Warning: It looks like every post this winter will be about...

SNOW!! And more SNOW!! It started again Friday morning and kept going all day. A#2 was wanting to go outside so badly she was willing to shovel so we let her. She went out for about an hour by herself until she finally realized we let her sweep and shovel while it was still snowing so she wasn't making much progress.
And there's the face she made when I told her to just give up and come inside. They are going so stir crazy around here because there was school only one day last week and that was on Thursday with a 2 hour delay and then Friday was cancelled before the snow even began.

I have decided that our yard is starting to resemble a parking lot with one of those big, gross piles of snow that will be around until April.

This is just a hint of what me and hubby shoveled Saturday morning.

We were able to get out for a while on Saturday and went for a few visits and made it to Starbucks. We came home to play in the snow and had some company in the evening.

My sister and her family made it over and we had a blast. This is hubby with our nephew Foster. Hubby and the B I L made a path for our snow tube and put a wall/ramp at the end of it so there were no wrecks. It was PERFECT!!!

Hubby with A#3.

Dee tried out the sled at first.

This is the path, looking from the bottom to the top. PERFECT!!

Dee decided to give the tube a try.

A#3 on the tube.

The best part of the whole day was when my mom made her way over and took a few turns on the tube. We laughed so hard and she had a blast.

She took the kids on a few rides with her until we had to cut her off for fear of someone getting hurt. ;)

Me and the girls will probably be in the house most of the week again, we are expecting more snow on Tuesday but we will not complain. My in laws are among the No Va folks and Maryland folks that got over 2 feet!! They have lost all power and are expecting more as well this week. Hang in there everyone!

Snow and lots of pj's

Snow, snow, glorious snow!! We got it again and there are lots of people that were not happy about it, hubby included, but there were lots of us that don't mind it for a second.The first go around in December we got about 18 inches but this time it was right around 11 and it was beautiful. There is just something about looking outside and seeing the freshness of it all, before all the kiddos start plowing thru it and all the adults start shoveling it for hours at a time.

The 2 girlie's were bundled up and headed out for their first round of frolicking.

Silly faces.

This was later on when they were on round 2. Oh that smile gets me every time!!

Blurry pic of A#2 and Daddy coming down the hill. Soooo much fun!!

For some reason A#2 looks a little frightened.

All the neighborhood kids wanted their turn.

This was around 7:30 in the evening when it started snowing again.

Hubby waiting for his turn.

Mommy's snow baby.

Mommy's snow man! :)

When we weren't in our snow clothes we spent the rest of the weekend in our pj's. So much so that this morning I did a load of laundry that consisted of nothing but.... pj's. I'd say it was a GREAT weekend!!

Praying for Haiti!!

Wonderful and uplifting!! Are you listening?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKARlyqfa2Y

So much for that goal

Well one of my goals for the new year was to give this blog a little more attention. Yea, not happening. But we are early into the year so I am gonna start all over on that one OK? I never finished posting about Christmas so I'm gonna just throw up several pictures to finish it up. No captions, just pictures so if you want to know more just ask me.

Christmas Eve night

Yes I realize that I am probably the only one still posting on Christmas but as usual it's busy around here and I get it done when I get it done. After I put these pictures on here I also realized just how tired we all look. It was a long, fun day and those kind tend to wear us out.
W.B. and his new Superman pj's. For some reason he really liked them and kept telling everyone about them. Next year I'll have to look for Batman or Spider man ;)

A#1 and his new pj's. He has told me that he would rather have shorts instead of pj pants so that's what I got him, with a really cool gingerbread man shirt. Well wouldn't you know it, he wished he would've gotten pants. He told me that!!! Can you believe it? He really is a man now ;)

The girls got matching polar bear pj's.

I think they liked them.

And me, I got some really cute snowflake pj's. They are soooo cozy!

A#1,2 & 3 all snug in their jammies ready for our story and Santa!!

This year was so great because A#2 asked if she could read the whole entire story herself. She did a fantastic job!!

Wow are we ready for bedtime!!!

Of course we left cookies and milk and carrots for the reindeer. The kids also went outside and sprinkled the sparkly reindeer food so they could surely find their way.

FANTASTIC giveaway!!

Have you seen Lisa Leonards jewelry? I LOVE IT!!!!

Go to http://www.beneathmyheart.blogspot.com/ and enter for a chance to win $75 from Lisa's line. The heartstring necklace is my fave!!

Out with the old.... In with the new

I can't even believe it's 2010!! Can you? It's crazy just how fast time passes by! We have lots of goals for the new year. Personally, I'm not crazy about the word resolution, it just sounds old. One of my goals for this new year is to continue to be healthier. Watching what I put in my body, watching how I exercise my body and concentrating on what I surround myself with, especially people. What and who I surround myself with has a great deal of impact on my health and my stress. A lesson I have come to learn over these past couple of years.

2009 was not a bad year but at times it was a hard year. A year full of milestones for our whole family. A year of answered prayers. A year full of health scares. A year full of reflection over the last 20 years of marriage. A year full of financial difficulties. A year full of realizing who actually supports and doesn't tear down. A year full of people that are truly happy when you have success. A year full of new opportunities. A year full of old friends becoming new again. A year full of knowing that thru it all... God is good and He is good ALL THE TIME!!

2009 you were very interesting for the Blaine's but we say goodbye. Out with the old.... in with the new!

Christmas Eve Day

We head over to my parents house around noon every year for Christmas eve to have lunch and to exchange gifts. This year felt very strange to me because A#1 was working and only came long enough to eat really fast and open his gifts and then head back to work. He even said when he got home that it didn't even feel like Christmas ti him. It's very sad when you realize you are growing up and things change more than you thought they would. And to me it's hard to see him realize that.

This little girl realized it was Christmas though and she was so excited about it all.

And so did these kiddos.

Polly Pocket was very popular this year for both of my girls.

Cam-rod, another one that's growing up way too fast :(

A#2 was so excited with her new Bop-it game. She's setting a new record every day.

Somewhere in one of these pictures you can see the top of Miss Lily's head. She is doing so great and getting so big so fast. She is an answered prayer and something we are all very thankful for this year.Just the beginning of our family Christmas together.

Snow storm of 2009

This is what it looks like at our house this morning. 19 inches of snow fell in the blizard and now we are just waiting for the good times to begin.

Looking out our front door.

Beautiful!

When I opened the back door it was all the way up the door.

No grilling today.

No swimming today.

Not sure if we can get to the garage.

Half way up the fence.

It's beautiful outside!! Hope you are all safe and warm!

My very first swap!!

I participated in my very first Swap and look at what I received in the mail. My swap partner was Summer all the way in Oregon. How cool is it to know that I now have a new friend on the other side of the USA. You can visit her at www.summerduffield.blogspot.com

We opened the box and were so excited to see what was inside.

How cool are these? She made them and they are just perfect for our tree!!

Oh my this girl has some mad skillz! These are made from Popsicle sticks and scrabble tiles. LOVE THEM!!! We put these on our "fun" tree.

Love it!!! A#3 thinks this one is just for her since it's her middle name.

My fave of them all. I would love to have a tree full of this one!!

Thank you soooo much Summer. I hope you enjoyed yours as much as we did ours. I pray you will have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!