Snow Day! Snow Day! Snow Day!

I love snow! Love love love snow! Not the greatest fan of being cold, but, I'll deal with it during the snow. It's beautiful. It's fun. It's great. I kind of wish we lived in a part of the country that got a little more snow than here. Then maybe so many people wouldn't have such a bad attitude about it! ;o)

I'm really wishing this post would have some great pictures of how we absolutely enjoyed this wonderful snow today... but there won't be any. It was below freezing all day, with a windchill of like, 6 degrees. My 3 year old and sick 1 year old stayed nice and cozy inside- as did Dustin and I! This was already the second snow of the winter... and it's not even winter! But Gabbi and I got out on the back porch just a little while the first time one day last week. We're hoping it's a year for a lot of snow. Maybe even a white Christmas *fingers crossed*. On Christmas, I already told Dustin, no matter how cold it is if it snows, we will be outside at some point. So no pictures of tonight, but I'll leave a picture of last winter's big snow. Here's Gabbi staying cool in the "fort" her Daddy and Poppy built for her.

I am excited to share our home is finally decorated for Christmas! What few decorations we have. But I'm not worried about it, nor am I caught up in how our home needs to look for the holidays. I suppose I easily could be, but for financial reasons and the fact that we haven't yet been married 4 years, we just haven't accumulated much stuff :) This is a year of firsts, however. Two Sundays ago we ventured out to find our first *real* Christmas tree. I am in love! If we can help it, we'll never have an artificial tree again. We bought from this little place across from the new Kroger on Broadway. All the trees were beautiful, and not nearly as expensive as I thought. They truly were some of the prettiest real trees I've ever seen- and I'm not just saying that because ours is from there ;) Gabbi had a blast picking out our tree. She ran to the biggest trees on the lot wanting "that one". It was bitter cold that evening, but she didn't seem to notice. We finally settled on one, came home, ate soup, drank hot chocolate, and decorated our tree. Gabbi helped us decorate after Catie went to bed. She hung about ten ornaments or so before she went on to bed and Dustin and I finished up. I got a kick the next morning of hearing her tell Catie about the tree.

"Isn't our tree beautiful, Catie? Mommy and I decorated it last night. See, I did this one, Catie (pointing to an ornament she hung). And this one... And this one..." I love how, in her mind, Daddy had nothing to do with it. And she didn't even notice the tree being completed the next morning. When she had gone to bed, the bottom third of it was missing lights because Dustin had to go out and buy more.

I also love how she always talks to Catie as if Catie understands everything she's saying. It's so sweet, and I know one day (very soon), Catie will really be understanding everything she's saying. On one hand, I don't want that day to come. But on the other hand, I'm so anxious to see how they'll interact and talk when Catie gets just a little bigger. However, these days we're really working on some heart issues with Gabbi as far as Catie is concerned. We pray everyday, sometimes several times a day, for the Lord to help Gabbi love Catie, help her be kind to Catie, and not be selfish, not to push/ hit/ trip, etc. My patience is often tested, and I must continually remember the Lord's constant patience with me. He has shown me much grace in my life, and I pray Gabbi will see this grace through me. There are things God has to tell me over- and over- and over- and over- again before one day, I get it! And I have the Holy Spirit. Gabbi doesn't, so how could I possibly expect her to do better than I? In the mean time, we'll keep praying. Keep reminding. Keep speaking truth to her and over her. I am looking forward to seeing God's mighty hand in her life.