Snow Flakes & Snow Angels

Who are the flakes & who are the angels? I'm not tellin'! You decide.

About 8 o'clock last night, on a whim, we loaded the entire family in the car & drove east on I-80 in search of snow. It didn't take long to find what we were looking for. About 20 miles up the road we found the white stuff, but we kept driving to Colfax, where we found a fun location to throw snowballs, make snow angels, and just be silly. It is hard to believe that a mere 30 miles from Roseville it is a winter wonderland! It was absolutely beautiful -- so quiet & picturesque -- until we disturbed the peace with laughter & messed up the perfect blanket of snow by tracking through it.

(Yes, that's right, there are no pictures of me. I'm always behind the camera!)

Not only did the Smithlings have fun playing in the snow, Mr. Smith (our BIG kid) enjoyed having the opportunity to try out the Q7's Quattro abilities on snowy & icy roads. No slip & lots o' grip. We have had our car for a year & this was its first trip to the snow. There will be many more return trips, I'm sure. We didn't get back home until 10 PM, so we all got to bed a little later than usual. (We just had to have hot chocolate before bed!)

As I am writing this entry, it's a beautiful, sunny morning in Roseville. More rain is expected in the coming days, and that means more snow in the foothills & mountains. Who knows, we may even have to have a "snow day" from school in the next week, or two, so we can go play in the snow again. Well, maybe we'd have to call it a field trip, as I'm sure it would be educational in some way!

One last comment: The photo of the snow covered tree reminds me of what Narnia (Lantern Waste) might look like. We didn't see Mr. Tumnus, but there might have been some faun tracks in the snow, or maybe they were only boot tracks. What do you think?! ;-)

Resolutions & such...

In 2008, I resolve to not make New Year's resolutions! That should be an easy one to keep, right? HA! Seriously, I would like to spend more time in the Word, and I'd like to do a better job of praying for friends, family, etc., but I didn't make those "official" resolutions. Those are just things that I need to do a better job of all of the time, and not just in 2008.

It's already the 8th day January, and I cannot believe how the new year is flying. We have already enjoyed four days of school. It's a new semester -- tabula rasa! (That's one of the few phrases I recall from my high school Latin class.) We have a clean slate, a fresh start in this new year. We needed it.

We had a family meeting last week & discussed what worked & what didn't work (regarding our homeschooling) in 2007 & how we ALL can improve in 2008. We need accountability. We need encouragement from one another. We have to function as a team. We all agreed that we needed a new beginning. Ahhh! It's refreshing & invigorating to get to start anew.

Having the opportunity to have a new beginning reminds me of our Christian walk. I'm glad that we all have the opportunity (daily, hourly, or as often as is needed!) to have our "dirty slates" erased (repeatedly) by God's grace. (I know that there are "doodles & graffiti" that shouldn't be on my slate.) Out with the old, and in with the new...

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
-2 Corinthians 5:17

Isn't that a great passage?

Speaking of new things, I just bought new file folders so I can enjoy a more organized filing cabinet this year. While this may sound like a dull & arduous chore, I have enjoyed seeing some of the things tucked away in the folders. I have spent the past couple of days shredding things that I once thought I'd want or need to keep. But then I thought again! There have had a few chuckles, and there have been a few tears throughout the process. It's all been good. It's a new beginning.

May your start to 2008 be a NEW & exciting one, too.