RECENTLY, I HELPED my great niece build a mini snowman barely higher than my knees.
I taught 5-year-old Meghan how to roll balls, then how to pack snow so the head wouldn’t topple from the body. She was a quick learner.
Next, I sent her in search of twigs for arms. She roamed a snow-covered hillside, flash of purple against brilliant white.
Then we scavenged for stones for eyes.
Beneath the sprawling bare branches of an aged oak, I plucked fallen acorns for a nose and buttons.
Not the snowman my niece and I built, but rather a gigantic snowman at 18 Third Ave. NW in Faribault.
Together, with the aid of my eldest daughter, we hodge-podged a face that smiled back at us.
I’d forgotten what simple joy lies in creating a snowman.
In the Hoisington family’s Faribault yard, this snowman is sure to make you smile.
Sometimes that’s all it takes to lift yourself out of the winter blues, to chase away the worries of life, to ease the stress.
To view the world through the eyes of Meghan, who found nothing more delightful than building a snowman on a Saturday afternoon was a gift.
FYI: If the gigantic snowman featured here looks familiar, it’s because last year I photographed an over-sized snowman in this same Faribault yard. Click here to view last winter’s snowman.
© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Through the eyes of a child….if only we adults could stop and listen just a few minutes to children and how they view life, I do believe our problems would become less important. So glad you had fun with your great niece….what a refreshing day you will always cherish and so will she.
We all need these moments.
What a wonderful post!
Sticks for arms, acorns for a nose and buttons, it sounds like you built a 100% organic, free-range snowman!
Did it have a smiley or a frowny face?
An organic snowman, now that’s a new one.
Read the sentence under the first photo and you’ll get the answer to your question about the smile.
I wish we got enough consistent snow here to build snowmen. We get snow and ice, just not enough that accumulates.
If only snow could be shipped. There needs to be the right combo of snow and warmth to make the snow just right for building snowmen.
I did think that snowman looked familiar. I guess I am not losing it! 🙂 I haven’t made a snowman for awhile but I have such great memories of making them. My mom always wants to make one so maybe this week I will make one with her! Wouldn’t that be fun?
Yes, build a snowman with your mom and blog about it.
You, losing it? Never, my friend.
How in the world do they build it that tall? As a winter lover this brought a smile to my face… I kinda want to build a snowman 🙂
Good question to which I don’t have the answer. I know the family is in the painting business.
Children are great teachers. Even if the lesson is only to stop and smell the roses. They also make the hard things in life a little less painful with their silly animated conversations. You can’t help but love them.
Yes, they are. Kids have a way of finding joy in the simplest things. And that’s a good thing. Soon enough they grow into adults.
Oh my goodness. That snowman needs Jenny Craig. lol
Laughing here. Humor rates right there with building a snowman to ease stress.
Yeah that too. Our big snowman went on to be a taxidermist. Poor guy couldn’t save himself.
Great Captures – love snow people 🙂 I was more into building a wall of snow and many, many snowballs to have snow ball fights growing up – great times. Happy Hump Day!
Oh, yes, snow forts. Great memories!
Great post! We rarely get enough snow here in Oklahoma to build a snowman. I kind of miss that. 😦
Well, anything you miss snow, head to Minnesota, or Boston.
Audrey, please let us know whether it is July or August when that snowman melts, okay?
Will do. My guess would be July.
I do love your snowman and I have always wanted to make a snowman – it’s been a dream of mine to find enough snow to make a snowman! And I do love the house behind it! xx
Jet a flight to the Midwest or East Coast any winter and you can build your snowman, pending perfect snowman making weather.
That house is gorgeous, isn’t it?