Did you have those nights growing up, when you were having too much fun to come inside? When you ended up making snow forts by porch-lights, long after the sun went to bed? We had several of those nights last week, enjoying our recent snowfall. When the kids are playing outside, I'm a sucker for "Just five more minutes, Mama?" Because I remember how much I hated coming inside when I was little. And I love their enthusiasm. This sometimes means that dinner is late- and bedtime is even later!- but I think it's the playing they'll remember, so it makes the late bedtime worth it.

This particular snow was preceded by ice, so the snow really clung to the trees once it arrived. It also ended up making most of our young trees bend over completely with the weight. Luckily, there wasn't much damage- and they ended up making perfect hide-outs. The snow clung to the trees for several days and Billy enjoyed hitting it off all the branches he could reach. Here he is under one of his snow-falls!


And a picture of Isia, captured looking for her next project. Her busy mind is always looking for "the next thing" right now: the next activity, the next meal, the next way she can help. When a toddler, her favorite animal was a butterfly and I think of them often with her as she flits from one thing to another during our days together.

Her little sister has inherited some of that business, and adored being in the snow the next day. Usually cheerful, it only took her a minute or so to adjust to the cold temperatures. When she found walking to be a bit cumbersome, she ended up crawling- then rolling!- around most of our yard. I followed closely behind, just in case, but she did really well on her own. She also loves to help these days, and carried snow- a handful at time- to add to her siblings' many snow creations.

Even though Christmas is behind us, I feel like winter is finally here. It makes me happy. Of course, we're still waiting for our "wet" snow to make a proper snowman-  but this is a good start!