Good Morning Girls

This is week nine already after this week only three more and we will have completed 1 John. I have started these studies with Good Morning Girls before but never lasted beyond the first two weeks. I Praise God for His helping me stay committed to this and for all that I am learning through this book.
Today's reading is 1 John 4:7-10.  What I observed in these verses is that I cannot profess to know God and not love others; it was not because of anything I did or could even think to do that God loved me but because of the greatness of His love for me.

God has been speaking to me, through His Word & this study, about love, reminding me of its importance as a Christian. I struggle with this, with those who live with me, my husband and his daughters. Its not that I do not love them, I find myself unable to show the love I have for them, instead finding fault and being critical of almost everything they do/try to do. I am going to start today to find ways to show love to each of them and to stop and think before speaking.

Good Morning Girls

Week 5
1John 2:18-29
When I read vs 18 today 'Little children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know it is the last hour.' I thought how John felt things were bad enough that the 2nd coming would be anytime. I wonder what he would think today?
Anyway, that's off topic.

1. One important lesson I want to remember from this week's reading would be: Rely on the Holy Spirit to give discernment when being taught the Word.

2. I feel God wants me to learn: to seek discernment from Him, not people.

3. I am giong to put faith into action by: becoming more diligent in praying for God's discernment when studying & being taught.

Good Morning Girls

07OCT2011
This week's Scripture was 1John 2:1-11. Good stuff!
1. One important lesson I want to remember from this week's reading would be: Actions speak louder than words.  I can say I am a follower of God all I want but if my actions do not back it up, I'm fooling no one but myself.

2. I feel God wants me to learn:
My life needs to back up what I profess, that Christ is my Lord & Saviour.
Without love there is no light. If I am truly walking the walk, I must show love, whether I deem it is warranted or not. It is my responsibility to love people, this does not mean I condone their actions.
I must learn to love unconditionally.

3. I am going to put my faith into action by: Seeking the ability to love unconditionally; seeking out opportunities to show love not only to the 'loveable' but also the 'unloveable'.

Good Morning Girls

Several of my friends & I are joining with the Good Morning Girls in their fall session of Bible study. 1John is the book we are studying. This week we took the first 4 verses. Its amazing how much is in just those 4 verses! Every Friday is a reflection day, to summarize and reflect on what we've learned.

Reflection Friday

1. One important lesson I want to remember from this week's reading would be: In order to have a relationship with God, I must also have a relationship with His Son. I must share this relationship with others so they, too, can have this relationship. In short: Share the Gospel!

2. I feel God wants me to learn: My joy cannot be complete if I do not share the gospel.

3. I am going to put my faith into action by: Looking for opportunities to share with others and not let satan discourage me.

Yard Sale Treasures!

Today I went out yard saleing with my oldest daughter. Besides the fun we had spending time together, we both got some GREAT deals.  She bought 3 summer dresses for $5 that fit her perfectly! We both bought the grands some stuff, both the 2 I already have and the one due in August.  I also bought 2 things for my scrapbooking room.  Here are the pics of some of our stuff........

The woman across the street gave me all this stuff for a mere $2.  Too bad I didn't know what Cheryl was having, she would have given me all the girl stuff she had left!

4 sleepers & 2 onsies Graceanne & I found at a church flea market.

Long winter coat for Olivia to grow into, size 6, 50 cents, again, church flea market.

Swim trunks for Justin found at church flea market for 50cents, they are like brand new!  Sweaters and winter vest Graceanne bought for Justin at same place.

Set of plastic drawers for scrapbooking stuff. The set of drawers on top I found at the church flea market for just $1.......I am putting scrapbook stuff in it as we speak!

Vibrating seat for Cheryl's baby, $3 at Mexican flea market.

Now I have a place to buy any Mexican spices I need! Would have bought Olivia a Little Tikes kitchen for her playhouse, only $10 but it wouldn't fit in Graceanne's car.  Next time I might have to have Mike's truck!

Join our blog hop!
My Slice of Sanity, The Gandy’s Home Base, Angela’s Pursuit of Life, ThoughtsandCreations from Here There and Everywhere, and Harvest of Pearls have joined together to bring you “Iron Women of the Word" blog hop. Once a week we will share about our time in the Word and invite you to share your time in the Word as well. If you have words of encouragement, a devotion or other Christian related post to link up that would be awesome! If you are a "Iron Woman of the Word" and would like to find other Christian Bloggers --link up! Please grab the button to spread the word about our fellowship! We am looking forward to our fellowship! Something to Ponder

I attended a seminar recently; I learned some things from it and I'm glad I had the opportunity to go. However, the leaders are from the 'God wants you to be rich' camp and I don't think 'rich' means in material things. Sooo, some things I took at face value, other things I took notes to dig deeper. That's what I've been doing this week, digging deeper into the Scripture they provided.

NOTE: I read the NASB but I oftentimes look up what I'm reading in various translations, knowing the KJV, NKJV & NASB are supposed to be the most accurate translations.
I was looking at Jerimiah 29:11 and I could really see how different some translations of Scripture are.
Jer29:11 NASB 'for I know the plans I have for you,' delcares the LORD. 'Plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Jer 29:11 NKJV 'for I know the thioughts that I think towrds you,' says the LORD, 'thoughts of peace & not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.' KJ version is the same.
Jer 29:11 NIV 'for I know the plans I have for you' declares the LORD 'plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'
I went on to look up in the dictionary the definitions for welfare, peace, and prosper
Definition of WELFARE 1: the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity welfare>
Definition of PEACE
1: a state of tranquillity or quiet: as a : freedom from civil disturbance b : a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom peace>
2: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
3: harmony in personal relations
Definition of PROSPER: intransitive verb: 1: to succeed in an enterprise or activity; especially : to achieve economic success
2: to become strong and flourishing

I'll take my welfare, peace and prosperity in the form of my 'spiritual' being rather than material goods any day of the week, how about you?

In His ServiceSandy

I cannot take credit for this pic, it was taken by my brother in law, in Bridgewater, PA just a week or so ago, my sister gave me permission to 'steal' it from her fb page.....God sure does give us beauty to enjoy doesn't he?



Big Picture Classes Creative Crop Challenge #9

This is for my children and grandchildren so they know what I am doing at this time of my life. I spend much of my time in the spare room/scrapbook room/office, especially when Mike & Missy are at work/school.

When I am not working, I am listening to Christian Music on Pandora Radio

 
 This is where I work, LiveOps.

Iron Women is a group of 5 of us who initially met at CafeMom, became online friends and meet at Chatzy, in our special chatroom to catch up with one another, listen to praises & prayer requests, encourage and sometimes commiserate with one another. Whether its spiritual, family, cooking or crafting, we share it all!

                                                                                                             This is Cafemom, where I spend my share of time during the day. I am the owner of a small Bible study group and help with a Christian Marriage group. I also belong to a couple scrapbook groups here.

 

I can check my email when I'm working when the phone isn't working. Mike always makes fun of how many emails I have.  Coffee is my friend, especially when I am sitting early in the morning waiting for the phone to ring. Oh, its decaf

                                                                                                                  This cart sits righ next to my desk so my adhesive and paper cutter are always within hands reach!  Cards are pretty easy to make while I'm working.

This is about the space of work surface I have when I'm working, the laptop sits to the left. Wonder why I didn't take a picture of that?  LOL

                                                                                                               My phone and head set that I use for work.

This calendar hangs above the cart that my phone is sitting on. I've got birthdays and other things I need to remember, like spending Wednesday with Graceanne, at her request, for mother's day, since she is working today. I got this calendar in February, at Big Lots for 32cents! 

So there you have just a little piece of my daily life.

His Workmanship

God has been speaking to me the last several months about serving Him and helping others learn of His love and salvation. One of the verses used over the weekend at a seminar was Ephesians 2:10. This ties right into what God has been tellling me.  (This week I've been researching the verses used at a seminar I attended over last weekend, will blog about the seminar another time.)


Ephesians 2:10
NASB For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

The Message: No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making & the saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the work He does, the good work He has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

NKJ: For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The King James version is identical except these words are used:
for: unto
prepared beforehand: hath before ordained

Complete Jewish Bible
For we are of God's making,created in union with the Messiah Yeshua for a life of good actions already prepared by God for us to do.

NIV
For we are god's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Definition of WORKMANSHIP
1: something effected, made, or produced


We all know that we were created by God and this Scripture goes on to remind us that contrary to popular belief, He created us to do His work. I really like the way The Message puts it '...to join Him in the work He does, the good work He has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.'


Interesting side note: yesterday, I made an appointment to talk with the volunteer director of our local Christian Cooperative Ministries organization. I'm hoping to volunteer in the soup kitchen or in some way with the homeless. Today's study just reaffirmed to me that this is what I am supposed to be doing!

Iron Women Blog Hop

                 Join our blog hop!


My Slice of Sanity, The Gandy’s Home Base, Angela’s Pursuit of Life, ThoughtsandCreations from Here There and Everywhere, and Harvest of Pearls have joined together to bring you “Iron Women of the Word" blog hop. Once a week we will share about our time in the Word and invite you to share your time in the Word as well. If you have words of encouragement, a devotion or other Christian related post to link up that would be awesome! If you are a "Iron Woman of the Word" and would like to find other Christian Bloggers --link up! Please grab the button to spread the word about our fellowship! We am looking forward to our fellowship!

Choices

We all make choices, every single day, hundreds, if not thousands of choices. What to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner; what time to eat; what clothes to put on; what chores to do at home or if you work outside the home, what work chores to do first; I'm sure you all get the idea.  Today I am going to talk about how just  one choice King David made caused him to sin, multiple times.

Scripture taken from 2Samuel 11:1 NASB 'Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. (italics mine)

Now I have read this scripture many times and never really thought anything about it until I was catching up in our Sunday School book "How to Make Choices You Wont Regret" by Kay Arthur, David & BJ Lawson. I didn't know that it was normal for kings to go to war with their troops.  For whatever reason, King David decided to stay at home this time.  We all are familiar with the story, David sees a beautiful woman and decides he must have her, even though he is told she's married, they have sex which results in pregnancy then David tries to cover it up and fails so he resorts to murder. That's not what I want to focus on today.

I want to focus on how this one choice changed a faithful follower into a sinner.  How many times I make choices that cause me to sin. Just one more game of Mahjong, then I'll spend time with You, Lord.....doesn't this make an idol out of a simple computer game? This is just one example from my life, believe me, there are many!
I pray you will examine your life and see what choices you are making and whether they are causing you to sin, without even realizing it.  That satan sure is a sneaky one, isn't he?

In His ServiceSandy

I would love to hear your comments on today's devotion and hope you will join me next week for the Iron Women Blog Hop.
I am basically blog hop stupid so I have no idea how to get Mr Linky to work without our blog hop diva so please accept my apology for no Mr Linky.  Please become a follower and continue on to the other Iron Women's blogs, their links are in the introduction.

Iron Women Blog Hop

My Slice of Sanity, The Gandy’s Home Base, Angela’s Pursuit of Life, ThoughtsandCreations from Here There and Everywhere, and Harvest of Pearls have joined together to bring you “Iron Women of the Word" blog hop. Once a week we will share about our time in the Word and invite you to share your time in the Word as well. If you have words of encouragement, a devotion or other Christian related post to link up that would be awesome! If you are a "Iron Woman of the Word" and would like to find other Christian Bloggers --link up! Please grab the button to spread the word about our fellowship! We am looking forward to our fellowship!




Today I am promoting a blog about a little boy's journey with Perthes disease. (I never heard of it either, until Jake). His mom is my son's age, I remember her from when they were in Sunday School and Christian Life Club together. Here is a pic I from the program, Jake is the last boy on the right, front row.

I surprised my mom on Sunday and worshipped with her at Ohioville Free Methodist Church in Ohioville, PA. They were having their Easter program and I knew my nieces and nephews were participating. This little boy, Jake & his family attend this church and I was so impressed by his and his mom's positive outlook I had to feature them today.  I know you will join me in lifting this family up in prayer as they go through this journey.   You, too, can follow his journey:  http://www.jakesperthesjourney.com/

Iron Women Blog Hop

  My Slice of Sanity, The Gandy’s Home Base, Angela’s Pursuit of Life, ThoughtsandCreations from Here There and Everywhere, and Harvest of Pearls have joined together to bring you “Iron Women of the Word" blog hop. Once a week we will share about our time in the Word and invite you to share your time in the Word as well. If you have words of encouragement, a devotion or other Christian related post to link up that would be awesome! If you are a "Iron Woman of the Word" and would like to find other Christian Bloggers --link up! Please grab the button to spread the word about our fellowship! We am looking forward to our fellowship!

This weeks Blog Spot Light

Mo's Place

A little about Mo's Place: I'm a wife, a friend, and a daughter, what I am not, is a mother.  When diagnosed with infertility issues I became quite aware of what a taboo

subject this is among women.  I scoured the internet for points of view and
ideas and possible fixes.  I was desperate.  What I came to realize as time
went on is that there were a lot of voices out there from a lot of different
walks of life on this subject but not too many were asking the question, 'as
a Christ follower how does infertility affect me?'  I didn't have a lot of
answers but I felt a strong desire to create this blog in an effort to give
a truthful, raw, sometime not too Christlike view on how someone like me who
is a Christ follower handles these trials of infertility.  I wanted to do it
out loud as a way to find healing and understanding for myself and as a
possible blessing for someone else just like me, who is lost by the news of
it all and is looking for a little perspective. God has a plan, He knows
what He is doing and remembering that on this journey has proven to be the
hardest test to pass.

Please make sure to stop by Mo's Place today

Jesus' Last Command

Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them it he name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." NASB
So many times I have read/studied Scripture and books to learn to grow in my spiritual walk. Notice the focus was on 'me'. I never gave thought to the meaning of these particular verses let alone that this is truly Jesus' final command to all of us, not just the disciples. I confess, I've not done much in the area of 'making a dsiciple' of anyone. How about you?
I've been making a point to be more of a witness and look for opportunities to tell others of salvation and the way to heaven, but I continue to pray and ask God to give me direction.

In His Service

Sandy

Iron Women of the Word Blog Hop

Join our blog hop!

My Slice of Sanity, The Gandy’s Home Base, Angela’s Pursuit of Life, ThoughtsandCreations from Here There and Everywhere, and Harvest of Pearls have joined together to bring you “Iron Women of the Word" blog hop. Once a week we will share about our time in the Word and invite you to share your time in the Word as well. If you have words of encouragement, a devotion or other Christian related post to link up that would be awesome! If you are a "Iron Woman of the Word" and would like to find other Christian Bloggers --link up! Please grab the button to spread the word about our fellowship! We am looking forward to our fellowship!


I receive several devotions daily in my email. Today, Girlfriends in God has me thinking about what holds me back from serving God.  Like Moses, my past is not all ice cream and cake. I've made my share of mistakes, I've turned my back on God countless times, preferring to do things 'my way'.  However, God was able to use Moses in spite of his past. Why do I think He couldn't use me? Exodus 4:11-12 "The Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then go, and I even I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say." (NASB)  This is after God had told Moses he was going to be his spokesman to the Pharoah and to the Israelites, Moses had countered with his excuse, I can't speak well, I've never been able to speak well. (I can almost hear the whine, can't you?) How often I have said nearly the same thing. 'I can't do that Lord, I don't have the ability, look at where I've been, what I've done.'   (hear the whine?)   God's answer is right there, in Exodus 4:11-12. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I've read that passage and never considered applying it to me.  What makes me even more sad is to think of the blessings I have missed because like I responded like Moses in Exodus 9: 13 'Please Lord, now send the message by whomever You will." I can almost hear Moses saying, 'I don't care who you send the message by as long as I don't have to do it.'  God was angry with Moses but still used him to free the Israelites and bring them out of Egypt. 

What an awesome God we serve! One who knows our every thought and has planned our lives according to His will, regardless of how we fight him. I am going to have to memorize Ex 4:11-12 and remember that it is God who enables me to do His work, not Sandy.  I'm still a work in progress but today, a more willing work in progress!                                                                 In His Service

Sandy



Crop Party at Cafe Mom

Faith, Love & Scrapbooking held their Fools for April crop from Mar 31-Apr 5. I was able to participate, even scrapping while working, in between phone calls.  Here are the fruits of my labor.

This first card challenge was to use 3 different patterned papers, a stamped image and ribbon.

I had to find a card sketch online, post the original sketch, the website and my interpretation.

This challenge I had to find a layout or sketch online, post the original, website and my interpretation.  These are 2 more pages for Jess' scrapbook, ever closer to completing it!

This next challenge was to scrapbook an event that there were no pictures taken. I am still trying to figure out how  I could forget to take a camera with me when Mike & I got married!

This challenge was to find an advertisement online, post the ad and website then my layout from the ad. I was on the Starbucks website and one of their gift cards had a 'tree' with birds and leaves, if you look, you will see the center line (trunk) and the 'branches/birds' are the different pictures. This was a fun page to do, but it was time consuming as well.


These are 2 more cards I made, the first for my dad whose birthday was Apr 3. The picture is one I took on approach from San Francisco to Palm Springs Airport, CA Jan 2010. I love the contrast between the sky and the mountains.

Iron Women Blog Hop

I'm a day late, not sure where the week has gone.
Today, one of my online devotions that I get via my email focused on
Psalm 109:4  'In return for my love they act as my accusers; but I am in prayer.' NASB  The author of the devotion focused on the act of prayer and I am challenged by his writing.  The psalmist was in prayer even in the midst of trial. Not only was he in prayer but he was in prayer alot!
 I have been struggling with prayer myself. Don't get me wrong, I pray.  I ask, praying for challenges in the lives of those I love; for my job; for those in Japan trying to put their lives back together; for our military; for our government; for the chaos going on in the Middle East. However, I often wonder if my prayers are heard. Do you ever feel that way? It is time for me to get back to taking the time needed to really be in God's presence. That's been lacking lately, I've given in to satan's temptation to stay in bed that extra hour for one thing. Fact is, I'm tired! I have discovered I need the time to be quiet, to listen, even if it is just listening to the quiet.
Beyond all that I think I really know what the problem is. ME. Several weeks ago, I really felt God was trying to speak to me about some things. I was afraid of what He might have to say and so I allowed satan to intervene. Now I must start the process all over in preparing to listen to what He has to say, to be willing to put aside my selfish wants and be willing to give my entire life over to Him, to do with as He sees fit, knowing that His plan is perfect.  I will be honest, I am scared of what He might ask of me.

In His Service
Sandy



Iron Women of the Word Blog Hop

 

Join our blog hop! 
My Slice of Sanity, The Gandy’s Home Base, Angela’s Pursuit of Life, ThoughtsandCreations from Here There and Everywhere, and Harvest of Pearls have joined together to bring you “Iron Women of the Word" blog hop. Once a week we will share about our time in the Word and invite you to share your time in the Word as well. If you have words of encouragement, a devotion or other Christian related post to link up that would be awesome! If you are a "Iron Woman of the Word" and would like to find other Christian Bloggers --link up! Please grab the button to spread the word about our fellowship! We am looking forward to our fellowship!

We would like to put you in the spotlight. Each week we will spot one blogger from the previous week. There are only one rule: Please follow all of the host, which are the five blogs listed at the beginning of this post.

With All My Heart

'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.' Jer 29:13

There are times when I wonder where God is. This verse brings me back to reality. God hasn't gone anywhere, I am not giving Him my entire attention. 'Life' gets in the way. What does it mean to search for God with all my heart? It means making Him first in my life. Giving Him my heart when I come to him. It means being fully engaged when I come to Him.
I realize I cannot find God if I am just going through the 'Christian motions'. You know what I'm talking about: reading the required amount of Scripture every day; telling God what He needs to do in my life and the lives of others; going to church and smiling like everything is just peachy when really, if one more person asks how you are they might hear how you overslept, argued with your teenager over wearing ripped up jeans, spilled the only cup of coffee that was left after your selfish spouse filled his super size travel mug, etc, etc.
I am learning to still my heart, so I can search for God with all my heart. Sometimes this means spending more time just being quiet, sometimes it means the 3 chapters I planned to read might only be 3 verses or perhaps it will mean reading 6 chapters. Sometimes it means smiling when someone asks how I am and being honest 'I'm glad you asked because I could really use your prayers today.' It has been my experience that when I open up and search for God with my entire heart, I do, in fact, find Him.

In His service,

Sandy

If you are a new follower to any of these blogs please make sure to leave a comment so that we can follow back. Have fun hopping and have a blessed day.

Lucky Charms Crop

 
Last week, Crop N Chat, a Cafemom group held a Lucky Charm crop. I was able to get most of these done while working, in between or sometimes while even on calls.
These 2 cards were from Sarah's Card Challenge

Ingredient Challenge by Gin. Had to have ephemera, lace, flowers, ribbon, buttons, and at least 2 images.

Scraplift Challenge by Denise

Sketch Challenge by Tracy. The 2 brown squares will be replaced by pictures.

Tag With a Twist by Gin. Tag had to be at 3x6 or 4x8 include lace, charm, the color gold, bling, butterfly, flower, and at least 1 vintage image.  Since Josh will be 30in April, 2 of these pics qualify as 'vintage'.  I'm going to put his name in the empty spot next to his sr pic and what a great way to use a charm that's been in a box for more years than I'd like to admit!    I plan on doing a tag like this for each of my children.

   

Latest Projects

I saw these neat magazine holders several weeks ago and decided to make some. Last night when I was ready to make them, I couldn't remember where I saw them, so I cannot give the proper thanks. I do know it was either on someone's blog or Cafemom, so whoever posted this first THANK YOU!  I also did not have the measurements the original poster was kind enough to post so I just eyeballed it. They are made with the large  priority mailing box you get at the post office. I covered them with some scrapbooking paper.  I have 2 more coming back to me with swaps stuff so I'll be making a couple more in the weeks to come.

As you can see, they are bigger than a magazine. I think a laundry detergent box would work equally well and be more sturdy. That is, if anyone still uses powdered laundry detergent these days.

These are twinchies for a puppy/dog swap in Faith, Love & Scrapbooking group over at Cafemom. 

Cards & Swaps

Seems like all I've gotten done lately are cards and swap things. I'm finishing up the swaps I've already signed up for then getting back to regular scrapbooking. Here's what I've done in the last few weeks.

This is a title for a Moose/Outdoor swap, journal box for a superbowl swap & tag for a lovingly distressed swap.  These are for the group Faith Love & Scrapbooking at CafeMom.

Under Construction

Have to stop work to finish dinner, for whatever reason my hubby & sd want to eat.  Feel free to leave your comments and help me make this blog better.

Random Thoughts

Sunshine outside is misleading during winter.
Too many people are up at before the sun rises watching TV and buying sold on TV products.
NetFlix has a ton of movies I've never heard of.
A cat makes a great foot warmer.
Watching a Pittsburgh Steeler football game is sometimes nerve wracking!
I have no idea how blessed I truly am.
I never gave a thought to how many people in the world have never heard the gospel.
I actually enjoy cooking.
'If I am too busy for God, I am just too busy. I am inviting disaster into my life.' --joyce meyer

Sunrise at LaGuardia Airport, NY. circa 2008

After Christmas Snow

You may have been out grabbing up those after Christmas bargains, but I was snug as a bug at home, not daring to venture out on the roads after our snow storm. I must admit, it was beautiful!  I didn't have to go out in it so of course it was beautiful! Unlike the snow I experienced while in PA earlier in the month, this snow was not accompanied by extreme cold.
There is one advantage of having snow in NC, the opportunity to take some great pictures!

Ice on the holly bush.

This was taken at 525am, when Mike was leaving for work. Nice, big, wet snowflakes!