Friday, December 26, 2008

Okay...

I lied. It's snowing again! We'll see how long it lasts this time.

White Christmas!

Well, since my last post, we have ended up with yet another 2" on the ground. I do believe the snow is done with us for the year, however. Things are warming up and beginning to melt. It was spectacular to have a foot of snow on the ground and snow falling Christmas morning. Big flakes!

This was Shae's and Kent's first white Christmas ever. It was only about my 3rd. I'm glad the boy is old enough that he'll remember because odds are he won't see another white Christmas for many years.

Christmas Eve morning was spent at the church building clearing pathways, changing signs and attempting to clear the parking lot of all that snow. We discovered it was more than one day could manage. Because conditions would be icy and the parking lot a disaster, Christmas Eve services were canceled. We were all bummed about that. The kids had worked really hard on the Nativity presentation and we didn't get to have our "Starlight Christmas", but it was better to do what we could to keep people off the roads.

Christmas was a quiet, relaxing family time. We awoke to "Get up! It's Christmas! Get up!" Very fun! All Shae had asked for was a toy soldier (the red & black one like in all the Christmas movies) and a hamster. Couldn't find the soldier so we picked up a couple of boxes of 6" Nutcrackers - which he collects - and set them up in formation in front of the tree. "Are these mine? Are they for me?" There was no tag so he didn't want to jump to conclusions, but there was hope as well as excitement in his voice. We're still discussing the hamster.

After dinner, the neighbor came over for a visit. We sat around talking and watching Kent and Shae put together a motorized K'nex contraption - an "octopus" something or other, like an amusement park ride. His Lego people fit in it so great fun was had watching them spin around. I think he wants to make the roller coaster next. Not sure where we would put that!

The house is quiet at the moment. Kent took Shae to work with him this morning. I think I'll enjoy my quiet and my new iPod Nano (yay!) I rarely sit down to read anymore so I thought a Nano might be useful for audio books. Now my dilemma is deciding what book to get first.

Enjoy your day!

BTW, check out the video I posted. What d'ya think?

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Another Snow Day!

Kent was going to go to work today, but by the time we got the car dug out (buried by snowplows), he had decided to stay home. The church parking lot is still buried anyway.

Instead, we took the tub we were using to dig out the van to the back yard and tried our hand at "igloo" building. Shae has lovingly dubbed his "Seattle Snow Fort".

We ended up staying outside for about 5 hrs...until my stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten yet today. By then it was about 2pm. We had a great time! The neighbor-lady enjoyed watching our fun. She's a shut-in and has always loved watching Zak play in the yard so we positioned the fort in front of her back door (glass french-doors so she can watch).

At one point, Shae decided to go in because he was too cold. He proceeded to make his lunch while Kent and I continued working on the fort. Struck me as funny that the parents were playing in the snow while the child was inside "cooking".

Ah well. Hope you are all enjoying the winter wonder as much as we are!

Monday, December 22, 2008

More Snow!

Well, we woke up to yet more snow on the ground this morning. Yesterday afternoon it began falling again and continued into the early morning hours. This snowfall added about 3 inches, making our grand total between 9-10 inches of the white fluffy stuff. A rare occurrence in this neighborhood. The last time we saw accumulations like this was back in '96. It snowed about 5 inches one day, the next day added about 8" more. Then it rained - and I mean a downpour. It was crazy! Thankfully, that much has not been repeated this year.

I must admit, I am enjoying the snow. We don't have to get out in it so I can sit and peacefully admire the beauty.

Many blessings to you this Christmas season.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Can You Believe It?

For the first time ever, I think, we have canceled church services due to weather.

We got up early this morning, unsure if we would be driving or walking. The snowplows had come thru so we drove. Roads are a little slick, but we made it to the building without any difficulty. The parking lot was another story. We got stuck trying to get into the lot! We had chains in the van (too small for the tires), and they worked well to give us some traction and get us back onto the street. Needless to say, we determined the parking lot to be inaccessible. After changing the answering machine, posting signs, beginning a phone chain and emailing everybody, we headed back with an extra passenger. Sean, the keyboardest for the morning, had arrived (walking) so we took him back to his place.

We got home and immediately began exploring the complex parking lot & yard (well, Shae & I did). Sure is beautiful! After taking a few pic's (which I'll try to put up later) we played trucks in the snow. The ruler measured nearly 7"! Made great gullies for the trucks to drive into.

Now we're inside, toasty warm, with breakfast and hot chocolate. Hope y'all are enjoying your day wherever you may be!

Merry Christmas!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Hello!

Wow! Where to even begin....

Let's see. Since I last blogged, we've had two birthdays, Trunk-or-Treat and piano lessons. I'm sure there have been other things as well, but we'll start there.

For Kent's birthday, we just did a family thing and went out to dinner. Very low key, but nice. We ate at Red Robin where Shae was very excited to have the work staff sing Happy Birthday to "Daddy". Bonus! They found out he was having a birthday that same week so they both got free Sundays.

For Shae's birthday, we put together a pool party. He invited friends from church and school (and their families) to join us at the Fircrest Pool for swimming, cake and cookies (not in the pool!) Everyone seemed to have a good time. Shae and Dad had fun decorating the cake, for sure! Turned out pretty good!

Trunk-or-Treat was a big success. Kent, Shae, and Ian (a friend) put together a Star Wars themed trunk with black lights, targets and nerf guns. Everyone had lots of fun. It's gonna take a while to plow thru all the goodies he brought back even tho he was generous about sharing the treats. Lots of sugar!

Shae also began piano lessons in October. He is really enjoying it and is excited to show his grandparents when we head to Oregon for Thanksgiving. It'll be a surprise because we haven't told them he's started lessons yet.

As for Kent and I, things are still plugging along. We've hit the holiday season and, although we're not doing a Christmas production this year, there is still plenty to do...especially with going out of town.

We are also hoping to go to the Christian Musician's Summit this coming weekend. This will be the 3rd or 4th time we've gone. It is always so much fun. There's nothing like getting 4000 musicians/worship leaders together to sing and jam. Way cool! I always learn something new, and have an absolute blast. Just wish more people from NW were going. I think it's a really valuable conference. Well, maybe next year. I think it's just me and Kent going this year.

Anyway, in a nutshell, that's what we've been up to lately. I'll try to get some new pic's up soon. I actually have them in the computer now so it's just a matter of putting them on the site.

Hope y'all are having a great fall!

Later!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Wow! I am way behind in my blogging! All kinds of things have been going on, from birthdays to Halloween. I'll get you updated soon...with pic's! For now, I just wanted to pop in and say "Hi!" and "Yes, I am still breathing!"

Love you guys!

Cassie

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Home Again!

Well, after two weeks in the great state of Texas, we've managed to find our way back home.

We had a great time visiting with family for the first week. We celebrated "Grandmother's" 90th birthday and met bunches of new people. It was fun to visit with everyone.

The kids really enjoyed each other. Shae was thrilled to be able to catch a little gecko lizard! It stayed in his hand for quite awhile before running off.

Saturday afternoon, Kent and I headed off to Abilene for the ACU lectureship while Shae stayed behind in Granbury.

The classes were pretty good (those that we attended), but mostly we enjoyed visiting with people. We played catch-up with old friends, and met new ones. I finally got to put faces with some names I've heard forever. Kent enjoyed his meeting with several friends, new and old.

We went to church at Southern Hills on Sunday. It was short & sweet, and reminded us of NW in some ways. They had posters all over the walls that said "Transforming Community". Hmmm. Didn't realize it at the time, but it's the same church Jeff Berryman's mom attends. Would've been fun to talk to her.

We all came back with colds. Don't know if it was the plane trip down, or someone at the birthday party, but Kent ended up with a sinus/ear infection. His brother, Trace, was sick for a couple days. Shae is sniffly/snuffly and coughing. Kent's mom is coughing. I've got swollen glands that are pretty sore and I'm wondering if I have an ear infection, too. Ugh.

Oh well. No trip is perfect. Dunno if I'll be at church on Sunday or not. We'll see how I feel. I hope to be better. Jarod, from Kenya (not even gonna try to spell his last name!) is speaking this week. We ran into him at ACU last week. Didn't know he'd be there! Too funny.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing everyone again. Hope you are all well and healthy.

Later!