Thoughts of Spring

Photo from Country Living Magazine's Facebook page

Yesterday, we received another 7 inches of snow, bringing our total to over 40 inches, which is the 4th snowiest winter on record.  Thankfully, we could prepare ahead of time.  Jeff brought home work so he could avoid the roads and work from home.  I had time to get food restocked.  All was cozy and warm on the home front.  

As I was reading our history lesson out loud yesterday, I came across this quote, and instantly I was transported to spring!  So, I thought I should write it here along with the cheery bouquet pictured above, to give us a little burst of spring.  

"When spring came, after that long hard winter, one could not get enough of the nimble air."  

~Willa Cather, My Antonia, 1918  

Just 42 days until spring! 

Another Dip in the Vortex

The experts say the coldest air of the season is on the way!  This is scary because we've already had some cold temperatures, like -15F cold!  Just the other day a water pipe froze.  We had the cabinets open and the faucet dripping, then I forgot and turned it off, and the rest was history.  Thankfully, we got some good advice and got the pipe to thaw without damage, that we know of.

My number one concern is for the roads.  The salt solutions don't work on the roads at these temperatures, so I worry about driving, about my husband driving.  We have stocked up on food.  The gas tank is full.  We put plastic on some of our leaky windows. We caulked some others.  I think we are as ready as we can be. The only thing to do now is wait it out.

This January has been the second snowiest on record, too.  I don't want to break that record!  We actually have had more snow than our usual average snow total for the year.  I know that it is not as cold or snowy as other places, but we are not used to this, so it seems more intense.  I am sure to not forget this winter!

Three Quick Months

It is really hard to believe we have been in our new home for three months.  Moving almost an hour south might seem not such a big deal, but it has had its adjustments.

Thankfully, we have been able to continue going to our church home of 17 years.  I don't really know how it will turn out in the end, though.  We can't continue week night activities after this year.  The traffic to church is terrible, making the trip difficult.  We have to leave home before 4 PM so we can get there by 6PM! We decided to make the best of things, so we now leave at 3PM, visit with grandparents and then go to church.

Sundays are totally fine.  The traffic is light.  We do pretty well, leaving at 7AM.  It would be nice if we went to a later service, but for now, Grace is working in the preshcool in the first service, Ryan working in the 5th grade in the second service.  And, if it snows or someone is sick, we can watch online.

I think our biggest need at the moment is that we need to make some friends close to home.  I feel as if we will never make friends if we don't find a church here.  Not that I want to leave our church completely. I am praying about finding a church near home for week night youth group.

We have adjusted our small group to meeting on Sunday afternoons.  It makes for a long day, but it works for now.  We tried having group down here at home, but with the traffic, it was impossible on a week night. We are going to give this a trial period.

We do have plans to have dinner with a family from church who lives close by.  They have been driving to church for 18 years.  They do go to AWANA and are in the band, so they make a rehearsal trip and have a very early Sunday morning.  It can be done.  Maybe they can give us some hints on how to make it work.

Today, we finally got our library cards. The library is not as grand as our previous library, but it is very nice, nicer than most libraries.  They have lots of programs.  I want to try one this Tuesday for teens.  Grace isn't too excited about it.  But the boys say they will try.  It's hard making new connections.  This is the stretching part for my kids.  It's good for them!

I have resigned from my bunco group.  I knew this would be part of the  deal.  Again it is the driving up north on a week night.  The traffic comes to a standstill for an hour or two.  It can double your time up there if you leave before 6:30.  Anyway, I need to give it up.  I will miss the ladies, but that's just part of life.

The distance is an issue and it isn't an issue.  It's all how you look at it.  I do love living here.  The people are friendly.  There is every convenience here that a person could want.   It will just take some time to make new friends, while keeping the old, of course.  :)

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