Thankful Thursday

* I am thankful for the family time we got to spend together this week. Nearly a foot of snow and 40+ MPH winds will do that to a family.

* I am thankful that we are no longer snowed in. The plow came by about 11:30 this morning, so Shannon was able to work this afternoon.

* I am thankful for groceries. We made a trip into town tonight to stock up. My fridge is full, my pantry is full, and my belly is full.

* I am thankful for the tractor and blade to move all of the snow. Actually, Shannon is more thankful, because he has been the one out in the cold taking care of it. They boys helped, too.

"Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart," Proverbs 3:3

39 and Counting

Today is Shannon's birthday. It coincided with a big Iowa blizzard, and church was canceled, as well as the kids' Christmas program.

Our road has not been plowed all day. I suppose the powers that be have decided that if the wind continues to blow at 40mph all day, it is rather pointless to plow because it will quickly drift back over. Wind chill factors have been from 25 to 30 degrees below zero, but the wind should die down throughout the night. Temperatures are expected to be in the double digits below zero tomorrow. I'm so thankful we have nowhere to go for the next couple days! The boys have this whole week off of basketball.

We started our day out with eggs, bacon and chocolate chip muffins for brunch. The guys spent a lot of time watching football and monitoring their fantasy football status. They even went outside and played some football this afternoon. BRRRRR!!!!!


We all pitched in and made some sweet and sour chicken with fried rice for supper. It was a hit with everyone. We've spent a very relaxing day together, just hanging out as a family. Shannon and the boys are in playing another game of Risk now.

Chase did the honors of baking a white cake from scratch for Shannon this evening. Before we had a chance to frost it, Hudson climbed up on a chair and helped himself to a handful or two of cake, so we decided to forgo the frosting, and just ate it plain. It was delicious.

Shannon just keeps getting better with age. I love him tremendously. I'm incredibly proud of the man he has become, and I can't wait to spend the next 39 years with him.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run into it and they are safe." Proverbs 18:10

The First Snow Day

Today public school was canceled. It was forecast that we would get 4-11 inches of snow and lots of wind, too. The snow didn't materialize, although the wind did blow and our road drifted a bit.

Alex's JV basketball game was canceled last night, which always disappoints us. They were scheduled to play South Hardin, a team they played three times last season. The first game South Hardin won, and we won the final two. They were pretty physical games, and the teams were relatively evenly matched. I was anxious to see how they would match up this season.

Jackson and Chase's basketball practice was canceled, too, so Jackson rode into Reinbeck with Alex so they could stay at Grandma and Grandpa's house last night. They had to be in town early this morning for work. Let me tell you, the garbage men in Reinbeck are a lot more dependable than the mail carriers in rural Gladbrook. We didn't have any mail delivery today, although Shannon and I were able to get from our house to Union to pick up Papa Joe, travel on to Marshalltown for a doctor's appointment, then reverse our route and make it home without much trouble. So much for the mail carrier's motto:

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

Not in my neighborhood.

Everyone except Colton is currently caught up on school. We plan to get him caught up tonight. I sleep so much better at night when everyone is done with school and the house clean. Oh...my house isn't clean. Oh well.

"The Lord by wisdom founded the earth by understanding He establishd the heavens;" Proverbs 3:18

We're Free

The snow plow came by late this morning and cleared the way for us to leave our home. The kids were amazed at the big snow drifts that Daddy had to climb through to get home last night.

This afternoon we loaded everyone up and went into town to get some groceries. Alex, Chase and Bryce got some new jeans and swishy pants, and the little ones got cheapo toys. It was nice to be able to get out of the house for awhile. Our entire family hadn't been together since midday on Friday.

This is a picture I took this morning of the trees to the east of our house. They were covered with ice and the sun was reflecting off of them. Very pretty. Again, my camera did not do them justice.

Maybe I need to start lobbying for a new camera...

"But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day." Proverbs 4:18

Daddy's Home!

Shannon called me at 5:50pm to tell me Rob had dropped him off and he was on his way up the road. We waited anxiously by the front windows watching for him. By 6:15pm I was getting nervous, so I decided to drive the van down to the end of the lane and see if I could see him coming. Once outside I found that the garage door was frozen shut and stuck to the floor.






I walked down to the end of the driveway, but couldn't see him coming. It was VERY cold. The wind had picked up quite a bit. My thermometer said it was 3 degrees. I went back to the house and debated how to try to get the garage door open. Soon I saw Shannon coming up the road. It was 6:25pm. The first picture did not turn out well because of all of the blowing snow, but right in the middle of the picture is Shannon trudging along with a big orange bag over his shoulder.
We were all very grateful to see him! He says it wasn't too cold, but he fell 3-4 times along the side of the road. His choices were to either walk where the snow was shallow but icy, or go through the deep snow where it wasn't so slippery. Some of the drifts were over his head.
Hopefully the snow plows will get through tomorrow and we'll be free to come and go as we please.










He says the smiles, hugs and kisses from his girls were worth the trip and he would do it all over again if he had to.













Not only did Shannon have to walk through snow, ice, cold and wind to get home, but he had to do it carrying a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, a quart of ice cream, and two birthday presents for Naomi. Next year we'll plan ahead a little better.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe." Proverbs 18:10

Moving Snow

Because Shannon was out of town this weekend, I had the honor of removing the snow from our driveway in anticipation of they're arrival home. I headed out around 4:00 Sunday afternoon. There wasn't a lot of snow, but it had drifted fairly high is some areas.

The snow was very wet and heavy. I found out quickly that it was necessary to hop off the tractor every 5-6 feet in some areas and clear out the blower. This involves turning off the auger (very important step!), climbing off the tractor, reaming out the blower, climbing back on, then starting everything up again. I lost count of how many times I had to do this, but it was upwards of 75 times. It was actually very nice outside, with temps in the low 30's and very little wind.
The sky was very pretty as I was finishing up, although these photos don't do the sunset justice.

I'll volunteer to move snow more often if I can be guaranteed mild weather doing it!

"Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge." Proverbs 22:17

Springtime

What does springtime bring in Iowa? Lots of sunny day--and lots of rainy days. I snapped this picture through the kitchen window last week. It shows the fresh green corn growing in the distance, and the beautiful green grass in our pasture. I'm anxious for the wildflowers to begin blooming.



Springtime also brings baby kittens. We have three little ones that are about 5 weeks old. Anyone interested in one? The other two are gray and very cute as well.


We adopted another dog through freecycle last week. Riley is a 4yo Australian Shepherd. He's great with the kids, and although he left us for a couple days last week, he found his way back home yesterday. We're hoping he decides to stay for good this time!

"She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her." Proverbs 3:18

Spring!

None of the kids wanted to go inside and change clothes after church yesterday. They were afraid they would miss out on some of our beautiful weather. Katie and Naomi wore their matching dresses from Aunt Marilyn. They love to twirl around in them and play ballerina! Colton thought Alex deserved a BIG hug for a BIG brother.
Shannon grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. As is customary, we ran out of propane in the grill half way through cooking them. We finished them up on the George Foreman grill indoors. It was quite windy outside, so we ate inside. The kids spent a lot of time playing outside. The girls hold their own when it comes to getting dirty!
We had pizza and practiced music for the Easter morning service with our youth group kids from church following the evening service. We held a rousing game of marshmallow softball in the fellowship hall, then finished up with a game of sardines.

"The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens." Proverbs 3:19

Home Sweet Home!

Our power came back on last evening. Shannon and I decided to drive out to the house and see if there was any damage such as frozen pipes. We only made it about a mile out of town before having to turn back. The snow was blowing so badly we couldn't see the sides of the road.

We were able to return home over lunchtime today. The furnace had been working hard and it was up to 68 degrees already. Fortunately there was no damage. We had lots of dirty dishes to wash and laundry to do, but we're all settled back in now.

We're thankful for the use of my parent's home this week. Hopefully when they return tomorrow they won't have many evidences that we were there. When Mom called me today and I told her we were moving out, she sounded kind of disappointed. What an actress!

We have basketball for Jackson and Bryce tomorrow, weather permitting. Have a great weekend!

"Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established." Proverbs 24:3

Homeless...

Friday night the storm began with thunderstorms, sleet and hail. We first lost power Saturday morning around 8:30, and continued to have it off and on throughout the day. Pastor James brought Colton home in the morning, and said the roads were passable, but he had to travel at about 45mph. At 6:30 Saturday evening, the power went off for good. Jackson had just completed making a big pot of soup, so we sat down to a candlelight dinner. After dinner we started a fire and Shannon and the boys played cards for quite a while. We were all set for a nice adventure. We read stories and had a great family time, waiting for the power to come back on.

WE'RE STILL WAITING!

By Sunday morning we were out of water, as there is an electric pump connected to the well. This took us city folks completely by surprise. It hadn't occurred to me that we could lose water. We were able to collect melting water from outside to flush the toilets (10 people and no flushing is not a good thing!). The house was not too cold--around 62 degrees, but the fire wood from the barn was damp and made for a smokey fire. Shannon grilled us steaks for lunch, which was a great meal. They boys hoped we could be stranded more often. Papa Joe (Shannon's grandpa) got his power back around 2:00 pm, so we decided to go over there and take showers. We got word that power was on in Reinbeck, so after cooking dinner at Papa Joe's we headed to my parents' house to sleep. They are in Florida on vacation, so we had the whole place to ourselves.

Monday and Tuesday came and went, and still no power at our house. We took the kids to Waterloo to play at Playland Tuesday evening to burn off some steam. This morning Shannon and the boys went back out to our house to feed the pets and take the garbage out, and it was 41 degrees inside. The meat in the freezer was beginning to thaw, so they transferred it to the deep freeze. I spoke with the Grundy Co. REC, and they told me it would most likely be another 4-7 days before we have power. We're praying that it will be restored before Mom & Dad return Saturday evening.

Jackson, Chase, Bryce and Colton finished up their Iowa Tests of Basic Skills today. We brought the rest of their schoolwork to Reinbeck today so we can get back in the swing of things. Katie "babysat" Hudson while I finished up tests with Colton today. She gave him a BOY baby doll to sleep with, and a PINK blanket.

We're thankful that we have somewhere FREE to stay. We'll see what happens this weekend. Mom said we are welcome to stay as long as we need to. We're not sure how long that offer will last! Their water and electric bills might be off the charts this month!

Pray for the electrical workers. They're working hard to repair all of the downed lines. Pray for their safety. We've already heard of one fatality. With another storm on the way, most likely repair efforts will be slowed down, or at least more difficult. It has already begun raining here.

"The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish." Proverbs 10:28