Unexpected Gifts

Snow days....there are no words more beautiful to a teacher.  Ok, "It's summer." definitely wins. But other than that, snow days rule.  I was talking to a co-worker last year and asked, "What is it that makes snow days so awesome?"  She replied, "It's an unexpected gift".  Yeah, it is.  It's a beautiful, unexpected day given to you to use as you wish (All right, mostly).

Today was our first snow day of the year.  I try to start each snow day with snowman pancakes.  It's fun, it's easy.  And it starts the day special.  (As if not having to go to school wasn't special enough!) We have this wild burst of energy when we hear the announcement. So why not make breakfast?  I have a couple of pancake recipes that are extra special and SUPER delicious.  But if you want to make these guys with a regular old mix, no judgment.

There are lots of different variations of snowmen pancakes, but here are a couple I have made.  Look in your pantry, frig and freezer and get creative!  Powdered sugar, whipped cream and mini marshmallows always come in handy!  I promise your kids won't care if your snowman looks like it is 45 degrees outside.

Now, if you are wondering why one of my snowmen are red, check out my recipe below!  Keep this one handy for Valentine's Day!  Or...if your kids are nuts like mine and want red snowmen!  Who am I to judge?

Red Velvet Pancakes
  2 cups red velvet cake mix
½ cup all purpose flour
 1¼ cup milk or water
1 egg

Super easy, right?  If you would like to make a more traditional snowman, you can substitute funfetti cake mix for the red velvet (because who DOESN'T love a snowman with sprinkles!)  Now, if you would like to really kick it up a notch, here are a couple of "syrups" to use with the red velvet pancakes that really make them AMAZING!

Cream Cheese Syrup
4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 T milk
1 t vanilla

Nutella Cream Cheese Syrup
1 t vanilla
1 c powdered sugar
4 T Nutella
4 T plain cream cheese
milk as needed

I wish I could give credit where credit is due, but I swiped these off Pinterest so long ago, I don't remember my original source.  I rarely have original ideas. Just so you know.

My snow day was that perfect mix of being super productive but also having down time and enjoying my girls.  I enjoyed my unexpected gift so much today. I feel like snow days are God's way of smiling down on me and saying, take a rest.  One of my favorite scriptures from the Bible is Ruth 2 :16.  Boaz tells his workers to drop handfuls of wheat on purpose for Ruth to gather.  God also leaves "handfuls on purpose" for us everywhere, sometimes we just have to look.  Unexpected gifts come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, they are as big as a day off work.  Sometimes, they are also small as wheat.

Enjoy your handfuls on purpose!
K