Saddest Letter I've Ever Read

A friend shared this link on facebook, and I want to share it here. I tried to copy and paste, but it wouldn't let me. Please take the time to read this blog. It's very thought provoking for Christian parents!
Saddest Letter I've Ever Read

Computer Time

I have been a traditional scrapbooker for about 15 years. Geez, that makes me sound really old. I recently discovered a love for digital scrapbooking. Oh my goodness, it's so much fun! I can sit on the comfy couch, with my laptop and notes from our Disney trip (what I'm scrapbooking). I don't need to make a big mess. I can resize my pictures, getting more on a page than traditionally. For the decorations, I just find various things for free or purchase online to complete my pages. Let me tell you, the internet has SOOOOOOO much stuff, and I'm only getting started on what's out there. I've also found an online community with TONS of ideas and other Disney addicts, who also love scrapbooking. I'm learning so much about my photo software. It's so much fun! The online community also hosts challenges periodically, that really challenge me to learn new things in my program. Here are a few of my favorites:

I'm debating between having pages printed then put in a regular scrapbook or just having a book printed. Either way, I think I'm in trouble- I've got more pictures and fun than either book type will hold.

So, if you wonder why I haven't blogged lately, I've probably spent my computer time scrapbooking. I'll post again when something is exciting. For now, we're staying inside as much as possible and keeping ourselves busy.

Snow! Snow! Snow! Snow! Snow!

I'm singing the title of the blog- think OLD Christmas movie, White Christmas (my favorite!).

So, day 4 of "hunkering down" in the house brought snow. What a gorgeous sight to wake up to! Jacob's sweet little voice on the monitor "Mommy, it's snowin!". Lucky for him, it was already after 7am, so it wasn't a big deal to be woken up.

After a morning of fun- a birthday party for Harry (Jacob's beloved toy monkey- the one in the party hat from Beth), building blocks, painting noodle necklaces, and whatever else we could come up with.

We filled our bellies with a warm lunch and got dressed (the first time out of jommies since Monday night!) to go outside. The kids were so excited to wear their rain boots in the snow. Walking out in the snow, you could hear the layer of ice crunch with each step.

Jacob was thrilled with throwing snowballs or snow-handfuls. They tried to ride their tractor/4wheeler things, but the ice layer wouldn't let them get too far.

I convinced Beth to get on the trampoline to jump, admist all the snow. Once she got it loosened up, she laughed as the snow bounced with her.

We played what we could in the backyard then checked out the front yard. I was fun to see neighbors out enjoying the snow and shining sun, despite that it was still below freezing temperature.

Beth found a great icicle on Kevin's truck. She was carrying around, using it to draw in the snow, teasing her brother that only she had one. Next thing I know, there was a frantic search for it. Apparently Jacob got it or Beth dropped it or something. Kevin asked Jacob where it was. Jacob laughed and said "I hid it!" Oh, that boy! Luckily, Beth was distracted by more playing in the snow,

It's cold out there!

We got a COLD front this week. Temps have been below freezing since sometime Tuesday night, with wind chills often below 0. For us, that's stinkin cold. Because of the icy roads, school was cancelled, and we haven't left the house since Monday afternoon. That's a long time to keep kids entertained. Most of the time, they've played nicely together. Today, we're dealing with rolling power outages (only one so far, but I'm sure another will be coming shortly based on other friends' stories).

We have painted with some fun new paint brushes.

We have baked cookies.

We have done puzzles, played Wii, built blocks, taken naps, watched movies....

We have been busy learning, too.

Beth is working on expanding her story writing, and she's loving it. She has also been busy with crafts. A little double digit subtraction and a little reading comprehension, too.

Jacob is learning the letter W this week. I planned it weeks ago, not knowing what weather we'd have this week. But, the "winter W" worked nicely. I also try to teach him a Bible verse every couple weeks. This week, Psalm 51:7 "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Again, I promise I planned it weeks ago. To illustrate the verse, I drew a snowman, then we colored it "dirty" as we talked about sin and disobeying make our heart dirty. Then, we erased the dirty, talking about how only God can make our hearts clean, white as snow. He really liked the activity and memorized the verse pretty quickly.

Tomorrow, we're supposed to get snow. I'm betting school will be cancelled again. I wonder what we'll do tomorrow!