Snow is Better from the Indoors....Apparently

I am finally getting caught up on some blogs! I don't really need to give a lot of commentary on the following photos. They are of Tennyson "enjoying" the snow day we had on January 27th.

The view out our back door
Watching Tom drop snow

What is all this white stuff?

Taking a stroll with Daddy (as the snow rapidly melts)
Tennyson was singing as they strolled ("Daa doo daa doo")
His little, yellow boots left a smiley face wherever he went
Okay, so he actually hated the snow
Now playing in the gutter.....THAT was fun!
And yes, he was drinking from it! Ick!

Sunrises

I had forgotten that I took these photos of two gorgeous sunrises. The first one was taken on October 22 and the others on the 27th, all right from my front porch and looking toward Massanutten peak. I always think about how much fun God must have painting the morning sky.

Notice the dark shadow shooting upward from the peak. And don't the towers on top remind you of the 3 crosses? Maybe it's just me, but it gives me goose bumps to look at it.

I love seeing how quickly the sun comes up and how with each photo the sun and clouds have altered. (I took 10 pictures of this sunrise but thought posting them all might be overkill.)

The "Great" Outdoors

I normally don't consider the outdoors all that great. I am a city girl. Born and raised. I have never been camping. (This refers to "real" camping, not RVing.) Never. Nor do I ever intend to, despite my husband's "threats" to take me someday. Why would anyone voluntarily sleep in a tent and go without running water!? Nothing about that says "fun" to me.

We did, however, go to Skyline Drive the other weekend for some non-camping, outdoor sightseeing, and I was able to capture some lovely naturey things with the camera. Besides the good photo ops there was another bonus: blackberry milkshakes. If you haven't had one, you must.

The butterflies were out in full force!

This was too lovely not to photograph

These horses were possibly waiting for their milkshakes, too, at Big Meadows.

Wild Weather Week

Confession - I have always been fascinated by weather, in particular severe weather. It's no exaggeration when I tell you that I used to watch The Weather Channel for hours as a child and would ask every year for their weather calendar as a Christmas present. I know, I'm a dork. Here are some of the photos I took this week.

This low-lying cloud was taken a little before 4PM on Monday from my front door. And yes, it really got that dark mid-afternoon.

Yesterday we got the worst hail storm I have ever experienced. It was awesome! The pictures hardly do it justice, mostly because you can't hear it, too. (Tennyson slept through the whole thing even though it was really loud!)

This was a line of storms that rolled through this afternoon. Isn't that cool?!?!

The view off to the north.

Chocolatetown

Well, we were finally able to get out of town for the weekend and went to visit my sister, Lynley, and her husband, Dan, in Hershey, PA. I was a little unsure how Tennyson would do on the 3-hour car ride since the last trip we took was right after Christmas, but he did surprisingly well. But he was definitely ready to be out of his carseat by the end of the 3 hours! I took this shot of a rainbow as we drove up. Not bad considering the car was going about 70 mph.


By the time we got to my sister's and unloaded most of our worldly possessions into their home it was time for the little guy to get to bed. (It's amazing how much stuff baby needs! Good thing my sister's house is roomy!)

Saturday was a super fun day! My friend, Lisa, and her family came over to my sister's house and then we all went to lunch at Isaac's, a yummy sandwich place, to celebrate Lisa's 29th birthday! (Crazy, huh? 29 again!) Next on the agenda, Chocolate World, a first for Lisa, Scott, and the kids.


Once inside Chocolate World we rode the ride which explains the wonderful and exciting journey cocoa beans take to become those confections we have come to love (Hershey Kisses, Kit Kats, Reeces, Mounds, etc.). Lynley carried Tennyson around and somehow he managed to sleep through almost all of Chocolate World. Upon leaving the ride you are directed to their giant store full of....yes, chocolate, but also candies, baked goods, and much more. A feast for the eyes and the waistline. Groan.

Please note his adorable "Hershey" shirt, purchased on a trip to Chocolate World last spring.)

After (reluctantly) leaving we all headed over to the Hotel Hershey. It was such a nice day and the flowers were in full bloom. We took lots of pictures in the gardens....

Tennyson and his lady friend

Can you tell our son does not like sitting in the grass? I think that will change in time.

This photo hardly does these gorgeous tulips justice.

How wonderful to make good family memories.

April Showers

I went outside yesterday to photograph my Daffodil and was greeted by cold air and sleet. Yes, sleet. I don't mind cold weather, but I am officially ready for all my flowers to start blooming, especially the Tulips I planted a few years ago.

Six Months

Wow, has it really been six months since Tennyson was born?! It was six months this past Wednesday, and needless to say, he's the best thing that has ever happened to us. Tom and I often look at each other and say, "Oh my goodness. I can't believe he's ours." How long we waited......hoping to get pregnant. If you've never gone through the darkness of infertility, be thankful. I can't even begin to describe what it felt like to travel that road. My heart goes out to those who are still waiting for their miracle. Be strong. Find others who will pray you through it. (The Rita Springer song called "You are Still Holy" got me through so many rough days.)

But our prayers were answered.....in God's perfect timing. Praise God for His faithfulness!

And the moment you've all been wating for. Here are pictures of Tennyson from this past week. Enjoy!

I was in the kitchen when I heard loud squeals of delight. So I walk in the living room to find him trying to get the sock off of his foot.....and eat it. Apparently, I had forgotten to feed him.



When did he start looking less like our little baby and more like our little boy? *sigh*



And just for fun, here are some pictures of the ice we got on Friday. No kids to keep so it was just a mommy, daddy, and Tennyson day!

Snow Days

Ahhh, the blessed event of snow. How beautiful and how wonderful that it got Daddy two days off from work. Tennyson was fascinated to see the flakes floating down to Earth. And how did we spend this cold, snowy day? Lots of sleeping and spending quiet time as a family.

The view out our back door.....

As you can see we got almost 6 inches at last count.

Daddy also spent some time flying his little man high up over his head. They had so much fun doing it!