handsful

Or rather, God heard my desire and decided to let it SNOW!

It started snowing Tuesday morning, and kept on till Thursday afternoon, with a few hours of sleet in between.

I know some people hate snow.  I can understand getting tired of it, if you live where you’re buried in snow all winter.

I love living in NC, where we have all 4 seasons…

We might get a snowfall or two, but it’s usually gone in a day.  Course, I’m writing this on Saturday, and it’s still pretty white out there.

I’m also thankful for a husband who was able to bump up his flight home, so he wasn’t stuck in Florida.

Thursday afternoon was our family Snow Day…even Randy joined in.  See above?  The boys dreamed that up.  A snow “thing” that apparently was hungry for a certain boy named Dylan.

How to get him out?  Push it over, of course.

“THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED ME ANYWAY!!”

Abbey’s version of Olaf :)

We live on about 19 acres, and our driveway is long, downhill, and winds around our shop building in the back.  Randy had the grand idea to tie our 2 person kayak to the back of his landcruiser and take us “sledding” up and down.

Genius.

After kayaking, we took the sleds to the hill behind our shop.

Pelted with a snowball, right before she went…

Dylan watches as Lainey goes down, head first!

Yes, I’m bundled up to the point of embarrassment.

Marley and Payton, racing…

It’s never dull with Payton around.

EJ and Dylan’s turn to race

Notice Dylan started out on the right…as they went down, he crossed in front of Ethan and ended up crashing on the right.

I’m so thankful we had our deep snow for the season!  If we get more, that’ll just be frosting on the cake.  Get it?  FROSTing…

Sorry.

It was the best snow day…ever.

The birthday girl…

Those 18th birthday pics I promised?  Here ya go…

Everyone arrived, and Abbey gave them a “How Well Do You Know Abbey” quiz.  Her friend Chandler won and box of candy for getting the highest number right.

Then, it was time for everyone to get all dressed up…they had somewhere to go.

Which meant, of course, I pulled the camera out for a photo shoot.

Ladies first…

Marley, Eva Joy, Kayla, Christine, and Abbey

And, the guys

Nathan, Daniel, Aaron, and Chandler

The Marilyn pose!

Abbey and Daniel :)

And then, the limo arrived…

For the record, I’ve never been in a limo.  No fair!

The limo took them to PF Changs for dinner.  Randy arranged it ahead of time, and was told by the management later that the kids were great…very polite and a fun group to serve.  Nice to hear!

No pics of dinner…I assumed they’d take some with their phones!

Afterwards, the plan was to stop at a donut shop in Charlotte, but it was closed.  Drat.  Oddly enough, a highlight of the ride home was being stopped by the police.  The driver forgot to turn off his parking lights!  They scrambled to find the seat belts, and one kid broke out his phone to video.  Ha…

Once home, they changed into their comfy clothes and bashed Sponge Bob till he gave up his candy.

All the teens stayed the night, and we took them to church the next morning.

After church and Testify practice, it was time for her family birthday dinner.  Yes, the party continued, despite them being exhausted from staying up ALL night the night before.

Daniel came along with us…

A fight ensued…

And, she says she’s an adult now.  Sheesh.  :)

Once home, I made her pose for two more pictures.  Before she crashed on the couch and fell asleep.

Still can’t believe you’re 18.  I’ll get used to it.

So glad you had a fabulous birthday :)

They say time seems to go by faster as you grow older.

In my case, I’d say that’s right on the money.

Otherwise, how could my daughter…the one who blessed me with the title of Mom…how could she possibly be 18 already?

But, here we are and she’s 18 and I’m no longer that 30 year old “brand new, have no clue what I’m doing” mom.

Well, sometimes the no clue part still fits.

But, Abbey is growing into a young woman right before our eyes.  She’s a girl version of her dad.  Strong willed, , fun-loving, competitive, a true night-owl, loves the spotlight, prone to hyperactivity, fearless…

18 is a milestone year.  One that brings with it changes…something she’s NEVER liked.  But, I see her growing and embracing the future.  Just a bit.

I can’t wait to see where God brings her.

I hope to add some pictures of her amazing birthday party soon…the site I use to upload pics is having tech issues.  In the meantime, here are a few hints:  a few friends, semi-formal, hummer limo, dinner out, party all night.

I asked her today how it rated…0-10.  Without blinking, she said a 10.  :)

We’re headed out tonight for our traditional family birthday dinner.  At her fav steakhouse, like always.  I mentioned she’s not into change, right?

Happy Birthday, Abbey-girl.  We love you always…

Last week, it happened.

We got snow.  As you can see, we weren’t exactly buried in it.  But, it was enough that the kids could play and I could enjoy watching it fall and collect (a little) on the ground.

Jumping on a trampoline with snow on it.  Extra fun.

As you can see, the big girls had fun with the littles during our “snow storm”.  The boys had just returned the night before from an all-day snowboarding trip in the mountains.  They were snowed-out.

I can’t help it.  I’m still holding out hope for a deep-snow for us.  With only 40 or so days till spring, time is running out!