Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

There was a bit of worry about the cold weather here in The Woodlands.  Talk of freezing rain that dissipated into nothing.  Friday is Park Day for our homeschooling group, and thankfully, this group is a "whatever the weather" kind of group.  If they can do 95 degrees at noon in July, they can do drizzle and 40 degrees in January.  Because, you know, 40 degrees and drizzle in Texas is, um, very cold.    There was hot chocolate, there were blankets, and hats, but I think my children, lately come from Michigan and before that, Germany, were the best dressed.  Layers, hats, an extra pair of gloves.  Henry even had extra warm knee high socks that John brought him from Hannover. I'm tickled about two things: Henry found that the person he most wanted to play with an 11 year-old boy.  And Elisabeth and a few other kids are planning a club to raise money for a water well through World Vision.  I'm trying really hard, really hard to just sit ...

To walk in warm rain and get wetter and wetter October 2012 Last week we had a good rainy afternoon.  Earlier in the day I had taken the kids to the YMCA for their P.E. class.  I had asked my friend Wendy if she would walk with me while our kids were at P.E., but then it started raining.  To my delight and hers, we found that we are truly compatible as we could both enjoy a walk in the rain together . . .with umbrellas.  But the conversation flowed just as well as it does on a sunny day, if not better. After P.E. I drove the kids home and they asked eagerly, “Can we take a walk in the rain?  We can wear our boots and jump in puddles.” I chuckled to myself, because over the past 2 years boots were crucial to survival in Hannover, and never did the kids want to go for a walk in the rain.  9 times out of 10 if it was raining it was a cold rain, and we had just been walking in it out of necessity, and we were happy to get inside and dry off and ge...