Gathering the Moments of February

Seven days into March, I am reflecting on February. 

Oh, there were simply too many memory-making moments to just pass over this month, even if Henrietta's obstinance did pose a problem and even if the incidentals of my schedule did leave little time for blogging. So in the spirit of "better late than never" and for the sake of my own marking of moments, I have looked back at the longest-shortest month and gathered some of the joyful, the cold, the beautiful, the new, the sweet, the special, and the everyday moments. 

And the snow. Did I mention snow? 

Family would have to be February's theme. 

We started off with a visit with my sister, niece, and great-nieces. Linda moved into her new apartment in November and in three short months has made it into a gorgeous, welcoming home. (Maybe someday she'll give me permission to do a home tour to share with you. Linda?) She served us a yummy lunch, we enjoyed the little girls, and then we perused the vintage cookbooks. 

We had our usual Sunday afternoon gatherings (no birthdays this month...can you believe it?!) and the younger bakers made desserts. They've made desserts before, but this month they began also to serve their own creations. They took this very seriously and I think it's great practice for them.

In mid-February, we had a big celebration when Ryan, Sarah, Eve, Nora, Peter, and Baby Paul came for the weekend! Paul was introduced to his great-grandparents, his aunt and uncle, and his cousins. On that Saturday evening, we gathered for a family meal. We began with hugs and catching up and conversation and children playing. In the middle was some story-reading and an impromptu talent show with everything from the fastest recitation of "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers" that you ever did hear (by my mom), to some piano solos, to card tricks, to making a Lego airplane using the pieces from a Lego ice cream truck! Then, just as we thought the evening was winding down, Ryan turned up the iPod a few decibels and the party revved up! And when I say "a good time was had by all," that is exactly what I mean.

We wrapped up February with a grand mid-winter sleepover. Oh my goodness, it is fun being a grandparent! It is a delight to watch the children grow and to see their personalities blossom. We marvel at their uniqueness, their humor, and the fact that they are as old as they are. (And that we are as old as we are.)

February was also freezing! And did I mention snow? Brrrrr... 

"One generation shall praise thy works to another, 

and shall declare thy mighty acts." 

(Psalm 145:4)

Green, Cyber Woes, and a Homeschool Story

As beautiful as winter can be--the fresh whiteness, soft blankets of snow, the glitter of icicles, even the somber gray skies and landscape-- I am craving green. When I was in Marshalls last week, this little green (faux) plant called my name. I brought it home and set it in a yellow ware bowl, where its little green self reminds me that spring is coming.

Now I will whine talk a little about cyber woes.

1) I've had some lovely visitors here at Thinking About Home and I'd like to pop over to their place and visit them too. BUT...if these visitors have a Google+ account (I don't), it is next to impossible to find them! And even if I am able to find their blogs, I can't leave a comment because I would need to sign up for a Google+ account to do so. I find that very frustrating as I want to be a good neighbor. Has anyone else met the Google+ roadblock? 

2) For some reason, I am no longer getting all of my blog comments directed to my email. What is up with that? It is not just new commenters. There are folks with whom I have exchanged emails over and over again and suddenly, there they aren't! I have checked all of my blogger settings and they are the same, so why the change? 

3) Henrietta, poor girl. After recently replacing her hard drive, only to be dealing with more and more issues (Henrietta seems a bit hormonal...she is so temperamental!), I have decided that I won't sink any more money into hormone replacement therapy repairs. My new helper, Heloise, should arrive sometime this week. May we have a long and happy working relationship. 

Several days into March already, I am still working on Gathering the Moments of February. (Refer back to my discussion about computer woes.) 

I may have to wait for Heloise to help me. Henrietta keeps shutting down at the most inopportune times. Like when I have all of my chosen photos loaded into PicMonkey. ** Poof! ** And then they're gone again and I don't have the heart (or time) to start over. 

If you were a fly on the wall at our house, you might observe scenes like this...

Bekah is preparing for our homeschool History Fair. I am helping her to put the finishing touches on her presentation and I am teaching her methods of engaging her reader (listeners) with her opening paragraph...a question, a story, a quote, surprising statistic...

ME: So, Bekah, what do you want to do to get people's attention?

BEKAH: Wear a cute outfit. 

What's going on in your world today? More importantly, are you wearing a cute outfit? ~smile~

Savoring

When we first learned that our faraway family was going to be moving much closer to us, we looked forward to weekends when we could all be together! We had the first of those weekends recently and oh, the memory-making moments!

Through the years, the Lord has taught me to see the present as His gift.

It wasn't always that way. When I was younger, I was constantly looking ahead. To growing up. Getting married. Having the baby sleep through the night. Improvement in our finances. Next week. Next year.

But somewhere along the way, He taught me to be still. To savor.

And on this weekend, I savored.

Calling Papa at his office

Papa's home!

Operation French Toast

Baby Paul meets his great-grandmother (Ron's mom)

A Family Gathering

Gampy (my dad) and his great-granddog Lucy :)

Aunt Kristin meets Paul

Four generations

Four generations being silly!

the DJ's

"Today is mine. Tomorrow is none of my business. If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future, I will strain my spiritual eyes so that I will not clearly see what is required of me now."  (Elisabeth Elliot)

Sunday Snapshots: Snaps, Slaps, and Chaps

SNAPS
A new favorite, snap peas disappear from the vegetable tray too quick to talk about! Who knew?!

SLAPS

We didn't even play our regular Apples to Apples this Sunday. We did play Battle of the Sexes and several card games...Fib, Spades, and Slaps (new to me).

CHAPS

Our guest, Rob (Kati's friend and coworker), was the chap who taught us the new game.

And then Maddie brought along THIS (huge!) chap who just kind of hung out and read the comics.

After a week of harsh winter weather, we decided to label this week's cups with our dream vacations!

What is your dream vacation?