Winter Wonderland...or just a cold, rainy day :(

Early yesterday evening, we could all feel the anticipation escalating around here. The mention of "snow" brings great excitement in a place that rarely sees a winter wonderland. Last night, we told the kids it might snow and even had a "snow party" -we made a fire, drank hot chocolate, ate gingerbread cookies, and listened to Christmas music. We told L that the snow might even mean no school today. What a disappointment when we woke up this morning to cold and wet, but none of the white stuff. I checked the local news about school closings, and there were only two (and not ours). Oh, how I had longed for a day with both kids home, in our pj's all day, doing nothing but watching movies, reading, and playing in the snow! Reluctantly, I woke L up, helped her get dressed for school and drove her there. On the way, I was remembering days when I was a child and how exciting it was when the weatherman said "snow" and how the very mention of snow pretty much shut everything down for the day. While I was in the drop-off line at school, I heard sleet hitting the car and almost drove us all right back home. I dropped her off, came home, cleaned up a little, and then turned on the radio. All I heard was, "The new forecast has just come out, and now 3-8 inches of snow are being predicted for much of the metro area." I called my husband, as excited as a little kid. He told me that it was snowing really good at his office. Well, that's all the excuse I needed to go get my baby from school. After all, I reasoned, if I had waited until they closed school, it would have been a madhouse (not to mention unsafe to drive). By the way, they did close schools here at 12:30. So, at 9:00 I checked her out of school. On the way there, it was sleeting pretty good and I just knew the snow was coming. There was a veritable blizzard right up the interstate from us, dropping something like 3 or 4 inches. I was sure, just sure, it was coming our way. So sure, in fact, that I told poor L that the rain that was falling was most assuredly going to turn into snow shortly. Long story short...it never happened. We came home and watched for a little while. Rain, rain, and more rain. I don't think I saw one flake. I felt so sorry for my little girl who was so very disappointed. I tried to explain to her that we didn't understand why the snow had not come, but God's ways were still better than ours and He had decided not to send the snow here. I learned a good lesson too - don't ever mention the word "snow" to a five year old until it is falling from the sky (and only then when it is accumulating on the ground to play in). A lesson that even the most rookie of parents probably knows, but I guess I needed a reminder. Apparently, our city was the first point where the winter weather stopped. My mother-in-law, just 45 minutes east, has a winter wonderland at her house. I am posting pictures of her place and dreaming....And, had I not been scared to try to drive the icy roadways, we would be there sledding right now...