Unbelievably, we have had another big snowfall. Probably about 6 inches of snow on top of a good layer of ice. The kids are loving it still. If only we had more and better snow gear, they'd probably stay outside all day. (They have to share 2 pairs of snowpants between them, so rarely are more than 2 kids out at a time. We are also short on appropriate footwear.) We just aren't equipped for prolonged cold and snow here.

Apparently, neither is our heat pump/furnace. It works only occasionally and for short periods of time. Luckily we collected firewood from our neighbors before the storm hit, so at least the living room is warm.

Here are Andrew and Philip making snow angels.

Somebody posted this on my sister's blog and it made me laugh.

"A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards, while the most popular are judged by people who literally do not know any better. An American who read just one book this year was disproportionately likely to have read ‘The Lost Symbol’, by Dan Brown. He almost certainly liked it."
— The Economist (via mudd up, peterwknox)

So, how exactly does something become a "bestselling" novel, anyway? I read very little "popular" or "bestselling" fiction (I've not even heard of "The Lost Symbol", or Dan Brown for that matter.); I stick mostly to the classics and (comparatively) more obscure authors. I am quite discriminating in what I spend my time reading.... which really doesn't explain my liking of the Twilight novels... ;)

An actual, real blizzard! Sustained winds at 30-35 and gusts to 50-60. Never thought I'd see such a winter storm again when I moved south out of New England.

And on Christmas Eve too. Wow! We've not had snow like this in the 14 winters we've lived here. From what some natives have said, this may actually be a first in OK. We are loving it! It started out as freezing rain and sleet (which wasn't so pleasant at 35mph!), but now it's big beautiful flakes of snow! It's so amazingly beautiful!!!

Here's a picture from my front door. The trees and fence that you can barely see are about 100ft away.

Vic put up some more pictures. It's so windy that the drifts are amazing!

Aeryn has gotten to that age where she LOVES to help, and actually can sometimes. Folding laundry is always a challenge, as she carries piles of clothes away while you're not looking! But she has found her niche with the dishes. She will actually gripe at the boys if they put the silverware away while she's working on it. (Yes, she's a little bossy- I have no idea where she could have gotten that. ;))

My third child, my middle of the middle child, is four. He can be the sweetest, most thoughtful little boy. He loves hugs and kisses and cuddling. But he also has a very bad temper, and there are days that it seems he cannot utter a single word that is not a whining complaint. Philip is named after his Papa, Phil Arnold, who died about four months before he was born. Though he has the loving heart of his name sake, he does not seem to share is gentleness and quietness, but maybe that'll come with age. ;)

But just now I looked out the back window to see him pushing his 3 year old brother and one year old sister on the swingset. (I actually went flying out there for fear she would fall out, since he was pushing her rather high (which she loves), to find out that he had buckled her in!) I'm rather amazed that he was even able to lift her up there. He just recently learned to "pump" and keep the swing going himself, and I guess that triggered the big-brother-gene for today and he decided to help them. :)

Philip is a very different sort of kid. I think his brain just works a bit differently. His choice of words is often most amusing. For example, he told his aunt one day that it felt like someone "was bowling in his heart." It took her quite a while to figure out that he meant he was hungry-- yeah, it would me too. The other day he tripped while playing outside and when he came running over crying and holding out his hand, I asked him if he gotten a splinter, and he said, "No, I got shaved!" He had skinned his palm. He can turn a phrase, and when he can't find one that'll turn the way he wants, he invents his own! I think maybe he'll be a writer.

One of my favorite things about babyhood and toddlerhood is the pure innocence of their thoughts about God. Sometimes I really think they understand Him better than we do. The other day he was running along our road (it's a private drive with only one other house on it, and the kids like to be dropped off when we turn onto it to run the rest of the way home) and he tripped in the grass. I was driving slowly along with him, and when he didn't get up I rolled down my window and asked him if he was okay. He looked up at me and sighed and said that he was just resting. When I asked him if he wanted me to wait for him he said, "No, I'll be fine. God is always with me."