Misc Happenings

* We have had 19 inches of snow in the last week! Unreal!  This is an atypical winter for the valley, but I am LOVING all the snow!  On Sunday morning we woke up to 7 fresh inches of snow. It was a glorious morning with big flakes falling from the sky, snowflakes sticking to the tree branches, the yard was undisturbed - no snowmen built, no tracks in the snow from kids or dogs  - it was truly like a picture.

* I had my first training session for my marathon on Saturday morning.  It was a bit chilly and the roads and path were ice and snow covered - which made running a bit of a challenge. It was great to get out and get running again and to meet my other team mates. I am so excited about this adventure! 

* We spent Saturday afternoon at Morgan's gymnastics meet.  Her team took 1st place again. Go Danik!  Morgan placed 2nd all around for her age group and 1st on the floor exercise.  It was definitely her best performance on floor and guess what happens - we ran out of tape in the video camera. UGH!  

* I have been experimenting with picnik, a photo editing website.  Experimenting is the key word!  There are definitely some neat features and I can't wait to spend some more time with it.

* Thank you bloggy  friends who responded to this post.  Lunch time has been going better over this past week.  We tried a few new things that were a hit - english muffin pizzas and italian dunkers (cheesy garlic bread dipped in marinara).  I think it just helped to see we are just like other families out there when it comes to lunch time.

* Mauryn is officially a walker! She has been taking steps for about two months but not consistently walking. If she would fall, then she would just start to crawl. No longer - now she is walking everywhere.  She has also figured out how to climb the ladder and go down the little tikes slide in our bonus room.  The child has no fear!  

* We spent Super Bowl Sunday with our wonderful neighbors - eating yummy snacks and lazing around in our sweats. I love the fact that they are so like family- there is no entertaining, just hanging out, feeling as comfortable in their house as my own.  We are so blessed!

* This year in school we are participating in an online coop.  We started the year learning about explorers, then the early settlers, and now the American Revolution.  I am sure I learned about all these things at some point in school, but I don't remember them.  This year, teaching this to Morgan, I am finally "getting it".  I see how all the events in history are tied together, I see how these men and women were inquisitive and courageous, I see how they had a faith in God and how they wanted to be able to worship God without the control of the king or queen.  They founded this country on a belief that we were one nation under God - what has happened to that belief?  It pains me to see how far from the ideals of our founding fathers our country is right now.  I have never been very political - I vote but I am not necessarily the most informed voter.  I am not an activist in any sense of the word. Studying the founding of our nation has really struck a chord with me - I knew, I heard, I saw, but now I feel.  I feel like I need to be more informed, I feel I need to teach my children to be informed and discerning, I feel I need to pay closer attention to what is happening in our society, and  I feel like I need to be more vocal on issues instead of sitting back and keeping the thoughts in my head (i am fearful of sharing my opinions because i don't want to cause a conflict, offend, or upset).

* I finished Little Women - the first book to be checked off my Reading Challenge - yeah!  (more on this later)