Sledding Anyone?

Well, our vacation is complete--we've been sledding! We went to a great park for sledding today--lots of big hills. The kids had a blast and sledded down and trudged up that hill for almost 2 hours! I took lots of video and pictures and even went sledding down once. That was enough for me--with all my aches and pains I'm afraid of really hurting myself. Do I sound old or what?
I love this picture--Two men headed up the hill talking about their amazing sled run.

Do you notice how happily Joe has posed for pictures this trip? The cold makes him cooperative.

Here comes Grace with everybody else behind her.

Here's the view from the bottom of the hill where I spent most of the time. It was warmer down there and less wind. It was practically a heat wave today--the temp went above 35 I think.

Here's a picture of my one and only sled run. I think I yelled the whole way down--I felt so out of control!

Hannah and Ellie

This was triple decker sledding. If you look closely you'll see three people on each sled.

Crash!
And below--a couple of live action videos for your viewing enjoyment.

Random Thoughts on a Friday Morning

• I'm about to make myself an egg sandwich but thought I'd blog first. Doesn't a fried egg sandwich sound so good right about now?
• My fingers are so cold and it's harder to type with cold fingers. I feel like I've forgotten what it's like to be toasty warm and hot even. All day I wear three or even four layers and still feel just a little chilled and that's when I'm inside. I do feel warm after a hot beverage or a hot shower but there's just so many hot beverages you can consume in a day and it's work to get in the shower (lots of layers). Lisa (my sis-in-law) loaned me the BEST hoodie. It's tie dye and I LOVE it. I might accidentally take it home with me. I'll try to get a picture. It's fabulous and extra warm.
• We spent the last two nights at Tim (O's brother) and Lisa's and Lisa doesn't usually eat meat. So, she made spaghetti and used a meat substitue in the sauce. As she dished up the kids' plates she said, "I wonder if the kids will be able to tell this isn't meat." Joe took about two bites and said, "This meat tastes like salad!" Cracked us up. Joe can pick out flavors in foods like nobody I know (except Ollie's dad--could it be genetic?).
• Bella is at 100% engraftment!!! This is thrilling but this progress has been obtained at a cost. Her little body is fighting Graft vs. Host disease and she is covered in a rash and blisters. Please pray that her engraftment holds and that she will have relief and healing from this painful rash.
• My new scrapbooking plan is working beautifully. My idea is to take some time off from paper scrapbooking and just make photo books. I'd like to make them in 3 month increments. So, I had already uploaded all the pics I wanted to scrapbook from Oct., Nov., and Dec. to Snapfish. I got an e-mail saying that photo books were 20% off until Feb. 5 so I went to the site and in about an hour I had made my photo book and ordered it. My plan is to have the pics or even the book already on Snapfish and wait for a sale or free shipping or something. I really like the books I've seen from Shutterfly too and may try it out to make a book of this trip. This trip definitely deserves a book of its own!
• I'm off to make that egg sandwich...

A Playdate

We had a playdate with the Smith's and Lydi--we did a Valentine craft out of the Family Fun magazine. I've been getting the magazine for years and this is maybe the second thing I've ever done. I wasn't totally prepped so it took a while but it was fun. What did we make you ask? A Valentine Ipod out of a box of conversation hearts and reese's cups. The kids also made postcards to send home to dad. After our crafting they all went outside and stayed very busy out there for a long while. Jacob built a snow cave and the girls built a snow tunnel. They all had a great time. Then it was in for popcorn and hot chocolate and a game of Whoonu. We matched up non readers with the readers and it went quite well. We found out that Hannah S. hates hotdogs and that Levi loves tree houses. That game is so fun! Before we knew it Granny Marcia was there to pick them up and take them out for Chicago style pizza. We had a great time and Marissa and Shelly had a much needed break. Here are some pics...

Lots of Pictures

I finally got some pictures off my camera and onto the computer. They are in no particular order but you can get an idea of what we've been doing. Stephanie (Ollie's sister) and I met Marissa, Shelly, and Keri at Cheesecake Factory for coffee and dessert. The cheesecake was awesome!

Lots and lots of snow pictures!

Grace tried to put a big hunk of snow on her head and it crumbled all over her!

This is Nonna who we went to visit on Sunday. And below--Aunt Suzie and Uncle Dave's dog. I think she enjoyed all the kiddo attention.

Snow Fight! (well, sort of)

Hannah had great fun throwing snow at Ellie (my niece) and I. Thankfully, we were in the house, behind strong glass.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

A Simple Woman's Daybook for today...January 26, 2009

Outside my window...it's cold as Christmas and there is snow everywhere. The streets and sidewalks and parking lots are clear but snow is piled all over. It hasn't snowed in weeks but it's been too cold for it all to melt. We're not in FL anymore...

I am thinking...I wonder if I can fit in a nap this afternoon.

From the learning rooms...does a nature program about skunks count as school?

I am thankful for...arriving here safely, for my in-laws who are great hosts, for hot coffee and big sweatshirts, for wool hats and warm gloves and heated seats in Grandma's Mini Cooper.

From the kitchen...it's my turn to cook tonight. I'm making my world famous White Chicken Chili that is really Steph's famous chili. I'm making a huge pot of that and a smaller pot of the Thai Coconut Curry soup that I love so much. I want the fam to try it.

I am wearing...jeans, a long sleeve shirt, a t-shirt, and a vest but I'm counting the minutes until the laundry is done and my big sweat shirt is dry.

I am reading...believe it or not, I'm still reading "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan." I'm also still reading "The Lost Boy." To my pile I've added "Messenger" by Lois Lowry, 2 Amy Carmichael books, "It's Not About Food," and "A Song from L'Abri." I've only read maybe two pages the whole time I've been on vacation.

I am hoping...for Bella to feel better soon and for the transplant cells to take over in her body and for a big snowstorm while we are here but not when Keri (Marissa's sister) is in labor.

I am creating...some cute Valentine crafts for the kids to do.

I am hearing...the washer and dryer

Around the house...lots of family time with the cutest neices ever! Some game time with the kids and too much tv watching. I love TLC! I've stayed up too late the last two nights watching. I don't have this channel at home and it's a good thing. I'd become a tv addict!

One of my favorite things...a good laugh.

A few plans for the rest of the week...more visiting, maybe a movie--"Hotel for Dogs," hoping to meet Marissa, Shelly, and Keri for coffee, who knows what else??

Here is a picture thought I'm sharing...

Here's my neice Kea playing dress up. She is so cute and has such a fun personality.
To participate in the daybook, see Peggy here.

From the frozen midwest...

It's Sunday night and all is quiet...I've been catching up on e-mails and a few blogs. The kids went to bed early which was nice. They were tired and so was I. Of course, instead of going to bed, I got on the computer. Typical. I am truly a computer addict. I can't go a day without checking blogs and e-mail. I live life with a continual blog post in my head. I take pictures of everything so I can blog it. It's crazy really but it is what it is. We had a very busy day today. We went out to Ollie's Uncle's church and heard him speak on "The Myths of Parenting." It was a really good and encouraging message. I bought the CD so I can pass it around to you locals when I get back. After church we went to their (Ollie's aunt and uncle) house for lunch. The kids talked their ears off, told them tons of really stupid jokes, played with the dog and spent some time in the arctic out in the snow. After leaving there we visited Nonna (Ollie's grandmother) in the nursing home. I was reminded again how much I want to make visiting nursing homes a regular part of my kid's lives. The residents light up when they see children and I want my kids to learn to love and talk to and feel comfortable with elderly people. We go every year at Valentine's day and sometimes at Christmas but I'd like to go more often than that. Maybe find a resident that doesn't receive guests often and "adopt" him or her. Anyone else up for this?

Pictures from the road and today in Chicago

Here are some pictures from our drive yesterday--I think the first one was taken in West Virginia--either that or Virginia. We went through a really mountainous area with lots of snow--thankfully none on the roads!

Marissa and Shelly both have a better picture of this but I don't have access to their pics right now so you get to see my not so good picture. This was taken just before we left. Shelly had passed out bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. The only one you can't see is Nate--he is next to Abby on the other side. We had a DVD screen in front of Hannah P and one on the back of Abby's car seat. Ben rigged them for us and did a great job.

Here was our first stop--a Wendy's somewhere in WVA or VA. We took over this little room and changed diapers and let the kids run off some energy while waiting for their turn in the bathroom.

Lunch at Chick-fil-a again! Marissa was excited, she doesn't have a Chick-fil-a near her anymore. Joe must have needed some time alone. He seated himself at his own little table.

Many hours later...a few have fallen asleep.

That's it! All the pictures from our Bella visit are on Shelly's camera so I'll get to them later. We were blessed to travel in safe weather and to not have any car problems. Lots of answered prayers!!!

Today Marissa and Shelly are at their sister's and we are at our family's. The kids have already spent a lot of time out in the snow. There is a small hill across the street and they've even done some sledding. I don't have pictures of the sledding because I was at the grocery store but I wouldn't have been out there taking pictures even if I was not at the store. It's 4 degrees!!!