Snow storm.  Snow storm.  Snow storm!

Ice storm! (What?!)

Power outage!

Wind advisory.  Rain storm.  Flood watch. Rain storm.  Wind advisory.

This picture was also taken before Wednesday’s snow storm.

I am hoping our more normal mild and temperate Groundhog Day-ish winter weather returns soon – lows in the upper 30′s, highs in the upper 40′s with rain and gray skies heavily dotted throughout the forecast … and some sun breaks sprinkled in for variety.

On Thursday January 19th our city and region declared a state of emergency.  All the wet and heavy snow when followed by an ice storm (I don’t think I had ever experienced prolonged freezing rain and ice pellets before) means lots of downed trees and power lines.

The ice storm completely blindsided Randy and I. All the focus had been on the big snow storm that hit us Wednesday.  We went to bed that night thinking the worst of the storm was over –  typically we are quite proactive about watching weather reports – but the warning must have come out late at night and by the time we were up and about the next morning we had no power.  There was also no power at Randy’s work, which is probably a good thing because the roads were treacherous.

We lost power for 17 hours and the Internet for 25 hours.  The kids had 4 snow days last week.  Add that to last week’s three day weekend and add in this weekend and there you have our 9 day weekend.

I am grateful that regular school hours are set to resume tomorrow … and hopefully no more winter weather will thwart that plan. I am ready to get back to the gym and normal every day life.   I am ready to be able to go to the store and find milk and meat products back on the shelf.  (I must admit I was a bit surprised when by Saturday afternoon many stores still had few dairy and meat items in stock.)

Things to add to my wish list:

• A pair of boots for me

• A pair of boots for Randy

• A pair of boots for Keri (at least Eli and Cory had rain boots)

• A generator

• A 4 wheel drive vehicle, or at least an all wheel drive one

• A camping stove so we can heat up food when the power is out

Things I am grateful for:

• Home teachers and friends who check in on you.

• Friends who pick up items from the store for you (we were prepared, but when you have snow storm after snow storm and 6 mouths to feed, it is nice to have extra milk on hand when someone offers to get it for you).

• Friends who lend you their generator because miraculously their power is still one.

• Our natural gas fireplace that kept us relatively warm, sane and hopeful until the generator came to our rescue.

• A natural gas water heater that wasn’t affected by the power outage.  It was so nice to take a hot shower even before the power kicked back in.  And the kids loved having hot chocolate!

• The fluke of internet power we got when the generator kicked in.

• The fact that the furnace and the internet were on the same power circuit … though it would have been nice if the fridge was on that one, too.  At least the ice and snow on our deck served as a great back up fridge.

• Our flashlights.

• Our camping lantern.  (We got it as a wedding present, I can’t even remember who gave it to us, but we have used it way more for power outages than we ever have for camping.)

• The cookies we had on hand which we had baked the day before.

• Our food storage.  Even if the power had remained off for a few more days, I am grateful we had food to eat … though there is nothing quite like a hot meal after a prolonged power outage.

• Cell phones that were mostly fully charged.

• Family members in distant states who kept us informed on weather and things (even though their home city dissed our region – this is truly a great and fun article to read).

I loved these slush filled footprints that then refroze.  However, this freeze-thaw-refreeze cycle is vicious on the roads!

Now we need to invest in a ladder and a power saw so we can trim the low lying branches which are dangling over our driveway.

Even though last week was not the most comfortable thing to live through (talk about going stir crazy and having cabin fever with the kids out of school and the weather so cold outside … that easily creates cranky parents!), I am grateful for the lessons we learned.  It taught us what we can live without and what we need to do in order to be better prepared for future emergencies.

Sunday afternoon we had huge, fluffy snowflakes falling down from the sky.  It was beautiful and such a sight to see. Of course the kids were begging to go outside to frolic in the snow so Randy obliged and took them out in the backyard to play.  For the most part they enjoyed themselves, but they soon realized how cold it was.  [We don't have the best snow clothes in our house, but the next time they went out to play they dressed in more layers and stayed much warmer.]

While outside they decided to build a snowman.  They quickly learned how difficult it can be to make a large snowball – though I suppose I don’t know that from personal experience since I don’t think I have ever made a snowman.  [That would be a good thing to use next time I play the clean version of the game "Never have I ever."Another good thing for that game would be the fact that "Never have I ever eaten a McDonald's hamburger."  I had a bite or two of one when I was 7 or 8. I thought it was quite horrid so I have never tried one again.  I doubt I am missing much .]

Anyway, Eli quickly got the hang of what it takes to roll balls of snow.

Here is our snowman, complete with a funky carrot nose.  Yes, Cory is giving it a kiss.

Here is Cory’s perfect snow angel.

Naturally the kids had school off over the weekend.  They also had a day off on Monday for Martin Luther King Day.  However, yesterday and today they have had snow days.  And one is now set for tomorrow.  Egads?!

Randy worked from home today (the worst of the storms blew through last night and this morning), and for his lunch break he took the kids out to play in the freshly fallen snow, probably another 3-4 inches worth.

I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed that break.  It was rejuvenating to my soul to sit on the couch and nurse a sleepy Ari in a silent house while looking out our huge living room windows.

The windows on the upper left are where I was sitting.

The snow/freezing rain was gently falling and the three older kids were delightfully playing in the snow while Randy shoveled the driveway.  I truly enjoyed and lived in the moment … and the silence was heavenly.

I also got some good laughs in when I discovered that my kids had pulled out their scooters and tricycles from the garage to ride … in the snow … and on the icy driveway.  I bet only my kids did that kind of outdoor activity today in our area .

When everyone finally came in soaked and frozen, I had warm Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies ready for them.  Yum!

And just in case you think everything has been all fun and games and happy smiles in our house these last five days, then you are sorely mistaken .   We have had plenty of three year old tantrums (even epic public ones on Monday while we were at the doctor and the pharmacy – Cory has a sinus infection and apparently he suffers from year long allergies?!), plenty of bickering between Cory and Eli (I swear the two of them are either always laughing or crying), and plenty of episodes from one tired mama who has lost her patience on multiple occasions.

And to top all that off, for the last few days Ari has been refusing to take an afternoon nap.

At least Keri has been a huge help to have around. She makes the most excellent mother’s helper.

And one other life saving distraction I discovered today was this website that offers free map printables.  Cory is obsessed with geography and countries and flags so this was perfect!

Now I need to go make some hot cocoa to warm myself up.  My hands are freezing.

It is the year 2012.

I turned a whopping 3.6. which is divisible by 12.

Yes, I am a math nerd. If I didn’t major in Biology Teaching, I think I would have majored in Math Education.  I think it would have been awesome to teach Algebra.

I am not sure why I still feel like I am in my 20′s?!  I swear the 90′s weren’t that long ago.  This is the first year where I am actually kind of starting to feel like I am old.

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Favorite quote of the day from Eli:  “Keri, come watch me go stink!”

Gotta love the excitement of 3 year olds.  We are currently potty training him and thankfully (knock on wood!) I think it is clicking rather well.  Now here’s to hoping that the novelty of “growing up” and “getting taller” (what he thinks he is doing now that he is a “big boy”) won’t wear off .

And tonight while we were celebrating my birthday dessert, he wanted us to relight the candles so he could blow them out by himself.

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Randy was able to get away from work for a couple of hours this afternoon and he took me out to lunch … sans kidlets!  It was heavenly, and the food was scrumptious!

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I loved this present Keri gave me.  She wrapped it in a blanket because she didn’t know where the wrapping paper was and she wanted to surprise me with a gift.  She’s rather resourceful!

She is also incredibly thoughtful and artistic!  I am grateful I get to be her mother.

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And even though Facebook can be a huge time waster, I must admit that it does make for a fun day when many people take the time to wish you a happy birthday!

Here’s to hoping this will be a fabulous year!

Well, it should be .

Here’s a quote that struck a chord with me when I read it last week:

As we reflect on the value of resolving to do better, let us determine to discipline ourselves to carefully select the resolutions we make, to consider the purpose for making them, and finally to make commitments for keeping them and not letting any obstacle stop us. Let us remind ourselves at the beginning of each day that we can keep a resolution just for that day. ~ President N. Eldon Tanner

I like the recipe President Tanner offers.  Discipline.  Purpose.  Commitment.  I also like how he breaks things down into baby steps –  following through on our goals for just one day at a time.  Though sometimes it can be a great feat to even keep those commitments for an hour, let alone a day.

The advice President Monson offered in his “Living the Abundant Life” article has also given me motivation to keep plugging along with my 2012 word of the year.  He gives us his own ABC’s to help us learn how to live an abundant life – have a positive Attitude, Believe in yourself and have Courage.

Ever since I read it, the following message he shared has been tumbling through my mind day in and day out.  It’s a remarkable gem and it makes you want to never give up, but to keep on trying no matter how many times you might not succeed:

Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one’s coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.

Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “I’ll try again tomorrow.” ~ President Thomas S. Monson

We are now one third of the way done with the first month of the new year and so far I am still keeping my 2012 word at the forefront of my brain.  GENTLE.

I have been working on being gentle with my stomach – fueling it with proper food. (Sugar is highly addictive and my willpower sometimes is rather fragile.)

I have been working on being gentle with the budget – not stretching it past its limit.

I have been working on being gentle with my voice – using a nice tone with my kids and taking notice of why, in the first place, it even takes on a bitter tone.

Speaking of kids and parenting, here’s what I posted on Facebook the other day:

I *had* to share this brilliant post. As a parent, who can’t relate to being “tired and cranky and ready for the day to be over quite often?”

Every mother really should read that post.  Yes, the article is that good.

How are your resolutions/goals/whatever you want to call what you are striving-to-be-or-change coming along?

Happy resoluting !

WORD OF THE YEAR:  This word is supposed to guide you during the year.  It is supposed to inspire you.  It is supposed to help you better define your life.  It is supposed to help you grow.  It is supposed to motivate you.  It is supposed to remind you of your priorities.

Up.

Embrace.

Temperance.

These have been some of my words of the year in the past.

My word for the year 2012?

Gentleness is one of the manifestations of a virtuous person. That is why many of us love to go along with gentle people. Ladies love a gentleman’s comfort; children love the mildness and tenderness of gentle parents; a gentle friend is always there to calm you; and a gentle leader is one that gives honor and respect.

A gentle person is one who is self-sacrificing, humble, kind, just, loving, peaceful, forgiving, joyful and understanding. They are not selfish, proud, rude, iniquitous, arrogant, violent, insecure and ignorant. This only means that they possesses not only one virtue that makes them that, but they possesses several great virtues that work as one to make them a gentle person.

Gentleness is not only seen in a persons actions, it can also be demonstrated in their thoughts, words and intentions. This is because it lives deep within them. Once a person is gentle, they also have a gentle root and foundation. Moreover, they also bear the fruits and consequences of gentleness. These fruits include peace, harmony, joy and thankfulness.

To achieve gentleness, you need to have a great power. This must be a power that can bind a power. You need to be stronger. You must have a great strength that can manage your own strength. Furthermore, you must have a self that can control yourself, or in other word, self-control. This also means that you must become your inner self, rather than your external self.

Finding your inner self is simply finding your pure self. This is yourself when you are not yet corrupted by the negative forces that are in this world. These forces include pride, wrath, misery and insecurity. Therefore, to purify yourself and to have gentleness in your mind, heart, mouth and actions, you need to remove all those dark qualities that have contaminated your life since you were born on Earth.

Being gentle sounds simple, but so hard to do. You need to have a great power to do that. The greater power that can overcome the power that makes you rough is one that is more eternal – one that lasts longer and even forever. That power is found in your spirit. It is the spirit that comes from God, which pulls all the spiritual things you need to possess gentleness. It is the spirit that is founded by love.

Love is such a great thing. It’s hard to practice; it’s hard to be consistent. But if you want to achieve greater powers, which give you the ability to do greater things (such as being gentle), you need to practice harder in loving. This is the secret to gentleness: have all the virtues that support it, such as joy, peace, thankfulness, compassion and patience. Then bind them all with love, which connects them all together to work us one… to work in making you a truly gentle person.

Finally, we must always remember that being gentle is greater than being rough. Being self-controlled is harder than being violent. This only means that living in gentleness is a life of greater people. So if you want to be great, be gentle… and if you want to be gentle, be great. ~ secretcontents.com

I want to be more gentle with my kids.  More gentle with my spouse.  More gentle with myself.  More gentle with others.  More gentle in all my relationships.

I want to use a more gentle voice.

I want to be more gentle with the way I use my precious time.

I want to be more gentle and respectful with the body I have been blessed with.  I need to get more sleep, be more fit and fill my body with more healthy foods.

Do you have a word of the year you would like to share?

I hope everyone is having a healthy, happy and purposeful start to their new year.

The year of 2011 has definitely brought some monumental change to our life – a new baby, a new job, a new home and a new city to live in … just to name a few things.  This year also brought another new tradition to our life, spending the holiday season in our own place here in Western Washington as opposed to traveling to Los Angeles to spend it with family.

All in all, I think the 2011 Christmas Season was a success!

** We cut out lots of paper snowflakes.  (Coffee filters do make awesome ones!)

** We decorated our annual gingerbread house.

** We watched lots of holiday movies.

** We saw a myriad of Christmas lights on houses in our area and at a nearby botanical garden.

** We made sugar cone Christmas trees.  It was beyond hilarious to watch Eli with his.  I had him sit at the table so I could take a picture of him and his finished tree … he wanted nothing to do with posing for a picture.  Instead he did what any normal 3 year old little boy would do.  He ignored the camera and proceeded to eat his frosted tree with no hands .

** We read scriptures and sang songs from our advent binder, though this was only successful maybe 50% of the time.  (Tired and whiny boys of all ages makes this a bit difficult to enjoy at times.)

** We baked and decorated sugar cookies and delivered them to our neighbors.

** We read Christmas books.

** We went to Keri’s holiday choir concert which was wonderful to listen to. I was quite impressed with their performance.  I was also completely mesmerized by the school’s marimba club which performed as well.  It was delightful and fascinating to listen to the harmonies they produced.  WOW!

** We attempted to act out the nativity while reading Luke 2.  Our costumes were a bit thrown together, but they worked.

** We had a festive Christmas Eve dinner with just our family and then opened the box which family from California sent.

** We had a magical Christmas morning.  Eli even slept in until 8 which surprised us all!  [Note to self: One of my goals in the New Year will be to figure out the timer function on our camera so we can take a picture with all of us in it at once.]

Here is Christmas Eve Night after Santa paid a visit.

And here are the pictures from Christmas morning:

I think one of the few things we would have changed is the plethora of germs which invaded our home.  We could have done without the flu, the colds, the GI bugs, the sinus infections and the UTI that plagued us.

Here’s hoping for a healthy, safe and happy 2012!

This past month has been a bit grueling … for all of us. (At least when we are talking about our health. I currently have 3 separate infections, but that is for another post at another time.)

Poor Ari started off the holiday season at the beginning of December with a GI bug that lasted for nearly two weeks.  Then he caught the cold that was making the rounds in our house and that left him with a lingering cough that was hard to shake.  Because of all this, he went on a temporary nursing strike which was a bit stressful for all involved.  And on top of all of that, his upper gums are swollen.  Hopefully those teeth make their appearance soon.

Despite all his illnesses, though, Ari’s vibrant little personality has still managed to emerge this past month. It has been incredibly fun to watch him show and “voice” his opinions and wants.

For example, even though he is finally eating solids better [he has no interest in self feeding and he still will only eat the puréed stage 2 fruits, but hey, this is progress!], he doesn’t want anything to do with veggies.  Somehow he knows when we are offering them to him and he purses his lips as tight as he can.  If we do manage to get anything in his mouth, he then raspberries it out.

He also is always bound and determined to get his tiny hands on any type of paper so he can chew and suck on it.  Needless to say, he loved all the Christmas wrapping paper.

For the most part, Ari is still a happy and social little guy.  He loves to be talked to and he loves to interact with people.

He gives the best snuggles. I love it when he attempts to scratch my back by raking his fingers along it while he is giving me loves.

He also has the most awesome belly laugh.  It is music to my ears!

When he is sitting and playing, he likes to bounce in place while he chews on toys.

He isn’t mobile quite yet, which I am kind of grateful for.  He does manage to scoot around a bit on his bottom.  In fact, just today I found him about 5 feet away from where I left him.  I almost dread the day when he learns to crawl, though I know that will be here sooner than I realize.  At least he still doesn’t like tummy time so maybe that means I have a bit more time.   I definitely will need to figure out a way to protect him from falling down the stairs in our new split level home … this is the first time we have lived in a place where stairs have been an issue.

Up until this past week, Ari’s two daily naps have been pretty predictable which has been a life saver for me.  However, now he thinks he is ready to drop his morning nap! I am fighting him on this one and I hope he resumes them sometime soon.

He also used to be a pretty decent night time sleeper.  He still goes to bed at 6:30 at night and gets up about 7:30 in the morning, but lately he has been waking up three or four times to eat?!  Egads?!  And sometimes, he is only going 2 hours between feedings!?  It is killing me.  It doesn’t help that he wants nothing to do with a binkie now and he will only sleep in his crib – not in your arms, not in the car, not anywhere else.  So when he is tired, sometimes you just have to let him fuss it out in his bed, which can be hard to do in the middle of the night since he shares a room with 3 year old Eli who is a light sleeper at times.  I am not sure if I will attempt to sleep train soon since he has been sick and teething lately, but we will see how long we can last on this crazy and undesirable schedule.  You would think by the time you are raising your fourth little one you would know how to figure these things out better .

All well, this, too, shall pass.

It is hard to believe that in 4 short months my baby will be a year old.  I am eternally grateful, despite all the sleep deprivation, that Ari is a part of our family.  I can’t imagine life without my Sweetness.

I especially love to see the giddy excitement and the sparkle of delight in the eyes of little ones as December 25th fast approaches.

There is something magical and sacred once the December calendar hits the 20′s.  Sometimes I think I enjoy those last five days more than the actual holiday itself.

I suppose that is what it means to bask in the warmth of the Christmas season.

Now the key is just to remember to keep that spirit with me all year long.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

And even though I posted this video several years back, I want to share it again. It is one of the many traditions we have in our family, to watch this short clip during the month of December.  The lyrics are powerful and tender, and the images themselves fill your heart with an unspeakable warmth and spirit.

Merry Christmas!

“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” ~ Luke 2:19

It speaks to me.

It pulls at my heartstrings.

It is especially poignant for me this Christmas season as I cradle my own babe in my arms, and since this is undoubtedly our last little one, it is that much more special.

Without fail, this verse always evokes the most tender emotions in me.  It makes me want to be a better person, in particular a better mother.  A mother who is more patient and nurturing, one who is less reactive and explosive.

This scripture also makes me want to be a better wife, a better sister, a better daughter and a better friend.  It fills me with a fulness of joy.  It fills me with charity, which is indeed the pure love of Christ.  “The Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit.” ~ President Thomas S. Monson

And because this is one of my favorite scriptures, it probably helps explain my deep adoration for all things dealing with the Nativity.

I can’t get enough of the perfect emotion and pure love and affection that these artists capture in their masterpieces.

“The spirit of Christmas is something I hope all of us would have within our hearts and within our lives, not only at this particular season, but throughout the years.” ~ President Thomas S. Monson

A few years ago I wrote a post sharing some of our favorite Christmas books.  [Go ahead, click on the link to see which ones they are .]

Now I want to add eight more to that list.

“The Tale of Three Trees” by Angela Elwell Hunt is perhaps one of our new favorites.   “Once upon a mountaintop, three trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. Each of their dreams come true in the most unexpected of ways.”

This book has gorgeous illustrations and is beautifully written.  My kids like to read this story over and over again (as do I!), and it is one I want to make sure we read every year.  The message it shares is priceless.

The next three titles all talk about the humble and lowly night Baby Jesus was born in a stable:  “The Christmas Baby” by Marion Dane Bauer, “Listen to the Silent Night” by Dandi Daley Mackall and “One Starry Night” by Lauren Thompson.  Although the text in the each of the stories is simple, the spirit they evoke is warm and inviting.   The pictures are bright and captivating.

If you have young toddlers who have a hard time sitting still or who like more interactive books, then they might enjoy “See and Say! Christmas Story” by Victoria Tebbs and “The First Night” by B. G. Hennessy.  Both these books recount the story of the birth of our Savior in a simple and wondrous way with words that little ones might like to repeat.  Once again the illustrations are vivid and appealing.

“The Scrawny Little Tree” by Ed Mehler is a classic that was originally published in 1973.  ”On a snowy winter night, a young boy gets his dearest holiday wish: a Christmas tree all his own.  And when his love for the tree combines with the magic of the holiday season, a strange and wonderful things happens.”   It is a heartwarming story that involves love and compassion.  This book is told in rhyme and it has beautiful retro illustrations.

One last book I want to share is “Pippin the Christmas Pig” by Jean Little.  This story helps teach kids in a fun and unintimidating way one of the true meanings of Christmas.   “Pippin the pig shows the boasting barn animals that giving of yourself is the best Christmas gift of all.”  The watercolor and pencil illustrations are quite pleasant to look it.

What are some of your favorite Christmas books for kids?  Please share because I am always looking for more timeless holiday reads to add to our collection.