Snow. Everywhere.

We are not complaining. We need this snow so badly. It is good for tourism and business. It is good for our streams and reservoirs. It is good for the drier front range cities who get our mountain runoff.

Our kids are on their second snow day and let me remind you that a snow day NEVER happens in this county. It has been years since the last day off. We are probably close to 30 inches of snow and it is still coming down. We are running out of places to put it. Our patio furniture is buried and so are many of our trees. Scott has to shovel a path for the dog in the back yard and our shed looks dwarfed under the feet of snow on top of it.

The kids and I just returned from a snowshoe. It was exhausting but fun:) The kids loved standing next to all the signs that are normally way above their heads:) I hope you are enjoying your day no matter the weather, sunny or snowy. We are now at home eating some warm soup and loving the view out our windows.

FYI, Paige is standing in the above pic…

 

Sam taking a rest….phew.  Snowshoeing is tough.

 

 

 

 

Happy Snow Day!!!!!

Last night we (the kids and I) headed down to Breckenridge with some friends to check out the snow sculptures.  Every year, Breckenridge hosts the International Snow Sculpture Championships.  It is so cool to see and even cooler at night when all the sculptures are lit up.  It was a beautiful night to be outside and the kids had a blast checking out all the exhibits and then touring the ice castle.  The ice castle is super awesome.  There are ice caves, icicles hanging everywhere and even a tunnel and slide through the ice wall.  I think the kids made five trips through the wall.  After a couple of hours, we all got a bit chilly so we headed back into Frisco for some food.  Scott was rolling back into town from Salt Lake City so he joined us for dinner.  It was so wonderful being out of the house, enjoying our time with good friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

We are finally getting back to normal around here and normal has never felt so good.

Jennifer

This guy is back at school.

Finally.

After an appendix rupture and surgery to remove it and then two more surgeries to clean out infection, we are finally free of drain tubes, picc lines, IV antibiotics and pain meds.

Our super crazy appendix adventure lasted exactly one month.  Phew. Time flies when you are having fun. Or not.

So, we are thrilled that all four children are healthy and attending school.

Here is our little guy finishing up his breakfast this morning, getting ready to head out the door and catch the school bus.

 

Happy Day for all (especially mama),

Jennifer

I have a lot of books.  Books on shelves. Books in boxes.  Books on my Kindle.  I love to read and I will read just about anything put in front of me.  I do really love historical fiction and tend to move toward that genre in the book store or library.  Unlike my husband, I have never been a huge fan of non-fiction but there are also a few of those that I couldn’t put down:).  Reading for me is definitely an escape.  I can read a book over and over.  When I get into a great read, I have a super hard time putting it down and can finish a decent sized book within hours of starting no mind to the dishes, laundry or work that stacks up.   This drives Scott crazy and I remember it driving my mom crazy when I was a kid.  She would buy me a stack of books for a trip and I would have them read before the plane left the runway.

The best part about reading now is that all my kids love to read just as much as I.  Scott often comes home to “reading time” in our bed.  Everyone piles in with their current read and we usually fall asleep that way.  In the evening, I usually have to remind my kiddos many times to turn off their lights or they might read all night long.

I am always looking for good book suggestions so pass them on!

Here are a few that I love….

I just finished The 19th Wife and LOVED it.  The Shack, not for everyone but a great way to look at faith.  I loved Three Cups of Tea and read the student version with my kids.  Even though the author may have some issues, it is still a book that gives us some great knowledge about different cultures, traditions and needs around the world.   It also started some great ethical discussions….

This set was handed down to me from my mom.  I adore it.  Another book that my mom introduced me to as a child was The Secret Garden.  It is still one of my all time favorite books and I read it often.

Okay, this could possibly be my FAVORITE book.  The Red Tent.  I read this once and immediately grabbed my Bible and read it again with both books  side by side.  I love, love, love the stories of women in the Bible so this was right up my alley.  The other two are Scott’s books.  Like I said, he prefers a good manual:)

Two awesome books about adoption that gave me some insight into the life of Chinese orphans.  Of course, everyone’s adoption experiences differ but great books about children waiting for their forever families.

One of my all time favorite books is The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.  I know, not even close to a classic but definitely a great read.  I loaned it to a friend many years ago and have no idea where it ended up so I bought it for my Kindle.

I have about 150 books on my Kindle and it would be way too boring if I started photographing them for you….so, here is a short list of books that I enjoyed…

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Three books that I recently finished ahead of my kids that I thought were excellent (If I am unsure about a book my kids are interested in, I read it ahead of them).

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  A bit too old for my kiddos but a wonderful book nonetheless.

Truly, I could go on and on all day long.  If I had an online dating bio it might read…Jennifer likes reading, more reading and then when she is done reading she might sew and take long walks by the beach.

Happy Reading!

Jennifer

 

Get used to it.

You are going to see a lot of snow pictures on my blog this season.  As I mentioned *ahem* yesterday, we are getting pounded with snow.  Guess what?  It is still snowing today!  I know, crazy, right?  I took these shots on the way to the bus stop.  We have to walk about a 1/4 mile to get there and we quite literally go through the woods and over a bridge to get to our corner.  It is cool:)  The town is working hard to move the snow off the roads and paths but it is just stacking up everywhere you look.  I would love to get out for a ski but with little man down for the count, we are staying warm inside, enjoying the white stuff from our sofa.  Happy Tuesday and stay warm out there!

Dreaming of warmer days when I can sit out on the patio……from the looks of it, it’s going to be a while.

J-Dubs

Some days I think we live in a snow globe.

It makes Scott giddy. The kids love it too.  I tolerate it.  As long as I can see the sun every couple days, I am okay.  After a few days of straight snow, I get a little grumpy and cold.  So, we have had snow for a few days and little sunshine.  We have so much snow, there doesn’t seem to be any place to put it.  It always reminds me of a song my kids used to sing (when we lived in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes and lots of clouds).  Hey Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on meeeee! If I source the lyrics, you won’t judge me will you?  Okay, it was Barney.  Sorry.

Sometime over winter break, I took Sam and Alice to the sledding hill.  They had a blast trying out their new snow tube.  It went over the jumps like a champ.  Due to a sickly someone, we haven’t been back out sledding but we will.  Maybe when the sun comes out….

If you are totally confused, see the last post:)

So, Mason was home for 4 days before we had to take him  back to the hospital.  He acquired a pretty big infection at the incision site.  We were all bummed when the doc gave us the news that Mason would need another surgery to clean out the infection.  Luckily my parents were with us at the time so Scott and I stayed with Mason.  He was in the hospital for two nights and then allowed to go home to recuperate.  It was a bummer but we were so glad this appendix mess was behind us.  Well, again we were home for just a few (three) more days and Mason started running a very high fever, complaining of a belly ache and was not eating.  Scott rushed him back to the hospital and sure enough, he had another infection, this time under the muscle layers.  His doctor was starting to get a bit concerned and referred us to Children’s Hospital in Denver.  Mason and Scott were transported down there by ambulance and Mason went under again for a third (and hopefully last) time.  This time the doctors inserted a drain tube into his tummy and a picc line into his arm for better absorption of antibiotics.  We spent four more days in the hospital in Denver and yesterday afternoon we were set loose:)   He still has his picc line and we will be administering the meds for two more weeks at home.  He and I are going to be hanging out at home but we aren’t complaining because home is way better than the hospital….except for the Xbox and the cable.  That was awesome.  Anyway, I digress.  We are so grateful to everybody who was here to help out!  My parents made three trips back and forth to help with kids, many friends picked up and fed kids, made meals and gave ears for listening:)  Throughout this whole process we have realized how blessed we truly are.  Here are a few pics from the last couple weeks.  Our little guy is feeling better today and we are praying that he will heal up and keep all infection away.

Many Blessing,

Jennifer