Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Oh the weather outside is frightful, 

But the fire is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

We seldom have snow in our neck of the woods. Every winter we are taunted by a few snow flurries, but the thick sticking snow, the snow that makes snow families in front yards, comes few and many years between. I have good memories from childhood winter storms and later fun in the dry snows of the Saskatchewan prairies. My husband and I enjoyed recounting memories as we drove slowly home from Salem on ice covered roads last night. When we left home mid afternoon it was above freezing and the 3 inches of snow from the morning had long melted. We were on our way to a Christmas production starring our good friend, Jenni, as Mary. She had a solo and we didn't want to miss it. We enjoy a good snowy adventure, so when the roads turned white and the temperature dropped 6 degrees, we kept going. The Christmas production was spectacular and Jenni did a wonderful job, playing the perfect Mary with a real baby, playing the infant Jesus. 

On the way home we slipped and slid through intersections and saw tire tracks from other cars skidding into the ditch. We stopped at Arctic Circle for hamburgers, it only seemed fitting and we were the only customers who braved the real Northwest Arctic Storm. That has a catchy ring to it. I haven't yet turned on the tv to hear what the media has named this one (they always come up with some wintery name and have coverage for the entire day of our few inches of snow melting away -- it's quite dramatic). We drove home very slow with my capable husband behind the wheel and here are a few of my snow memories that I recalled:

• The big hill behind our house on Pioneer Road was great for sledding. My dad stayed home from work for the big snows of my early childhood. We had such fun going up and down that hill.
• When I was about 10 or 11 it snowed a whole bunch and my sunday school class had a sledding party at our teacher's property outside of town. I desperately wanted to go and I begged my dad to take me and also my friend, Janelle, who lived on the opposite side of town. My dad agreed, but he couldn't make it up Janelle's long driveway in our little car. Janelle and her dad came snow shoeing through the snow and I thought, "How cool! They have snow shoes." We finally got to the snow party and it was SO great with hot chocolate and cookies and a warm fire inside the house.
• My college memories include making perfect snow angels outside my dorm with a bunch of giggling girls, going to hockey games where heaters hung from the ceiling, through water balloons at my friend Bryce as he came out of his dorm in retaliation for him dumping green jello on me at the caff, walks through the snow with friend, and watching the Northern Lights in the breath taking cold while being mesmerized by God's creation.
• And finally, the best memory of all, Jeff proposed to me in the snow. We were on Mt. Rainier in November and it was terribly cold. I will never forget the sight of him down on one knee in the snow with a dazzling diamond sparking from the lighted ring box held up for me to keep forever.

We finally made it home after collecting our girls from Jeff's parents house. Mandy was fast asleep, but Emma said, "Grandma said to quick run and get into bed before you saw me still up." We love grandma's house. :) All is well this morning with 2 slightly grumpy children. But I have a cup of tea and the house is warm and the snow is beautiful. It is only about 22 degrees, so a little cold for more snow people today. 

If you get snow all winter long, you probably think I am crazy to get excited about a few inches, but this is the Northwest and things are different here. The ice and snow canceled every conceivable activity today and people everywhere are taking a forced break. I saw a few truckers braving the highway by our house and one or two cars out and about. And then there is my husband who is out feeding cows. He loves an excuse to get out in this weather. He pulled Emma to our barn on the sled and brought back wood for the fire. She lasted about 10 minutes outside in this below freezing temperatures. 

I better get to making some soup for my cold husband who will undoubtedly put his icy hands on my stomach when he returns home. This is a practice I can always dread, make that count on. I will howl and scream and the girls will giggle and then he'll touch their faces and they will scream and giggle. Then we'll all need some hot soup. Enjoy the cold!