It's Snowing!!

In honor of the fresh, fluffy, beautiful snow gently drifting down from above, I've changed the template on my blog. I'm so happy for the snow today. We've all been longing for more, and here it is!! I'll have three extra kids for the afternoon and the timing couldn't be more perfect. The kids will enjoy playing out in it, then when they come in, I envision a cozy afternoon of popcorn and board games.

C.O.D.

Isaac is the C.O.D. today. That means he's the Child of the Day, which, among other things, means that he gets to have mom with him for 30 min. of Quiet Time and we do whatever he chooses to do together. (For short, I just refer to the child of the day as the cod. As in "cod fish". However, Josiah asked me not to call people the cod anymore. He doesn't really like the title. I asked him how else I was supposed to shorten the phrase. He didn't know. I told him to come up with an appropriate answer and I would consider changing it. He has yet to submit said appropriate title. So for now, the C.O.D. is still the cod.)

Today Isaac chose to do a reading lesson, read Green Eggs and Ham, and play Sorry. I took a picture of the Sorry game board because I feel that we have made history today. At least in our family. There were only two of us playing and we ended up with a very close finish. But that's not the historical part. At one point, we were exactly tied. "Impossible", you say? Have a close look for yourself. This is big news. Really. It is. Even Isaac agrees.

The Quest for Global Domination

Anna's spending the night at her bosom buddy's house tonight, so Ryley invited a buddy of his over to spend the night. They played Risk while I made pizza. Now they're eating and watching Indiana Jones. I guess I'll go read my book. I feel kinda left out.

Random Stuff

I'm an uninspired blogger of late. That's probably because I can't really think of much to "blog" about. (Funny, that word is now a verb. And it's not even really a word. Hmmm.) The weather has gotten colder, but now we have bare earth frozen hard. The kids can't even dig holes. (This is surprisingly appealing to my kids every spring. ) Not much to do outside.

I've been getting the house ready to put up for sale. My week has consisted of getting rid of stuff, going through clothes, washing trim, painting, and scrubbing. Here's a picture of what I found in one of Anna's dresser drawers. The drawer is where she keeps all her treasures. The fact that Anna has a moose call tape (for practicing calling moose) tucked in among her hair ribbons has gotta be because of having three big brothers. The funny thing is that she's actually improved her moose call.

Because of all this house stuff, the kids have pretty much been on their own most days. Here are some shots of what they've found to do.
Notice the baseball glove on Josiah's left hand. I have no idea why he's been wearing that, but this fall, Isaac wore the other one around all over the place for several weeks. I must be missing something...

Poor Lucy...Anna got a hold of her. You can't see it, but she's also wearing a headband. And lip gloss. (Just kidding about the lip gloss.)

Sure Sign of Spring

Except it isn't. Spring, that is. But the DUCK in our yard thought it was. We've lived in this house for ten years and have had many animals, including a frog, in our yard, but never before have we seen a duck. The other day we had two moose visiting, although they stayed on the outside edge of our lawn. Last year we had one who came up to the window and licked it.

After weeks of very cold weather (-35 at times) today we woke up to rain and thawing winds blowing through. So disgusting. Yuck. I never complained about the super cold temps because I'd much rather that than this. We know that having a duck in the yard doesn't mean it's spring, but if my tulips start to bloom, I'll be ticked.

A Coke-Cain Christmas Surprise

(The post title only makes sense if ya say it fast...)

Just when we thought the holidays had drawn to a close, we received a huge box in the mail today. It was totally unexpected and was filled with such fun surprises for every member of the family. It was sent by Jeremy's Uncle Mike, Aunt Linda (Coke-Cain) and cousin Marissa.

Thanks, guys, for the bright spot in our cold, windy week!! We love you!