Let It Snow! ▌Sierra Vista Photographer, Arizona

I didn't think this post was going to be possible... On Monday I wrote "Ba Humbug" on Facebook, feeling completely scrooge like at the coming week and the accompanying activities. I told my super sweet, carol humming husband that I didn't know where my funk was gathering momentum, that maybe I was jealous of the East Coast and their two FEET of the fresh powdery snow of my youth. Our last "White Christmas" was in Korea in 2006. I had no enthusiasm for holiday baking; I already resemble Santa with my 26 week pregnant belly. I couldn't fathom hanging one single decoration more; the kids are having a field day plucking them off the tree and playing with forbidden light sockets. I confess that I haven't wrapped a single present for under the tree!

Despite the weather channel's recent forecast of "no precipitation for the South-West until after the New Year", we awoke to the most beautiful sight- a fresh blanket of powdery white snow covering the mountains and our entire neighborhood! Talk about an elevation in mood, I simply could not believe my ambivalent husband telling me it had snowed, I thought he was just trying to get me out of bed sooner! Suddenly I was watching my kiddos re-live the Christmases of my own childhood in Upstate New York. So eager to rush out into the snow we had to keep dragging them off the porch an back into the house to dress. We had to go door to door in search of boots to fit The Boy, the kids wore bread bags all the way up to their hips under sweatpants in the absence of true snow pants, the Swedish neighbor provided us with an old sled (what? you don't like my photo developing tray sled?), The Baby spent the morning asking us to "wash off snow" from his mittens, and in the end, my husband had to run the kids around a large parade field until he was breathless, in lieu of a quality sledding hill. But smiles were in excess and my memories of sledding, snowmen, snow forts, frozen toes and fingers, hot cocoa & Christmas cookies, and the family advent calendar almost down to it's final ornament, were all reinvented in our own quirky way. Here are just a couple of my many favorite shots from our morning adventures:


Just like I thought, an honest dusting of snow camouflages all the tacky white foam that has peeled off my berry wreath...


The Baby's first ever snow!


Our desert landscape doesn't see snow often, so I was thrilled for a few moments to capture the natural beauty of the area.


Prickley Pear cactus with the snow capped Huachuca Mountains in the background.


Agave cactus; the "saw" blades poking through the snow reminded me to tread very carefully through the hills, can you imagine not seeing one of these on a hike?!


Gotta love those froggy boots! I wonder if they even make a snow version of these classics, they have seen more action than any other footwear in our household!


Rosy cheeks, what could make the morning more perfect?!


With the help of GrandBob, The Boy finds a suitable, cactus free, hillside to try out sledding for the first time.


The gorgeous Huachuca Mountains; now I am officially ready for Christmas, and maybe even a viewing of Dolly Parton's "Smokey Mountain Christmas"...


Okay, you know you're smitten with the weather when you photograph a tree branch and just think it is the prettiest thing you've ever seen....


My very enthusiastic husband, and thank God for his energy!


Mmmmmmmm, nothing beats coming inside to a warm cup of cocoa and fresh sugar cookies. Don't forget to count the marshmallows and make sure that you and brother have the same number!


Is it too much to ask for snow tonight, and again on Friday? Christmas may have come early for Mommy this year ;)

Merry Christmas to everyone, especially the 25 people who read my blog on a regular basis, this post is FOR YOU! Hop on over to I ♥ Faces to see more holiday traditions from around the world!