Wonderland

We were in St. Helens again this Christmas. Last year we inched our way up there in chains and didn't leave the house for over a week. This trip we left the chains in the trunk - which is great because we broke them last year - and our Christmas was every color but white.

But a few days later Mindy, at least, got her wish for a magical world. As we were leaving the theatre where we had seen Avatar in 3-D, which I imagine had the same effect as a child's imagination, in the '90s, had on the forest of FernGully (though I never really watched that movie), it began to snow so lightly I announced it to my party with uncertainty.

By the time we had dropped Tom off at the mechanics and pulled up to the Burgerville drive-thru it was coming down. Within maybe a couple of hours there was 3 inches of snow, which eventually became 5 inches of snow which by the next morning was retreating into the gutters and dripping off of the trees.

Fortunately Tom had seized the moment and shot some beautiful pictures from the backyard.

We didn't make our snowman though. We thought we'd have more time. But by the morning it was slush. I do have some great memories though. This is when the sky turned white for the rest of the evening:

But more fantastic was the moment, lead up to by worrying (and wishing I hadn't bought ONE cheeseburger meal to share with Tom but 2 or 5), when Tom walked into the house smiling, arms tucked into his coat, covered in snow, having walked from the mechanics where the car was, in fact, not ready to go. Such a big smile... What a guy.

Happy, unseasonably warm, January. May we appreciate what God gives us and always be amazed at the beauty of His world.