T minus 3 months

We celebrated Kincaid turning 9 months this past week!  I can hardly believe that we're already beginning to talk about him turning 1 yr old!  

He is the true light in our lives - we love him more each day!  Kincaid is our big stander, cruiser and crawler, and he's been testing his ability to stand unassisted.  He loves to explore and is almost always happy!  

Love in the little

Our local Moms Group recently read a book called My One Word. This is an easy read and very inspiring/challenging!  The hard part is choosing a word and committing to that word for an entire year! Jon and I have each chosen our words, and are taking baby steps towards spiritual and personal transformation.  

After some deliberation, I landed on "appreciate."  I'll devote another post on this process as well as what I desire - keeping in mind that the Lord likely has very different plans for my growth in this area :) 

Until then, here are some snapshots of life that I've been striving to fully appreciate and soak in.

I can't wait to see how God uses this exercise in the coming days, weeks and months for His Glory!  

The Blizzard of Oz

Winter storm "Q," aka The Blizzard of Oz, has made itself quite at home here in the plains over the last 24 hours!  So much so that the Governor announced that all Executive Branch State offices would be closed Thursday, February 21st and declared emergency for all 105 Kansas Counties.  In addition, all State DCF Offices closed for the day.  That meant that my office closed at 4:15 on Wednesday, and our 25 minute commute lasted a bit closer to 40 minutes.  Jon was released from school at noon Wednesday, so he and Kincaid had a great time playing Wednesday afternoon.  

As of 1:30pm, we had 14 inches of snow in our yard, and locals report that they haven't had this significant of a snow fall since 1987.  

 

the table measured 

We've spent the day reading, relaxing, 

making crunchy chocolate granola wedges 

Shoveling (4 times and counting) & playing in the snow

   

And watching our backyard birds

  

Bad aim even after a few attempts haha!

While we've had a great day staying at home and reminiscing about many a snowy day in Michigan, we do realize that many Kansans are out in this brutal weather feeding and caring for livestock, looking after new born calves, clearing roadways, delivering mail, and responding to emergencies!  Prayers for all of those who don't get a snow day and have to be out on the roadways!