♥ Thinking about February ♥

February generally gains its glory in chocolate and hearts, leap years, and something called a “Super bowl” {whatever that is}. Around here, it memorialized itself in snow, a conference, two get-aways, concerts, and definitely an ample dose of chocolate and hearts!

You’ve already heard about the Piano Guys’ concert, which started the month off in a rousing fashion. That same week, we were covered in 10” of white, fluffy snow that lasted five days. While the East Coast, the Midwest, eastern Washington, and…OK, everywhere but the South…chuckles at the Northwest’s inept greenness when it comes to living with snow, suffice it to say that this was “The Big Snow of ‘14” and shut down the entire area. 

Micah and Mikaela in the snow!

Lauren and Papa teaching at the Creation Conference

 We continued as planned, however, with a local Creation Conference, largely helping in the children’s program, which Melanie directed for the third time. Despite the snow and an understandably smaller group of attendees, it was a great weekend. A symphony concert happened in there too—though it was postponed several days because the weather was so bad {if you’re not a southerner, please refer to the previous paragraph before mocking our snow squeamishness}.

Susanna and Papa acting in a Star Trek-themed play

 Now I may not have seen a football game in my life, but the Olympics are our Super bowl. Our obsession means that every free night for the 17 days of games, we troop over to Ron and Sandi’s house and have a grand party. We don’t just watch the games, though. We act as though we are sitting in the stands, as though our cheers, shouts, and nail biting are actually helping the cause of the athletes. Bodie Miller, the skier, has grown up! And Noelle Pikus-Pace, the skeleton racer, made us laugh and cry at the same time when she jumped into the stands to kiss her babies and her husband after her silver medal winning race. The good sportsmanship of Shawn White was wonderful to see, and I’ve completely changed my mind for the better about Evgeni Plushenko, the Russian figure skater. But don’t get me started about the US men’s hockey team. “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” says Thumper and my mom, so I’ll keep quiet.

Papa, Lauren, Susanna, and Melanie

 Meanwhile, we went skiing for a few days at Mt. Bachelor, along with our awesome cousin Cody. He, Micah, and Susanna looked like the boarders and skiers competing for gold, but the rest of us were just happy to enjoy the occasional black diamond, going fast, and getting a foot of air every so often.

Jonah!

February has also been a month of waiting as Joel completed a 2.5-week research project for a potential job at the beginning of the month. We hope and pray every single day that this will be the employment God has for him, but we’re also so grateful for all that God has taught us and worked in us during this time of waiting! Regardless of the outcome, it will be for our good.

On the spur of the moment, Mama took her daughters to a women’s retreat last weekend, where we savored the rich fellowship of friends old and new and soaked in the Truth that Mrs. Nancy Campbell was teaching: life is a battle—but through God, there is victory in that battle!

Today marks 30 years of marriage for my dear parents—happy anniversary Mama and Papa! And wait! The month isn’t over yet! Do you think there’s still room for more adventures in February? What are you looking forward to? And what filled your February?