It's snowing in Paradise!!

Snow in Texas, is kind of a big deal....
Last year we were spoiled with days of snowfall-- like 12" deep!
Today's precipitation, just does not compare!

And I think it is already done.  :(

Comparable or not, I have vowed to do nothing productive today....
and enjoy peace.

I put on a pot of stew for my parents to come over and enjoy with us later.
I have ripped through a cup of coffee... and pretended it wasn't decaf.

Maddox and I played a little ball.
Cars.
And dress up!

...And now he has crashed on his rug in his room.
Where I will leave him!

I picked up a few books at Mardel yesterday...

The book, Heaven is For Real, I borrowed from a friend yesterday.
I got up at 6:20 yesterday morning for work and spent from noon until 9:30 last night shopping and spending time with my mom and sister-in-law.
But as I climbed into a bath last night, (close to midnight) exhausted and desperately needing sleep, I decided I wanted to start this book.
It was so good, I kept reading "just one more chapter".
I finally closed it close to 1:30 and decided I would finish it up today.

I am not a big reader, actually if my attention is not gained in the first 2 pages of reading, I am done.
So a $40 purchase to a Christian bookstore was probably a stretch for me yesterday, but I have plans!

I set myself a goal to complete the One Year Bible for 2011...
It may take me a little longer since I foresee setback, come April.
But it is something I want to attempt.

It was on sale for $10 so I went ahead and bought a book that I have talked myself out of a few times.
Love and Respect.
My friend Amanda read it and said it changed the way she understood her husband and her marriage.  (and herself for that matter)
She has pulled from this book many times over the last couple of years as we hash out "issues" that we run into as wives.
It only comes in hard back and I never want to drop the $23...
But I did yesterday.

I feel like my marriage is in a good place (however, if I would have ever clicked "post" on the blog I wrote Friday, you may question that statement I just made.)
But I think marriage, like anything else you want to be good at, takes work.
A Christian book on marriage, surely can't hurt a thing.

Aaron's Way was a last minute purchase, on my way out the door.  It was $5 and the further my child gets into his twos... the more independent and strong willed he becomes.

I love that I have multiple friends with kiddos my baby's age, because we are all dealing with the same stubborn- "I can do it with myself" attitude!  (a sentence Maddox says about 476 times a day) Therefor, I know we are hitting a milestone and are completely normal!!
Most days, I am able to tolerate this stage rather well.
But I thought this book would help me on days when independence, becomes annoying!
Because we definitely have those days too.

Besides reading, I wanted to pick up a new hobby of sewing!
I decided to stock up on some supplies to craft, just in case this snow fall kept me grounded for a while.
My mom recently borrowed my sewing machine that I got 5 years ago for Christmas.
[It was still in the box.]
But now that it is up and running-- and ready to go--
I am going to do some sewing!

First project:
a tie shirt for Maddox.

Second project:
Sassy-fied burp cloths.

I really wish Lance was off today to enjoy our day of laziness.
But I can't complain.
He finally changed his days to Thursday and Friday off.  (he has passed up the opportunity to do so, multiple times, knowing that "any day" he would be going days, and it wasn't worth messing with)
We get to enjoy 3 weeks of this schedule, and then the 22nd he finally goes DAYS!!
We are so excited to feel like normal people, with normal schedules, once again.
We do not know what his days off will be...
but at this point, we don't care!!

We hope to get acquainted with our new schedule just in time for April...
And the birth of our baby boy.

We recently got word from our tenants in Haslet that they want to sign another 6 month contract to stay in our house.
They have bought their land-- found a builder-- and started picking a few things out-- but they have not broke ground.
They were told it would take 6-7 months to complete once the process was started (weather depending) and they want to stay where they are at in the mean time.

I was really anxious to get back to Haslet.
Mainly because I knew the move was going to fall into our lap literally weeks before the baby was born.
I just wanted to get in, get things settled and put away and put together a nursery.
But I am okay with this news.

We will be in Paradise now until September.
With my parents as our neighbor and my brother's family just a couple of minutes away.
Lance's sister and his dad are no more than 15 minutes out either.
We will become a family of four with a team of loved-ones just minutes away, to help us succeed.
And we will be able to save more money this way.
This will be good.

I have really enjoyed my brother and his family moving so close.
Maddox really enjoys being able to play with his cousins so much more now, and they always have such a great time together.

They are all so sweet together, and Maddox thinks he and Ellie are best buds!
Today, he told me he needed to go see her and Gunny because Ellie misses him!!

It is nice to have Randi so close...
with a pretty open schedule like mine.
A play date, some shopping or just company for dinner...
I feel blessed.

Now that we know we are staying longer, we can plan for the next 8 months.
So I say I wish Lance were here to enjoy our laziness-- But if Lance was off today-- there would not be much laziness happening...
Lance would want to be out in the madness...
taking Maddox outside to play in these frigid temperatures.
(with me, Maddox gets to enjoy the weather through open blinds, from the comfort of the fire place!)

...And I would be trying to persuade Lance to help me change the back den into Maddox's room/ play room...
And Maddox's room into a nursery.

I am ready to have things in order.
But we have time.
3 more months.

***
I have worked on this off and on all day--
So I have lost my thought process along the way...
I really can not think of a closing,
So let's all just pretend I said something profound and call it the end.