A Blast of Snow Got Us Outside

Today I found out about a fun blog hop going on, and I decided to jump in.  The topic?  What we've done outdoors lately.

The topic is perfect, seeing as how we got a surprise blast of snow over the weekend.  And, when I say surprise - I mean surprise!

The temps in my midwest town last week went from 70 degrees to about 7 degrees in the course of less than 48 hours.  Then, it happened!  Late, late on Saturday it hit!

It really only snowed for about 2 hours, but we ended up with about 4 inches out of the deal.

My eldest daughter was jumping up and down with excitement.  See, snow is what she always hopes for on her February birthday.  While, her birthday forecast is looking to be in the upper 40's or lower 50's, she knew she had to accept her early gift and run with it - Or, should I Say, sled with it!

Sledding is what we did!  And, we enjoyed every minute since it will probably be out only true snowfall for the entire winter.  Oh sure, we had a few dustings.  But, this was the only good quality sledding snow we got hit with all winter long.

For a homeschooler, snow and sledding simply means hours of logged PE hours.  And, for us - We'll take any PE hours we're handed.  Of course, I'm still convinced that the kids only sled for the hot cocoa.

And, my youngest girl decided to build her own miniature snowman, but I don't think it truly counts towards logging Art hours.

Please click on the Explorers Blog Hop badge below to read other blogs about outdoor happenings, and/or to link up your own:

A Snowy Key Hole View Into Winter-Time Family Fun

There's snow in our part of the world! 9 3/4" was the exact amount that fell on the patio table on our deck. This meant knee-deep snow for my children. It was very fun watching them tackle walking through this white fluffy and cold obstacle to get to the top of the hill in our backyard to sled. The amazing thing about this snow as how it glistened in the sun. It looked almost like the fake styrofoam version used in Hollywood movies as we watched it fall the night before.

Snow often reminds me of the sand on beaches, only much colder of course. As my children made their way through this wintery sandy beach of a back yard, I got our my camera and got creative. I began to bore out holes with my gloved-hand through the tall snow that had landed on my deck's railings. Then, I got the idea to take photos viewing through these holes. I was really happy with the outcome and found it to be very poetic and inspirational. As I look at the pictures, it's as if I'm looking through a key hole surrounded in snow into the lives of my family.

The thought occurred to me that it looked as if I was gazing into a dream, or a scrapbooked happy day to remember. It has been my dream to be married, have children and to teach them at home. As I gazed through my snowy key hole yesterday, I realized how fortunate I have been and how wonderful my God is to allow my dream to be fulfilled. I hope you enjoy my wintery key hole pics!

10 Winter Driving Items You Need To Have With You

Driving during winter weather holds an entirely different set of dangerous scenarios than driving during summer or cooler weather.  When driving during cold weather, ice or snow, there is a danger of becoming stuck or stranded.  At very least, the cold temperatures put added stress on vehicles' engines, batteries, tires and exposed parts.  There is also high potential of being caught in traffic jams from inclement weather conditions.  When this happens, you'll want to make sure you're prepared by continuously keeping certain items in your car throughout winter months.

... From: 10 Essential Winter Driving Items To Always Have In Your Car

The great Santa debate and Welcome winter with edible snow globes

We recently saw the new move Santa Claus 3. We've now seen all three of the Santa Claus movies and thought each one was enjoyable even though Santa doesn't come to our house. Now, if you invite Santa to your house every year, we will certainly join in your shreaks of joy and early morning Christmas Day excitement. We will be the last people to tell you not to include Santa in your festivities. In fact, there have been numerous moments after observing squealing, jumping up and down children that we wondered if the decision we made was the best.

But, in the Scott household Santa is not invited on Christmas Eve. It's one of those parenting decisions that came up before we had children. Since we did not want to base a tradition on a lie leaving our children to wonder if we also lie to them about other things they were led to believe, we decided we would not "do the Santa thing." Having said that, we also did not want our children to grow up feeling as though they were left out of a childhood fun memory because of our Christian parental beliefs. Also, both my husband and I came from households that enjoyed the tradition of Santa. I don't know how my husband handled finding out that Santa really was his parents delivering gifts, but I took it well since my mother sat me down and lovingly explained the true story of St. Nicholas and how she and my dad wanted to carry on that tradition by giving their children gifts each year - Because their love was so great for us - Just like God's love was great in St. Nicholas' heart to give as he gave so many years ago.

So, we still have a living room filled with presents on Christmas morning. We still bake cookies and pretend to leave them out for Santa (after one daughter insisted) even though my daughter who insists upon doing this knows where the gifts truly come from. On Christmas morning, the children awake to a room filled with gifts, but they know who to thank and that the reason we give the gifts is because of the gift of eternal life that Jesus gave to us through coming as a baby in a manger, growing up, living a sinless life, dying on a cross and raising to live forever at the right hand of the Father, our God in heaven. That's what we believe.

Because of what we believe, we are left to be filled with joy, so we celebrate just about everything there is to celebrate. We celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6, we celebrate Hanukkah because we believe strongly in passing on our Jewish Heritage to our children and how it ties to the prophecies fulfilled in Jesus; and we celebrate Christmas. Though, there won't be any winter solstice dance, we do celebrate winter. Partially because it is the day my husband and children's daddy was born.

Today we celebrated winter and the coming of Christmas by making edible snow globes. Back to the mention of Santa Claus 3. In the movie, they portrayed snow globes as part of the magic. Only the ones we made, you can eat - Well, you can eat all but the actual plastic clear dome. And, if I had to do over again, I would choose different decorations for the inside.

But, we started with a chocolate snowflake circle as the base
We used edible glitter & an edible clear sparkly gel frosting to hold everything together. Inside we rolled out and colored with food coloring a mixture of gum paste that we purchased at a craft store in the baking section. The rest just included the children cutting out shapes and placing them inside their globes and then adding some snowflake sprinkles and putting it all together.

They were fun to think about, create and spend time doing with the children. But, like always, inside my head is pictured these beautiful perfect works of art. Here's how ours turned out: