Another Day in the Snow

Joshua was going down and his sled spun him around backwards. It was so funny.


Kelsea had more fun today.


She even went down the hill once.


Ishmael started at the top of the stairs then continued on down the hill. It looks more serious of a drop then it is. But for these southern boys it was serous.






Joshua was not to be outdone by his brother.


Jeremiah took out the lids to the laundry baskets.


Taking the sled back up the hill was hard work.




Score! Joshua flew into the dugout!


Leon was there (in shorts of course) but wouldn't go down the hill.


I on the other hand, had a blast! The kids kept saying "Mom, it's my turn!"


Afterwards we went to Food Lion for just "a few things". The only milk they had was buttermilk. I have my own in the fridge, thank-you-very-much. ;)


Then we came home and had a big breakfast followed by snow candy (pans in the middle).


Leon and I took a good long nap and the boys were in and out most of the day. Kelsea lounged on the couch watching movies all day.

I went out and made a snowman with Megan, Joshua, and Jeremiah.


Tonight we made snow cream and now the boys are playing monopoly with Leon. It has been a very full day. I am exhausted!

Snow Cream

• 1 cup of milk (I had half and half...the store was out of milk so we used what we had)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• splash of vanilla extract

(Let's pretend my vanilla isn't all drippy and messy k? thanks.)

Mix together until it looks more like ice cream.


Serve and enjoy.


Seriously delicious.

Snow Day!!!

We woke up this morning to over 6 inches of snow.


Leon came out for the first few minutes. He gave each of the boys a ride on the sled. Please don't think less of him for the shorts. hahaha






I love snow!


Joshua was my best trooper. Jeremiah went inside with Daddy...Kelsea and Ishmael wanted to go in a little bit later. I was a mean mom and made them play in the snow. Mostly they just watched Joshua and I go up and down the hill. Kelsea did take a few pics though.



Joshua called this his "penguin move."


Eventually Ishmael forgot that his hands were cold and got into the moment.




Did I mention how much I love snow?


Happy Snow Day!

Making Butter

We made butter.

1 pint of heavy whipping cream
glass jar with lid
pinch of salt

Shake (or blend on low speed) until it becomes butter. Really it's that easy.




Joshua wanted to try his hand at blending.


Whether in the jar or in a bowl the butter will look like this:


Pour off the buttermilk and wash the butter in cold water until the water runs clear. Most sites recommend a cheese cloth. I didn't have one. I just mashed it around in the bowl with the spatula.

For $1.70, I got just over 6.5oz of butter and 1 cup of butter milk.

Ishmael...Keeping Himself Busy

It was cold and nasty outside today...so we declared it a "pajama day".


I don't ask anymore.

Keeping Jeremiah Busy

Jeremiah was antsy today.

He perused the sticker stash till he found what he wanted. Robot Eyes.


Here is he's making what he calls a "Mr. Jason" face. Maybe Tawna understands....I don't.


"Look! My eyebrows are still stuck on the stickers!"


But being a Commanding Officer of The Secret Fun Police, I decided he needed to do something more Constructive with his time.

So I gave him the BANANAGRAMS and had him do his spelling with them. Apparently I ruined his day...maybe even his life...sitting him down with a school game. SLAVE LABOR!


Then he spelled out sentences.


Pitiful.

Mr. Linwood Tew

Mr. Tew passed away today. He has been such a good friend to us over all these years. He was suffering from the end stage of cancer and was so worn out. I'm praising God with a mixture of tears. He has gone home and no longer feels pain. We have been tremendously blessed by the love, patience, and kindness he has shown our family.

I have so many happy memories of him. We have known Mr. Tew for 11 years now. We've been in homegroup with him for almost 4 years. There were so many fun and good times together.

He had such a way with people including children. I remember the boys following him around church on Sunday mornings stacking chairs and during clean up of events pushing the big broom together. He always put them to work along side him and they were so happy to do it! He and Ishmael were "birthday twins" and they celebrated together at homegroup.

I believe he was the only truly gentle man I ever knew. I never heard him have a harsh word for anyone and he accepted and loved everyone he met. That we would all learn to lay our differences aside and love one another the way Mr. Tew did!

He has always encouraged Leon to keep his head up and to press on during times of unemployment. He even wrote wonderful letters of recommendation for him. He and his wife Margaret stopped by and visited with us every week for the entire year that Leon was out of work. They brought groceries to help us out and ALWAYS included treats for the kids.

There has never been a rough time in the last 11 years that Mr. Tew wasn't right there praying for and encouraging us. He has been such a wonderful part of our lives, I can't help but mourn the loss of him. We love him so dearly and look forward to being reunited again.

"O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;

 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Share a Blog

I've really been enjoying this challenge, Melissa!

So today's blog is Frugal Living and Having Fun. She has lots of tips and I've been following her posts for CVS.