what a difference a day makes......

after taking some lovely sunny photos of the 

house the other day, I woke up to this......

the view from my bedroom window made 

the countryside look like a winter wonderland.....

the sun started to rise above the hills and I saw a patch of blue sky......

'it's going to be OK', I thought......

 today was the day for picking Brian up from Heathrow airport 

after his mammoth journey 'up north'.....

I cleared the snow from the car, 

and the children helped in their own interesting way.........

but just as we started out, it started to blizzard.........

we got half way up the hill and then lost all traction......

fortunately the man behind us had a 4WD and a tow rope...... 

yay for helpful folk.....

we ended up having to turn around and drive 

{which included some sliding} back to the village..... 

which is right at the bottom of that valley lying ahead of us..... 

needless to say, I was glad to get back with my very 

precious cargo {Isaac & Evie} safely intact.....

Evie was very angry at the snow because it meant 

that we would not be able to be there when her daddy 

came through the doors into the arrivals hall but she 

consoled herself by having a snowball fight with her cousin.......

and building an igloo (using a baby bath to make the bricks!!) with Isaac......

I don't think we will be having a swim any time soon.....

well, there's more snow forecast for tonight and

 I think sledging might be on the cards for tommorow.....

holiday home.....

I love this place......

it's been like a second home to us for a LONG time now.....

countless holidays, weekends, Christmases 

and birthdays have been enjoyed here....

today we went for a walk along the quiet country lanes 

and enjoyed the beauty of the hazy, wintery sunshine and 

the patchwork of fields bounded by hedgerow......

we were greeted by a herd of sheep being shepherded 

along the road, and by the smell of the cows in the nearby fields.....

in its former life it was three little labourers cottages 

{one up and one down kind of places} and was thatched.... 

can you just see it in your minds eye.....

it's still standing strong after 600 years and I for one am 

very thankful that I get to spend special days here with very special people.....

deck the halls......

we had a lot of fun decorating the house a few days ago.....

Unky Neil picked up a Christmas tree on his way home 

from work and then brought in about a million {I exaggerate not}

boxes of Christmas decorations.....

the kids had so much fun putting this here and that there

 and asking about the stories behind the decs......

the tree is just a little one that sits in the window and sparkles 

and looks all beautiful twinkling away merrily......

even the fireplace got a little bit of sparkly treatment.....

oh, it is feeling rather festive..... 

I've been playing Christmas carols to get me in the swing of things 

and there's more snow forecast for later this week.....

I say, crack out the sledges and lets get serious......

morning.....

the view from my bedroom window this morning signals that there is a thaw going on.....

the snowman the children built on the first evening here is now

 just a little pile of snow and the ground is clear of most of the snow that greeted us......

we're hoping for more.....

Oh, Christmas tree......

spent a fun day with good friends helping them choose their 

Christmas tree at the local Christmas tree farm......

they picked Suzy {each tree gets a name}....

thanks for including us in your Christmas tree expedition lovely people.....

the road is long......

really, REALLY long......

but we are so happy to be here......

the kids were so excited that there was snow......

but soon jumped back in the car to warm up after they remembered 

how cold it gets when there is snow around.......