Not a fan of snow

but it can be stunningly beautiful from the warmth of your home looking outwards.  I was actually standing on our covered porch when I took most of  these photos.  It was just as the sun was rising over the mountains in the east and the combination of the snow, light, and blue skies was breathtaking...really nothing more to say.  Just think of your favorite music as you view these snowy scenes in our yard.

These were taken a later in the day after the ice began to melt on the rain chain.  (You know I had to include a rain chain picture--every year!)

If you look closely, you can see how the ice around the little buckets have slipped into the one below as they melted.

Seriously, I don't know why everyone does not have one of these in their yards---well, except those who live in Arizona and Texas.  :)   And even there on rainy days, they would be amazing.

"Sister" Little Free Library

As I was driving out of the parking lot at Davis Behavioral Health after a meeting, I got a glance of our sister little free library so I turned around and took this photo out of the car window.  This is posted outside the back door of Davis Behavioral Health by the entrance to the Child and Youth Department.  We had suggested the idea to Brandon Hatch, the CEO of DBH (and our bishop) and he loved it.  They ordered it and had a group paint and post it. We provide books to keep it full.  He tells us that it is well-used.  Next time when I have some extra time, I will take a picture of the front.

Meanwhile, our own library is under repair.  A huge snow storm and blizzard whipped one of the doors off so Gary removed both of them for repair and maintenance.  Gary Kerr has fixed them and Gary hopes to get the doors back on so the library can be back in business.  Gary says it looks like some people have been slipping in under the tarp to grab a book or two.  The library is an important little spot in our neighborhood.

Happy Birthday, James!

Gary and I had to miss the celebration at the Classic Fun Center, but we still got to celebrate with his awesome dinosaur birthday cake on his birthday, February 13th.  He turned two years old.

It is so fun to have James in our family.  He so much wants to be part of the big kids and will often be found following Scarlett and Liam around trying to keep up with whatever game they are playing.  He is learning to talk and it is fun to hear new words from him each time we see him.  He loves dinosaurs, animals, and anything with wheels.  We are so glad to have him in our family and to watch him grow.

Self-Care

One of the hot topics for social workers and other mental health professionals is the concept of self-care:  "You have to take care of yourself in order to help others."  I feel "self-care" is in general healthy living and we all do better if we pay attention to our physical, emotional, and spiritual sides.  While in graduate school, we had to write up a plan and implement it for one semester.  As part of that plan, I bought this ivy plant for my office.  It was to serve as a visual reminder to take care of myself each time I watered it or looked at it.  I am happy to report that my plant is doing very well.  It has added several new shoots and leaves.  It likes it in the window sill of my south facing office and I like having it there.

In the fall, I added a orchid plant which was given to me by the administration of The Children's Center.  It was filled with white blooms when I first got it and I enjoyed it until the blooms fell off.  I have heard how hard orchid are to take care so I assumed that I would need to get rid of it eventually, but the leaves remained green and healthy so I kept watering it along with my ivy.  I seriously didn't even notice that it was budding again until one of the buds was close to opening a couple of weeks ago.  Now I have this beautiful bloom with several other buds forming.

I am quite proud of myself even though it was mostly accidental. 

Seeing these buds and my ivy made me think about if I was taking care of my "self-care."  Work and life are tiring on some days and I have watched more TV at nights since working full-time that I have in most of my life.  Sometimes I just can't think or talk or do anything else.  However, I feel good about both my life and work.  I don't feel overwhelmed by the stories I hear from my clients.  I feel lucky to be a tiny part of their lives where they feel heard and supported.  I enjoy clouds and sunsets, winter storms and rain.  Life is good...and of course, I have nine grandchildren who are amazing.