Winter Wonderland

Where do I even begin...? It started snowing on Wednesday, and it hasn't really stopped yet, not for more than a couple of hours.

I don't really mind the snow... In fact, I love it. No matter how much it snows or for how long, there's always a part of my heart that's disappointed when it stops. So this snowstorm has been a gift to my heart. That said, I wish I could clone myself and send my clones out to help everyone shovel their sidewalks and driveways, because I know that all this snow is causing a lot of problems for a lot of people. I pray that God will send kind-hearted people (like the Blauers) to help them with these needs.

This is what my mom's car looked like when we all woke up yesterday.

Yesterday I got up to go to work in the morning and was going to stop by my coworker's house to get her, because she was snowed in. Even though I was in a 4-wheel-drive Toyota truck with good ground clearance, I didn't make it more than 10 feet out of the driveway before I got stuck. I called my coworker and my boss to let them know I wouldn't be in yesterday, but then my boss called back about 30 minutes later to say City Hall was closed for the day...

This all happened about an hour after I had sent an email to a few of my blogging buddies letting them know I was going on a blogging fast. I guess God had other ideas.

Wednesday was "one of those days." A when-it-rains-it-pours day. My husband called it "miserable." He didn't say it with a bad attitude, but he did say it with a long sigh.

First the snow came and didn't quit, and there were wrecks and delays all over the region. On his way home from work, my husband's car was T-boned by a person driving too fast for conditions. Did did the other driver have insurance? Nope. And he's a business owner. How does that work? You can't see it very well in this picture, but the back door on the driver's side is pretty well smashed in. I feel sorry for Keith because he's always tried so hard and done such a great job of being a good steward of this car since bying it new in 1994.

That same day, Stephen had a little tussle with an icy sidewalk. He slipped and fell and hit his eyebrow on the hard ice. The bump was the size of a small marble when I got home from work, but by the time he went to bed, it was the size of half a golf ball. He could barely open his eye and I was concerned that we might need to brave the weather to take him to the ER. But God provided a registered nurse for us to talk to over the phone through our pediatrician's office, and by His grace we didn't end up having to leave the house, and Stephen's bump started getting better on it's own. Thank You, Lord!

I spent about 3 hours in the morning shoveling our back deck and the front sidewalk, and enjoying every minute of it. But actually, Linnea is our honorary shoveler, and it took her 5 or 6 hours to shovel our massive driveway yesterday, but her puppy, Bandit, kept her company and helped her to find joy in her work. By the time she came back into the house, she was frozen like a popsicle, tired and sore. But she had a relatively good attitude, and I was and am really proud of her. After she had a drink and some warm soup, she took a 3-hour nap on the couch, wrapped in my favorite down comforter.

Keith decided he wanted to take his car to get an estimate for the door repairs. I was whole-heartedly against the idea, but I remembered the excerpt from Fight Like a Girl that talked about not using manipulation to try to control people. So I just said, even-keel, "Sweety, I want to go on record as saying I'm opposed to this idea. I wish you would stay home."

"Why?" he asked.

"Well," I replied, "I don't want you to get into a wreck, or to get stuck."

"I've already been in a wreck."

"I know, and I don't want you to be in another one."

"And I'm not going to get stuck." (Famous last words.)

At that point I just shrugged my shoulders, and on the inside I was praying, praying, praying for God's will to be done. I realize that these weather conditions provide a manly challenge. After all, the snowy roads are something to be tamed and conquered!

However, even after giving himself a running start from the top of our relatively long driveway, his car (an all-wheel-drive Subaru) got stuck in the middle of the cul-de-sac, and several neighbors helped to dig him out.

Yesterday, Thursday, was a really great day in our home, all in all. My mom and I got all of the wrapping done. Here she is, the wrapping queen!

The gifts she wrapped are works of art - total candy for the eyes with ribbons and bows and sparkles. Mine are just standard wrapped gifts with no embelishments. But that's okay. We sang hymns and talked and had a great time wrapping together.

I'm thanking God continuously for this marvelous gift of time He's given me in these couple of days home from work. It does my heart good to be here with my family. I'm praying that His will be done in this day, in all things, by His grace, and for His honor and glory.

By the way, this is a picture of the "Twisted Willow" in our back yard. My mom told me I should take a picture of it because it and the snow formations on it look interesting.

And here's a picture of Megan, Becca and Stephen all decked out in their snow-wear, getting ready to enjoy some time in the great snowy outdoors.