Just keep shoveling...

Man did we get snow!  We shoveled and shoveled and shoveled.  We had 10 inches one day, then 4-6 more, then a few days, then 2 more.  At one point I even shoveled the roof!  But it did make for good fun!  My girls don't have the biggest attention span for snowmen, so their snowmen are usually small - even when there is more than enough snow to make a big one.  But Celee made a cute one.

Jason and I just pretended it was all sand for a bit.  We were channeling Jamaica!

Later the girls painted the snow.  This made the melty snowman VERY creepy looking I think.  Then they just wrote messages in the snow.

On the first "warm" day we took a walk and saw a beautiful "river" of melting snow coming down the drive from the church down the road.  The girls had fun throwing snow off the bridge into the river.  And they played for a bit under the bridge.  I don't know what it is about under bridges, but they apparently are the coolest places!  I remember thinking the same thing when I was little, and my girls always want to play under bridges when given the chance.  The mud is cool.  The noise of cars overhead is cool.  The graffiti is cool.  The trash is even cool.  So we played a bit under this cool bridge before hiking back up the hill home.

Back in the house, Celee is getting a hipster vibe.  She covered the legs and bridge of her "glasses" with duct tape.  I think she's such a cutie - hipster or not!

This is not a "look at my patio furniture in the snow" picture.  It's a "look at the little bird eating my seed on the railing" picture.  I am so happy to see and hear the birds again.  This one is a Black-eyed Junco and is technically here year-round, but I'm still happy to see him.  I've also seen Robins and a few Bluebirds, so there is hope that Spring is coming.

So to encourage Spring-y thinking, I planed some of my bulbs in the kitchen.  We're enjoying the Spring flowers now.  It's nice to sit at the table in the kitchen when the sun is coming through and the flowers are there.  You can feel Spring right there at the table!

Soccer is back on!

  The girls got to do some outdoor art the other day.  It's funny how 40 degrees feels so cold in the Fall, but in late winter it feels so warm.  We walked to a park near a friends' house to draw landscapes.  She taught them about foreground and background.  Then they all found a spot to try to draw it out.  By the end our cheeks were rosey and our hands were cold, so it didn't feel as warm as when we first set out, but it was nice to be outside for a bit.

     Indoor soccer is on!  This is Lyla's first time playing on a "real" team.  There were no practices either.  They had about 15 minutes to warm up then went straight into a game.  They are playing in a school gym, so the rules are somewhere between soccer and futsal.  Really it's just a lot of running and no out of bounds.  The ball is always in play!  The girls had a lot of fun.  I think with practice Lyla will get the hang of it.  She did pretty good for her first time playing.  Go Sunshine Girls!

     Gwyn and Celee also are on a gold team, but they haven't chosen their team name yet.  Their division only has two teams, so these two are going to play each other every week.  I must say that the gold team seems to be at a stark disadvantage, but they had fun playing anyway.  And we keep reminding them to watch the girls that seem to be "good" to see how they play and learn from them.  

     Our field trip group had their Valentine Party on Monday.  They got to make Valentine bags, created Valentines for the elderly, played games, sang, ate, and of course exchanged Valentines.  I am so thankful for this group!  It really fills some of the holes that my girls would have not being in a school setting.

   
One of the games the kids played was untying the human knot.  They appear to have fun doing this.  I'm not sure how much I would enjoy being attached to people and smashed up against people all wiggling around trying to get untangled, but they liked it.

    I love this picture!  I guess Celee needed a breath of air!

     And who doesn't love large chaotic balloon games!

     Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Keep on singing

Today I was telling stories to our History Club kids about a few women who helped in their own ways during the Revolutionary War.  They were not allowed to "enlist" per se, but a handful did see combat.  One disguised herself as a man for a while.  One took her husbands place at the artillery when her husband fell dead at his post.  But I was trying to tell them also about the everyday people who helped in whatever way they could with what they had.  So I told them the story of Mary Lindley Murray.  Her husband was a staunch Loyalist, but she and her daughters were Patriots.  When the Continental Army was retreating from New York with Howe's British army close behind them, Mary Murray got the chance to do her part.  Her husband being a known Loyalist, she sent an invitation to General Howe and his officers to take respite at their home which they gladly accepted.  She entertained the General for over two hours - hours she hoped would put distance between the British and the Continental army, who were in retreat.  The army that held most of the Americans' artillery and stores was moving more slowly than the rest and was only a mile or so ahead of the British at one point!  When the General insisted on it being time to leave, Mary Murray then called in her servant to sing a song fresh from London - complete in all seven stanzas!  The ever-so-polite British were not going to leave until the lady stopped singing.  And so Mary Murray gave the Continentals the precious time they needed to get away from their pursuers.
     When I was telling this particular story (even though I botched some of the details in the telling) to the kids I actually started to tear up.  I couldn't figure out exactly why, but on thinking later I have an idea.  We all may more may not be able to "take up arms" for causes that we surpport, injustices we want to see righted, or to help peoples we know are in need.  But we do have opportunities in our present condition and surrounding where we may get the chance to do something meaningful in our own way.  Mary Lindley Murray didn't have a gun to fight the British.  She did have her house, family, and resources at her disposal that ended up being a great help.  It is often thought that if General Howe had pursued the Continental Army with more vigor, that would have been the end of the Revolution and we'd all still be English subjects.  But one lady with her gift for entertaining and the singing of her maid, helped the Americans at their most needed hour.
     And so I think we need to keep singing.  When the problems in this world seem so huge and we think "what can I do to change anything?,"  we can keep on singing.  I can't swoop in and end violence in Sudan, but I can keep on using what I have right now, to do what I can right now.  I can also be willing to do more when the time arises.  Mary Lindley Murray took her opportunity and with some fine wine, polite conversation, and London song helped save her country's army.  That gives me hope that I can keep on singing when they time comes too.

Ukelele music to five-strand braids

Celee and I got the cool opportunity to see Victoria Vox one of the libraries near our house.  Vox was a professionaly guitarist who transitioned over to ukelele and now tours with her cellist all over North America. I had heard her play on a local radio station and so we went to the library to her a whole set.  I'm so glad we did!  She sings, plays, sings some songs in French, plays "trumpet" with her mouth, and so much more.  Celee insisted we check out one of her cd's and we've been listening to it in the car enough that the girls may actually know a song in French now, even though they have no idea what they're saying.

Since Gwyn has been cooking up a storm, Lyla wanted to get into the action.  She checked out a cookbook of her own from the library and make "Play dough people."  I must say they were pretty yummy.  They were fun to make too.



The girls worked hard to learn about Ireland for our International Celebration with our homeschool group.  Each family picked a country and prepared a display, presentation, and food from their country.  We had picked Ireland, but didn't want to do all the St.Patrick, Blarney Stone, etc that usually is done with Ireland.  The girls had previously seen the movie The Secret of Kells, so we went with that.  Gwyn studied up on the actual Book of Kells.  Celee learned about insular Celtic Art and we learned to tie Celtic knots.  Lyla learned about the names of Ireland, the languages, and the flag.  We also made Rumpledethumps for our food.  I found out that almost all the "Irish" recipes were mashed potatoes with something else in them - so Rumpledethumps is mashed potatoes with leeks and cheese.  It was yummy!  The girls did well on their presentation.  It's funny how nervous they get, but even Lyla spoke her part well.  The girls were excited because our display was very popular and Celee got to teach some other kids how to tie the knots.  I think the popularity may have been partly because we had The Secret of Kells  playing on our table, but the girls took it as a compliment that their dispaly was interesting to the other kids.

I think I'm getting itchy to do something.  I can't start the garden yet (It snowed again yesterday).  And on one day my plan was to hang a shelf.  I wasn't able to do that, so I knocked a hole in the wall instead.  This particular project probably shouldn't have been started yet, but sometimes I just need to start something.  (When I really should be finishing the already started projects elsewhere)  Eventually this hole will be built-in shelves in Gwyn and Celee's room.  Eventually.  :)




Jason got a new game.  This one has lots of dice instead of cards.  It was fairly fun though.  I won once so that is a plus for me.  Celee got into it to and won a game herself.  We all love to play games, but it is nice to play a game once in a while that one of us girls can win.















Like I said, it snowed again, so I guess I'm getting a little stir-crazy.  So I've been trying out some new braids on the girls hair.  By Spring maybe I'll have some down where I can braid them in a manageable amount of time.

We are having a good time with the snow.  We are keeping busy even though the impulse is to snuggle down and sleep, read, or watch a movie.  But my mind is on Spring-things.  Even Celee the other day prayed thanks for the fun snow, but could God send Spring soon.  I'm thinking on what to plant where.  How to build such-and-such.   What to dig up and what to leave.  What to cut down.  I'm making plans!  Hopefully by the time it is actually Spring, I will have tweaked my plans to work out the best way possible.