Before/After

Just to give ya an idea ... here is our little picnic table (with a flower pot on top of it) ... 'before' taken after the snowfall on Sunday, and the 'after' which I took this morning about 8:00 AM ... this is hilarious!

... More Snow ...

Okay, here are some more fun pictures of the never-ending snow fall ... we got another 7" last night ... to add to the already 20" we got on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. There's so much snow, even when they plow, there is no where to put it - so it's just sitting in the middle of the streets.

Jim usually goes out the back door to work, but as you'll see, the back door is completely blocked. The snow is so heavy on our big trees, that this HUGE branch broke off some time during the night ... it's CRAZY! Jim had to go out the front this morning, and will have to use a chainsaw to break the branch down in order to get it out of the yard. Oh my!!!

Beloved President Hinckley ...

Dad just called with the bittersweet news that President Hinckley passed away this evening ... I am so sad that he's no longer here with us, but I am so happy for him ... to return to our Father in Heaven, to have so beautifully passed the test of mortality and to be reunited with his sweet wife ... I'm certain there is much rejoicing to have his humble spirit home ... I loved President Hinckley so much! I am so very grateful to have lived on this earth under his stewardship ... what an honor and a privilege!

I was sitting here typing this and saw my copy of "Stand A Little Taller", and I couldn't help but smile when I opened it and glanced through a few pages and read one of our family's favorite scriptures ... "A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." - John 13:34 ... to which President Hinkley added, "Let us from this day forward be a little better, love one another a little more, treat one another with great kindness and look to God and live." ... that pretty much says it all.

Last Minute Cookies ...

I made some cookies for Jim to take to work tomorrow, as a 'thank you' to some of his co-workers ... And because I didn't have much advanced notice and I didn't want to make another trip to the store this weekend — I just baked off some cookie dough (that I'd made earlier and had frozen in single scoop portions) ... and threw some melted chocolate on them. Literally! It only took about an hour - super easy, and super sneaky!

Let it Snow ...

... It's been snowing non-stop for the past 36 hours ... It's so crazy, it's hilarious. I know we're all used to snow like this - but they say it hasn't snowed this much in Coeur d'Alene since 1992! Ha ha ha ... it's pretty amazing ... Jim and I 4x4'd (is that even the right term!??!) to church this morning and saw so many fun sights along the way that after church we came home and grabbed the camera ...

hApPy BiRtHdAy eRniE!!!

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me HAPEEE when skies are gray ..." Happy Birthday my beautiful sister. I love you more than words can say. You make me laugh, you make me cry ... You make my life so much sweeter ... I love you bunches and tons! And for the next few months — you're only one year behind me ... ha ha ha ha ha ... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... (this is one of the laughing times) ... ha ha ha ha ha ha!

... Icicles ...

Okay, these are the weirdest icicles I've ever seen. They're coming off the front of our house ... but as you'll notice, there are two rows of them - pointing in two different directions. Because we have a metal roof, they freeze in place and then as the metal heats up during the day, they slide and 'curl' under the roof, without falling off ... so when more icicles form - pointing toward the ground, you've got the 'curled' set that are now facing the house ... and then the new set that are facing the ground ... so weird ... had to snag a photo to share ...

... The Santa Cruise ...

So every year ... Santa and Mrs. Claus bring the North Pole to Lake Coeur d'Alene and welcome boats to come and visit ... the ships fill with children (young and old) at the resort, and then it's a fifteen minute boat ride out to the North Pole ... It's after dark, so as you look back at CDA, you see all the lights in the marina ... and as you get out to the North Pole, Santa reads off his "nice" list and just happens to name everyone on the boat! (They get a list of passengers ahead of time, and 'Santa' is a good friend of ours in the ward ... so when he got to Jim's name, he mentioned, "I'm not sure if he's on the right list" ... it was pretty funny) ... it's mostly for the kids, but our good friends, the Clark's, took us and Jim's parents with them and their kids to visit the 'North Pole' ... it was a blast!

... A Visit with Jim's Mom & Dad ...

Here are some fun pictures of Jim's mom and dad that we took while they were here ... They came to visit the week before Christmas, and it was so nice to have them here! We don't get to see them very often ... so we made good use of the six days they were here. We had Christmas a bit early and without mom's help, I wouldn't have been able to prepare for Sharing Time in such an expeditious manner! Whew! She was amazing! We were so grateful to them for coming to share the snow and lots of fun memories with us...