The Big Thaw

We have a creek again this week due to the warm temperatures- in the 60's! It feels strange to see the fields again after the grass being completely covered since mid-November. We had a light dusting of snow tonight, but that should be gone tomorrow. Spring is on its way.

We Have No Hope This Weekend

Hope is gone this weekend on her first overnight trip with the high school youth group.  As we pulled into the parking lot, there were a lot of people there getting ready for the "Night To Shine" event.  I watched all kinds of people walking by in fancy, sequined dresses... I felt quite underdressed for that parking lot!  From texts and a late night phone call, it is clear that she is having a great time, although the food is terrible. We will enjoy hearing about her adventures tomorrow!

Because I Think Commenting on Social Media is Pointless

Some people love to share whatever they are thinking at a given moment with the world. I think that can be a dangerous thing since sometimes our thoughts and feelings about a given issue are fluid and subject to our personal experiences. And some people just have a big mouth and a dominant personality.

Anyway, since this is my blog, I can write down My thoughts for me. Usually things that I have thought about for awhile.

I have opposed Obamacare because I don't think socialized medicine offers enough incentive for medical personnel to do their best work on behalf of patients. I do believe that everyone needs and deserves healthcare and it should be affordable for people. I also believe that insurance companies and hospitals will not naturally make healthcare affordable from their own goodwill towards man. Some medical personnel will, just because that it who they are. But healthcare is a business and you can talk all you want about love and how we should just love each other kumba-ya but that doesn't help the masses with their needs.

Back to Obama. As much grief as this man has taken over this policy, I must say how much we have benefitted from his efforts. We still have private insurance from Brian's work, but even those benefits have seen a big change since Obama started rattling some cages. Unmarried adults living at home can stay on the parent's health plans until 26. Wow. And the coverage that Jacob received from his medical emergency last year. Double Wow. There is NO WAY our insurance would have willingly done that for us. His medical costs last year were close to $250,000 - How could we have afforded to get him the care he needed?  We could have never saved up enough beforehand for that. (yes, that's why you have insurance, but even that doesn't cover everything).

So, besides venting about people who think love is all you need, I want to thank Obama for forcing change in a complicated system so that when my family needed it, my son was able to get the best care in the world (I mean it- his surgeon was rated the best neurosurgeon in the world) at a price that didn't leave us bankrupt.

Mr. President, this song reminds me of you: "You can't always get what you want. But you might just get what you need"...

Because, well, Broncos.

Hope's Artwork

Hope is taking an online art class consisting of videos.  She is also spending hours a day drawing and shading. 

And while she is doing schoolwork during our group time, she will draw pictures like this. It looks like some of the pages in our adult coloring books. Maybe someday she will draw one of those?

Hanging Things Up Around the House

My plates are hanging up in the dining room. I tried to use those wire hangers, but they didn't work with the majority of the plates. So I went with the glue-em-to-the-back kind. So far no midnight crashing of plates...

The mirror in the entryway makes the space seem much lighter and spacious. It weighs about 4 tons since it is cast iron, so Brian had to mount it to a board before hanging. I am still nervous that it will come crashing down in the middle of the night, or worse, when someone is standing right by it. Again, so far it too is hanging in there.

Homeschooling In The Winter

We had a little bit of snow this past week. Grr. I wonder when we are going to find the lawn again. It's been three months since we have seen it. I think that's a first.

On these cold days, doing school in your jammies is the only way to go. Abby is not in school, but she was joining Jacob and Hope in their video art class. We have been consuming a record amount of hot chocolate in the mornings this winter. Anything to stay warm!

The Inspired Room

One of my favorite blogs is "The Inspired Room" by Melissa Michaels. Her decorating style is coastal (perfect, since she is from Seattle and lives by the water).  Even though my style here on the windswept plains is far from coastal, I love her cheerful style and colorful mix of furniture and accessories.

I loved her sofa ottoman so much, I bought the same one for our family room in a different shade of blue. Our family room isn't as fancy with this new ottoman, but wow does it feel different. This ottoman is perfect for putting up your feet or sitting or laying on. It makes the room much more functional for us right now.

And her wallpaper done with wrapping paper of maps?  Well, I bought that wrapping paper and stuck it in the frames in Jacob's room!

Angels

This year I remembered to get out my January angel from the china cabinet.  A couple of Christmases ago, Hannah and Abby bought her for me from the antique shop so that my March angel could have a sister. Mom had written the date of 1974 on the March angel, so this one has been with me for a long time. I thought it was great that the March angel finally had a friend!

Plates

I'm getting ready to hang some plates on the dining room wall.  The picture that was hanging there for 14 years became faded from the sun, but I don't think I'll have that problem with these plates.

All of the plates are new, except the pie dish in the middle. It was one mom had and I'm glad it will be displayed instead of hiding out in my kitchen cupboard. 

In other house news, I am hoping that the 40 yards of fabric (20 of linen, 20 of cotton) I ordered will be here soon so I can start sewing curtains for the living room. The windows seem so lonely and bare.  I haven't sewn curtains for several years. I wonder if I remember how. 

Pictures from Brian's Phone

Three kids (young adults!) outside the mall.

Hannah dancing with Benji (fellow Thorn intern and Jessalyn's brother). 

Some Thorn interns looking un-period correct at intermission.

Fog

Trying to capture the glow of the fog when the sun breaks through.

Hope's Artwork

Hope has been working on her drawing skills lately. Most pictures are of horses, of course. But yesterday she drew a wolf.

Civil War Ball

It's that time of year again when all good homeschoolers come out to dance.

Abby had to work all day, so she couldn't make it to the dance in time to participate. But she managed to do fancy hairstyles on her sisters!

The lighting was bad for my camera, so the pictures didn't turn out very well. I need to figure out how to upload the fun dance videos I took!

Deer in the Neighbor's Yard

While I waited for Hope to take care of the horses, six deer came to find lunch in the yard. When Hope came out of the barn, they jumped over the fence and dashed away.

The Freedom of Authenticity

To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.

-Robert Louis Stevenson
A quote found in a book I've been reading by Melissa Michaels called "Love The Home You Have".

Hope's Job- Caring for Neighbor's Horses

Visiting Hannah

We started the new year with a brief walk at the Garden of the Gods.

It seems that all of Colorado Springs had the same idea as it took a loooong time to find a parking spot. It was just as crowded then as it is in July!

It was so cold that my camera lens froze. I thought I'd take an interesting picture before it warmed up and opened again.

The sun was going down and the temps were dropping fast. No time for happy touristy pictures on the rocks. 

We swung by Manitou to visit Hannah's place.

She lives in the very old cabins right across from Summit. Have I mentioned how painfully cold it was? Makes me grateful to live in a place that's a bit warmer in the winter! Good thing she received some warm clothing for Christmas!

With Friends at the Christmas Eve Eve Service (aka "The Christmas Adam Service")

Abby At Work

Doing what she does best- hairstyles!

A finished style.

And Hope at the mall...