He Leadeth Me

When my family was trying to convince me to move from warm Texas to cold Colorado, they kept telling me that the cold wasn't the same in Colorado. They said there could be snow on the ground and if the sun was shining, you wouldn't feel cold. I didn't really believe them because I am such a cold natured person, but today I became a believer. Today is Halloween and earlier in the week the temperature was in the teens and it snowed for two entire days. But when the sun came out, we were back in shirt sleeves with the windows open to let in the nice breeze. Most of the snow had melted, but in some spots where it was shady or where the snow plow had piled up the snow, there was still plenty of the white stuff for little boys to play with. Who can resist un-trampled on snow? And when your grandpa carves out a snow tunnel, it is the greatest. This little snow bunny loves his "mummy". Did I say that little boys enjoy the snow? I meant little and big boys. Caleb lov...

There is the distinct possibility that you might get tired of my "Snow" posts. But please indulge me at least for this first snow season. I am like a kid in a candy store and every new sight amazes me. The pictures below are of the snow formation in one of our basement window wells. It looks like a giant Marshmallow landed on the top of the window well and just decided to sit there. Reminds me a little of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs , a great children's book which has been made into a movie. I have been trying to hang out downstairs some today as the sun melts the snow hoping that there would be a giant crash as the snow avalanches to the ground. Instead, there seems to be a steady drip, drip, drip.... The Raggedy Anns and Andys (some of which were handmade by my Grandma Bergeron) usually sit up, but they are a little tired from watching the snow fall outside their window.

This is one of my favorite images from the recent snowfall. This old rusted chair came with us from Houston. It was originally Kelly's and when she was going to get rid of it, I claimed it. It reminds me of one my grandparents had on their "breezeway" when I was growing up. It reminds David of an old rusty chair. It is beautiful covered with snow. The picture above is from yesterday. The picture below is from this morning...and it is still snowing. Taken from our front porch. (Our tree and the houses across the street). Snowy days are magical for little boys. For all my Houston friends, that is a window well. The windows in the window well are in our guest bedroom. Caleb thought it was such fun to knock the snow off into the well. "I'm going to make a Snow Angel, Nana." "This is so much fun!" I must admit, I am really enjoying our first "Snow Storm". It helps that the weatherman is forecasting Sunny and Warmer starting tomorrow....

One of my favorite blogs is ModObject at Home . The creator recently had a post that really touched my heart. (see link above) I had this picture in my digital files but thought it was the perfect companion to the ModObject post. Please see the wonderful quote below, also borrowed from the blog author and Mr. Victor Hugo. ".....there is no grandfather who does not adore his grandson." Victor Hugo

.....of Caleb at Nana and Ducca's house. First, you have to play hide and seek in Nana and Ducca's bed! A trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a few items that Nana needs, nets one scary pumpkin mask. And then, of course, a boy has to learn how to be a chef! You need your own apron and oven mitt. Concentration is a must!! Just the right amount of Worcester sauce is needed to make the best "Texas Trash!" I'm the best at pouring in the pretzels! I have to eat a few in the process just to be sure they are good enough for this recipe. Nana loves having me as a helper! When the cooking is done, it is time to read a good book! Nana was actually reading and I was playing with my cars. I thought it would be a better idea if she played with my cars, and I sat in Ducca's comfortable chair and read her book. She didn't tell me there weren't any pictures in her book. Oh, well, a good book is a good book, pictures or not.

We wanted to take my Mom and Dad and sister to a scenic part of Colorado. Jeremy and Mark (his father-in-law) had been fly fishing in Eleven Mile Canyon and recommended it to us as a great spot. For those of you who know Colorado, it is close to Cripple Creek which is known for its gold mining. The day was beautiful! The company was fantastic! And the views were gorgeous! God sure has created some spectacular things in this world, hasn't He?

When Jeremy was a little boy, my dad was big into woodworking. Jeremy (and all his friends and cousins) benefitted by having handmade swords. Poppy made the swords and Sweetie painted them. Caleb is now getting second generation swords. While they were in Colorado, Sweetie repainted some of Caleb's dad's swords. They had to be painted green because that is Caleb's favorite color. Then Caleb and Poppy had a sword fight! I'll let you guess who won. Good Times!!!

One of our adventures when my Mom and Dad and Aunt Kim visited was going to a pumpkin patch. The hay bale maze was a big success and Caleb was the best at it. He just climbed over the bales when he wanted to get somewhere. Aunt Kim got her fair share of hugs. There were bunnies to pet. As you can tell, it was quite cold! There was a really cool hay bale slide! Caleb practiced his photography skills which he is learning from his mom and dad! We all had a great time, despite the cold wind! As you might have noticed, there are no pumpkins in any of these pictures. That is because the pumpkin patch was a little pathetic! Everything else was great, though!

One of my favorite things to do is to teach! In fact, once when I was describing what I thought Heaven would be like (sitting around learning), my sweet husband commented, "That sounds an awful lot like school to me." From his tone, I'm not sure he has the same mental image. I am busy getting ready for a couple of staff development consulting jobs. Thought I'd share the very MESSY creative process! As you might have noticed, a warm drink and a few candy bars (at least they are the mini kind) are an important part of the process. The planning is almost complete. Guess it's time to do a little cleaning!

My mom and dad, better known as Sweetie and Poppy, their grandparent names, have been visiting with us in Colorado Springs this week. Today was their final day before going back home to Houston and we did two very special things. The morning found us at the Garden of the Gods, one of my favorite spots in this city. The scenery is beautiful and the blue sky against the red rocks is just breathtaking. In addition, God provided us with two really neat sights that unfortunately we did not capture in photos. The first was a precious little chipmunk scurrying around and the second was one of the most beautiful blue jays we have ever seen. Thank goodness Balancing Rock didn't fall today. In the afternoon, we found ourselves at North Middle School where Sweetie and Poppy got to visit their firstborn grandson's library. Two very special highlights on the last day of their visit.