Evidence of a Snow Day

Today is an official Snow Day. School was cancelled. The high temperature for the day is 18 degrees (really cold around these here parts). And the snow is the kind that packs down and gets really slippery. The original plans for today included: taking the kids to school, return some bath mats to Target (wrong color), take Roxie to the vet, go with Mike to a doctor's appointment, then pick the kids up and take Leah to gymnastics. Thankfully, our revised schedule includes: staying in our pj's, drinking hot chocolate, reading by the fire, a little Netflix, playing, drawing, baking and going no where! Yes!

The snowman Leah made all by herself yesterday as it started to fall.

My rosebush, bare and flowerless just waiting for spring.

Chocolate chip pumpkin muffins for breakfast.

Roxie staying warm by the fire.

Leah engrossed in Littlest Pet Shop play.

Hannah still in her pj's. 

This girl insists on wearing summer pj's because she gets hot at night. Crazy girl!

A surprise gift I received in the mail today.

My cousin Phil's wife, Keri, sent me the most thoughtful gift and note. 

They live in North Carolina where Phil is a Green Beret in the Army and Keri is a pharmacist.

She had remembered me writing a Facebook post about my dry, chapped winter hands, so she sent me some lotions to help out. What really touched me was the note she sent:

"Emily,

The other day I saw your FB post about having chapped hands. I immediately thought about the last time I saw your Mom. When we were visiting that Christmas I was having the same issue. Your Mom ran and got a cream out of her purse for me to try. She thought this stuff was awesome. What she pulled out was the "Look Ma, New Hands!" lotion. I have been using it ever since. I also included a lotion that has worked miracle's on Phil's hands before. I hope one of the can give you some relief...chapped hands are the worst! I hope everyone is doing well. Have a great day and God Bless! 

Sincerely,

Keri"

Somehow she knew how much I needed to hear a story about my mom today. I've been missing her a whole bunch this week-- with my birthday on Monday and with today being her and my dad's 44th wedding anniversary if was still with us.

Yep, it's been a good Snow Day. 

Hope you are staying warm wherever you are too!

37

Me (six weeks old) and my dad

Today is my birthday. 37 years old. Three years away from 40! Yikes! If you ask me, 37 still seems pretty young. But if you ask my kids, 37 is ancient. Oh the joy of perspective!

So far, today has been everything I had hoped. Calm, quiet, and yet peppered with small celebrations. I took myself to get a pedicure this morning, wearing my summer flip flops through the snow. There is something so luxurious about seeing clean, soft feet with bright red polish. It is a rare treat! Afterwards, Lucas and I met Mike for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. It's nearby his office and it seemed like a special place to go. Of course, we shared a slice of Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert. Yum. Lucas fell asleep in the van on the way home, and mercifully stayed asleep as I transferred him to his bed. The boy stayed home from school today after two nights this weekend of him waking up with a serious "seal bark" croupy cough. No fever, but the cough alone sounds bad enough to stay home. So, he blessed me with a two hour nap on my birthday! And although I could have spent those hours folding the three full baskets of clean clothes that have been sitting on my bedroom floor since Friday, I chose to lay on the couch and read my book for an hour until my eyelids were heavy and I curled up under an afghan and slept for another 45 minutes or so. It felt so good.

Looking out my window, the sky is gray and there is snow on the grass although the streets are clear. At least for today. Two more rounds of snow are set to come in to OKC Tuesday and Thursday. This is typical weather for my birthday. Gray and dreary. And these last few years it has sort of matched a part of my heart that finds celebrating this day a little hard without the person who brought me into this world. A person's birthday is really two-fold. It's a celebration of the person born-- their life, their value, who they are. And it is equally a celebration for the mother who remembers the pain and sacrifice of birth and mothering. Who loves fully, completely, and reflects upon that day with special fondness in her heart. I never knew this of course, until I became a mom myself. December 16, 2004 and July 24, 2009 are two days that will forever remain special to me. I will always remember the details of those days. The way my heart nearly split in two when I first looked at my precious babies and hear their first cries. I will always celebrate along with my children on those days too.

While I don't dwell on this sort of gray feeling, it is there none the less. Covered under layers of many happy things-- enjoying a pedicure, chatting over a yummy lunch with my husband, opening the homemade cards from my daughters after school, lazily reading a book by the fireside. I really do celebrate all the many blessings I have, and am so happy God chose me to be brought up by my two wonderful parents and to have my own awesome family now.

Birthday Cards from Hannah and Leah

Tonight I am heading out to celebrate with a group of girlfriends, one of whom has my exact same birthday (how dare her? just kidding!). Good friendships are yet another thing that brings so much sunlight into my life, and I pause to thank God for them.

So here's to celebrating another year. And here's to 37 + more!

Birthday Girls' Night Out! 

Me, Beth, Tracy, Nikki and Jacquelyn