Snowmageddon

 Here is the snow on Christmas evening.  We were so excited about the snow...little did we know.  I do like it better when it snows during the day because I love to watch it snow.  I have seen enough snow for this season.

 Here was my view on December 26th.  We lost power about 11 pm the night before.  Let me just say that it is chilly in the house.   If getting out of a warm bed into a freezing cold house in the middle of the night to 'powder my nose' were an Olympic sport, with speed being the key factor, you are talking to a gold medal winner. I have ninja skills that I didn't even know about.  

 Beautiful, but very chilly.

 We stayed at home for three days without power.  The days with sunshine were so much easier to handle.  The light is so important.  It ruled our days.

 Carl went to check out the gasoline situation in all the vehicles.  Kaitlin's car had the most.  We took turns sitting in her car, listening to the radio, getting warm while charging our phones.

 Carl's turn.  He could get out after the first day so he brought the outside world in to us.  He got Kaitlin to work and John too.

 I found that the candles that I don't like did provided much needed light and even warmth- even if it was the appearance of warmth.  KimT, I might even need more candles!!

 It was very dark in our house.  We pushed all the furniture up against the windows so we could use all the outside light for as long as we could.

 I found this wonderful candle that took my mind away to the beach for a few minutes plus provided lots of light.  We lost all the food in our fridge and freezer.  I was so looking forward to Christmas dinner leftovers.  We plan to cook our meal again.

I have such a greater appreciation for the pioneer folk.  After a day of being cold, my brain could only think of how to survive- what could we eat, how long would there be light, is everyone warm enough and trying not to think about being cold.

 Here is a list of what we did during the power outage, read, took pictures, visit, read, make lists of what to do when we had power, sleep, charge phones, read, sleep, put on more clothes, read some more and sleep.

Christmas Day we also got the news that one of Andrew's college roommates, Chris, had died.  He was 30. 30.  That is Andrew's age!  When times got tough in our cold house, I prayed for Chris' mama, daddy and sister.  That helped my perspective.

Christmas Day aka the day we lost power

It all started out like we planned!

This may look like a picture of the front of my church on Christmas Eve but it is really a picture of the Advent Wreath.  Our family read and lit it that night.  That is a big deal because 10 years ago we also did the reading and Andrew lit himself on fire.  I think our pastor knew that Andrew wasn't going to be in town so he asked us!  Robert lit the candle and did just fine.  It was a non-event.  Whew!

My favorite part of the service is singing Silent Night by candle light!

This good looking fellow was there!

Along with his good looking parents.  Didn't get a picture of the rest of the group!

This was our tree this year.  We opened presents with just us four and then John, Marisa, Atticus and her brother, Marc and sister, Kaelyn, were to come over for more presents and supper.

One of my favorite gifts!

Robert looking at his new watch.

Kaitlin and Papa looking at some spices she gave him to use on the grill.

So the weather got bad faster that we expected.  We decided to gather up their presents and go to their house.  This fellow was playing and sitting up like a big boy when we got there.

We stayed about an hour.  We all opened up presents and took lots of pictures.  They are on the camera and will be seen soon.  I love this picture of Atticus.  With all these new toys he prefers a ball off the tree.

We got home just as the ice started to fall.  We cooked a wonderful supper of brisket, hash brown casserole, BBQ green beans, mac and cheese plus sister shuberts.  It was wonderful.  I sent lots to Marisa.  We lost the rest, see my very sad face here.  About 11 that night, we lost power.  That was Tuesday, we left on Saturday, we still didn't have power.  More about our trip soon...  I am going to bed and sleep under my electric blanket and I am enjoying having power.  It is a wonderful invention!

Say it ain't snow again or 5th snow this year in LR

Here is our yard at 8:30 yesterday morning
Here it is again at 11:30
We went out to play in it. It is powder snow so it is not good for snow balls but fun to walk in and throw around.
This is what we were doing inside. Kaitlin made a nest on the loveseat and knitted.
Robert kept the fire going and we all watched Season 5 of NCIS. We love that series.

Aubie had some snow on him by this point.
We had one more play time before it got too dark.
Today dawned with a beautiful sunrise.

This is my view as I sit in my room and do my counted cross-stitch.
Kaitlin and I went this morning. Aubie was still standing tall even with all the snow that fell.
Kaitlin took my camera for a few shots.


Robert was asleep when we went out. He is always talking about how he loves the cold. He ran outside to show me how tough he is.I love watching it snow. But I realize I have the luxury of having a job that does not require me to drive or get out in the snow and I am thankful for that. I also love the day after a big snow. I call this day the second snow. I love the melting of the snow and seeing it fall again from the trees this time in big clumps. The sun is out today but our temps aren't supposed to get above freezing so we may not have too much melting. I love the winter wonderland but I don't think I'll be sad to see spring!!

I heard it today.

It is snowing again today. This is unusual for us. We usual just have one snow/ice event a winter. On the 9th we got 4-6 inches, this time it is maybe an inch. I love snow when I don't have to go out in it. I love to look at it from inside my house. I love it when it doesn't impact my life. I am so thankful that I usually don't have to be concerned about getting out in it.

But my favorite thing about a snow event is the quiet. I like to bundle up and go outside when the snow has been falling for awhile and the sky is grey. All the squirrels and birds are all warm and tucked away in their nests, the cars are off the roads and there is a quiet unlike any other I have ever heard. (Can you hear quiet?) It is almost a worshipful quiet. I find myself holding my breath. I stand and just listen. It is amazing. I can't stand the cold or the quiet for very long, it is too intense.

Have you ever heard the snow quiet?

snow!

Kaitlin and Jennifer in the snow.
Aubie in the snow.

I stood in the garage so we could have our picture made.great day with a roaring fire and movies and wonderful fellowship

Snow, Snow, Snow- February 2010

Our driveway on Monday

our backyard on Monday
driveway on Tuesday- Kaitlin going to check to see if we got a paper, we didn't.



Kaitlin's car on our road. Our wonderful friend's from church came to help. It is now back in the driveway.