Depths of Despair

When I was a little girl (oh, this sounds so grammaish right now!) I loved the Anne of Green Gables series.  My parents got me the entire set one year for my birthday and I read them numerous times over.  Then the  movie came out and, oh my, I watched it a zillion and a half times.

When I am feeling down and out, I still refer to it as "the depths of despair" and then I always hear Marilla saying, "To despair is to turn ones back on God."  Her voice sorta sets me back on the right path.

Winter is rough on me.  I count down until the first day of spring.  Our spring arrived with snow and cold.  The last two weeks have been so wonderful to have SUNSHINE but it's still cold.

My attitude has been rotten.  I keep trying to snap out of it, talk myself out being blue, list all my things joyful things (think Ann Voskamp), but really, it hasn't been working.  And while our family is good and there IS so much to be thankful for, we have had a couple hard weeks.  A tough month.  It's more emotional than anything else but you know what, emotions are a big deal and when you are fighting the "depths of despair", it makes it even tougher.

I do not think I am the only one who suffers this.  

I am coming out of it now.  It's easier to laugh.  I know it won't be long before I get some color from sunshine and wear dresses and heels again and dig my hands in therapeutic dirt as I work on flower beds.  

All that leads me to this....

I have never read anything from Jen Hatmaker.  I have friends who have told me I need to read her books but there is a STACK of books I have to read and I haven't gotten them all done.  I keep saying "eventually" and wondering why I keep hearing her name come up.

Then I read THIS...Stuck in the Doldrums: An Attack Plan.

I cheered. Her conversation with her husband?  That. Is. Me.

Totally me.

I am not even exaggerating, totally. me.

So, in case there are others out there that are feeling blue, I am saying I know how you feel.  And go read Jen's post because it is said so well I cannot duplicate it.

And cheer up!  The sun IS shining.  Spring always does come, eventually.  This also means that I had better start walking the track in the morning to fit into the dresses I miss wearing so much.

And to quote Red Green, "Remember, I'm pulling for you.  We're all in this together."

  

Snakes in February

We live in Michigan.

Normally this time of the year we have knee high snow and zero degree weather.

Not lately.

And, because you all know how much I love spring and beach days and summer,

you should be able to guess how much I have been liking the great weather.

But not so much when I see this......

 Yes, a snake in FEBRUARY.

And it wasn't even lethargic looking.  It BIT my husband...but he had gloves on...and garter snakes don't normally do things like that.

This...this thrills me.  All these pictures and this VIDEO are taken from my amazingly wonderful iphone that my hunky hubby got for me.  And it posted on my blog.  I literally squealed for joy.

But then when you see it's a snake you will squeal, in fear, I believe.

 I thought I was taking a photo at first and didn't realize it was on video.

But you get the idea.

The boys are thrilled over a snake.

I am not.

 As I am sure you can imagine, the boys wanted to keep the snake as a pet.

Thankfully, it's too cold to begin keeping them in the water trough they keep for a "snake habitat" in the sandbox mere steps away from my dining room window where I sit at the computer.

That's when the thought of keeping it in the house came to mind.

Their brilliant idea was soon abolished as they remembered they had a mama.

Oh, yah, her.

Who doesn't like snakes.

So they let it go.

Right next to the front porch.

Where it could curl up and hole up and live until spring.

In my front porch.

I may have seethed at my husband a bit at the thought that he did that to me.

Just being honest.

But the boys informed me today that Daddy just TOLD me he let it go there.

They actually let it go at the furtherest corner of the property.

Those boys of mine, they sure are sweet.

And must love their Moma a lot. 

One thing is for sure, though.

If February is bringing posts about snakes,

this year is sure to have a lot of posts about lots of "critters".

Lucky all of you.

Icky Day Sunshine

Today is an icky cold dreary rainy gray dark blustery day.

It ain't pretty.

The boys woke up at five.  I know this may sound odd to the lot of you, but I ENJOY sleeping in until my alarm goes off.

And it doesn't go off at five.

I gave up and just began the day.  It's pretty much impossible to go back to sleep with two extra boys in your bed.

My boys wake up like they have had a pot of coffee by iv before their eyes fluttered open.  It's hard to handle the extremeness of them...they are running and squealing and playing and climbing up Daddy to get his phone to play Angry Birds and eating cereal and fighting over their favorite bowls and chasing the dog with a nerf bow and it's insane.

I haven't even had a cup of strong coffee yet.  Heck, it isn't even brewed yet.

But as I watch the boys get those extra minutes with Daddy before he leaves for work, as I watch them tease and giggle, my heart can't help but melt.

I stand in the kitchen inhaling my french press coffee and think about what a dreary long day this is going to be.

And catch my boys attempting to escape outside.

Here I am all sad about the mud and the cold and the darkness and the thought of winter too quickly approaching....

...and my boys are trying to get outside to run and play in the puddles and attempt to slide all over our slippery slimy wet deck.

Perspective.

It changes an icky day to a bright one - even if the sunshine doesn't shine.

Yup, we've got Icky Day Sunshine here today.

And I need another strong cup of coffee.

Winter in Michigan

I always like it when other friends put up pictures

of where they live.

I just refound these pictures on my camera.

Hubs took these last month.

So I thought I would share.

This is one side of our field, can you see the raspberry bushes?

I may not like cold, but I love this picture.

I like it green, but this is beautiful too.

I dare say, my Hubby did a great job taking photos.

Back from the Brink........

I have been following blogs this past month and two weeks a bit but have had nothing of any consequence to write about. Winter does that. Do you really want to hear about every family movie we have watched? Didn't think so, because you are tired of watching your own, I am sure.
One blog in particular I have been keeping a close eye on. If SHE didn't post, well, I wasn't doing too bad. She just posted TWO blogs so now I am super behind. Why I thought this, I just don't know, but I did. And secretly, I was hoping NBC, the Hallmark Channel, Fox News...they all would be calling and saying “AHHHHH, we MUST know about the life of you and your family!!! We are DESPERATE from any word from you. Here is a years worth of coffee, and advance to the novel we will publish for you now WRITE!!!!”

Hubby would LOVE that!

But the truth is, nothing like that has happened. If you all wanted me to tell you about my imaginary life, it would be MUCH more interesting!

The truth is, the more I write the more ideas come to me so if you don't mind the mundane life of winter with four boys, well, I will be happy to share some smidgeons.

So until the adventures of spring come, I hope you continue to check in on this blog. I appreciate every one of you who do!

Winter Days Are For Monopoly

The boys have just rediscovered Monopoly. They also have Sorry and Trouble. Trouble is a game one must play with Daddy, because no one is more competitive at Trouble than Daddy.

They were all playing so nicely together that I just had to snap this picture.

Then I noticed the sweetest thing in the picture. Do you see it?

Just in case the middle wasn't enough of a prize, THREE large marshmellows really do "sweeten the deal".

Hahahaha! Gotta love it!