Snowed In.

Today is a Myers (+ Cameron) SNOW DAY! Both boys were called off work which means we have the whole afternoon ahead of us with nothing to do except our favorite activities. So far, our day has included the following:

- fresh coffee

- sizzling bacon from the West Side Market

- making homemade apple and pear sauce with cinnamon (for Jack)

- the watching of Nacho Libre

- a game of Settlers (which hasn't happened... yet)

Today also happens to be a staying in one's pajamas day - Jack included. And because of the extra cuteness he exuded, I did a rare (semi-formal) photo shoot. And here, my friends, is the product of that:

White Winter Hymnal.

So you know that ice I just mentioned .... the kind that wraps itself tightly around any and everything? Well if it's my car... no fun. If it's every tree, shrub, branch and berry in sight, it's breath-taking. And it rarely happens. But it's magical, especially when the sun sparkles through the branches on a clear morning. It's a sacred thing, being surrounded by such heavenly beauty. I almost ran inside to grab my camera on my way to work yesterday, knowing I'd have a good chance at catching that moment forever near the woods by the church, but I was already running late and decided not to (which I sorely regret). I was hopeful the morning sun would be in full effect this morning as I stopped by my favorite spot to try and capture some images, but to no avail.

Nevertheless, I still savored those few quiet moments of solitude out in the stillness of the morning. Even without the sun to highlight its best features, the woods are always inviting, beckoning me to stay and visit awhile.

Ice!

As predicted the balmy hint of spring quickly turned into freezing rain and we awoke this morning to find our little world coated in a sheet of ice. You know, the kind that finds its way into all the seams of your car door frame and key holes creating an impenetrable mold of frozen wretchedness that takes a good ten minutes to chip off. Jack, on the other hand, stayed toasty warm from the comfort of the front window as he watched the neighbors fight the elements for access to their vehicles.

Anticipating Spring.

I'm very much a four seasons person. I have no desire to live in a warm climate that only sees summer, nor would I want to live in a frigid climate that only sees winter. On the other hand... I could probably be quite content living in a spring/fall climate the whole year. In any case, I really do love my seasons. They offer the promise of change and variety, of beauty and the opportunity to appreciate nature in all of its forms. Just as I welcome the coming and going of seasons in life, I relish the coming and going of the seasons in nature.

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.

If we did not sometimes taste of adversity,

prosperity would not be so welcome.”

Anne Bradstreet

That said, this winter feels as though its been especially long. And with these past few days of cold temperatures being replaced by a warm breeze and the color green returning to the palate outside my window, I can't help longing for spring to be here. I have been greedily taking advantage of this taste of spring as much as possible with two walks in the park and one around the neighborhood (baby in tow). In sad anticipation of this glorious weather being erased by the return of the winter chill tomorrow, I've changed my desktop background to the image below to reflect my new state of mind and remind me that spring is so very closely around the corner. Puxsutawny Phil agrees.

“It's spring fever.... You don't quite know what it is you do want,

but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”

Mark Twain

Gnomeo & Juliet

At first I scoffed at this movie's premise thinking, "Oh no, its just another mass production Pixar knock-off." But then I saw clips of the trailer, and then the WHOLE trailer and now I am dancing in my pants to go see it. It couldn't have a cuter premise. And it's funny. And sha-bam... this one looks like a hit. So I think we're going to go see it on our anniversary (per my request). I can't wait! Let's just hope that all the best parts are limited to the trailer and the rest of it is lame.

Peas on Earth.

Today we had peas. It was a bit of a disaster.

homemade peas. peas in eye. peas on face.

peas everywhere.

The Text(s) of my Dreams.

Let it be known by all that on February 9, 2011, one Timothy R Myers sent the following series of texts to myself, the happy recipient of a long-awaited concession of will:

TM: I want to join the gym. Stat.

LM: Ok with me! What brought about this revelation?

TM: I'll call it a Holy Spirit provoked kick in the butt to listen to my wife and honor God by eating better and getting in shape. I'm planning on being kind of hardcore about what we eat so I hope you're ok with that.

LM: Um... You don't even have to ask.

TM: Well... So what if I say no more cheese and crackers?

LM: Hmmmm

TM: Thaaaat's what I thought

LM: Well everything in moderation.

TM: Nice.

Might I add that my sole motivation for encouraging such things is for health reasons only - just in case it comes across as though I'm expecting a certain "look" to be obtained. And for the record, I can absolutely give up crackers and cheese out of solidarity for this new effort. Well...maybe.

Eat. Pray. Love.

If I'm going to have another baby, I want to at least try to get my body into the shape it was before Jack and hopefully a little firmer (I say this as I salivate watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network). Anyways..... a family member just put me onto sparkpeople.com which is an awesome free resource that is a great motivational tool to living a healthy lifestyle. I'm hooked.

We're in Kentucky tonight visiting Tim's grandmother who's in a nursing home for the moment as she recovers from a stroke. Grannie's roommate is named Ella. When we first arrived Ella was tucked under a pile of blankets shivering even though the room temp had to be close to 75 degrees. She has these dark, wise old eyes and a sweet southern accent. She likes to tell me that I have "a finnnne boy" in Jack with a nice round head. I learned that she is from the Kentucky/Virginia hills and used to sleep with her chickens to keep warm. God planted a love for this lady in my heart the moment I saw her. I hope I can somehow bless her in my short time here.

February.

I'm loving the new look of the blog in anticipation of Valentine's Day and our two year anniversary this month. Have I ever mentioned that awesome fonts are my life?! The blogger heading(s) are all thanks to the incredible photography of this woman. If I could take pictures like that, I'd never be seen without a camera in my hand.

There are a couple things I've been meaning to write about as of late but I'm feeling lazy tonight (what's new?) and I'm sure that most of you only read this blog for the updates on Jack (let's not kid ourselves). Thus, I shall stand in your way no more and will reward you with something even better than a wordy update..... a video! Here is Jack being made to do something for the sake of our entertainment (as usual):

Holy smokes!

Did I forget to mention we went to a marriage seminar this past weekend that was abso-lute-ly amazing?! No? Well let me tell you folks - it was incredible. If you know what's good for you(r marriage) you'll carve out a few hours of your night, make a cup of coffee (or two), and cozy up with your spouse while you listen to David Rheinstein's talk on marriage (and life with Christ as a whole) here . It's challenging, funny and sobering. It's convicting and encouraging. It's worth every minute of your time. I promise.

Oh, and if you want to read a great commentary (which I couldn't agree with more) on the WWJD marketing ploy, please check out David's article found here.

{{sigh}} There's nothing like Truth and sound teaching to remind me that I serve an awesome, intelligent God.

Rambling Thoughts.

This morning I feel like I drank five cups of coffee when in reality I've only had 3/4 of a cup. It's one of those days when I could completely destroy a to-do list with an uncharacteristic flare of overachievement. Maybe it's because I started my day with good music (Tim, I bet you can't guess what song :p) which always gets me dreaming, scheming and planning a terrific show of reckless decision making that always gets me from here to some other fantastic place in life. Is this making any sense?

I keep having this overwhelming urge (not just today, but for a while now) to come to a screeching halt, put everything on hold for a moment, and completely reevaluate where we are as a family, what could but has not yet been achieved, and where - if given the chance to be made into a reality - we dream of ending up. I'm not necessarily talking about location, but rather of mission and how we go about life; how we approach the possibility of living each day doing something we're passionate about. Tim and I would both admit that we don't do enough dreaming with God or exploration into what's outside the box we've somewhat created for ourselves. That said, this is a unnerving thing to do because you never know where God's going to take you. In my experience, though not without trial and challenges, it's always been into some wonderful adventure. Thus, my absence of trust is unfounded and completely unfair. I feel like I've talked about this topic a lot lately. Have I? Sorry for being repetitive. I often do a whole lot of thinking and talking and not a whole lot of doing. It's a serious character flaw of mine.

The thing about pursuing that which you love, whatever or whoever it is, is that it requires sacrifice. Anything truly worth pursuing is going to require some sweat and tears. In the case of pursuing God, sacrifice is not only required but very much repaid in full and then some. I believe this with my whole heart. So why I hesitate to truly pursue the things He has for me, for us, is beyond me. Scripture would chalk it up to foolishness and I couldn't agree more.

Well the 1/4 cup of coffee I had left is now cold and the pseudo-caffeine buzz I've been coasting on this morning is fading. My playlist switched into chill mode so I'm rapidly crashing into the moody blues.

One click to a new track and I'm back on top.