January 2017 ~ week 2

This week has been one of wintry weather and lots of downtime because Abigail and I got colds -- just sick enough that we didn't feel like getting off of the couch.  We did not start back to school on Monday as planned...instead, we were bums most of the week!

Nice things about being sick: staying home, extra rest, snuggling under a warm blanket, extra cat time, Grandma-socks...and a good nurse.  David takes great care of us during the day so that Bruce can work.  He is not quite so cooperative about pictures...

 

One afternoon we made homemade snow-cream for the first time.  It tasted like French Vanilla ice cream, but with the icy-snowy texture of snow. Fun!

More resting...more couch-time and more cat-time...Mindy is not a big snuggler, but she knows when someone is ill and appoints herself their nurse.  It's very sweet.

In the midst of David's tending to us, he managed to spend his Christmas money on Amazon and was delighted when his new Star Wars Lego set arrived!  It is always so much fun to watch him go to work on a new building project.  Here he is with his U-Wing Fighter.

By Friday, we were starting to feel like normal human beings again!  We cleaned and organized and played board games in between projects.

And for a week that started out with ice and snow and frigid temperatures, this is how we ended it...70 degrees and outside without even a coat! Ah, Georgia, how we love thee... :)

Thankfully, Abigail was feeling much better in time for our church's youth group event on Saturday -- her first time to participate in the annual "Cabbage Bowl," where our teens compete against our senior citizens in Wii Bowling.  It is a really fun event and a great chance for the strengthening of relationships between these two very different age groups.  The seniors won the overall tournament as their combined score was higher than the teens' combined score (this is typical...they have won the overall competition four out of the five years).  Abigail and her friend/bowling partner, however, won the individual team competition, defeating the usual bowling champions!  Here they are with their "trophy" after church today.

Not only that, Abigail was the individual high-scorer, so she brought home that traveling trophy and a Chick-Fil-A gift card!  Nobody suspected she was going to be such fierce competition, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed her victory. :)  The teen guys have already started vying for her to choose them as her bowling partner next year! Way to go, Abigail!

January 2017 ~ week 1

 Hello from a country that has been long unheard from -- I have decided to try out posting on my blog again...we shall see how it goes.

We started the new year with a whole week of school break ahead of us.  Abigail and I got out one of our favorite movie snacks (while we watched some Pride and Prejudice) -- chips and cream cheese!

Mindy enjoyed one of the new Christmas toys...just in case you wondered, this is how much of a sixteen-pound cat will fit inside a Barbie tent.  I'm pretty sure she thought she was completely hidden. :)

We have enjoyed lots of cat snuggles during our days off.  The cats love it when we stay home and make our laps available!

 This weekend has been great fun -- we've had a winter wonderland!

 Abigail discovered that you never turn your back to someone who is sledding down a hill.  David hollered warnings and tried to swerve, but to no avail!  Fortunately, it was all laughter and no tears.  There was a layer of ice under the snow, so David had to help Abigail get on her feet again!

 I filled the birdfeeders just before the snowstorm hit -- the beautiful birds have made good use of it and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching them.

Our house looks so pretty with snow on it!

When the weather forecast started buzzing earlier in the week with rumors of snow on the way, I decided to leave the outside Christmas lights up a little longer than normal.  It paid off -- oh, so pretty!

 All three cats know how to ride out a snowstorm -- find places of warmth and patches of sun!

After we took the kids sledding and enjoyed the novelty of a snowy day, we came back inside and hunkered down...and I finished a knitting project.  It has been a while since I made a hat, and this one has quite a few messed-up modified spots, but it's close enough to make me happy!

After we put away our Christmas decorations, we rearranged our living room furniture, so now I have a nice, organized area by my chair that keeps my knitting accessible and also makes it easy to pull up my spinning wheel.  I have high hopes for creative productivity in 2017!

 Today found us with church services canceled as our whole area is still snowed/iced in and the better part of wisdom when this happens is to stay home and avoid the unnecessary risk.  Our southern winter equipment (the sun!) has started its work, but needs another day and some higher temperatures to make it safe to get on the roads again.  This "bonus day" at home has been full of wonderful family time and extra rest...and Bruce's Chicago-style deep-dish pizza!

Girl + Horse = Bliss

This week we had a big milestone moment...
Abigail had her very first horseback riding lesson!

This was a very long-anticipated moment and she was just glowing...
it was wonderful.

I was a horse-crazy girl back in my day, too, and still remember how the dream --
and the fulfillment of it -- felt, and it was so much fun to watch it happen with my daughter!

Learning how to groom and tack the horse

Up on the horse for the first time!

Learning to find her seat (i.e. balance) instead of just relying on the saddle and stirrups

Hey, Abigail, you're going the wrong way! ;)

Getting brave

Learning to use the reins

Ride, Abigail, ride!!!