The "Blizzard" of 2014

Good morning friends!  Life is starting to return to normal as our blizzard-like adventure wraps up.  Jeff went back to work today.  I am still waiting to hear from him about how the roads are. Local schools are still closed.  AWANA was canceled for tonight, for which I am extremely grateful.

It all started last Friday, when we decided to heed the storm warning and load up at the grocery store.  We, along with the rest of Indiana, all had the same idea.  I was amused to see empty shelves, especially a run on bacon.  Really?  I didn't know that bacon was a storm staple.  Now I do and will be sure to get a few packages next time.  The usual things were gone, but that didn't bother me too much, as I like to buy organic or as close as possible and those are the last things to run out.

Saturday, was pretty much a normal day, thankfully.  We had to go to the BMV, and Jeff took Ryan to a local college basketball game.  I made a batch of chili, and was thankful we avoided the crazy people at the grocery stores on Saturday, as reports were coming in from Facebook that things were getting worse at the stores hour by hour.

And then  "it" hit us Sunday morning.  Our dear church leaders had already encouraged us to stay home and watch the service online.  Thankfully, Ryan and Grace's scheduled service in children's ministry was canceled, another wise call.  We all five snuggled into the sectional and watched church via our Chromebook hooked up to our TV as huge, fluffy snowflakes started to fall and continued to fall all day.

The snow really came down hard and fast, at an inch an hour.  The temperatures started to drop, too.  And the wind was howling by evening.  Jeff and the kids kept the driveway and sidewalks clear, as we knew the temperatures were falling to below zero overnight and we would not be able to shovel on Monday.

Monday came.  Oh my, it came!  We woke to temperatures of -10 below with windchills of -30.  The house struggled to keep above 65.  We celebrated Epiphany with Jeff leading us in prayer, our nativity, and some cinnamon buns.  I was so thankful to have electricity, not everyone did in our area.  We also managed to have a normal school day.  Jeff set himself up in the office to study tax things.  I made us fajitas for dinner.  I also made us a pumpkin cake!

Tuesday arrived and we were now -15.  Jeff had to stay home again because the interstate he takes to work was closed.  It was a sheet of ice.  No chemicals can work on the ice in these conditions. Still, we managed to keep warm and have a normal school day.  I made awesome turkey noodle soup with homemade stock from a turkey I roasted Sunday.  My we were eating well during this storm!  Finally, the temperatures rose above 0, but the roads remained closed all day.  We watched part of Gone With the Wind to pass the time.

Today, as I said above, Jeff is back at work.  I just received a text from him saying the roads were icy in patches, but thank God he made it safely.  The temperatures are supposed to be in the 20's today.  We could get an inch of snow later.  But by Saturday, we are supposed to get rain and be in the 40's.  What a weather week!

This Side of Christmas

Whew, I made it!  This Christmas season was one of our most quiet seasons ever and I have to say that made every moment more enjoyable.  We cut down on decorations, cookie baking, celebrations, just about every thing.  We also did not take a long break from our lessons.  We decided that since Jeff had to work, we'd work, too.  He had the actual holidays off, but not extra days like in the past.  It turned out for the best.  We are keeping on track and that makes me happy.

We are not doing a lot for  New Year either.  We will have a little sparkling grape juice, share a special meal at home, and stay up a little later, but not midnight, most likely.  On New Year's day we are going to finally have our Christmas ham.  We had so much other stuff on Christmas that we didn't need the ham. It will be just us, and that is fine.  I look forward to a quiet day.  Thursday and Friday will be work days, so a quiet New Year is what we need this year.

Happy New Year!!!

Christmas foodie

December is Flying By

Only 9 days remain until Christmas Eve! I feel as if we've been in a whirlwind since we decided to move. Then we actually moved,which was very disruptive.  And then,  my precious grandma passed away. Through all this, we have managed to keep our school on track, amazingly.  This next week,we need to keep focused. We'll have our normal activities.  I think we are taking Christmas week off. Since Dad will be working I think we need to keep working the week of New Year. That's the plan.

A Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving brought us some ups and downs, a mixed bag of blessings and hard times.  The actual day of Thanksgiving was a blessing.  We went to my mom's and spent a grand day with our extended family, of course eating way too much.  We played games, watched old slides, and just enjoyed the day.

Friday, Mom and I went out to see Grandma.  She was sleepy, but woke up and gave us her famous smile that says it all.  While I was away, Jeff and the kids were busy decorating the house for Christmas.  It was great to come home to it all done.

Saturday, we got the call the Grandma was declining quickly.  We had already promised the kids to go pick out their Christmas presents at a guitar store out near Grandma, so we went there first, and then to see Grandma.  She was resting comfortably.  Hospice is doing a great job.  We spent a couple hours there talking to family, leaving with heavy hearts.

And this morning, Trevor is sick, so I am staying home with him while the others go to church.  I hope to go to the nursing home when they get back.  I will be able to watch the church service live from my couch, so at least I have that option.

I hope you've had a great Thanksgiving.
~Jenn

It's a Wrap

It's been a really nice week.  Last week Grace and I were trying to kick a cold, so it is wonderful to be well again.

Some of the highlights of this week include:

• Surviving the 27 tornadoes that swept through Sunday afternoon.  Thankfully, they were only destructive to property and no lives were lost here, but we weep with those in IL and MI who were not as fortunate.  
• We had two quiet days at home, Monday and Tuesday.  I love quiet days!  We got the laundry caught up.  We worked hard on our lessons.  We hung pictures on the walls.  I started working on a pile of stuff in our room that doesn't seem to have a place yet.  If only it would just disappear! 
• Wednesday, the kids and I went to AWANA.  The older two and I went with the teen group to a nursing home near our church.  We sang hymns, gave the Gospel message, and mingled.  I was very proud of the teens.  They interacted with the residents for half an hour.  We have some good kids there.  I enjoyed talking to the residents, too.  Made me miss Grandpa talking to other WWII vets.  
• Thursday was a normal school day with a trip to church in the evening for karate.  Karate starts later, so the kids and I are joined by Dad.  He and I have a little time to chat over an iced tea while the kids do their thing.  It's nice.  
• Friday, that's today, I will drive Trevor an hour each way to a friend's house for a birthday sleepover, then the rest of us will enjoy a quiet evening.  

All in all, I am enjoying our new routine.  I am not one who likes to drive, so I am having to overcome that one minor issue.  I thank the Lord we have a good van, enough money for gas, good roads, and a wonderful church/friends to go to.  

This weekend we hope to get the pop-up to its new home.  We found an affordable RV parking lot near here.  That is the final piece of this moving puzzle.  Getting it to its spot might be a challenge with the weather, so it might be another week.  Thankfully, it is in a friend's driveway at the moment and they are not in a hurry for us to get it moved.  

Here are some pictures I took this week:  

I think the office is finished.

Pictures hung, new coffee table. 

Grace's artwork in the kitchen. 

Powder Room collage. 

Picture hung in the Sitting Room with "new" ottoman. 

Have an excellent week!

~Jenn 

Settling In

In the last few weeks, we have been working hard to make our new home, home.  We have yet to hang things on the walls.  That always takes time.  I need to make sure furniture is not going to get moved and I need to see where to put old favorites.  However, boxes are empty and we are able to park one vehicle in the garage, a sign that we are almost there.

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.  Besides working on the house, we hosted a family birthday party for Trevor's 12th birthday and visited a favorite state park, which is now less than an hour away.

Coming Up For Air, Briefly

The past month has been quite eventful.  We love our new home and location.  Jeff continues to enjoy his new position as well, making it all worth the effort.  Some of the highlights of this month:

• Jeff and I celebrated 19 years of marriage.
• We closed on our house almost 2 weeks earlier than planned, making our packing a bit challenging.  
• We moved two days before my birthday. 
• I turned 46 (!) spending the day cleaning up the rental house. 
• We got back to our lessons while unpacking.
• We started looking for a newer van. 
• My baby turned 12!  

Here are a few random pictures I took this last month.