This week’s photo challenge from The Daily Post is “Silence.”  I find it so fitting for the months of January and February, when life calms down from the excitement of fall and Christmas, and we spend long days bundled up at home getting caught up on schoolwork and just enjoying being together.  I relish this time before ball season and VBS planning start up.

We had a great snow yesterday.  We measured 12 inches in some spots in our yard, which is almost unheard of in NC! We’ve had a wonderful time playing and eating snow cream and riding the four wheeler.  We love walking through the woods by our house.

I thought these pictures were perfect for this photo challenge, because nothing is more silent than the woods when there is snow on the ground:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The months of January and February seem long and slow to me, but they are a time for planning and working and healing.  God illustrates this for us in his creation during winter, when everything takes a break from showing off to get ready for spring.

We’ve had a great time in the snow the past couple of days:

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” -Lewis Carroll

This week’s photo challenge from The Daily Post is “Peek.”

I took this picture when we went to the fair last month.

Jason and I both refused to go on this ride with the kids, because we’re both in the stage of life where we get sick when we spin around too many times.  We left it to Charlie to spin the teacup, and he struggled a bit until he finally gave up and they just rode around in a circle talking about what they were going to ride next.

This was toward the beginning of our day, when I was still concerned with taking pictures. I stood there like a madwoman, trying to get a picture of the kids through the little door in their teacup, but the timing had to be perfect and the door would never quite face where I was standing so I could see both kids.  This was the best one I could get, with Charlie peeking through and a glimpse of Maddie’s head.

This weeks theme on The Daily Post is “round.”  I went searching through my pictures and found a lot with a “round” theme, and also thought about writing about being well-rounded or something like that.

But then I found this picture I took when we were on our way to Destin, FL a couple of months ago for vacation.  It’s not a great picture because I took it from the window of the truck while we were traveling around 85 mph down the interstate, plus the power lines are annoying, but it brought back a lot of summer memories so I enjoyed seeing it.

This is the giant peach in the sky (or, as we like to call it, “the giant butt in the sky”) that is right across the border in South Carolina.  I don’t care how many times you pass by it, it’s always funny!

This week’s photo challenge from The Daily Post is “Glow.”

I just happened to take this picture of the kids and some of their friends at the zoo yesterday, and Charlie’s neon orange sweatshirt (which is his current favorite and he wears every day that the temperature is below 80 degrees and it is clean).  My phone somehow created this glow from his sweatshirt as he was attempting to photobomb this picture of the girls.

Charlie thinks this is the coolest picture ever, and that he now has some strange power to glow.

Oh, I love his imagination and personality!

This weeks Weekly Photo Challenge from The Daily Post is “Pedestrian.”

A pedestrian is someone who walks on foot, and can also be anything related to walking. I know I walked what feels like a million miles today, and my feet are killing me!

Photo credit goes to Robin Beans. Thanks, Robin!

This picture was taken this summer on our family vacation to Destin, Florida.  I love how Maddie’s feet are exactly like mine and Charlie’s feet are exactly like Jason’s (minus the golfer’s tan;)).