Garden Glory

Spring is such a beautiful season.  So much so, that we tend to travel to see the blooms as often as possible.  We've been to the garden three times already this year.  :-) 

One of our trips was quite the treat.  The Botanical Garden offered a free entrance weekend and we took advantage of the opportunity to attend--crowds and all.  Even in the rain, the wet and the other people that showed up, the experience wasn't too crazy and we were able to enjoy a day of flower exploration.  The kids took some amazing photos too! 

The third trip was us re-visiting the local garden.  Since we are season pass holders (grateful for that Christmas gift!) we will be able to view the flowers frequently as the bloom season alters through the year.  So, when the rain takes a break and the sun shines, we walk the garden.  :-) Looking forward to future trips for sure!

Remembering St. Valentine

When a holiday falls on a school day, I like to change things up a bit.  Not every holiday is for taking a day off, but every holiday has it's own hallmark.  For Valentine's Day, we started the day off with a special heart shaped pancake breakfast

and then dove into the history of St. Valentine, why we celebrate Valentine's Day, and the history of the symbols of the holiday.  John took a half day and we went to tour the garden.  The day was bright and a bit crisp, but we wanted to see the first show of daffodils.  We discovered a section of the garden that we had previously overlooked--the mountain overlook--which was quite nice,

and we enjoyed a quiet stroll while appreciating the winter blooms. 
 

This iron works rose was too fabulous not to appreciate

More daffodils will push up as spring gets closer and we look forward to viewing them.  They are quite the stunners! 

Jozsef worked all day showing the community some love with heart shaped biscuits at Chick Fil A,

but dinner was a family affair.  The day was quite enjoyable and a wonderful weekend kick off. 

John and the kids made chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert

Snow Day!

Every year the kids look forward to snow--even though we don't always have it  This year they got giddy at the mention of flurries in the forecast.  And flurries we got--plus some. 

The weather that week was somewhat wild.  In a matter of 48 hours, we went from 60 something degrees with rain to a severe thunderstorm warning, to flash flood warnings, to tornado warnings, to snow flurries in the forecast, to ice warnings, to snow, to ice warnings, and back to flash flood warnings!  Whew!  We could barely keep up!

 But as always, snow brings a special kind of peace, stillness, beauty, and fun.  The kids bolted out of the house just as soon as they saw the first flakes stick.  They built snow balls, snow men, they had snowball fights, they went sledding--they overall just had fun!

Snow falling in our backyard

View from our front porch

Nikolas was home sick and Connor was keeping him company managing his own cough, while Jozsef was out running expo at Chick Fil A until the snow forced them to shut the store down.  We watched cars struggle to get up the incline that our house rests on--a few of them did not make it--and we prayed for Jozsef's safe return.  Thankfully, the snow had turned to slush by the time he needed to drive across town. 

Four inches was just enough snow to have some fun with

All day we enjoyed every flake we could and relished the warmth and crackle of our fireplace.  It may be the only snow day we get this year, but that's ok because it was much appreciated and enjoyed.  :-)

Connor's contribution to the fun was a mini snowman :-)

Christmas Celebrated

Christmas seems to be a month-long celebration as our activities are spread out and vary.  December busy starts with John's annual work meeting.  This year he decided to add extra cheer to the meeting environment by decking himself out in Christmas gear.  It was fun for all.  :-)

 Decorating for Christmas happens early in December so that we can maximize our enjoyment. 

During the month there are usually special meetings for things like youth group, bible study, and work parties.  This year Jozsef needed a white elephant gift for one of his gatherings and we were inspired by Ren and Stimpy to create our own version of the Blammo Log.  It turned out really good and was a party hit.  So much fun!

Our church had a special Christmas service that we enjoyed.  We always look forward to this service and this year's treat was the music set coupled with a great sermon.  The lobby decorations made for really good pictures too. 

Christmas Eve was exciting because we had the opportunity to continue a long running tradition--watching a movie in the theater on Christmas Eve (no small feat for a large family).  For the last four Star Wars movie releases, we have been in a situation where we have recently relocated and going to a movie was a treat and a memory maker for our new location.  This year, as the Star Wars saga ends, we hope that our "tradition" of moving has ended too.  :-)  The movie was not a disappointment and neither was the wind lunch we had after.  :-) 

Later that night, we played a game that John introduced last year--the saran wrap ball, I do believe it will be a new tradition.  It's a fast paced game that's pretty competitive (at least for us, not sure if it's meant to be competitive) :-) and it's a blast.  Everyone gets some sort of prize so that's a bonus.

Following the game, we opened our traditional one gift before relaxing a bit, setting out cookies for Santa and carrots for Rudolph, and turning in for the night. 

Christmas day was full of excitement, gifts, games, food, and fun.  One aspect of gift giving that was glaringly apparent was the joy of the kids gifting each other.   Especially now that both of the boys are employed and the younger kids aren't as little anymore, there is much excitement in gift giving--and maybe even more than in gift receiving.  It was wonderful to experience these expressions of their hearts.  They were all so thoughtful and generous.  <3 nbsp="" p="">

Nikolas gifted Jozsef a really slick jacket and now they can look dapper together

The younger kids made a Lego creation especially for the teens

Riley and Sonja teamed up to buy Connor a favorite--a sloth

All things dinosaur made Riley super happy

Jozsef has been eyeing this shirt for a while--it's perfect for him and just plain fun

Our table was blessed by those who sent us delectable edible gifts.  We are SO thankful for those who were thinking of us this holiday season.  <3 td="">

 The time off of our regular schedules has been well spent.  We are soaking up our opportunities to rest, relax, and just spend time together.  There were multiple games given and received this Christmas, which means we have spent an enormous amount of time gaming--both board games and electronic.  We'll miss this kind of freedom when we return to school and work as usual, but we're soaking it all in as best as we can. 

Risk has become a holiday tradition.  They buy a big bag of M&Ms and divide the colors so that they can play with the candies as their army men.  :-) 

 All this, and still, we make sure to acknowledge, include, and celebrate the reason for the season--Christ.  Without Him, none of this matters.  Thank you Lord for the ultimate gift of your love. <3 nbsp="" p="">