Snow is Falling......Again!!

The other day I posted about the wonder of the snow and how it forces us all to slow down. At the time I was truly enjoying being forced to relax and stay at home. Fast forward to a few days later and I was struggling to keep this perspective in place. Tuesday night we got pounded with over a foot of snow to add to the 20+ inches we had gotten a few days earlier. We live in Lancaster city and things get slightly crazy when it snows a lot. The city is not the best at clearing off the streets and there is really no where for all this snow to go. Cars end up getting plowed in. Many people have been putting chairs or garbage cans in their spots to claim them. Shamefully, we did do this earlier this week. One sort of feels entitled to a spot after they have spent several hours digging their car out.

Brian had school cancelled yesterday and today. Yesterday I started to feel slightly stir crazy by the afternoon but we managed to have a fun day indoors. This morning we woke up and decided to venture out. The roads are crazy in the city when it snows but because we live in the city there are many things close by that we can walk to. I called our friends, the Peters, and asked if they wanted to walk downtown to a local coffee shop. We met up at the end of our snowy street and proceeded to pull our kiddos on sleds down the sidewalk. Some people shoveled and salted out so well that at times we found ourselves dragging the sleds on the concrete instead of snow. Owen loved riding in the sled and enjoyed his cinnamon muffin at the cafe. :) He had so much fun that he tired out and fell asleep in his sled on the way home. Too cute!! Check out the picture below.

When we got home O went down for a nap and we started shoveling out parking spots. I actually have never had so much fun shoveling! We don't often see our neighbors in the winter because no one wants to go out in the cold. Everyone was outside today trying to shovel out cars and sidewalks. We all sort of helped each other and it made the task much easier. There is some sort of community feeling with people you don't even know very well when you are in these situations. I enjoyed getting to spend some time with our neighbors. The weather outside is actually quite beautiful. It didn't feel too cold and the sun was shining brightly.

Right now we are just relaxing and are thinking Brian might not have school again tomorrow. He already has the day off on Monday for Presidents Day. If he has tomorrow off it will have made for a 6 day break from school. We are definitely not complaining. :)

Snow is Falling

I am always skeptical when there are reports of big snow storms coming. I feel like people usually get all hyped up, all the milk and bread disappears from stores, people cancel plans and then nothing happens. This time I was totally wrong. We actually got more than they were calling for. There is something so sweet about snow that forces the world to stop and relax. Snow doesn't care about the places you were scheduled to fly, the things on your "to do" list or the people you were scheduled to see. It just comes and with it brings a sort of childlike excitement and wonder. You can't do a thing about it except watch it fall. It presents you with a choice to get annoyed about the places you can't go and the people you won't see or you can sit back and listen to the laughter of children sledding and the enjoyment of a good nap on a snowy day. Today we chose to just surrender and savor all the little joys the day provided.

Being stuck at home provided the perfect opportunity to spend the day as a family. O got his first sled last week from our dear friends the Gormans. What divine timing! We took him out in it today and pulled him up and down the sidwalks and the empty, snow-covered streets. He had a big smile on his face as he rode along and ran his hands through the fluffy snow. This time out in the snow instead of crying the whole time like he did back in December, he lasted for 20 minutes before deciding that the big poofy coat and pants he had on were just too much to bear. Bri spent 2 hours shoveling out our cars while O and I played inside. Bri did manage to take a break and come up to the door so we could feed him a handful of M&M's for some "shoveling energy". :) Of course, O and I had to eat a few as well because it is hard work watching someone shovel so much snow!

Right now we are waiting to put O to bed and then we are going to bake cookies and watch a movie. We already found out that church is cancelled tomorrow so we have another relaxing day on the horizon. I am soooo ready for sunshine and warm weather but I am thankful for this little break in the midst of a busy month.

O's Cake

You might have read my previous post about my new adventures in cake baking. I have embarked on a quest to perfect my cake baking skills and my sons first birthday proved as a lovely opportunity to practice. I think I still have much to learn about cake decorating but thanks to my friend, Mary Grace, I attempted to make the cake into the shape of the head of a teddy bear. Mary Graces youngest son was born on the same day as O, just a year earlier. She made her son a Lightning McQueen cake that could have seriously been sold in an expensive bakery. She has major skills. O was a good subject to practice on because I think he would have liked just about any cake we would have put in front of him. Below are the pictures of how it turned out. It is probably at the amateur level as far as birthday cakes go but I had fun doing it. My next adventure is to try to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Stay tuned......

O.T. Turns One!!

How do individual days go by slow sometimes yet the years just seem to fly by? How is our little guy one already? I remember being up in the middle of the night when he was first born and feeling like that stage would last forever. The sleepless nights left as fast as they came and Owen Teddy went from being a little baby to being a little boy. We will be eternally grateful to God for giving us our son. He is SO much fun! He loves to crawl around and have people chase after him. He often stops and looks back with a giggle and a smile to make sure you are still coming after him. He babbles constantly and says da da, no and yeah. It sounds like he also says ma ma but it only seems to come out when he is whining. Hmmm.....He gives big, slobbery kisses and giggles most when he is being tickled by his daddy. This little guy will eat just about anything. He loves green beans and broccoli and oranges and one of his favorite foods is chili. :)
Words truly cannot express what we feel in our hearts for this little boy. January 25, 2009 our lives were changed forever. In one instant our lives became infinitely brighter and sweeter and more joy filled. We didn't know it was possible to feel this much love for one little baby. He is perfectly made in every way and is perfect for our family. A day doesn't go by in our house where we don't talk about how adorable we think he is and just how much we love him.
Our family came for his birthday party and it was wonderful! He was so cute and funny with his cake. He wasted no time digging into it and even managed to offer some to his cousin K. We eventually had to cut him off. We are so thankful for our family and for all the love they pour out over our little family of 3. Below are some pictures from the party.

Let them eat cake :)

A little while back I decided I would like to learn how to bake homemade cakes. I grew up thinking cake just came out of a box and that was that. With Owen's first birthday coming up I thought it would be fun to make his cake.....from scratch. I have always felt like my baking skills and especially cake decorating skills were lacking. So, off I went to Borders bookstore to find a cookbook that could magically turn me into a famous baker. Quickly I realized that there are way too many cookbooks for one to choose from. Suddenly I became overwhelmed and pondered just how I would choose the right one. Who knew there were so many cake cookbooks?! I sat there for hours, sipping hot coffee and mulling over several books. My mind soaked in page after page, my courage rising that I could indeed become a good baker. Finally, I decided to purchase "The Art and Soul of Baking" by Cindy Mushet.

Tuesday I set out to make my very first homemade devils food cake with dark chocolate ganache frosting. Of course Owen cheered me on from his seat as he happily munched on spinach and chicken. :) There are so many things I had no idea about. Did you know that your eggs have to be at room temperature and you need to slightly beat them before adding them to the butter and sugar? Oh and by the way......6 minutes feels like an eternity when you are trying to cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer. I am proud to say that the cake actually turned out pretty good. It was a little flat and I think it is because I didn't cream the butter and sugar long enough. Apparently this process creates air bubbles that gives the cake more volume. Next time I just have to grow more muscles and beat the mixture until my arm about falls off.

To add to the fun, Brian and I watched Julie and Julia the night before and it was most inspiring, in case you couldn't tell. So inspiring that I am now going to attempt to make O's birthday cake into a cool teddy bear shape. Of course I will have the help of my dear friend Mary Grace who is a pro at decorating cakes. Stay tuned for how it turns out.................

Christmas 2009

This year we traveled to visit my (Brynne) family in Pittsburgh for Christmas. We had a wonderful time! Christmas Eve we went downtown and then spent the evening with some of our closest friends. Christmas day was spent with my dad's two sisters and their awesome families. Owen got lots of fun toys, clothes and a new chair that Brian is jealous of. :) Below are some of the pictures from our trip.

Oh Christmas Tree.....

This post is a little late but we still wanted to share this fun experience. :) At the beginning of December we started a tradition with friends that we hope will last for years to come. We went with our dear friends the Hess's and Hoover's to State College to Tanenbaum Tree Farm to cut down our Christmas tree. The day started out with a yummy breakfast at the Hess's house. We then were off to a snowy State College to get our tree. It was the perfect weather for cutting down a tree. The kids had a great time and did so well the whole day. After we all selected our trees we headed for lunch and hit up some of our favorite food spots from our time at Penn State. Yogurt Express was a favorite in college and still is! It brought back good memories. It was an awesome way to start out the Christmas season.