Looking out over our courtyard Abigail kept saying, "Let's go play in the snow, mama! I wanna make a snow man! And a snow angel!" Lucie didn't really know what to think. Afterall, she was only 7 months old when the last of the snow disappeared last spring. But she could feel the excitement! 
I had decided the night before to make homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and the apartment was soon filled with the smell of baked bread and coffee. Abigail sniffed the air as she ran to the oven. "Mama! Something smells delicious, delicious, delicious!"
Lucie apparently thought so, too! She was stalking the kitchen waiting for the rolls to cool down.
She then proceeded to scarf the equivalent of two complete rolls all on her own. As soon as her bowl was empty, she held it up and signed, "please? please?" How could I refuse? Especially since the first snow of the season is kind of like a holiday!
I started to pull out jeans and sweatshirts for the girls when Jon declared the day a pajama day. So we pulled out our winter gear instead. I felt like I had prepared well. You can never predict when the first snow will be, but you can predict how a 3-year-old will act as soon as she sees the snow! It's best to have the boots, the mittens, the coat, the hat, and the snowpants ready for that day. And indeed they were. But what a pile!!
And of course, what would the first snow day be without a child falling over from the amount of padding surrounding their limbs? At least it cushions the fall...
At long last, we ventured out into the wonderland...
Jon designed the snowman with Abi. I think she is duplicating the face they decided to make for the snowman. The little boy in the background is a new friend we made. He lives down the hall and continued to create a snow people village after we left. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of him!
Abi refused to take part in this picture, but she couldn't completely escape...
After Lucie's little nose and eyebrows started to form icicles, we decided it was time to go home and defrost. We peeled off layers on layers of soggy coats and ice-crusted mittens to find our comfy pajamas still warm and dry underneath. I prepared some hot cocoa for us all (lukewarm cocoa for Lulu) and we watched Iron Will (because we just haven't had our snow fill for the day yet!) Lucie squealed and pointed every time she saw a doggie on the screen. And when there wasn't a doggie on the screen she would draw our attention to the doggie on the cover of the video with squeals and more pointing!! But eventually, everyone wore down and was tucked into their own beds.
Abigail and I went out again after naptime, and again I had to still the desire in my heart for a yard that I could just let her run in without her every move necessitating supervision. But "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven," ~Ecclesiastes 3:1. Again, I found contentment being in the middle of God's will and HIS timing.Even though the girls were obviously exhausted, there were no fits, no whining episodes, and no fights all day long. (WELL, I'm not counting when Abi shut Lucie's thumb in the door; they were having fun before that happened) After a nice warm bath to wash away the cocoa mustaches, the girls sleepily dragged their respective loveys to their beds. A few blissful moments passed as I listened to them giggle in the dark. Then the sleepies won them over and all was quiet. Today was one of those days where I cry with gratitude knowing what amazing gifts God has given me. Today was one of the most peaceful and restful Sabbaths we've enjoyed in quite a while. Thank you, Father for meeting with us today.
