Snowmageddon.

I chuckle when I hear people call a foot of snow a "snowmageddon", but that's partly due to growing up in Iowa and getting big 'ole snowstorms like this more frequently than not.

But in Kansas City, it's a big 'ole deal.  We haven't gotten a foot of snow at one time since 1919, and more often than not, the snow misses us and all we get is ice.

I'd rather get a big 'ole snowstorm any day instead of 1-2" at a time, and yesterday my wish came true!  To top it off, Tyler's work was closed for the day (amazing!) so once the snow stopped falling temporarily, we went outside to shovel and play.

Shoveling felt pretty impossible at this point, but we wanted to get a path cleared out before the ice came in, in case Tyler's company was open today (which it was).

Jax was pretty excited to be able to play out by the mailbox and "in" the street... he's never allowed out there or even remotely close to the street, but considering there was NO traffic, I was pretty ok with it.  :)

Sorry for the overload of Jaxon&Charlie pictures... Cohen was still pretty happy hanging by the front door this entire time. 

I promised I helped him shovel (after my battery died)... it was my workout for the day! 

Ha!  Pretty much sums it all up.

My camera battery died, so out came the iPhone...

 

Cohen finally came out to play so Tyler helped them dig out a tunnel while I was shoveling.  An hour later they both threw a big giant melt down when it was time to come inside.

Schools and a lot of businesses are still closed today, and since Tyler is gone and the windchill is 8*, we will probably be hanging inside for the remainder of the day.

And yet another "major" storm is coming Monday... I think the groundhog was wrong this year.

First snow!!

The best part about the timing of our first snow is that Jaxon has been asking for at least 6-7 months now when Christmas is, and when he gets to open presents.  My go-to answer has always been "when it snows!"

Tyler's family is in town this week and we had already planned on celebrating Christmas with them tonight.

Perfect timing!  I'm so glad what I've been telling him for months now is really true.  :)

Fall... I like it a lot.

We spent a lot of time outdoors this weekend, as a family.  It's pretty rare that we have a free weekend, so we took full advantage of it!

The original plan was to go to an Apple Orchard, but iMaps failed us once again and routed us 45 minutes out of the way, so we walked around the Arboretum instead.

It made for some pretty Fall pictures.... glass half full approach.  :)

The rest of the weekend was spent attending my brother's college football game, a surprise 2 hour visit from my Sister, a family movie night, "signing the steel" at our church building site, and I wrapped up the weekend with a 4 mile run.

I was afraid the Fall colors would disappoint this year because of the dry summer we had, but it didn't!  I love the changing trees and cooler weather. 

Is it a pretty Fall where you are? 

Hello Monday.

hello beautiful weather today, i could get used to you.  70's, cold breeze, sunny.

hello $260 worth of clothes from Gap for $42.  Mama loves clearance!

hello returning home from Iowa for the past 4 days... love getting out of town.

jax has been begging to see cooper lately and i enjoy any chance i get for some R&R.

tyler's grandma was also there and i love being with her!  she's a wealth of knowledge and FUN.

hello my best friend leaving for sierra leone tomorrow... going to be praying for her nonstop!

hello another fun weekend coming up... headed to Iowa again, but this time to my Sisters!!!!!

i also have 2 photo shoots scheduled while i'm there.  eeeeck!

hello amazing blessing & provision from the Lord... a new-to-me canon 5D. 

now i need to learn how to use it :)

hello awesome giveaway from meg at whatever!  i want SO bad!

hello jaxon starting his summer sports program this week... how is my baby so big already?!

hello dream house in our price range... but wrong timing.  :( 

have a great week!

Hello Monday.

hello monday... I really can't believe you're here again.

hello time spent with my best friend friday night... good for my soul!

hello playing 'baseball' in the back yard

hello scary weather all weekend, so thankful that we are safe!

hello quality time spent with my husband 

hello busy week ahead

hello groundbreaking at church yesterday... can't wait for our new building!

hello lack of motivation to get to the gym... help.

hello baking cookies today for small group

hello being thankful for a "mundane" past couple weeks... a little bit of calm is always welcome

hello praying hard about our future

hello needing to get started on our passports for our trip to Canada in July... yikes

hello boys really starting to play together and become friends... finally I'm starting to believe all of those people who told me "they'll be the best of friends!" 

hello my boys ALWAYS looking dirty in pictures.  it's true, boys will be boys.  

my husband tells me I need to get used to the dirt. 

how was your weekend?  anything fun happen? 

Tidbits.

- First things first, are you caught up on Parenthood?  We are crazy about that show and I think I cried the entire 45 minutes this past week.  Also, so annoying that next week is the finale already... it's only February for pete's sake... NOT ok!!!  Love that show.  Can't say it enough.

- Have you heard about the Color Run?  They are coming to Kansas City this year (June 30), and I'm 110% confident that I am no where near being able to run the entire thing, but I want to do it SO bad... even if I walk 75% of it!  S O F U N !!!   If you are near me and want to do it, let's do it!  

- Sunday afternoon I started feeling crummy and really haven't gotten better.  It started out as just a stomach ache and now throughout the week my sweet family has given me their cold... literally my house is a MESS and I cannot get muster the energy to do anything about it... which, you know me, I hate.  I'm almost on the verge of buying a neti-pot, which I swore I'd never do.  Blech. 

- My master bedroom redo is in full swing and I'm super excited about it... my bedding is complete, minus a couple throw pillows... and I'm still on the hunt for some cheap(ish) mirrors.  There's your hint.  :)

- The weather has been GORGEOUS this week... we have been outside every day and I've loved running with the boys.  Jaxon is great motivation calling me "real slow" when I walk and tells me to go faster... ha!

- I have LOVED not being on Facebook the last couple days.  So freeing, so lovely.  I may never go back.... for reals.  Honestly, I'm not even tempted yet.  I'm just loving it way too much.

- Excited to see my family for the 3rd weekend in a row... I am so thankful to live close to them again.

- Cohen is no longer Mr. Innocent.  For so long, if the boys were fighting or if Cohen was crying, we automatically assumed it was Jaxon.  Nu-uh... no more.  Cohen *loves* to instigate things, and stir up trouble... he pushes Jaxon's every last button until he explodes.  Wrestling matches and head locks are a part of our every day routine now.  And so it begins!

- I am flying to Arizona next month for my cousin's wedding to be her photographer.  I was hoping that it would be a "getaway" for Tyler and I (with no babies), but unfortunately we couldn't squeeze the cost of the 2nd flight out of our bank account, so he is staying behind.  My girl cousins are all going (without their husbands), so it seems this is turning into quite the girls getaway weekend.  I am excited, but also freaked out and feeling guilty about leaving my boys behind... all 3 of them.  I am, however, excited to sleep in past 7am!

- I am extremely obsessed with greek yogurt. It's 3 points and worth every single one! (Oh, did I mention I started up weight watchers again?  Down 5 pounds!) If you live in the midwest, try the new AE brand... my favorite!

- Enjoyed this new recipe last night!

- On a not as happy note, I could use your prayers today.

Happy Weekend! 

Snippets.

It's been a while since I talked about what's happening in our neck of the woods, so for anyone who is wondering, here ya go!

The weather has been amazing lately, hasn't it?  While I do love a nasty snow storm, these higher temps that have allowed me to let the boys run and play outside are lifesavers. Am I the only one who hates having to bundle up their kids just to run an errand?  Big bulky winter coat... hat... gloves... shoes... check!  Summer time is so much easier.  Shoes... and, let's go.  :)

I finally uploaded the pictures off of my iPhone recently.  I took 4,657 pictures over the last year and I'm amazed at how much faster my phone is running now... ha!  Who knew...

This post has been pinned on Pinterest and brings in almost 25,000 hits on my blog a day.  It makes me wish I would have taken the post a little more seriously (with directions I gave) ... I was a bit sarcastic in my writing of the post, which is a little embarrassing now, especially when I receive so many emails asking for "real" instructions.

I can't believe Jaxon will be 3 next month.  He has hardly left his train table's side since receiving it for Christmas, which makes me so happy.  

Tyler is working 7 DAY work weeks until Mid-February.  It's going to be a long month so I'd appreciate your prayers!  I am so thankful for the gym membership we have, and how it's an hour and 15 minutes (that's my max time I'm allowed to leave them) of ME time!  I have also really been digging into the Word again in the mornings, so I hope between the two of them, I can keep my sanity the next month-ish.  My Mom was SO great to remind me recently that at least he gets to come home each night, unlike last year when he was working in Denver for 4 1/2 months.  It really put things into perspective for me.  Things can always be worse.

Speaking of the gym, I went to this 20/20/20 class this morning.  20 minutes of cardio, 20 minutes of strength, 20 minutes of arms/abs.  I almost died.  We ran 1 mile for the cardio (plus 6 times up/down 4 flights of stairs) and the instructor said "these 20 minutes of cardio go SO fast, we gotta push ourselves..." all I could think while she said that they go fast, was "fast? this is the slowest 20 minutes of my life."  Hopefully I can find the strength to return next week.


My friend Grace and her family are adopting a sweet boy from Thailand this coming year.  Along with every adoption comes the need for financial support, but more importantly, prayer. You can read more of their story here, and if you feel led, I know they'd greatly appreciate any help you can provide... whether that's financially OR as a prayer partner.

We are in the process of negotiating a new vehicle.  We've had our Rav4 since 2006, and it has served us extremely well... but we need something with more space. (and no, this is not a pregnancy announcement!)  If you have any recommendations for a roomy SUV with a 3rd row option, please pass it on!  At this point, we have our eyes set on a Chevy Traverse but we'll see what happens.

Cohen is now 14 months old and he is finally starting to TRY and walk!  We've always joked that he's a really lazy baby, but I know that the reason he hasn't even tried is because of his ears.  Up until getting his tubes put in, he would hardly even stand unassisted.  Seeing him try and walk is so exciting... I scream almost every time, which is probably part of the reason he topples over... ha!

I have a really really really great giveaway planned for next week... so stay tuned.  I think it's even good enough for all of you lurkers to come out of hiding.  :)

First snow.

today is quite possibly one of my favorite days of the year.... the first snow of the season!

it was all fun and games at first... cohen eating snow, jaxon making snow balls and loving seeing his trail of footprints... 

however, it went sour pretty quickly.

momma was apparently the only one having fun. 

so we headed inside... unfortunately the chaos didn't end.

safe from that evil snow...

hot chocolate and snuggles make everything all better.

i mean, seriously? who doesn't like snow!? 

hopefully they'll grow into it... or else i guess i'll be outside playing by myself this winter. 

:)