Snowy days

Although we got hit by the big midwestern snowstorm this past weekend, we *only* got about 8 inches of snow. We were far enough south that we just got some rain and drizzle on Friday night and Saturday before the snow really started to fall overnight on Saturday. Unfortunately, the cold and wind has been so severe that we haven't been able to have any fun outdoors time since this all began on Friday. Yuck. At least there are enough indoor activities going on this time of year to keep us from getting too stir crazy.

One of the more noteworthy ones for Anna and me occured on Friday night; it's also a perfect example of how God is working in our little girl's life to introduce and encourage all sorts of interests. But I must back up a bit to relate the whole story. A few weeks ago, I took Anna and Kate to a story tellers event at a local library. After seeing that Anna was completely engaged for the entire hour-plus performance, I thought she might be ready to see a live performance. However, neither Matt nor I know much about the different children's theater opportunities around here. So last week at story time, I asked the librarian (who happened to be one of the storytellers) if she could recommend any shows for kids. She mentioned something called Playtime Productions and told me she'd pass along some information in a few days. I didn't think much of it until we were running errands in McFarland on Friday morning and saw an advertisement for a Playtime Productions show that very night! A bit more than a coincidence, if you ask me, since this was their only McFarland performance all year.

So on Friday night Anna and I headed out for her first play, The Emperor's New Clothes, which didn't start until 7 p.m. (beginning of bedtime routine normally). The production was done entirely by 3rd-12th graders from the area and was a riot. I had a great time. Besides enjoying the production itself, I was blessed to have my little 3 year old on my lap the entire 90 minute stretch (she isn't big enough to hold down the auditorium chairs yet so we shared a chair). I think Anna really enjoyed herself, even if she didn't quite understand the plot. She certainly knew when to laugh and clap, and was pretty surprised at the end when all the actors/actresses came out into the audience to say hi to their friends :) I think we'll be keeping our eyes and ears open for other productions such as this.

This happened before all of the bad weather on Saturday and Sunday ... We were able to make it in to church on Saturday morning for the final dress rehearsal for the children's program, but the blizzard conditions on Sunday morning caused the program to be postponed until this coming Wednesday. Disappointing, but we made the most of our snow day on Sunday by making some cookies, doing some Christmas crafts, watching the Packers lose (boo!), and jumping around on the "jumping mattress".

Both Kate and Anna are absorbed by the Christmas story these days. Both girls know most of the songs for the children's program by heart. In fact, it's pretty amazing to hear Kate sing "Go, Tell It On The Mountain" and "Away in a Manger", verses and all. Anna can tell you all about Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the angels, the shepherds, the wise men, etc. Lately, she has been climbing up on a little table in the kitchen and pretending to be the angel "proclaiming" to the shepherds. Guess who gets to be a shepherd ... every time :)

This is our last week of activities before the Christmas break. We may have a long couple of weeks if the weather doesn't get a bit warmer so we can at least go outdoors for more than just getting into and out of the van.