see the beauty in the ice-don't just shiver and curse its coldness.

well, we drove up to mo. to visit mom and dad for the break. we left on monday to avoid bad weather, and it was actually a fairly nice drive. when we got up into oklahoma, it was obvious that an ice storm had passed through. dad called when we were just about halfway through ok, and told me i should probably go the speed limit, because they were talking about cracking down on speedsters...

i figured this might be a good time to be obedient and heed his wisdom. we were in no hurry. in fact, the effects of the ice storm were so compelling that i decided to pull off and take a small side road in the country to get some pictures. i love leisurely trips!

 then we i got back in the car (the boys were hesitant to get out. chaco was like, "look at me. my hair is so thin. i can't go out there, you haven't even gotten me a scarf for the winter! do i look like a husky?) i'm pretty sure anyone who was passing by was wondering what i was doing...don't care.

so we kept going and who forgot to check the windshield wiper fluid? so on the turnpike with no exits in sight, i thought about pulling off, throwing some snow on the windshield and wiping it off...actually i considered the sprite sitting beside me for about a fraction of a second; instead, i would get up near a big truck who was spraying up just enough wet stuff to wipe them, then speed around him until we finally found an exit and bought some fluid. it was magical. i never knew that happiness could be found in a bottle of wiper fluid, and yet there it was.

i did stop in to get chaco his scarf, and that night, we got some ice in buffalo as well, and he was willing to step out for just a moment, but he shivered the entire time. bruno on the other hand, was loving it.

i was riveted by the ice on the trees. it glistened in the sunlight and it kinda' looked like tinsel. the best part was just listening to it talk. the limbs creaked with the weight of the ice and it was fascinating!

the boys were greeted with their own stockings this year-they were pretty excited!

bruno with his squeaky toy giraffe...he set it aside to sniff out the other goodies.

and chaco with his squeaky boar. he LOVES that thing! and i'm excited because he hasn't been able to disable the squeaker.

rare moment when they weren't in checking on the cat.

 they have been very diligent all week long to check on the cat in the laundry room to make sure he was still up there on the washing machine. he's pretty much proven that he's not afraid of them, he just likes to taunt them by sitting still and watching them bark, then if they get close enough, he'll bat at them with his paw and they think he's like mike tyson or something.

it warmed up for a couple of days and so we got to plink around a little. i really wish i could find abundant supplies of ammo for the 9mm-it's a better shot. but dad pulled out his rifle and we played with that too. i don't know how many rounds we went through in all, but when it was all said and done, dad and i went down to look at the wooden stand he had rigged up, and it took a beating...and that was just with the .22. i heard shots in the distance around the 'rural neighborhood' and i'm guessing they were probably shooting at dear targets...not me...mine was a self-defense silhouette-they probably think i am some kind of maniacal Texan (if they saw my plates). sorry kids, that's just how we handle things in texas. (surely a stereotype that we are all walker texas ranger-thank you chuck norris)

i settled in with the book thief because i was intrigued when i saw a brief portion of the movie trailer. i really was a bit clueless as to what it was going to be about, but i couldn't put it down. i really loved the characters in the story-they had such neat qualities.

i received many lovely things this year, and while the heartfelt thoughts behind every gift is greatly appreciated, what made my heart the happiest this year was hearing from friends-that things are going well-that they are happy-that they are feeling blessed in many ways-that family is well and healthy-that memories are being made-these are the things that warmed my heart the most during this season of JOY.

may your blessings be many-
julie