SNOW!

There's nothing quite like sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee and a good book watching the snow fall. It's beautiful, it's peaceful and there's something magical about it that makes you remember some part of childhood. And then there's standing on the porch when the whole world seems insulated, listening only to cracking branches in the distance...

And then it never stops!

Since Saturday morning it has been snowing at our house. As I walk around outside I'm sinking to my knees in snow. Although some of it has melted over the last 5 days approximately 20 inches of snow has fallen at our house. Our driveway is covered in broken limbs and branches that just couldn't handle the massive snowfall. The car is parked at the street (because Tuesday I had to drive to Seattle) and there was no making it through the trees or up the hill we call a driveway.

My poor Japanese maples had so much snow on them today that Brandon and I went out and shook the snow off the branches to give them some relief. It was really cool the way they stood up, seemingly on their own, to stretch and say, "Aaaaah, thank you."

The kids are enjoying themselves. We've had snowball fights with the neighbors. We went sledding. We've played with the dogs. We've had hot chocolate. We've played Hearts. We've played Legos. We've played video games. We've watched TV. We've read books.

And we have cabin fever! Don't get me wrong. It's been nice spending time with our family. But we need to get back to our routine. The kids are beginning to push us past our limit. And I haven't gotten ANYTHING done. It's funny how lazy you can get when you aren't already busy. I don't know why but I get so much more done if I am on the move and keep moving. The last week I feel like I've wasted A LOT of time. But I've had fun. And maybe I needed the break.

In any case, I do love the white stuff. I'd just like cement to be a snow repellent. That way we could drive around safely, get to work and not worry if we don't have any more milk or eggs and still get to enjoy the beauty of snow blanketing the earth around us.

Stay warm!