Long awaited weather

Finally.  Finally, snow came to Virginia.  Sure, it wasn't much, but to these two little ones, it was enough.

 

When we woke up at 7:00, nothing was falling from the sky...but after about 30 minutes of snuggling and finishing up The Snow Queen, it started to fall.  Now I know this is nothing to any northerners following along with us, but please keep in mind that up until this past August, my children have lived their entire lives in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Snow doesn't really happen there.  They have never made a snowman.  They have never been sledding.  Once, we got a dusting and we shoveled the entire deck in an attempt to gather enough snow to make one teenie-tiny snowman...and even that didn't really work.

So, flakes falling from the sky, during their waking hours is EXCITING to these two.  Once they saw it, forget breakfast, forget brushing teeth, forget getting dressed or making beds.  These two threw on their boots and ran out the door.  It was a miracle that I was even able to get a jacket on Töchterchen. 

And they ran around catching snowflakes on their tounges until they finially got too cold and hungry and came in for the usual morning routine around here.

Even Froggie and Abraham (the bear who happens to be wearing a diaper) had to get out in the snowy goodness.

Finally, my children have helped build a real snowman.  We had such a blast.

And we went sledding down our hill. 

Being the silly mama that I am, I made sure my kids were equiped with ample hand-me-downs of snowpants, snowboots, good hats and mittens, and coats...but I forgot all about myself!  Luckily, it wasn't windy and the temps hovered right around freezing, so it really wasn't cold today - just wet.  It wasn't until we went back out for over an hour this afternoon, in still damp clothes, that I really felt a chill.  We spend a lot of time outside and so far the cold hasn't really gotten to us this year.  I've been amazed at how quickly we have adjusted to cooler temps. 

 

The overall feeling around here lately is these are the moments and the days we will cherish forever.  We feel that many, many years from now we will look back on these days as some of our best.  Life is so simple, so beautiful, and so full of love right now.  I could not be more thankful for the joy in my children's faces, the hard work my husband puts in at school, and the abundance that seems to flow out of every facet of our life.

 

How is everyone else spending their snow days this winter?  We certainly hope this is the first of many (several?) this year!