My new nephew

Yesterday, we woke up to a little snow on the ground and sunshine.  I felt like it was a beautiful day...how did I know it was going to be even MORE wonderful?  About 8am we heard my sister was in labor...a little later she had her 4th baby...she and her husband waited to find out if it was a boy or girl, so it was a complete surprise to all of us to find out that after having 3 beautiful girls, they now have a boy!!!

Juliana who is the oldest holding her little brother.  She was so helpful, laying out all the outfits, seeing what would fit him and then carefully folding them all up.

Natasha the youngest, was a little unsure, but now she seems to just adore him...

Emma also had a few turns to hold him.  Can you see he's trying to open his eyes in this picture?  She especially loves rubbing his soft hair.

This was morning at my house...a few new eggs with pretty feathers and dusting of snow.  Pepper looks at me as she lays her egg.  I think she may be trying to hatch an egg, she doesn't know it will never happen because there is no rooster around...but it's cute.

Juliana by some of her artwork, I told her she'll need to add another little person, a boy!

 We went to the park to play.

Drawing with oil pastels and making stuff using the Rainbow Loom.

He is yawning!  All the girls adore everything he does...  His name is Timothy John ♥

Upcycled mittens

Have you got a nice wool sweater that shrunk?  We had a few of them and also picked up 2 at the thrift store.  I was inspired by this.  (I recommend watching the video)

Also, in our homeschooling group, my sister brought all the ingredients for us to make bird feeders using gelatin.  We hung them in the tree by the window so we can see the birds enjoying this treat!

 

We met up with some friends at a park near our house and went sledding.

Wish

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday!  I made her a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. 

 

I added new items to my etsy shop and am offering 20% off if you use the code:  LOVE20 ♥

Olivia started guitar lessons with my friend Maria last month.  Her fingers are getting used to the strings.  Evening lessons while the weather got colder and some tea to warm us up.
We got a fresh batch of snow stuff....maybe it was tiny pieces of hail, because it pelted out windows last night.  And this morning, it was crunchy like ice.  

High of 20'F

Yes, it was a cold day, but the sun came out in the afternoon.  The same today, high of 20'F expected but the sun is shining on the snow and the sky is blue with a few clouds...

First thing, we feed the animals...I went out into the backyard and was surprised to see the chickens on the grape trellis!  Pepper had a good inch of snow on her back and when I helped her down I tried to brush it off, but much of it was actually ice and stuck to her feathers!

I lifted the oldest girl Nutmeg down first and put her in the coop.  She will be 3 years old this spring.  I felt like Cinnamon and Pepper were telling me "I'm scared and don't want to get down."

Then, we went to a nearby park and went sledding with Lusy, who ran free, sniffed in the woods and ran as fast as she could, like a wild animal.

 Olivia trudging up the hill with her sled.  We talked about the possibility of harnessing the sled to Lusy, since she had so much energy, and hoping she'd bring the sled up the hill...

 Lusy takes a rest.

Checked in on the chickens again, all ice and snow melted off their feathers and they ventured out in the snow.  They even had laid eggs in their nest inside the coop...I was thankful. 

We gave the chickens a treat, some cubes of cheese (cut to about 5cm by 5cm) as a thank you!