snowy days {winter 2014}

Posted in Family, out our window, photography by mel ♥♥♥

Happy 2015!

Here at Haus Etchell, we rang in the New Year with lots of eats, a dance party set to the New Years Eve mix on iTunes radio and loads of fireworks at midnight. The boys were champs making it to midnight and beyond as it took a while to unwind from the fun.

We are easing into the New Year with jammie home days. It has been so nice not to have any commitments or places we must be. I’ve been working to catch up on the monstrous piles of laundry, so we don’t have to wear these jammies out in public :) Yesterday we took the tree down and started packing away decorations. We usually wait until the 6th of January, Three Kings Day, but the tree was in sad shape. After Jay dragged it out of the house, we were left with a huge pile of dried needles to sweep up. It feels good to get the clean up started a little early. A fresh slate for 2015!

Last Saturday, we woke up to a foot or so of freshly fallen snow. The snow continued to fall throughout the day. We’ve enjoyed a beautiful white landscape all week.

Taking a break from sledding.

Alex’s motto is “If it isn’t yellow, I can eat it!” Hmmm!?

Swinging in the snow.

He melts my heart.

Jamie was just as excited as the boys about the snow.

These are the moments to pause in, breathe in, and fully connect with…they pass all too quickly.

2014 was a great ride around the sun, we’ve got something big to look forward to in 2015!

Here’s to an amazing year!

xoxo,

Mel

3Dec2014

December, already!?

Posted in around town :: fest, in our garden, out our window by mel ♥♥♥

I blinked and a page on the calendar turned…it is December already!?!? Three weeks until Christmas and only 28 days left in 2014! The lists I have scattered about are overwhelming. There is so much that must be done and so many things that I’d like to do. No doubt, it won’t all get done and I will have to be okay with that. Sometimes the self imposed pressures of memory making steals the joy and I just won’t let that happen. It is, after all, the most joyous season.

We kicked off the Advent season last Sunday by listening to Alex & Andy singing with their classmates at the Weihnachtsmarkt in Theisbergstegen. In this video you will see just how small their school is, almost of the students are in attendance!

Here is a link to last year’s Weihnachtsmarkt singing :: ’tis the season :: Theisbergstegen Weihnachtsmarkt

This morning, we woke to our first snowfall of the season. In fact, it is the first snow that we’ve had since March 2013. We missed out on the white stuff last winter. It seemed unfair to send the kiddos off to school when they were so excited. Sweet Andy sang “Mama, do you wanna build a snowman?” to me as I helped him put his snow boots on. We will do just that when they get home from school.