

You Are Christmas Eve

You are a patient person, and you would agree that anticipation is sometimes better than the main event. There's something magical about the night before Christmas - when it feels like anything could happen! You are a somewhat quiet and spiritual person. You need a lot of alone time to process what's going on around you. You are optimistic and idealistic. You can't help but feel like things are going to work out.

Are You Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

I love Christmas Day but I think this is pretty accurate.  I was thinking last night about how much I love the whole holiday season and I'm almost sad when Christmas Day actually comes because that means it will be over.  I do like the anticipation and I do love all of the build up and preparations.  I love the spirit of it all and even though we try to keep it with us all year round, the truth is: it's just not the same.  In a few days, most of the world will go back to thinking of themselves, not others.  While people will sing hymns about the savior publicly today, in a week we will be back to taking God out of anything public.  I wish this season COULD last, truly last, all year round. 

But for now, it IS Christmas Eve and I LOVE it!  I am happy that Ryan has the day off and we can spend it as a family together.  I am very excited to have our special evening tonight, focusing on the Savior's birth.  I am looking forward to conspiring with Santa tonight, tapping into his spirit of selfless and annonymous giving.  I can't wait to see the joy on my children's faces as they wake up tomorrow morning after having been very patient for the last month.  I am looking forward to gathering with aunts, uncles, and cousins for Christmas dinner.  I am excited to call family and loved ones to wish them a Merry Christmas, including getting to talk to my brother who is serving a mission in Canada right now.  The next two days have alot of great times in store!

I hope you will all enjoy these special moments, too.  Merry Christmas (and Merry Christmas Eve)!