Snow Day in Las Vegas!!

Bet you didn't think we got snow in the desert, huh. 

Well, it's rare, and a few weeks ago we had a real snow day, where it was... well, sleeting.  It was cold and really, really wet.  (If you look super close, you'll see the streaks of snow captured by the camera as they came down)

Then, yesterday, we went sledding!  On snow!  Only this time, the snow was limited to one hill in town and it was 60 degrees and beautiful weather (this, I'm finding, is my kind of snow!!).  One day a year, our neighborhood association does a snow day, and the kids can sled down a hill at a nearby park on snow they bring in from... somewhere.  The kids had a blast and I was amazed at the turnout for a fun family event like this.  It reminded us of our home in Colorado, and we didn't have to endure the storm before we could enjoy the snow this time!  Win - Win.  :)

The only downside was the wait in line - it got up to about 20 minutes.  But, we didn't have to do any shoveling when we got home!  Since everywhere else in the nation is getting pounded with a huge storm, we didn't want to be totally left out in Vegas!

The sands of time

Isn't if funny how life throws us curves and bumps and peaks and valleys, but is always changing?  Recently, I've been completely awed by the fact that today looks so very different than yesterday (I'm talking figuratively, here, although literally applies, too).

• A week ago, it was last year.  NOW it is a new year, almost 100% full of unknown adventures and potential.
  
• A month ago, we were wrestling with a decision about what we could do to be better parents to our youngest child, in particular, who was clearly BORED OUT OF HER MIND (as evidenced by her artwork on our couch, among other places).  I was trying to work from home and earn some much needed extra income, and I was being pulled in too many directions to do anything really well (yes, this is a repeating theme in my life).  NOW we've taken a leap of faith and enrolled her in preschool, even though we were not sure at the time where the money would come from to fund this decision.  Today, I'm so overwhelmed with work from my freelance jobs that I'm relieved to have both the extra money and the time to myself every morning with both girls in school.  And she is THRIVING after only four days of preschool!! 
  
• Two months ago, I was wrestling with my own demons around whether we'll have that third child (brought to the forefront by the anniversary of losing our third pregnancy a year ago in Nov) AND I was really upset at the prospect of having to go back to work at a time I thought I really didn't want to.  NOW, while I still dream of having another baby to snuggle and nurture and raise, I'm starting to see around the corner and am getting excited for the future - whatever it may hold, instead of reminiscing in the past.  I'm also hopeful that some additional prospective job opportunities that have recently been brought to my attention will come to fruition.  (Isn't God so good?  I'm ashamed I doubted Him at all when He told me there would be joy again.)
• Four months ago, as the weather here was quickly cooling (it literally drops 20 degrees overnight, then again a few weeks later, then again a few weeks later) and I was beginning to feel cheated (I mean, my consolation for having to come to the desert was perpetual summertime, right?!?), I started to become even more bitter that I had been stripped from my home in Colorado and plunked in the desert where it still gets cold (albeit not quite as cold as CO) and I was lonely.  NOW, I'm able to get outside and run in 50-60 degree weather while I hear of the rest of the nation struggling through a winter cold front that has brought ice and snow and COLD for weeks on end.  For the moment, it looks like we're sitting pretty good weather-wise.
• Six months ago, we had just arrived in our new hometown and I was LONELY.  Really lonely.  And I longed for friendship in my new town, but it alluded me.  It seemed everywhere I looked I could see groups of women friends who were enjoying one another's company, but didn't seem to be interested in having me join them.  I felt disconnected and sad, and I desperately tried to keep in touch with all of my friends in CO to make up for it.  NOW I've found several women here in the desert who have been gracious to me and we're forming friendships that I can already tell will be strong, regardless of physical location in the future.  We're finally feeling plugged in to our church home and there are people in this city who know our names and notice when we're out of town.  I'm feeling some connection and that is huge.  And, as an added bonus (because that is just how generous our God is), a friend of mine from CO will be relocating here in three week's time.  Seriously, I couldn't not have made that up!!  Can you say "RUNNING PARTNER?!?!"
  
• Eight months ago, we were preparing to leave our home, packing our things, saying goodbye, and shedding lots and lots of tears.  We were headed to the unknown and it was scary and sad and frustrating and all of that tied into one.  NOW, that is behind us and we are able to see the blessings of where we are versus where we've been, and while we still miss our friends and our home in CO, it is ok.  We've made new kinds of connections with them, and those friendships transcend location.
  

It's going to be ok.  What a difference time makes.  I'm so glad I hung in there, and I hope I'll never forget these lessons while I keep my attention on what is to come.

Thank you for journeying this far with me, and thank you, in advance, for sticking with me - you are a blessing!

Who turned off the heat?

So, the locals have been talking for some time about the day the weather "breaks." When this magical day arrives, literally, overnight it will go from triple digit temperatures (it's been around 100 degrees or more since we got here four months ago) to highs in the 70s.

On Tuesday the weather guy said that would be our last day of triple digits for the rest of 2009. I doubted it - I mean, the weather man in Colorado was never quite sure what would happen from one hour to the next, so how could one here predict for weeks and months to come? And, seriously, 100+ degree temps are all we've known now for the entire time we've been here.

As promised, the milestone for this year was apparently yesterday, when it only got up to something like 77 degrees - a full 30 degrees below "normal." Today, like yesterday, the high is only about 75 degrees or so, and I'm fishing out all my jeans and long sleeve shirts (I think I'm officially a desert wimp now). And, I'm stumped as I look outside and see that things are so drastically different from every other climate I've ever lived in (albeit a limited variety).

Let the record show that the locals must know what they're talking about, and Wednesday, Sept. 30 was the day they all celebrate as the beginning of our reward for surviving the summer in the desert.

Bizarre.

I wish I could shake the looming fear that soon it will be a snowy, icy, winter tundra like every other year when fall shows up.

We're still newbies

So, you know that you've been away from Colorado too long, and don't quite fit in the desert yet with the scenario we experienced last night.

It rained. I mean more than you see rain clouds and think you might possibly have felt a drop or two before the rain cloud dried up and vanished before your eyes (often it will rain, but the moisture never makes it to the earth - it's too hot and dry).

No, this time it actually rained - the concrete patio in the back yard got wet with rain drops - we could feel it.

So, what did we newbies do? We called the children out (they must have thought there was some exotic wildlife or something else amazing to see, and they came running), and we all sat in our patio chairs in the rain. It was God's little spray park and we were game. It only lasted for about five minutes, but the novelty of it was glorious.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it. But, in the spirit of complete honesty...

For the birds

So, we're driving in the car yesterday, headed to the grocery store and from the backseat we hear, "I'll bet the birds here fly south for the summer!" Aubrielle was musing on the intense heat (it was 108 yesterday). Her father said, "you mean they fly north for the summer?" and Bri said, "yeah, I bet they don't stay here!"

Maybe you had to be there, but it was such a funny, yet thoughtful thing for a seven year old to blurt out at random.

I hear that it is worse in the deep south with the humidity and high heat, but it is sure hard to imagine hotter than this! I'm thankful daily for swimming pools, misting systems, and spray parks!

Without the rain, you would wither

So, I was reading in my _Streams in the Desert_ devotional today, and the passage was about how storms in life are trying, but necessary, for without them, we would scarcely ever notice the blessings they bring in the aftermath. The author spoke about a midwestern storm that was devastating, uprooting trees, damaging property, and dark and violent. She describes the winds blowing the storm away after it hit, and watching it retreat, leaving rainbows in its wake. She describes how for weeks following the storm, there were flowers unlike most summers in the fields that year, how the grass was greener because of the moisture, and the trees were fuller, casting more restful shade in the heat of the day.

That's just how it is with us, too. We weather the most difficult storms life has to offer and when it is all over, although we are facing trials and challenges in our recovery, we are also better equipped to see the blessings around us. I've noticed things in my own life now, as I'm recovering from this last year of storms, that I have no doubt would have gone completely unnoticed without the struggles. The grass does seem greener, the flowers more fragrant and beautiful.

Although I write this from a warm, sunny perch here in Nevada, I know that my friends in Colorado are weathering what has been weeks of rainy and unseasonably cold weather there. I hope this is encouragement to all of you, that the storms will subside eventually, and what you'll be left with then will be such a blessing. Hang in there! It's worth the wait.

Things I'm learning about the desert...

So, after a week and a couple days of living here in the desert, I'm learning a few things.  Having always lived in a mountainous climate (grew up in Wyoming, spent the last decade in Colorado), I now know that I've been pretty limited in my experiences.  Here are a few of the things I'm learning here in the desert of Nevada:

~ 80 degree weather in June is referred to by the local weather forecaster as "springtime that won't go away" and is believed to be inclimate.  Low temps in the 60s are unheard of past May, apparently...

~ Frozen yogurt joints are on every corner and may actually do more business than Starbucks (?!?)

~ Leaving children or pets in your parked car for ANY amount of time actually could put their lives in serious danger (not that this is something I do, but I'm just saying)

~ Cockroaches (and ants, and the occasional scorpion) are a fact of life, as is the quest to rid your home and yard of them.  :(  (I've found a serious hobby in this as of late)

~ Making my family get used to sleeping in 60 degree temps to save money on heating bills is a thing of the past.  Now I'm making them get used to sleeping in 80 degree temps to save on A/C bills!

~ Our children cannot get enough of running through the grass in our backyard.  (When Kyle mentioned this to a coworker, his response was to ask what Kyle was talking about - he said, "we live in the desert, there is no grass here!"  Could have fooled us Colorado mountain folk!)

~ There is no life without A/C.  Seriously - you could die.

The big melt

I hear people say all the time here, "If you don't like the weather in Colorado, wait 30 minutes." While we had to wait just a little longer, the sun is back out and melting the snow and ice like crazy this morning. It's fun to watch all the mini avalanches of snow break loose from the tree branches and slide to the ground. Here's a shot of some icicles on our roof this morning - note the shining droplets of water as they fall to the ground. What beauty!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

OK. Trying really hard not to get impatient for the real spring to show up here in Colorado - and stay around... As you've, no doubt, heard on the national news, we are once again being battered by a winter storm in Colorado. So far we have about 18 inches in Woodland Park, and counting. Here are a few shots of the scene.



This is a picture of Kyle and our neighbor, Gordon. They're using two snowblowers to uncover our driveway. Gordon wandered over in an effort to help my poor husband out with the overwhelming job. We have the best neighbors!

And here are a few shots of the girls and I trying to pass the time inside...

Let's hope the sun comes out again, soon!

Changing Seasons

Well, April is here! Spring is, too, right?! I want to share with you the view outside my office window this morning

Crazy!! We heard there might be a storm today, but woke up to sunshine and calm. All the sudden, I looked out the window and saw a blizzard! Ahh, the variety of weather here in Colorado. You never quite know what you're going to get, and we all have gotten pretty good at being flexible (because we have no choice!).

I got to thinking about how that is so much like life. You expect things to happen the way you expect them to. Then, unexpectedly, we find ourselves facing a scenario we never saw coming. Flexibility and a willingness to "roll with the punches" is required in this life, and some of us are better at it than others. John F. Kennedy once said, "The one unchageable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable." In so many ways, this is so true.

But, my thoughts turn to the One who doesn't change, not even a little bit, and Who has promised to walk with us through all the changes we face. Psalm 33:11 says "But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations."

The snow this morning, while suprising to me, was not a surprise to Him. Nothing takes Him by surprise, even though we are often thrown for a loop when the unexpected happens. Just some thoughts I'm pondering today...