Tackle It Tuesday

This weekend it snowed AGAIN! Saturday, I had planned to go with Mary Jo to meet up with Justine and spend the day shopping, crafting, and of course eating. The Scrapbooking store in Columbia Falls was having a big yard sale. We were going to start there, and then do lunch, more shopping, and stamp/craft at Justine's house in Whitefish.
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and we stayed in Browning. The picture is one that Stephen took on Saturday through the living room window. The high on Saturday and Sunday was 19 degrees. I feel like it's January again. Yesterday warmed up a little more, but the snow continued (sporadically). The wind has kept the accumulation down somewhat, and it is supposed to warm up tomorrow. Eventually, we will get spring here.
Because of the snow, we skipped going to preschool. Since we were home, I thought I would do my tackle one day early. I have a few things on my "to do" list that I want to get done before our trip to Billings. (We leave on Sunday.)

My stamping cabinet is always a clutter collector. I put things up there to get them off of the table, or out of the kids' reach. When I do have some extra time, it always seems more important to stamp or scrapbook than to clean off the cabinet.
This is what the top of my stamping cabinet looked like when I started. There are bits and pieces of various projects, and the stamps and other tools that I used.

This is what it looks like now. The wall sconces are not really crooked. It is just where I was standing when I took the picture. I always enjoy when my cabinet is cleaned off, and I can light my candles. Now if I can just keep it that way!

I was hoping to get to the other counter clutter yesterday, but with the kids and supper, and making cookies, that never happened. Maybe today. :)

One of the kids from across the street came over yesterday afternoon, and he wanted peanut butter cookies. I have a soft spot for him, and I couldn't say no. I have been wanting to try out my Master Cookie Mix, so I put it to the test. I made Banana Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies. I will try to post the recipe later this week.

For more Tackle It Tuesday projects, click on the link below.

Spring in Montana

What are the signs of spring? You may think of robin's, green grass, and daffodils. Here in Montana spring means more snow. We've been having flurries off and on, but no more than a light layer has stuck to the ground. There are still huge piles of slowly melting snow everywhere.
When the kids go outside, they come back in with muddy feet. The other day Isabelle slipped and fell in the mud. She was covered; there was even mud in her hair. Caleb loves to go outside, but then he always ends up very muddy... of course, that's probably part of the reason that he enjoys being outside so much.
Yesterday, we had planned to drive to Lewistown. We were going to spend the night, and attend the CMA church there. We met the pastor and his wife while we were doing our application process with the CMA. They are a really great couple, and were very encouraging to us during the long process.
However, early Saturday morning it started snowing. By the time that it stopped, we had about 6 inches on the ground. The roads started as snow packed and icy, and then went to emergency travel only. So we stayed here, and will try again next weekend.
The roads were clear enough for us to go to church this morning, and we stopped and took some pictures.

More Snow

We had quite a bit of snow last night and today. There was already some on the ground, and it snowed about 10 more inches. Stephen took Ian and Isabelle out for awhile. They didn't stay long since it was about 7 below zero out!

Sledding

Although we have had quite a bit of snow this January, it is usually too cold for the kids to play outside. Yesterday, it warmed up to 34 degrees. Stephen had the day off of work, so after Ian came home from school, they all went sledding.
I chose to stay in the nice warm house. They all had a blast, though.
Caleb's gloves were too big for him. (I can never find waterproof gloves in toddler sizes- why is that?) They came off, and his hands were red and cold. He cried and cried until they warmed up. He still said that he had fun outside. I think you can see in the pictures that they all had a blast!

This is the only picture that we got of Kathleen. When the other kids first went out, she was still napping. By the time she went out, Stephen had finished with the camera. I snapped this one of her from the door. When everyone else was cold and came inside, she stayed out with Stephen a little longer. She enjoyed the one on one time with him.

Road Closed

Just in case you think this is a metaphor for something going on in our life... no the actual road was closed. We went to Essex on Sunday afternoon to visit with the church there. We had an enjoyable time, but it was snowing heavily. We still tried to make it home, and all went well until we got to East Glacier. We had to stop there. We stayed in the "Circle R" motel. The heat in the room was turned way down, so everyone got under the blankets and watched TV until things warmed up.
In the morning we were able to drive back with no problems. Stephen made it to work, and Ian made it to school on time (he would have been happy to miss the day, stuck in a hotel room watching TV!)

More Snow

On Sunday, it snowed a couple of inches here. We had a birthday party to go to on Sunday evening, and drove through the snow. It looks so pretty falling, like diamond glitter against the dark sky. I don't think I could ever get a picture of that.
The pictures are of Isabelle and Kathleen on Monday evening. Most of the snow had melted by then, but they had a great time playing.
In other news, I added a free counter to the right hand side of the blog. You can choose what number you want to start with. I was tempted to start with 500, but I went with 0. It will be interesting to watch it grow.

Snow Day

On Wednesday, we had our first real snow. We had some flurries before, but nothing that stuck. I should have taken more pictures, but it was a little too depressing. I have tons of pictures of our house and kids in the snow over the past 3 years, and couldn't really stand to take anymore. I'll get over it, I just wasn't ready for snow-- in September!
The next two pictures are some that Stephen took outside our house in the morning. It continued to snow until early after noon. We probably got over an inch, but then it mostly melted off during the course of the day.
The first picture is one of Ian walking into school
in the morning. He just looked so small!
Isabelle had a chance to go out and play in the snow after we took Ian to school. I didn't let Caleb go out, b/c he still needs snow boots and a snow suit.
We usually go to storytime at the library in Cut Bank, and then preschool on Wed, but I decided not to drive in the snow yesterday. We did have our first Awanas in the evening at our church in Cut Bank. It was just a registration night. Next week starts the first lesson.
We have big plans this weekend. I hope to post more about that later.

SNOW!!!

I went outside to take this picture when I saw that it was snowing. The sky was really gray. I don't know why it turned out pink. I wanted to be sure that I got a picture before it stopped. (Two hours later, it is still snowing. Guess I didn't need to rush.)

Isabelle and Caleb begged to go outside in the snow. At first I wouldn't let them, but then I gave in to them. It is really not that cold. So far none of the snow has stuck. Hopefully, that will continue.