Tag Archives: winter

Cold Winter and Blankets

It has been a very cold winter here in Indiana so far with several nights of single digit and zero degree temperatures.

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We have had some nights with wind chills as low as  -19 degrees.  That is just too cold!

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I have been usually starting most days with a hot bowl of oatmeal and a mocha (hot drink for me, though the kids still ask for smoothies too, brrrr)  to help us get warmed up in the mornings.  It is really hard for me to drink something cold when I am cold.  So my stove has been working overtime to keep warm beverages and food ready throughout the day!

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A precious lady we met at church a couple of years ago stopped by this winter with some beautiful homemade blankets for our family.  This is one of the most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever shared with our family.  She grew up in a farm house out in the countryside and she remembers how chilly it can get in the winter.

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It must have taken her many long hours of her time to make a special blanket for each child.

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I am so touched by her kindness and generosity to my family.

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She also made one for my husband and I to share.

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All these lovely colors were patiently put together by loving hands and given to us.  We are keeping warm, even in this cold winter, with these beautiful homemade blankets and I am grateful.

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Spring!

Oh can it really be true? I sure hope it is! What a difference a few days make. Just a week ago, we were playing games indoors, and if we went outside we had to be bundled head to toe in our heaviest winter gear.

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But it was just too cold to stay out and play for long, and most of our free time was spent doing this:

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and this:

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and building this:

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and more of this:

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Now this week the weather has improved and we can go outside with light jackets!  No more heavy coats!  We can enjoy the sunshine.  Spring has begun even though it’s official day isn’t until next week.   It is still a little chilly if the wind is blowing, but it is so beautiful and I love that there is more color than just white!

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Even the chickens are happy!  They are scratching around in the yard looking for fresh sprouted grass and bugs.  Happy chickens makes me happy!

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Now if we want to play board games, we have the option to play them outside!

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This mama is sooooo thankful for the sunshine and warmer temperatures, for spring and for happy kids!

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Snow But Hoping For Spring Soon

Hoping for spring to come soon!  Even though the snow is pretty, I am ready for a change.  I need some warm sunny days.

Here are some beautiful snowy pictures around the homestead from Saturday, March 1st.   I came outside to snap a few pictures, hoping to say goodbye to winter.

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Pretty, yes!  Practical, no!  I am so over winter.  The driveway is a solid sheet of ice.  My van has been in the same spot in the drive way almost all winter. My husband has a truck and can get in and out just fine for work, and can take several kids on daddy dates to go get groceries and supplies, but my van is the only vehicle we have big enough to take us all out at the same time, and it is not capable of making it down or up the driveway when it is covered in ice.  Oh it has been a long winter!

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We spend our days doing schoolwork, then playing games indoors, reading, baking, building with Legos, making crafts, bundling up in serious winter gear to play in the snow outdoors, etc. But the kids long to play in the grass again without having to wear their heavy winter gear.

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I can’t wait until the snow is gone and the kids can ride bikes and play in the green grass again.

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I love how the pine trees embrace the snow.  I felt this way back in December.  But it is March and I am over it now, lol.

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The older boys bundled up to build a snow fort and throw snow balls this afternoon.  “Please don’t throw one at me, I have a camera!”

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Serious construction going on here Mom!  This one absolutely loves the snow.  He could live in it year around I think.  Alaska or even Antartica wouldn’t bother him a bit.  He could live in any weather anywhere as long as he got to build something I think.  He loves to stay busy building.  And if he can’t go out, if it is too cold or too hot, or pouring down rain, then he builds with his legos and Lincoln logs too.  He tells me all the time he wants to be a builder like his daddy when he grows up.

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Building his wall for his snow fort.

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The kitties followed me everywhere I went.

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They stayed on the trail, but they were all about the little walk around.

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There is five of them: George, Boots, Lion, Precious, Camo, plus their mom: Tiger, and they follow us everywhere.  They are as big as their mom now, but we still call them kittens.  They still act like kittens too.  They are such a joy to our family.  We truly love these precious cats.

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Here is a picture of the chicken coop, outdoor rabbit hutch, and the old barn.

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The goats choose to stay in the barn most of the winter eating their hay. They go outside a little when the sun comes out from behind the clouds, or they stand in the doorway, but they agree with me about winter and I think they are saying “we are tired of the snow already and want some sunshine please!”

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Even the chickens won’t walk in the snow.  All winter they venture out of their house about two feet and then turn around and go back in. They say “no more snow, we wont go, no more snow”, ha, ha!

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This is Boots and he is hanging out in the barn today.  He loves to explore!

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We had to move the rabbits inside as it is too cold here to leave them outside in the winter.

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We were given these wonderful rabbit cages and feeders just after the snows began this winter by a sweet elderly couple who no longer needed them. My husband hung them in the barn.  It reminds me of my grandma’s rabbitree . She had rows and rows of these hanging in her barn.

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The old farmhouse.  Indiana winter’s are cold, snowy, and everything stays frozen. I am thankful for this old farmhouse that shelters my family. Some youngins stepped onto the porch to ask me what I was doing in the snow, lol! I told them “I am saying goodbye to winter and praying for spring!”

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Winter On The Homestead

Winter is definitely a time of slowing down on the homestead. It is just too cold to try to work on projects without a heated space to work in. We have had several below zero temperatures and even some -30 wind chills. Oh my goodness! It is just too cold!

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It is amazing how quiet everything is too.  The snow seems to silence all the noise.

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Paths and garden beds that were so well used just a few months ago, sit idle, waiting on their due season to be active again.

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All the animals are quiet too.

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Even the goats are quiet. They quietly eat their hay and drink water all day long.

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Our chickens who normally run free all over the homestead, wont even come out of their chicken house.  They have a chicken size door on their house that is open all the time, and a small fence that is open all the time so they can run free. But they won’t come out in the snow. They are huddled inside, hiding out until warmer days.

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I know how they feel.
I’m huddled inside too, waiting…
I’m waiting for sunshine…waiting for warmer days.

What is this winter like at your home?
Thanks for your comments.
Be blessed!

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