Surviving Snowmagedden 2011

The Dog was a little afraid of all the snow at first!

The kids were snow troopers!  They helped shovel massive amounts of snow!

The best part of a nice big snow is the "Young Tradition"  Snow ice cream! Yumm!

The kids helped a sweet neighbor by shoveling her driveway and sidewalk!

Finished product!  They are learning to "Be the Church" where ever they may be!

We had plenty of snow, but more decided to fall!

The funnest part of a HUGE snow storm, is the fun sledding afterwards!

Matthew and his best friend fixing to hit the slopes!

Matthew fixing to slide down the biggest hill of his life!

Not everyone sits on the sled! 

The long haul back up the massive slope!

Most people would go absolutely crazy being cooped up in their houses for more than a few days with their families.  We have been snowed in for 5 days and finally got out of the house today.  How did we spend the last 5 days you ask?  Well, we played lots of games together, cleaned some house, cooked every day, did some laundry, shoveled our driveways and sidewalks numerous times, we practiced "being the church" and helped a friendly neighbor by shoveling her driveway and sidewalk, we played in the snow, and the best part of all this was making our traditional snow ice cream and spending quality time with each other.  I know 5 days is allot for anyone to spend 24/7 together, but we made the best of it and really enjoyed most of it.  After 5 days we finally got to get out of the house.  We did a little shopping, we went out to dinner, and then we took the kids sledding at this massive hill.  The kids had a blast!  We had a lot of fun watching them, taking pictures, and video.  I even joined them and went down the hill myself!  We closed out the evening on a fun and exciting note!  We are expected to get more snow in the next few days, so I am sure I will be adding to this post or making a part 2.  When all is said and done, I appreciate God's humor behind all this snow.  We get so busy and caught up in our busy lives, we just don't make enough time for family.  I see this as God's way of telling me/us to slow down and enjoy the very gift that has been given to me/us.  Family is very important to me and I enjoy my children and I enjoy being with them and playing games and stuff.  I have had the opportunity to tell my kids how proud I am of them and tell them that I love them.  When was the last time your 15 year old sat on your lap, or the last time you told your soon to be 13 year how proud of him you are, or when was the last time you played a game on your 8 year old's level as a family?  That's right, life gets in the way of us enjoying our families. Even though I admit I am very tired of the snow and ready to get back to our schedules, I don't regret the last 5 days I have gotten to spend with my kids and wouldn't change a thing.  These are memories that will last them a life time.  I want the to grow up and say "My mom and dad made time for me".