Snow Day ~ Yahoo!

The snow has arrived ~ yay!

The storm was predicted, we woke up to an inch of ice and snow...

and heard more snow was on the way.

Schools closed.....

too icy in the morning and the snow was to begin around 3ish.

The anticipation of the snow coming was too fun .....all day.

Courtney's kiddos made this cute candle globe ~

The snowmen are their fingerprints.... and then they painted them. Isn't that adorable?! I had a dental appt. this morning and ran a few errands.... and as I headed home the rain....then sleet arrived.

A covering of sleet ~

The morning blanket of sleet and snow.....

the afternoon as the snow started to fall.

I decided to shovel the sleet level ....

so the base would NOT be ice.

The snow quickly covered up what I shoveled.

The trees are covered with snow ~

don't you love it when it is like a winter wonderland!

Snow starting to amount to something...... It is quite something ~ this storm will be brief (4 - 11 p.m.) but

expecting 5 - 10 inches.

We have had "thunder snow" and yes it actually thunders....

and pours snow.

Quite amazing.

Here at 6:15 p.m. the snow is coming down hard ~

And it is just beautiful.

We are cozy in the house ~

thankful to God for this beautiful snow.....

and for our warm house. :)

We sure love the seasons here in Northern Virginia!

Restful Weekend

We have been very thankful for a long weekend ~

weekends are always great,

but this one is a 3-day for both Alden and I.....

and we both are not feeling that great.

Alden realized our firewood supply was low...

so he ordered some and it was delivered!

Perfect timing....as our days have been quite cold

and will continue to be so for some time.

We both are battling the "cold/fever/cough" illness

that is going around.

We've enjoyed reading........ even went to a GREAT movie "The King's Speech".

We highly recommend this film ~ a true story and one of remarkable integrity.

We both were drawn to tears....

I simply wanted to sob at the end.

we watched some football ~

and did have a great evening with friends at Bible Study,

studying His Word, praying together and getting caught up.

Cozy ~ restful.....time.

The Blessing of Penny

You know how in life you have a few REALLY

special friends.......

Penny is that person in our lives. We would consider her family......yep, we would.

She is so wise.....so gracious.....loves the Lord with all her heart. We enjoyed the evening together tonight ~ getting caught up, reminiscing, and just enjoying each other. Special, special time for us. We woke up to snow this morning ~ and that was a nice surprise. :) Let it Snow!!!!!

Connecting with Daughters

Wednesdays ~ you know it is a special day for me!

Either....I am simply f.r.e.e. to do whatever I want (read, chores, errands, shop)

because it is my day off.....no work ~

or ....... I am with my daughters or friends.

Today.....I was with my daughters and what a great day it was.

Yes, we saw each other over the Christmas season,

but we were with crowds of people.

Today.....it was one on one

and....so great to get caught up.

I visited with Courtney first thing.

Bailey and I played a little Wii ~

Courtney, Sawyer and I went to McD for lunch after Bailey headed off to school.

Courtney and I talked and talked ~ ohhhh it was so good.

Then.....I headed from there to meet Hannah! And.....we talked and talked over coffee and hot chocolate ~ what an incredibly special time that was. Lots of talking and listening to hearts today ~ hearing dreams....and what God is up to in our lives. Oh.....how I appreciate these times ~ with my girls. How I love these daughters of mine. (Christy we will meet up soon!)

Happy New Year ~ Welcome 2011

Happy New Year to you all ~

God's blessings on each and every day of 2011 ~

we trust in that.

We faithfully stayed up and watched the ball drop ~

to welcome in the new year!

I just had to share this precious note..... I found on Alden's desk following our family Christmas gathering. Talk about touching our hearts ~ wowee!!!!!! Do be sure to check out our anniversary post following this one ~

Anniversary Celebration

December 29, 1973.......

today......37 years later

Alden, my special husband ~ planned a fun day for us to celebrate our anniversary. He told me what time to be ready ~ and we headed..... downtown to begin with. This is one of our favorite sights.....just coming into the city ~ We first stopped at Union Station ~ it is beautifully decorated at Christmas We enjoyed lunch ~ at a favorite of ours.

Norwegian train

The happy couple ~

Loved seeing all the people and the decorations

quite the exhibit!!!!!!

Union Station

We had noticed recently that the Postal Museum was right next door......

so we took some time to take it all in.

well worth our time!

Yes......and the letter or package it is "attached to"

We headed out of town......

enjoying a few sights on the way.

And of course, thoroughly enjoyed the sunset

enroute to the next stop......

Fairfax Corner ~ a wonderful "town center" near our house

to see "True Grit" ~ and oh yes, we loved it!!!!!!

We definitely recommend it.

We then walked.......to our restaurant for dinner ~

had such a fun, relaxing time together......

reminiscing and thanking God for our 37 years together

Thank you Alden for such a memorable, fun day!

Thank YOU God for your hand on our marriage ~

we are blessed....with each other.

Family Christmas Gathering 2010

Yesterday, we got the whole Smith crew together ~

to celebrate Christmas.

What a fun time we had ~

there's just something about getting everyone together

under one roof (mama LOVES that!)

we visited ~ The girls ~ love them so much! The siblings ~ love THEM so much! Then did stockings {yes, I still do them!!!!} The buddies (Sawyer and Ayden) ~ enjoying their stockings Rebekah and Bailey

Brittany and Andrea

Steve and Phill talking "music"

the boys ~ Joshua, Sawyer and Ayden

Bailey and her "new jewelry case....with a dancing ballerina (of course!).

Papa and Joshua

Phill and Andrea

Hannah telling quite the story ~

:)

The girls with their new aprons ~ Christy and Courtney

Pat and his stocking ~ yep, a Cowboy hat (Santa got it right at the Cowboy stadium!)

Phill enjoying his stocking

Phill and Christy

Hannah and Courtney looking at an old calendar I found ~

1986....the year Hannah was born.

The whole gang ~ enjoying dinner.

We got all 15 of us at the table. Love that!

Steve and Joshua

Love the "siblings" spending some GREAT time together.

Fun!

Grandkid wrestling ~ woo hoo!

Hannah and Phill

Brittany

Andrea

Bailey and Hannah

adults gather to open gifts

Christy

Steve and Joshua

Pat receiving a gift ~ a fun family memory of "pineapple juice" :)

Courtney and her Daddy (notice Alden's new sweatshirt!)

The evening winding down.......tired little people (and big ones too!)

Grandma and Joshua fitting in a little ping pong :)

:)

Rebekah and Brittany

guys enjoying each other

And remembering our precious Rwandan boys ~ {click on the collage to see the pics better} Love ~ and prayers for them

(and Courtney and Pat)

Alden prayed a sweet prayer for them at the dinner table ~

tears were shed....as we wait for God's timing

for them to join us.

Wonderful Christmas gathering ~

with very special people in our lives.

Christmas 2010 comes to a close ~

and now resting up......

for a quiet New Year's Eve.