Two Weeks Already?!

My, how time flies! While there has been much going on, there have been a few major highlights which I'd like to cover here. I thought that Jim getting himself off to the other side of the world would cause things to quiet down here considerably. I was technically right, but the quantity of quiet was certainly overestimated.

My last post, being Sunday, March 1st, was right before our snow storm that evening. Snow began falling on Sunday evening and didn't stop until Monday afternoon. School was canceled for Monday and the kids had a blast outdoors in the perfect, fluffy, ice-free snow!


Playing in the snow can be exhausting, so once he was finished, Isaac relaxed on his bed with Calvin and Hobbes while listening to the cd of John Silva playing Chopin. Amazing. Monday evening the kids and I went to the Roeder's for dinner. Rebekah is "friends" with their son, Isaiah, who has joined the Army. It was one of his last evenings at home and we were blessed to join them. Rebekah made a Tiramisu for dessert- yum.

Tuesday, with snow still on the ground, yet with sunshine as well, I had to grab my camera and head outdoors. Our yard was a study in shadows and fascinating to shoot. Then the thought of the creek at Nolde Forest crossed my mind, so I went for a short snow hike in the woods to capture some water and ice. Lovely day, it appeared that many others had the same thought as there were plenty of tracks and I saw folks walking- some with their dogs! I am pleased with the shots I got, but look forward to a better knowledge of my camera in order to more accurately capture what I'm seeing in my mind's eye.



Spring is on the way, snow or not, and I have found a lot of bulbs poking their way through the dirt and frost out in the flower beds!

But the beds outside aren't the only places to find flowers here these days. On Saturday a beautiful bouquet arrived, with chocolates to accompany it, from my sweet husband so far away. Sunday was our 23rd Wedding Anniversary, and though we were separated by most of the globe, we were able to speak on the phone and enjoy our memories together. Chocolate doesn't hurt either...


With Jim overseas, our church is so very supportive and wanting to "rally 'round" and help us; one of our friends is organizing a bunch of the guys to come take care of some big things in our yard that are beyond me. The initial aim was to get the fallen tree in the yard cut up and dealt with. Big tree, covering a lot of yard, will naturally take a whole team of guys most of a day to deal with. The day they picked didn't work for our friend and small group leader, John, so he came on over on Saturday morning to do "his part". Once he started up his chainsaw, our neighbor, Keith, joined him,bringing his teenage son, a tractor, and his own chainsaw. I went with Erin to run some errands while Isaac lent the men a hand. Upon return home- maybe an hour later, the tree was gone. Completely. Gone. Isaac was putting away the last of the tools, grinning from ear to ear. Done. A couple of times over the rest of the weekend Isaac took the initiative to go out and split some of the wood that had been neatly stacked in the woodshed... That boy is growing up so fast.

So as far as surviving on the home front, we seem to be doing just fine. Never fear, I'll find some things for that team of well-intentioned fellas from church to take care of. Spring has come and there is much to do!

There has been much else happening, and John Calvin is still instructing me with beautiful truth that stands the test of time. But that must all wait for tomorrow.