Sledding in the Sun

 

On Saturday we went with the kids and my sister to a nearby park for sledding. We happily had fresh snow last week, so we were anxious to get out and romp around. Weather.com told us it was 7 degrees so we debated about going for a while, but the sun was shining, and my nose hairs weren't freezing when I inhaled, so...why not give it a go. When we got there, the hill was untouched. Quiet, pristine, sparkling, snow-covered stretch. I almost felt guilty sending Toby down on his sled the first time and defiling this sacred piece of white. But what joys and laughter and speed and wipe-outs were had! By the time we left the face of the hill was utterly destroyed. It looked like a host of children had been assaulting the hill with sleds for two days instead of my little family. I am so glad we were the ones that got to wreak havoc on this hill.

Snow

 

The kids and I have been doing some reading/activities on snowflakes the past couple weeks. We made paper snowflakes which made a mess of our own little white snowflakes all over the kitchen floor! We also read about Wilson Bentley who first began photographing snowflakes with a microscopic camera. He began to discover that each snowflake was uniquely different. We paged through the book he published with his original slides and were awed by the beauty of them, and yet noticed that they followed rules and patterns. It is amazing to me that something so small and almost unnoticeable in itself is so delicately and carefully formed. It strengthens my faith. If God takes such pleasure in adorning these tiny insignificant ice crystals, how much more will He delight in beautifying me. In refining me. I am not one of those who wastes away through the winter and looks only to springtime ahead. I love winter. To dress the world in such a splendid gown! To be alive in it, to smell it, to crunch my way through it, to listen to its quiet stillness.

I am also struck by the drive towards individuality within community. I feel like this is a theme in nature. To be desperate to belong - as the snowflake is always built off of some kind of hexagon, and yet to want to be entirely oneself. Unequivocally unique within the safety of this community.

Hopefully we'll get enough to go sledding!

Not that Kind of Cold

 

In the last 24 hours everyone in my family seems to have come down with a minor cold. Our house is filled with coughing and kleenex strewn about. Out come the vitamins. This is my glass of Airborne. Although it looks really disgusting it has a fresh fizzy grapefruit taste that feels/tastes pretty good going down. No one seems to be overly grumpy, so our healthy selves will be back before we know it, right?

Yogurt

 

Okay, so maybe my day will be Tuesday... I guess I'll have to get in a habit of this.

Tuesday breakfast is yogurt in our house. Homemade yogurt from fresh raw milk. Often we put granola in it, but sometimes jam, fruit, honey, toasted walnuts,... And for the winter while it is on sale and delicious, grapefruit accompanies. This is not exactly the breakfast my body wants on a cold January morning. Even my hands are cold from preparing four servings of this. I feel like I need something hot to get my body going. But this is simple and fresh and so good. Already I can't remember the time before I made my own yogurt. With its light tartness that almost makes my lips pucker...

First Challenge

Something cold.