Winter Birds

"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?"  ~Matthew 6:36

"But now ask the beast, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ...

Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this,"  ~ Job 12:7,9

"I know all the birds... and the wild beast of the field are Mine.  If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness." ~ Psalm 50:10-12

With the cold weather coming in full force, our bird feeders have been inundated with birds. In particular last week we had a flock of Red Polls come through.  The Gold Finches were not to happy about this, but the Red Polls only stayed long enough to let us capture a few photos of their adorableness before they moved on.

~Chs

Snowing Indoors: The Snowflake Party

One rather warm Friday in January, when the snow was all melting outdoors, and everything was putting on the false hope of spring, inside the Sauve home we were ignoring the odd weather and preparing for a snowflake party in the basement! :)  Ironic... yes.

As I shared before we have found a new hobby, customized snowflakes.  As we showed our friends the new snowflakes we had quite a few mention that they would love to learn how.  Thus birthed the snowflake party.

We brought down our "special" snowflakes to display for idea starters, as well as a stack of papers printed with the snowflake pattern on them, ready to be folded and cut out.

We decided to go for a white snowflake theme with our tea, so piles of Macaroons, Russian teacakes, Lemon melt-a-ways, and a gorgeous snowflake and icicle Chocolate cake graced the table. 

It was short but lovely time, full of snowflakes, laughter, a short devotional on snow, tea and delectable dainties.

Unfortunately I was not able to get any pictures of all the wonderful creations of our guests.  But there was some beautiful ones among them. 

Above are some of Faith and my snowflakes from the party.

So some wintry day in February when you have the blues, why not have a few friends over and host a snowflake party of your own?  Just try to pick a day where the weather outdoors coincides with your activity indoors. :)

~Chs

Sledding Season!

Winter is one of our four favorite seasons! - filled with hanging snowflakes, going for hikes, snow forts, and best of all.....

Sledding!!

One of our favorite sled hills is of course Mr. Reiche's sled run!

Last year the sled run didn't open until mid January, but this year we were able to slip in some sledding before the end of the year.

The initial run was made on December 28th.

That Friday morning run was the beginning but not the last.

Saturday we returned for some quick runs in the dark.

Then Monday we were back again....

This time with a bunch of little ones in tow.

The sled run was used to its full potential, as one after another climbed up and then slid down.

Quick breaks at the fire were taken here and there to return feeling to our cold limbs before jumping on sleds  for more!

If you became tired of sledding, you could run out back where the new attraction at the Reiche resort was installed.

A superb zip line!!!!

Then of course there is the fort to defend or attack!

And if we are along, you just might find a boy willing to become a snow mummy.

We are patiently enduring this short thaw, but as soon as the snow comes again, we will be sitting on sleds waiting to go down and anyone is free to join us!! ;)

~Chs

Last Few Days of 2012

The last few days of 2012 were full of fun games and adventure, and instead of posting each activity or day, I thought I would pile them all together in one gigantic lump :)

On Mom and Dad's day we had a delightful evening playing scrabble of sorts.  We were divided into teams of two and each team was given a set of letters out of which they were to make a verse, or phrase of a song, or group of ideas!

Friday was set aside for Charity, and in the afternoon we all grouped into the kitchen to make chicken garlands. :) 

We strung grapes, radishes, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, and boiled eggs, and then hung them out in the 

chicken coop!

It was the last of the "special" days before our celebrations when we headed out to Whole Foods.  Many things were looked at, some sampled, and some sniffed, and more than expected bought! :)

Finally New Years Eve came and after spending the first part of the afternoon figuring out and preparing the menu, I headed outback to collect decorations for the table.

Soon the table was set, the candles lit and the food served up.  It was a delightful meal, and the only complaint was that there was too much food!!

New Years morning found us tramping at the Sanctuary with Mr. Reiche.  But the above image is the only picture I have from the walk thanks to dying camera batteries :P

Upon arriving home we set out the games and once Josh and Theresa arrived had a fun-filled morning/afternoon with games, laughs and....

FOOD!!

It was truly a delightful two days, not only filled with the above, but also with some wonderful family devotions, discussions, remembrances, and thanksgiving!

"O sweet Lord Jesus, You are the present portion of Your people, favor us this year with such a sense of Your preciousness that, from its first to its last day, we may be glad and rejoice in You."
~C.H. Spurgeon