Snow!!! Snow?!? More snow???

I am sure most of you have heard the phrase "Be careful what you wish/pray for.." I have been hearing that a lot this winter, and mostly from my own mouth. When we first decided to move back east from Arizona, one of the first things that I said was "I hope we have a white Christmas". Not so much for myself, because snow doesn't really cancel mommy-hood or working, but the girls had never really experienced snow. Sure we took them up to the higher elevations in Arizona to play in the snow, and once we even had snow in the Valley, but Abby was 3 when we moved and Mikaylah only a few months old, so they were both basically Arizona natives. We are talking about the daughters that when we came back a few years ago in the fall, the one was trying to put the leaves back on the trees and the other was trying to build a "leafman" (think a snowman made of leaves...)

Fast forward to this winter... We have had more snow this year in the Shenandoah Valley than anyone can really remember. Supposedly there was a blizzard in 1996, but that was before Chris and I were married, and apparently it didn't stick around very long. This year, we had that white Christmas that I so desperately wanted and prayed for, and since then I don't think we have had a whole week go by that we didn't get some form of precipitation. Currently we have 6-8 inches on the ground, and they are calling for snow to start sometime tomorrow and continue all day tomorrow, tomorrow night, and all day Saturday. I have heard people say that we could get as much as 40 inches before it is all said and done. And now looking ahead... they are calling for MORE snow next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Have I mentioned that my children have not been in school since January 29th?!? Perhaps this is a sign for me to start homeschooling again lol!

On another note... Praise the Lord, Chris has found employment! At this time it is only part time, but it is better than nothing and I think that it is something he enjoys for the most part. It is a blessing because we both have Wednesday's off together and he doesn't have to work on Sundays! God hears your prayers and He answers them, not always with what you want to hear, but with what you NEED to hear.

One last thing... I know that a lot of people have focused their concern and prayer upon the earthquake victims in Haiti, and the generosity and outpouring of love and prayers has been amazing. I am asking that you switch your focus for a bit to the beautiful country of Peru, in particular the towns in the Cusco Region.

Cusco (Quechua: Qusqu suyu) is a region in Peru. It is bordered by the Ucayali Region on the north; the Madre de Dios and Puno regions on the east; the Arequipa Region on the south; and the Apurímac, Ayacucho and Junín regions on the west. Its capital is the city of Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire.

This is what the Cusco region normally looks like.

This is Cusco now.

Floods and mudslides have covered entire towns, blocked roads and trains and stranded people in the Cusco region, in southern Peru, also affecting the regions of Puno, Huancavelica, Apurimac and parts of Arequipa. About 80,000 people have been affected by this crisis, only in the Cusco region. About 80% of houses in the Cusco valleys are lost. Please, lift up your prayers for these people that are suffering from this tragedy. There are many ways that you can help...
1) Please pray for those that are suffering. There have been many deaths and homes have been lost. You may not be able to help physically or financially, but God tells us and reassures us that with prayer anything is possible.
2) If you are able and willing to help financially, please visit World Vision to make a donation.

Blessings to you all!

Blizzard of 2009

Well, here we are... 24 hours and 36 inches of snow!! Chris said the last time he remembers this much snow here before Christmas, he wasn't much older than Abby. It started last night about 5:00PM and has been snowing here since. At times there were the biggest flakes coming down that I think I had ever seen! Abby was up at 6:00am and I had to bribe her with hot cocoa with marshmallows, but as soon as Mikaylah was up and fed, they were both bundled up and out in the snow. It came up past both of their knees and it was hard to walk in, but that didn't stop them from having a great time! Chris helped his uncle scrape the lane, and although it took a long time, they made a lot of headway. Church has been canceled and we won't get out tomorrow, but neither will a lot of people here in the valley. Don't worry about us... we are well stocked with water, milk, bread... and lots of hot cocoa and marshmallows!! Those are the essentials of this snowy adventure!

Snow in Virginia!!!

IMG_0810_edited,
originally uploaded by kaleidoscope pixie.

Have you ever heard the old phrase, watch what you wish for?? Well, I had been telling everyone that I wanted lots and lots of snow this year, not for myself, but for the girls.

Abby was 2 the last time she saw it snow (real snow... not the snow we had for a few hours in Arizona) and Mikaylah has NEVER seen it snowing. We have taken them to play in the snow, but... it isn't the same thing!

Well, this year Abby asked for a bike for Christmas, and I didn't have the heart to buy her a bike she wouldn't get to use for a long time, so I had the BRILLIANT idea of buying them sleds! So I went out one Saturday and looked and looked and finally found sleds... on a day that it was 50-60 degrees, so needless to say I got some funny looks as I asked for and loaded the sleds in the car. That being said... come last Saturday I was the mommy, heroine, queen, princess, etc. of the year when I had brand new sleds to go with the snow!

Enjoy the pictures, because we are definitely enjoying the adventure we call life!