Snow Beautiful Snow

Yesterday (Saturday) we woke up to this. Big beautiful flakes drifting straight down. So very peaceful. I stayed in bed for almost an hour relishing the warmth of our bed and the beauty out our window.

It's a good thing the family spent part of Friday doing the leaf clean up. We still have trees that haven't lost their leaves, but this was a good start. (This leaf photo was taken a week ago)

Now back to yesterday- look at the fun. Everyone dressed up and Opa helped make a snowman. This photo shows how even as the snow was stopping, it was still big flakes.

Ellie in the purple snowsuit - Carter rolling another ball

Zoe wasn't quite dressed for the snow, she left her wet stuff at home. Hallie with her snowball.
McKayla and Hallie spent the most time outside. Bree was the biggest helper.


Watch out ! Stella has a snow ball.

Come play in the snow with us. (while it lasts) and then join us for hot chocolate!
Sunday morning update: It quit snowing yesterday and all but the snowman melted. This morning it is snowing again and at 3:30 is tapering off. It's about the same amount, and just as beautiful. Think we'll have snow for Thanksgiving?

Fall colors

This is a view down the street

This is the time of year that my soul is filled with the beauty of the changing trees and the celebration of color. I keep waiting for the perfect moment to take photo's and try to capture the vibrant reds and yellows contrasting with the browns and greens. Just when I think it's perfect- we have winds and storms and it changes- and it is still perfect. Our town has made an effort to line the streets with many varieties of trees which makes the fall stunningly beautiful. One street has a section of evergreens and conifers which makes looking up the street a contrast between dark green/yellow/dark green/yellow/ dark green/ yellow etc. It's breath taking.
This view is even more breath-taking. We had gone on a nature walk and the little girls spontaneously took each others hand as they walked down the street. At one point in our walk there was kind of a wild over grown area and the girls spotted some orange berries. It was so easy for them to run down to look at them (pick them one by one) Except for Zoe. She wanted very much to look at the berries, but she was afraid the plants at her feet would be prickly and that she wouldn't be able to get down there. Bree came up to her and said "I'll take your hand"- and she did.
Then when she was ready to return to the road, it still looked intimitating so Zoe asked Bree to help her back up. And Bree did. At the top Zoe said: "Thank you Bree".While I was watching the girls, I thought about how life is sometimes like this. Wild and overgrown challenges. Lots of times I am afraid to step in and participate in the good things. The plant wasn't thorny or prickly or sharp- it just looked different. I thought - no matter what, our Savior has his hand out reaching for us to help us through the hard parts as well as the easy parts. He's there, we just don't always see Him or recognize our need for Him. I need Him. I am so grateful that He is there for me.
In President Monson's conference talk 'The divine gift of Gratitude' he said: " My brothers and sisters, to express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude in our hearts is to touch heaven." (October 2010)
I think today, I touched a little bit of heaven.