February Faves

What.a.week.

We went from no snow on the ground to ice, then a snowstorm and now warmer with rain in the forecast. Good grief. Gotta love winter season in the Great North-East.

But I can always find the blessings in a week that's crazy even though sometimes it takes a bit of digging.  Join in with us as we share FIVE of our FAVES and link together at Susanne's site.

• CHURCH:  one of my new small group members attended church with us on Sunday.  She had her toddler son with her.  The cool thing is, she used to be MY daughters' babysitter when she was a teen! She is in my group this semester along with her mom whom Dave and I know from when we all used to go to the same church...a small one in a city east of us and that we left in 2005.   They are all looking for a new place to worship so I was thrilled when A could join us.  And she invited another young friend of ours....a guy our oldest daughter used to be friends with when they were in elementary school...we hadn't seen him since 2005! It was super awesome to have them check out our church and they loved it! I'm thankful I'm in a body of Believers where outsiders feel welcomed and accepted.

• SNN/REMIND:  for those of you who have children in public schools or you your self are a teacher, you probably know about the texting system SNN (School News Notifier) or REMIND.  Well I am thanking God that on Monday morning, after getting up at 5:30, showering, dressing, eating breakfast, having my devotional time, that I decided to check my cell phone.  Thank God I did!! The preschool where I teach was running on a 2 hour delay due to an ice storm from the previous evening.  We live on the west side of the Hudson River in Albany County and the roads weren't bad at all.  But where I work, on the east side of the River and to the south a bit....about a 25 min drive from my house, the roads were coated with ice so buses weren't running to pick up the children. I'm just so thankful I was prompted (Holy Spirit?) to check my phone!  I literally checked it at 7:30 before getting in my car,and the message came in at 5:56 a..m when I was in the shower!  My husband never heard my phone alerts. and we never have the television on in the mornings. By the time I had to drive, the roads over there were ice free as the sun had come up and temps had warmed up a bit. Thank you God for technology!

photo courtesy of amazon

• TEA!  A couple of late afternoons this week, I got into my daughter's tea stash.  She had bought a box of this from $tarbucks last winter and there are a few left. I had forgotten all about it.  Oh my.  It truly is my absolute favorite cinnamon chai. I am very picky about tea and have tried many different kinds and there's only a very few I truly like to drink.  This one has ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black tea and rooibos, carob pieces, chicory root, and black pepper.  I'm thankful for delicious hot tea on a cold winter's day. (I still prefer coffee though!!)

Dawn on Thursday
from my deck door looking out towards the shed and kayak rack

• SNOW DAY!  So Monday was a 2 hour delay due to ice.  Wednesday was a snow day and about 500 school districts were closed in the greater Capital Region area of NYS not to mention many were probably closed in the central, western, and northern regions as well.  My sister received about 10 inches of snow to the north.  Thankfully, here in my town, we only received what you see in the above pic.  We had absolutely no snow left on our deck or in the backyard....and now we have about 4 inches.  It was fun to stay home and just read, bake, do some cleaning, some small group prep, chat with my husband who came home at lunch.  Our oldest daughter also left work early.  Most people did I guess!  By late afternoon the snow had stopped and the freezing rain arrived.  I made a big pot of chicken soup and homemade biscuits for dinner. Thursday morning, I woke up to my 5:30 alarm clock, took a shower, and yup...another 2 hour delay because the icy roads were worse on the east side of the Hudson again.  Plus I guess the school lot hadn't been cleared by 8 a.m.  I captured the photo below with my iphone looking out my kitchen window at the sunrise.  I'm thankful we were all safe and warm and didn't get a foot of snow! 

Here comes the sun!
Thursday morning about 7:15 a.m.

• VALENTINE'S TREATS!  This past week, I went and got a box from the post office and began to gather/buy some special treats for Claire (our youngest) and her roommate.  Our tradition as a family, since the girls were toddlers, was to buy a new book and some candy for Valentines day.  Well, Claire has no time to read for leisure while doing a double major and a minor so I decided to send her the shampoo she wanted as Durham doesn't seem to sell that kind, and then get her fave granola bars.  I also bought some of her fave chocolate, got her roomie her fave snack (Twix bars) and made a big platter (photo below) of chocolate shortbread heart and star cookies for the girls to share. I tucked in some fun heart socks and a little stuffed teddy bar and some pink and red mints. I also added some cute Peanuts vinyl clings for their dorm window.  After work today, I will be stopping at the post office to send the package out to NH.  I am so thankful I had the time to gather all this.  My love language is gifts so I feel full now! :)

Chocolate Shortbread Valentine Cookies
all boxed up for travel

BONUS:  I needed some guidance regarding an issue in my small group.  The director of small group ministry at our church got right back to me within a few hours of my email to him.  How thankful I am that he prayed for this situation and gave me some advice.  I thank God for his servant's heart and for God placing us with just the right leaders.  

I hope you enjoy the weekend.....please, if you think of it, keep my husband Dave in prayer. He leaves tomorrow morning around 3:30 am. (meaning I get to drive him!) for the airport where the entire missions team going to Guatemala will be meeting.  They will be serving down there for one week, ministering in the mountains at over 8500 feet.  Please pray for good health and safety.  They will also serve not just the moms there but the children in the public schools where they are allowed to share the gospel of Jesus Christ!! They are also bringing with them, several computers to give to the Christian agency down there.  It is very exciting.  Dave loves missions trips and I'm thankful he gets to go again this year.

Happy Weekend!