Snow Day!

The last time I remember snow like this on the ground was March of 1993... the weekend that Barry, his Dad, Kayti and I were all supposed to head out to Utah for Dawn and Shawn's wedding. We had to postpone our trip a day because the roads were so bad. Last week as I listened to the weather men all talk about the possibility of snow that was moving into our area, I really doubted that we would get much. But at the same time, I also knew that we had to get prepared, just in case this time they got it right. Growing up in the South taught me that you can never be too prepared when snow actually does hit... I can remember being showed in and without power when I was a teen-ager. That storm lasted weeks, and we were all so stir crazy by the time it was over.

I planned on trying to leave work a little early on Friday to get my grocery shopping done. Saturday was my regularly scheduled day, but I knew the stores would be PACKED and I wanted to avoid them. I didn't get there as early as I would have liked, and the place was a total zoo. There were a few aisles you could not even walk down, and lots of bare shelves, too. But, I got the majority of my shopping list checked off, and decided that what I didn't get could wait.

Barry and I watched the skies yesterday afternoon and evening. We were actually a little surprised when the weather men were still predicting 4-8 inches, then 6-10 inches of snow. These things usually go all around us, or fall apart the closer they get to us. Barry was cracking me up last night. He would check the radar, then run outside to see if he could see any flakes. Finally around 9:00 last night, he opened the front door and the ground was already white. He and I decided to bundle up and go for a walk. Kyle and Megan joined us... we didn't go far. The snow was coming down fast and hard, and so we turned around and came back home. The sky was so weird last night... we even saw the lightening and heard the thunder - Snowthunder. One of the weather men was saying that conditions like that could dump as much as 4 inches of snow in an hour. And on top of that, everything was just kind of glowing.

What a wonderland we woke up to today. We have been more out today than in, I think. Went for a walk, tried to build a snowman, then spent a long time sledding. The pictures can say it better than I can, but we have had a BLAST today!


We are so glad that Barry has been home with us today! The kids and I will be home again tomorrow, but I'm not sure if Barry will get to or not... we hope so, though! I've hated having to give up our spring snow days, but at least we have something fun to show for it!!

December 2010

I decided that I had to get this posted before I head back to work today...

What a wonderful month December has been! I've enjoyed it from beginning to end. (Didn't really mean that to rhyme;) )

At the beginning of the month I was invited to go with some friends from work to the Athens Christmas parade. It just happened to fall on the same night as our ward's extra Relief Society meeting. I have to honestly say that I have not really attended Homemaking/Enrichment/Extra Meeting in a V.E.R.Y. long time... at least not since we moved to Madison, so I didn't really feel guilty about going to the parade instead. But, the closer the time came, the more I felt like I should go to RS, and I'm really glad that I did. It was a simple program, but I came away with a wonderful feeling, and felt a little bit closer to my Savior.

The next weekend was the Stake Christmas festival. I had invited a friend to come with me, but she had to cancel at the last minute, so just the girls and I went. The concert was awesome, the trees/nativities/quilts were beautiful, and the live nativity was inspiring. I appreciate all the hard work that everyone puts into this festival. I know it is a TON of hard work, but it really is the highlight of the season.

The next weekend was the ward Christmas party. I was in charge of the "carnival" that we had after a yummy brunch. We did activities for the primary age chilren... a craft, face paining and cookie decorating. The awesome youth of the ward helped me out a ton, and it was a great morning.

I was really excited to decorate the house this year. I have had so much fun crafting. I haven't crafted like I did in a long time, and it felt really good to just be creative again. I made a sign for the front entryway, decorated a new wreath, etched some glass to hold candles, created some fun ornaments, made some blocks for the mantle, a Christmas countdown, and even made my Christmas cards this year! I must admit... I had a some help with some of the materials, but it was fun to put it all together. We opted for a live tree this year... mainly because out artificial tree was being put to good use elsewhere. This is the first live tree that Barry and I have ever bought... we have gone out to my parent's and cut down a few trees, but they mainly have cedar trees, and the last one we brought home about killed my allergies. I was tickled with the tree we picked out, and we were thrilled that it didn't cost us too much. The only major disappointment with the live tree was that a lot of our ornaments were too heavy to go on it, but it still looked beautiful. I have put my "charlie brown" trees out front on my porch for years now, but this year I decided that they needed to come inside. I found the perfect home for them on either side of my entertainment center.


The week of Christmas had us busy making goodies and visiting. The kids and I always make something to take to Barry's work and visit with him there for a bit. He enjoys showing off the kids. :) For as long as I can remember, we have spent Christmas Eve with some good friends of ours, the Sparkman's. Barry and Mike worked together at the Cookie Company when Barry and I first got married, and we all moved to Nashville together as well. We then moved back to Huntsville together a few years later, and continued the tradition of Christmas Eve together. We meet up at Mike's parent's house, and Momma Sparkman makes a feast of Italian Sausages, chips, dip, cookies, pies, cakes... you get the idea! We always stay there way too late, but we enjoy the company and catching up. We also started a tradition years ago of heading out early and looking at Christmas lights before we go to the Sparkman's. This year we headed down to South Huntsville, and found the best neighborhood ever! Every street you turned down had one awesome display after another! We got so wrapped up looking at the lights that the Sparkman's had to call us to see if we were coming or not!

This is the first year ever that Barry and I have stayed up all hours of the night putting together a gift. We got the boys a ping-pong table, and that thing was a beast to put together! We didn't get started until after 11:00 PM, and finally got it finished around 3:00 AM. After it was done, Barry headed out to see if he could find any gas stations still open, because he needed a Mountain Dew! When he got back he told me that it was starting to sleet outside, and maybe we just might get some of the white stuff the weather men had been saying was coming our way.

We have a rule in our house... the kids are not allowed up (or at least not allowed to get us up) before 7:00 AM. I have to admit that most years I am the first one up, and usually it is much earlier than 7:00, but not this year. I was still so tired from being up so late that I slept until the kids couldn't take it anymore, and came to grab me so I could see the snow. It was about 6:45 when they got me up, but I decided to stay up and light the fire in the fireplace and enjoy the beauty of the falling snow. Barry was up a few minutes later, and we read the Christmas story from the Bible, then went to open presents. The kids and Barry were all thrilled with their gifts, and Barry surprised me with a Silhoutte die cut machine! After the living room was picked up, and we had breakfast, we headed outside for some fun in the snow. It has been a really long time since we have seen snow like that come down around here. The last really big snow that I can remember was at least 15 years ago, but never on Christmas day. It was like an added present, and made for a perfect Christmas.


I had to include the above photo... this is the "after" of our morning, but it's the only picture I got of all the trees and mantle together.


Thankfully road conditions allowed us to get to the Callahan's for Christmas dinner. We enjoyed yummy food, and time with family. The kids exchanged handmade gifts, and had a ball! It was so much fun to see how creative they each got.

We were supposed to go to Fayetteville on Sunday to spend Christmas with my family, but icy roads kept that from happening. Instead we all stayed in on Sunday and enjoyed a quiet day. Things cleared up enough on Monday that my mom was able to come and stay with us for a few days, then we finally got the whole crew together on Wed. night for our family dinner and cousin gift exchange.

I have been so filled with a Spirit of Peace this month, and so grateful for my Savior. I am thankful for each and every blessing. I am thankful to have family and good friends to share the season with.

Year in Review

I have a mega post of our December all typed out and waiting to be posted. All of the pictures that I want to accompany the post, though, are on our desktop computer instead of my laptop, which is being used right now. So, it will have to wait, but that's ok! Before the night gets away from me, I wanted to post a quick review of our year.

January - Started house hunting, and found one we love! Kids were sick with pink-eye... NO FUN!

February - Moved!! Celebrated my 40th birthday. Dealt with tragedy of school shooting.

March - My baby became an official teen-ager!! Enjoyed Spring Break working around the house and at the farm.

April - Kidnapped my hubby for a weekend in Nashville! Started prepping my garden.

May - Kayti graduated high school!! Then she turned 18!! Summer break came!

June - Kayti started college. Worked in the garden. Celebrated Barry's birthday and our 19th wedding anniversary. Prepared for YW Camp

July - Went to YW Camp. Enjoyed the 4th of July with family. Prepared to head back to school and work.

August - Enjoyed a visit from my sister and niece (and her adorable baby boy). School started back. Soccer started.

September - Mayfield Family Reunion at Smith Lake!!

October - Fall Break... and trip to Savannah, Ga!! Soccer season ended.

November - Great month to reflect on our blessings. Two yummy Thanksgiving dinners - one at Nate and Alisha's, one with my family at the farm.

December - Lots of holiday fun! Josh turned 17; Kyle turned 15. Bought a new car for Barry (he has needed one for SOOO long!). Enjoyed a white Christmas... first one ever for Barry and the kids. I'm not sure about me... I think we might have had one or two when I lived in Idaho, but I can't remember.

I am looking forward to 2011. I'm sure there will be lots of challenges, as well as plenty of fun times.

I hope you have a wonderful new year!

Mary and Christmas

I was blessed to have both of my boys born in December... their birthdays are only 10 days apart (plus 2 years!). When I was pregnant with Kyle I was asked to write a part for a Christmas Relief Society reading. It was to be from Mary's point of view about her feelings the night of Jesus' birth. I was very humbled to be asked to do this, and I'm not sure if I did it justice or not. But since then, I often think of Mary and how she must have felt that night. Every year when my boys celebrate their birthdays, I am reminded of my feelings. I don't know that I could ever adequately describe my feelings, but I can say that I am so thankful for Mary. I appreciate her sacrifice, and her willingness. I can't imagine the responsibility of raising our Savior, but I am thankful that she agreed to take it on.

I found this clip on youtube the other day, and thought I would share. I love this song by Amy Grant, and someone put it to LDS video, The Nativity. Merry Christmas, everyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQs0H7dvwy0&feature=related

Happy Birthday, Kyle!!

Today son #2 celebrates his 15th birthday! And yes, he is counting down the days until he gets his permit... but he lost his wallet with his SS card inside, so we have to get a replacement before that can happen.

Here are some fun facts about Kyle:

He is very tender-hearted.

He is a loyal friend.

He is a fierce competitor.

He is the only child of mine who was not born on a Sunday morning... he made his appearance on a Friday evening.

He loves football, and is a HUGE Atlanta Falcons fan.

He loves soccer, too, but thinks he might take a break from it next year.

He loves his younger sister, and has always been her best friend. The night we brought her home from the hospital, he stood in his crib and said, "Baby" over and over and over again!

He is a thinker... he will ask a lot of questions to make sure he understands something.

He is also a brainiac! ;) He worries a lot about his grades, and works hard to make good grades.

He loves Mexican food... it is his absolute favorite!

He loves going to seminary, but gets very frustrated with some of his classmates... they can get a little rowdy sometimes.

He will be taking a class this next semester at Bob Jones, and will get to leave from seminary and actually go to the high school...he is pretty excited about that!

He is not sure if he wants to be a doctor, dentist or engineer when he grows up.

He has always had more friends that are girls than boys. When he was little he could always be found in the middle of all the girls.

He loves music, and is trying to learn to play the guitar. He is really kind of teaching himself, but he loves to play.

When he was little he was a complete "mini-me" of his Uncle James, now he looks more like my side of the family.

His favorite car is a Camaro, and wants a red one with black racing stripes. I've bought several toy cars for him, but he is going to have to get the real thing!

He is now just a tad bit taller than his older brother, and catching up to dad fast. He is very proud of this fact!

We are so blessed to have Kyle in our family! We love him, and appreciate all that he brings to our family. Happy Birthday, Kyle!!

Happy Birthday, Josh!!

Today is Josh's 17th birthday. I am floored to think that he is already that old. He was born on a Sunday morning, in a little cabin in the woods (I had my first two children with mid-wives), and was such a sweet baby. We have been very blessed to have him in our family. Here are some fun facts about our Josh-u-way...

He is a very hard worker.

He ADORES his younger cousins, and they love him, too.

He is an awesome pizza maker.

He is a dare-devil.

He has a sweet-tooth the size of Texas.

He is very athletic.

He loves to act - he can do both dramatic and comedic pieces equally well.

He is a very good video game player.

He has a kind, loving, sharing soul.

He likes to make people happy... even if it means he has to sacrifice to do so.

He loves to wear his hair very short, and it drives him NUTS that his brother likes to wear his hair longer.

He has an infectious laugh.

He is VERY tickle-ish. He used to tickle the insides of his own hands when he was a baby, and just laugh and laugh.

He hates to have his picture taken... and is usually making some sort of face, or posing in a goofy way in every picture I take of him.

He wears his heart on his sleeve, which scares me to death. I am so afraid that some twitty little girl is going to take advantage of that. :)

He loves animals, and when we are at the farm he can usually be found playing with the cats and kittens.

He loves to build things, and use his hands. I put him to work this past summer painting/finishing some tables that my dad made, and he did a beautiful job.

Josh is actually his middle name. His full name is Mykel (prounounced like Michael) Joshua. He was almost a Mykel Anthony, but his dad and I saw the name Josh, and loved it. It fits him so well!

He is looking forward to serving a mission... and hopes that he gets to go Brazil. Why? Because the next World Cup is being played in Brazil, during the time that he will be on a mission! I told him that didn't mean much, he wouldn't be able to go to any games. He replied that he knew that, but he was sure it would be on EVERY TV in the country, so he could at least see what was going on with it now and then. I'm sure that for just for that, Heavenly Father will send him to someplace where TV's are few and far between!

I love you, Josh! Happy Birthday!!

Congrats!!

Congratulations this morning go out to my very talented first born son, Josh!! He placed second in his category (classical duet) at this past weekend's state drama festival!! So very proud of him!