Since moving here Louisville has had more snow (& below zero temps) than they have in at least 5 years. And coming from Austin you can imagine this is a shock to our system. For example, last Christmas when we had to replace all 4 of our tires before traveling to Mississippi for Christmas, Keith chose the basic road tires over the all-terrain for the Subaru. Of course he did, we lived in Texas. Thankfully, those road tires have been working just fine on our snow covered streets and we are beyond grateful for a house with garage.
While the snow and the polar vortex have been shocking it is nice to see winter. Since it has been a while since the locals here have seen this much snow I do feel like we need to savor it, don't you agree? I also would guess that the next time we have a winter like this one Eli will be begging to get outside instead of playing happily inside and occasionally running to the window and yelling "sNNOOW!"
There are loads of snow pictures at the bottom, but in other happenings...we had the pleasure of hosting an international student for a week right after New Years. He is an undergrad and recently transferred from the University of Kentucky to Boyce College (at Southern Seminary). He needed a place to stay for a week before orientation and move-in started so it worked out perfectly for him to stay with us. I met him through Bridges and was thankful to reconnect. Eli was also in heaven having someone else to play with!
The following week Eli started a 1-day mother's day out program. We talked "school" up for a week or so but as far as I could tell he had no idea what he was getting into. (Every time I say the word school, Eli moves his arms in a circular motion and wants me to sing "The wheels on the bus", so that is all he knew of school). The first (and only) day he has gone because of sickness and snow went well. He didn't eat much and he didn't nap but he enjoyed himself and didn't cry when I left. The church where it is held is 5 minutes from our house and seems to have solid teaching (came highly recommended) so that is a blessing!
Below are some more pictures of Eli and his new friend Miles. Miles and his family moved here in June and live in our neighborhood. We met through church and are so thankful to have a family to be friends with in this large, mostly unknown city. We get together often for play dates.
Behind their house is a great sledding hill for little ones so if the weather isn't below freezing we head their way.
Daddy even joined in the fun!
and Mommy too!
I'll leave you with a few more snow shots.
Happy winter!
