Home with Tracy

As they woke up on Thanksgiving morning, they were blessed with a gift. A simple gift that was provided by God. Snow! Until recently, we have lived in Tennessee. We would get a dusting of snow, but nothing they could really play in. This is the first year they have snow pants and snow boots. When we bought their snow pants and boots, you would have thought we gave them the world. So excited! My oldest son noticed the snow and shouted with excitement. The rest of them ran to the door and more excitement ensued. They didn't want to eat breakfast, they just wanted to get on their snow gear and head outside. Yes, I told them they had to eat first.  I watched them play. I watched their simple joy. Their overwhelming joy. My youngest daughter came in and asked for a small carrot. There was not a whole lot of snow, but she managed to make a snowman (snowgirl, as she calls it, complete with a dress) and wanted a carrot nose. To her, it was amazingly fun and exciting to make her ver...

We recently moved back up north after being in Tennessee for the past seven years. We have already experienced below freezing temperatures and a few inches of snow. The kids do not think it has snowed enough! This will be the first year they all have snow pants and snow boots and they want to put them to use. Since moving up to colder temperatures, I have been trying to think of ways to keep our heating bill from going sky high. For starters, I keep the heat at 64 degrees. I don't ever raise it. If the kids are cold they can either move around or put on warmer clothing. We moved into a rental that is an older ranch style home. The garage of this home was turned into a family room. It is great having the space for indoor storage, but we do not use it as a living area. With the temperatures, we have basically turned it into a pantry/storage area. The doors in the family room are french doors and they let in quite a bit of cold air. We like it being cold for food storage purposes,...

My children have been asking to put up our Christmas tree for a couple weeks. I kept saying no, it is too early. Then I came across a post on Facebook from another mother that changed my mind. She said that they put up their Christmas tree and then she explained why. She stated the she knew it was early and there would be people who disagreed with her decision. She stated that her children were young and excited. That they would only be young for a short amount of time. That post changed my thinking. My children are all now at the age where they are becoming more and more self-sufficient every day. I am already past half my time with my son and quickly coming to half my time with my other three. They will all be grown and out starting their own families quicker than I want to realize. I only have a few more years of this amazing excitement that fills our walls. I only have a few more years to fill their minds with joyful memories. They gathered the storage totes full of ornaments. ...