My pace of life has slowed down. It has been a good thing, I think. The snow kept us inside and has settled us in a good routine. So I'll just share some random happenings of our week.

My mind has been filled with party planning. It is birthday season for us and then there are a couple other parties in the works.

Walking in the snow is tough. We walked over to visit our neighbor. The snow was icy and our feet were not sinking to the ground. Holding a little boy's hand and keeping up with our fearless leader was good exercise.

We've been outside just about every day. I'm thankful for fresh air.

I had a lovely skype visit with my friend in Mexico.

I'm recording the Olympics every night. I watch when I have a chance. That will be my entertainment for the rest of the winter. I really enjoy the Olympics.

This is what happened as we were getting ready to walk out the door to spend a morning at my Mom's house:
I had a day off today. I got some help making party decorations that will show up here a couple times in the future. Scrapbooking was, of course, on the agenda also. The conversations with my sisters and friends while we sit at the table renew my soul.

Aliza read to Josiah on the couch this morning.

Josiah puts two words together now. Usually More + another word.

Bible study was especially awesome this week.

Tomorrow I get to spend a little time shopping with my hubby. More on that later!

Heart Party

We had a heart party tonight. Heart plates and napkins, heart shaped pizza (thank you Papa Johns), heart shaped cake and a new collection of love stories from Veggie Tales. I had chocolate out on the counter that was allowed to be eaten all day. Josiah took full advantage of the chocolate availability. He was covered in chocolate by the end of the evening.



Aliza really liked the roses Jeremy brought home for me the other day. She thought that she should have gotten flowers too. I told her that when she sees those roses she should remember that Daddy LOVES Mommy. Someday she will realize how awesome it is to have two parents who are married and love each other. Jeremy also sent me a subtle hint for Valentine's Day---he got me a golf glove, practice golf balls, and a visor. I'm guessing there is a set of clubs in my future. I wonder if I even have the ability to play golf. It's so technical and I am so clueless!

Icicle

This icicle is massive. It reaches from the roof to the top of the first story window. Now we prepare for more snow on Monday. But first we will enjoy Valentine's Day tomorrow.

Our Winter Wonderland

In a typical winter, we might get 6 inches of snow. This year has been quite different. Yesterday was our 3rd snow storm in 10 days. It snowed all day yesterday, but it was almost impossible to tell how much accumulated given how much we already had on the ground. The wind blew hard. We were under a blizzard warning and by evening the city declared a state of emergency. If you were on the road within city limits between 6pm last night and 3pm today you could get a ticket. School has been closed all week.

Jeremy's car does not have enough traction to get out. There is a thick layer of ice under the snow. The one day that we could leave the house I did not have a car. Thankfully Mom was off work and could take me to Wal-Mart to get a few necessities before yesterday's storm.

Here are a few pictures from today.

View from the kitchen. There should be 2 steps visible and a bench. This is an area that really drifted.

The top of a garden flag pole.

There is a road out there---somewhere!

The next 4 pictures are of Aliza. She started wiping the snow off the cars. Then she stood on a pile of snow and realized she could climb on the car. When she came in she told me that she had an adventure. All by herself.

Josiah was happy to find a shovel. Such a big helper!

A video of Aliza on the car and Josiah walking around in the snow.


Hopefully Jeremy will be able to get his car out soon so that I can get out! I'm mentally prepared for a few more days though.

A Different Kind of Weekend

The snow started at noon on Friday. It didn't really accumulate, but it was coming down. Friday night the snow changed to rain/sleet/ice and the wind howled. At 2:50am we lost electricity. I know the exact minute because Jeremy's computer backup power supply alarms when the power goes out. This wakes up the whole household. Aliza was awake for over an hour. She was a little scared about the wind and the ice hitting her window. The wind really howled and the windows shook. Our power company estimated that power would be restored by 6am. Thankfully we do have a propane insert in our fireplace so we had some heat. That insert is in such a place in our house that the heat goes straight upstairs, but does not heat the downstairs at all.

When we woke up there was no power. We thought we could wait it out. So we stayed upstairs, reading, looking at pictures on the computer and just hanging out. By 11:30 there was still no electricity and the power company was not giving an estimated time at this point. The snow was coming down harder and accumulating faster. We decided that we better head to my parents before the children took naps. We were afraid that it we waited we wouldn't be able to get out of the driveway and we had no desire to spend a dark evening at our house. We had no problem getting to Mom and Dad's house. Later that afternoon we found out that power came back on at our house about an hour after we left. Figures! But by that point it really was not smart to be driving. We ended up staying at my parents for 2 nights (last night so that we could watch the Super Bowl).

We got about a foot of snow. Jeremy, Dad, Jeff and Brian cleared our driveway yesterday. There is a thick layer of ice under a a bunch of snow and Jeremy could not get his car out today.

The craziest part is that we could get up to 6 more inches by Wednesday! Aliza doesn't even ask to go out anymore. We are all over the excitement of snow!

Memories

Matt & Chrissy got married five years ago. Jeremy and I were Best Man and Maid of Honor. Chrissy just gave me some pictures and they brought back so many memories for me. Bear with me for a few moments of vanity.

Chrissy's wedding was a mere two weeks after my second thyroid surgery where my vocal cords were damaged. I was just getting my voice back, regaining strength and my thyroid levels were decreasing. I insisted on wearing the scarf around my neck so that for a few hours I could forget my scar. I remember being utterly exhausted, but I also remember feeling so pretty that day. Getting my hair and make up done was an esteem boost that I really needed. I was so excited for Jeremy to see me. I got to walk up the aisle with him and dance with him at the reception (yes, that was my first ever dance). This was a bright day in a period of time that I remember as pretty dark.




Now, about this snow that we are getting! I like snow. It's pretty, it's peaceful, it makes winter a little brighter. But, for this winter, I'm over it. I've seen enough. We've been in the house for too many days. One weekend snowed in was plenty for me. That weekend was last weekend. We are on our second weekend in a row of snow. Totally unheard of! The snow from last weekend is still on the ground. Several more inches have accumulated tonight and now I hear ice hitting the windows. Jeremy has declared that we will be going to the Super Bowl party on Sunday. Do you hear a little desperation in that?!

Snow Kisses

Josiah started enjoying the snow yesterday. It has melted some so as long as he was holding Grandma's hand he was happy to walk around in the snow. He periodically tasted the snow and still refused to wear hat and gloves so he tried his hardest not to fall down.

When Laura and Aliza finished their snow man Josiah gave him a kiss. He has melted my heart recently with his random kisses. Usually two or three at a time complete with a big smooch noise.