Our nation still feels the wounds of the events in Colorado several months ago and Friday we found our hearts shattered once again. I have fund myself desolving into tears dozens of times throughout the day. Every piece of news that crosses my homepage, tribute that updates my facebook feed, every story being released over the events of that day. There were heros, there was loss, and out of sheer emotional distress everyone tries to chose an answer to the problem. Gun control, mentall illness care, religion, and the list goes on; people seeking to control a situation out of fear and instead enter into political debates. We should all be mourning and yet we fight because we find our own feelings over whelming and confusing.
I know when I got my children home that afternoon I hugged them all a little tighter, made sure to tell them I loved them a few extra times and I set aside a lot of my work to just be close to them. I heard from my parents and I have friends who said the same. Whether you’re 4 or 40 you’re still someone’s child and that parental need to protect to love to ensure your children are safe and certain of your care is instinctual. Everyone who loves their kids reached out to them on Friday and it became an undeclared national hug your children day in respect for the parents who wouldn’t get the chance to hug their babies again.
We kept our weekend low key, mostly staying home save for church and dinner with family. It snowed today and we spent the afternoon making these fun little snowmen:
It was nice to just be together making memories and basking in the warmth that comes with family.
I loved that it was a project that needed little adult micromanaging. I could help them without having to basically do it all myself.
We melted almond bark using the double boiler method and dipped the Nutter Butters in and turned them with a fork to coat both sides. I found if I sort of hit them against the side of the pan it would smooth out the top coating, which the boys would put their fingers in anyway while decorating. I was happy to find one 20 oz. package of almond bark was the perfect amount for dipping a whole pack of Nutter Butters. Couldn’t have planned it better if I tried.
We chose not to let them cool before putting the noses and buttons on. This let’s the almond bark double as your adhesive icing. Two birds one stone! 
Once they had set a bit we used the gel icing to make the faces, but in hindsight we should’ve waited a little longer, but this is a kid project and we aren’t seeking perfection.
It only took about a half hour for them to set while sitting on the counter and we were able to keep the littles from getting into them during that time. We had set out to just have fun spending time together and our mission was accomplished in sugary cuteness. 
