Fun-Sized Spring

Happy Spring everyone!!

Welcome to one of my 4 favorite seasons! ;P

This was pretty much today...(Except it ain't too dreadfully hot yet! ;D) 36ºF coming up! ;)

And....I have to share my favorite short joke of the day....for people like me who are fun-sized!!!

"Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out."

~ Proverbs 20:5  ~

EU: Skiing Zermatt

We skied Zermatt today. I can't tell you how spoiled I am....this was the trip of the lifetime--this whole trip to Europe...and to ski next to the Matterhorn?! Wow.... I am so blessed!!

There is nothing like skiing up there...these mountains are INCREDIBLE (and unfortunately, the photos we took don't show it all)!!! We all skied together in the morning, before breaking up in the afternoon, where Papa and the 4 oldest (excluding me) went to the Italian facing side and skied blacks... Meanwhile, I skied with the 4 youngest on the Blues and Reds (US Greens and Blues), and checked in with Mama at the lodge.

All layered up, and no, I'm NOT a china doll. :)

Skiing on the other side of the mountain...

I really haven't done much skiing for 2 years, since I only skied once last year (having gotten back from the Philippines late in the ski season), and today makes 2 this year. I'm so glad I got to practice up a bit a couple weeks ago, as it's been a while!!

Kiekah and I (The Matterhorn is a perfect backdrop..)

I re-learned why I loved moguls today....they just give enough excitement to make it challenging at times.. The conditions were almost perfect--we could see the Matterhorn (which is very few and far between normally), and it was in the 30's, after having been much colder. They also got snow last week, which was helpful, though there was a good bit of ice with less powder, which made the moguls more interesting. :)

My not-so-little sisters and I

I saw the moon today for the first time in being in Europe... As it always has, it reminds me of home, and it was a good reminder that we truly are just a-passing through this world on our way home!!

Looking at God's creation reminds me of one of my favorite hymns -- Be Thou My Vision.

Most of us got burns--some of us worse than others. I haven't seen the results yet, but in our room, Rebekah and I are the worst off, with 'beautiful' 2nd degree raccoon sunburns. I'm a little surprised, as my hat covered my forehead, and I wore my scarf most of the day...however, I guess we were 8500+ feet up!

Looking Forward: We are traveling all day to Venice, Italy tomorrow, where we will be for 2 nights before heading to Monaco.

"Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a hold solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel."

~ Israel 30:29 ~

Up Before Dawn

Yesterday, David, Samuel, Rebekah and I all got up before dawn, got dressed, did chores, had breakfast, and took the sleds out...or snow machines as we Alaskans say, before everyone went Skiing the rest of the day.

Our Men (Josiah, Samuel, Papa, James & David)..a couple months ago. :)

You know, there is nothing like being out there, with the sun coming up, and the wind in your face on these monstrous machines (except doing the same on a horse)....Just takes your breath away, and shows you a glimpse of God's magnificent Glory!!!

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.

~ Psalms 90:2 ~

The Miracle of Snow!!!!!!

As I write this, I am proudly wearing my snowflake turtleneck,  and am hoping to maybe get a complete season of skiing in this year (without any more of my "annual" casualties :D).
Today was the official "first day" of snow on Rockford Bay Ranch....yes, it only snowed for a little bit, and maybe you could hardly "call it snow", but it really did!!!!! Some people were praying for it to stop...and well, I, um... ;p *clears throat*

Though I have been laughed at a lot since my return to the Homeland, for my unprecedented sensitivity to cold, I still am an Alaskan.....and.....Idahoan through and through and snow still retains its miraculousness to me. It fascinates me.

Every year, one of the ways God shows His handiwork is through snow.  Without snow, which is the main source of spring water, we would not have enough water to last us through the hot summers.
God is the Giver of snow and has the only power over all the elements: In Job 37:6, He said: "For He saith to the snow, Fall thou on the earth".


Snow is the symbol of purity and cleanness, giving us some of our most beautiful passages of Scripture: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalms 51:7); "...though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). Carrying the figure farther, snow-water might be expected to have a special value for cleansing: "If I wash myself with snow-water..." (Job 9:30). The most common use in Scripture is to denote whiteness in color and implies purity as well: "His raiment was white as snow" (Daniel 7:9; Matthew 28:3; Mark 9:3; Revelations 1:14).

Also, the whiteness of leprosy is compared to snow (Exodus 4:6; Numbers 12:10; 2 Kings 5:27).

"He giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth His ice like morsels: who can stand before His cold? He sendeth out His Word, and melteth them: He causeth His wind to blow, and the waters flow."

~ Psalms 147:16-18 ~

Praise God today for what he is doing in your life....all to often, we complain or only pray when trials and tribulations come. See if you can only praise Him for a whole day straight...don't ask Him for anything......commune with Him, and talk to Him about the 'trivial' things...He really DOES care!!!!!

REMINDER: It Isn't Spring Anymore/Yet!!

Well, pride goeth before the fall, I suppose...or as it really goes in Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
So, I was emailing a friend the other day (who had a bunch of snow in her mid-western State), joking/boasting about our gorgeous Spring weather here in the Northwestern State of Idaho, and (as I knew would happen) snow came last night!!!

Not that that was a bad thing, but...well, I suppose it was "bound to happen" as they say! LOL
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I just have to share this praise with ya'll....yes, it does have to do with Packing...

Yesterday morning, while trying to decide what to wear to church, I thought, "I really need to find some good layering clothes, & some good woven short-sleeved shirts!!" (It was the perfect day to wear a turtle neck under a short-sleeved woven shirt). Also, for the last many months, I've been trying to find some inexpensive flannel long-sleeve shirts, but to no avail as of yet...

Well, last night, we went to the Schumann's home again, & had a wonderful time fellowshipping with some other families there. Selah just happened to have cleaned out her closet, & had around a half dozen shirts that fit me; of which (Praise the Lord), there were amongst other things, some short-sleeved woven shirts & flannel long-sleeved shirts.

I know that you probably think it's just a trivial thing; but to me, it was another big reminder of how I can trust God to supply all my needs...heretofore and in the future!! There have been some other even bigger 'miracles' (to me) that have happened in the last few weeks, that I look forward to sharing in a future post.

But my God shall supply all your need, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

~ Philippians 4:19 ~