January 2009

January was a wonderful way to begin 2009. My first "baby" turned 6, and also played in his *first* snow. It did snow when he was several days old, but we have not had any accumulation since then. For Gavin's birthday, we got him some GI Joes, a GI Joe Cobra Jet, and a Leapster with a Star Wars game. We took him to Logan's for lunch and then headed to Bounce Land for several hours of bouncing fun. We then headed to my parent's house for cake and more presents. He actually had his birthday off from school due to MLK's birthday on the following Monday. (They work in so many vacation days which irritates Eddie and I since we pay so much for him to go there. ) I did take a birthday snack for his class the day before so he would have a small party with his friends as well.
The snow day was awesome. We bundled up Emma Kate so much that she could barely move. In the south, you just don't buy snow clothes. The average winter temperature is around 50-60 degrees. This explains my wet children in crazy, non-matching layers. Gloves were an issue. The ones we had were too small for Gavin, but too big on Owen. Mom bought them two years ago in hopes of a snow, but they have sat in a drawer for that long. The night before our snowfall, the schools began delay notifications and the boys and I prayed and pleaded to God to send us snow. I also secretly prayed for God to please follow through on the snow so I didn't have to face the boys with the God doesn't always answer "yes" when we pray. Imagine my disappointment the next morning when we had no snow. I felt like a little girl that night, I couldn't sleep and kept looking out the window all night long. My mom called us at 7:30am and mentioned that it had covered her yard. At this point we had none. We could see humongous snowflakes, but the ground was too wet for it to stick. After asking her if she thought it was safe to drive over to her house, I rushed around getting the kids bundled up so we could play at Grandma's in it before it melted. We arrived a little after 8:00 and then got to work: making snow angels, snowballs, and a snowman. Owen and Emma Kate grew tired of it quickly; it was just too cold for us southerners. Gavin, however, didn't want to miss one second of the glorious white stuff. I am really thankful that I was able to see it through his eyes and really appreciate this opportunity to marvel in the beauty and awesomeness of it all.