living in the land of frozen...

This was yesterday...then we got a little MORE snow...



A few pics of the grand babies, Achilles Royce:


Ophelia Rose:


And the little things that brighten up the house in the winter:

(the new rug though, right? There's a smaller matching one too. Walmart. And no, I don't get a penny for touting it. I loved it, Jon didn't, the lady walking by stopped and said she loved it so much she was tempted to get one too. So I bought it.)


Playing their game...these are the only kids who live here now. Evelyn comes sometimes on weekends, and believe me, lots of the older kids come over here and there, and with the grands, it can be busy and crazy. But on a regular day-to-day basis...it's like a normal house now, ha.


Here's an oldie, Miss Charlotte Claire with Mali Rose, and Camille Anaya with Char...such cuteness!

Paul and Jonathan are out ice fishing this morning. I don't know how long they'll last, it's FREEZING out there, and on the ice out on the lake, brrrr! It's 15F (-9.44c) here, colder on the ice.

Charlotte Claire and Camille are heading up to Ottawa tonight, some of the other kids are going up in the morning, skating on the Rideau canal!

Yesterday was a very nice day, all snowed in and cozy. I don't mind those days, but I'm always thankful to know the older kids got safely to and from work. Abigail went off the road a few weeks ago, and yes, I know she's a big girl, but still, it's scary. I think it shook her a bit too, because those SUV's with all-wheel drive make you feel a bit confident in our winter weather, but it slipped and went out of control, off the opposite shoulder of the road. Thankfully nothing was coming from the other direction, and thankfully she didn't go off on the shoulder of the side she was driving on, there is a huge embankment.

I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies yesterday, and Sunny polished off at least two dozen this morning. She helped herself. The dogs won't jump up and steal from the counters when we're out here, and they sleep in our rooms at night, taking turns between us all. Paul LOVES having Sunny sleep with us, I don't care for it as much, she's a huge0 bed hog, but she loves us, and sneaks in there when she knows it's bedtime. She lies there on our bed with her head on her paws, with her eyebrows up, as if pleading to stay. I would shoo her out, but Paul is more taken by the expression. So when Paul got up at the butt-crack of dawn to go ice fishing, Sunny left our room too...and subsequently was unsupervised in the kitchen...and ate all the cookies. They were in baggies, to keep them nice and fresh, and the baggies were ripped up on the couch, so she brought them up there and had herself a nice comfy feast. rrrr. It's like having two year olds.

It's a good thing they're so cute.

Yesterday, being a long snowy day, with a lot of time spent in the living room together, we all wondered what people do who don't have animals to entertain them. Our two kitties often chase each other around, or cuddle up with the dogs. Sunny is always bringing a toy for me to throw. If you say the word TREAT, the dogs will both wake up, their ears forward, they tilt their heads...if you say, "Did they eat yet?", they'll be ON THE ALERT, wagging and making hungry faces, even if they ALREADY ATE! They are huge liars, ha.

This fine morning, I bumbled around in the kitchen a bit, cleaned up a mess of goldfish crackers that had spilled, changed the filters in the Brita pitchers, wiped down the counters, washed a few dishes...straightened up the living room a little, then, ahh, coffee and the blog. I do not take it for granted, the days like these, days with so much relaxation. No sir, I do not. When I first started blogging, Camille Anaya wasn't born yet, Miss Char was like 16 months old, Jonathan Robert must have been 3,(Robert was born between Jonathan and Sonja) Sonja Kathleen 5, Suzanne Eleanor 6, Evelyn Joy 8, Kathryn Grace 9, Margaret Cheryl 10, Samuel James 12, Mali Rose 13, Aaron Royce 14, Joseph Michael 16, Mirielle Joy 17, Benjamin Paul 18, Abigail Marie 20, Emily Anne 22.

I remember blogging while I nursed Camille...it was extremely hard to fit in computer time back then. I DID have five teenagers, with two just out of the teens, and Sam just under...those five girls in a row, from 5 to 10, wow.

Somehow I survived, ha. There has been an abundance of grace from God.

And now, the kids are getting up...:)