The "Snowpocalypse"

Because that's what is was "affectionately" referred to out here.

It all started Monday night when we got yet another inch of snow. The boys were excited...

 until they found out that snow without ice isn't as fun for sledding.

 Aiden still had fun playing and was out there for an hour or two. I love this picture. He is so laid back that he usually won't take off his winter coat in the house; here his poor hat shifted and he couldn't see, but rather then twist it back around, he would just hold his head back when he was walking so that his eyes could see out of the bottom. I kept waiting for him to turn it, and finally told him to come over so I could fix it. He was amazed at his new sight! :)

So yeah... God must have felt bad when He saw their pathetic snow angels. I mean, don't you feel bad for them with this picture?!

Later that evening I received an email from my BSF discussion leader. She said they were thinking of cancelling Thursday due to weather. I was curious, because I hadn't heard anything, but figured I'd look it up in the morning. And this is what I saw...

Ummmm.... yikes.

This would be heavy in the midwest/ northeast. But this is North Carolina. And school was cancelled four days when they received one inch of snow. Can you imagine what would happen with 8 inches???

Unfortunately, I had to get a few groceries for dinner... and I had to stalk a customer just to get a spot (even at the back of the parking lot). I felt like it was Y2K all over again. 

The good news is, we only got about 6 inches before it switched to sleet and freezing rain. And temperatures are ranging from the 30s to the 70s this next week, so our backyard is mostly thawed. 

And Joel was on call on Thursday, and even though he had lots of calls during the day (since the office was closed), he didn't have to leave the house, because everyone was too scared to leave. 

And we were all able to get to the dentist the next day (even though we weren't scheduled), because they had cancellations. Personally, I would've cancelled too. It pays to have a husband born in the midwest. :)

And everything was pretty outside! And we only lost power for an hour (although my grocery trip the next day- I forgot a few essentials and Joel was going to be gone in Florida for the weekend- was a bust, as the grocery store lost power for a lot longer, and therefore there were no perishables available)

And yes, the boys enjoyed their snow.

Well... except Callum. It was a little bit too thick for him, so when he got to areas not already compacted by his brothers, it was hard to maneuver. :) Poor guy! He didn't last long.

 But then he saw his Daddy go outside, and help the older two make a couple of sledding runs, compacting the snow down... and well, that looked like fun.

 So with an apple, and in his Daddy's arms, he was perfectly content. :)

 And then of course the other two wanted apples as well. And they played out there for a few hours, shoveling the patio, building forts and what-not. I just kept the oven on warm, and would switch out their gloves every half hour or so as they soaked through.

 And later, they built a simple snowman...
(with extra candy eyes being eaten by hungry builders)

And a simple igloo... not as intense as the last one, which is probably why it sadly did not survive the 45 degree Friday we had. But it still made for fun times! :)

Now here's to hoping this winter weather goes away!!

***And thank you for your prayers. We have all been symptom free for a couple days now-- I'm so grateful and  feel blessed to be over this, hopefully for the rest of winter!***

The Infirmary

At least one of us has been sick with some type of bacterial or viral infection since the end of January.


It. Has. Not. Been. Fun.


I may have even had a breakdown last night, when I was already having a bit of a self-pity party as I was doing yet another load of laundry from this viral intestinal bout when Liam walked in to tell me that he just heard Aiden throw up. Again.

And then as I was holding back tears, he told me he that there was only one of me, and a lot of work, and I'd already done so much that day, and could he help me fold laundry...  I may have lost it, because here was my sick five-year old asking to relieve my burden.

(I also may have still bawled and told Joel I couldn't handle it anymore, when I was finally able to go to the grocery store after 9pm to get more saltines, gatorade and bananas.)



But His mercies are new every morning, so great is His faithfulness to us.


And we've felt the prayers of the saints on our behalf... miraculously so... in that a half hour after I sent a exasperated texting plea to the girls in my growth group and other various victims people to pray, Callum smiled for the first time in three days and actually left my lap to annoy his brothers.

And today, the Lord is being gracious, in that I have yet to do a load of laundry!

So... trying not to focus on various symptoms, laundry, germs and our lack of stock in tissues and cleaning supplies, I wanted to focus and highlight a few positives. I thought it'd be a good exercise to count my blessings. For my emotional sanity. And to put things in perspective.

Unlike yesterday, when I reached my breaking point, today has been filled somewhat with calm, peacefulness and a sense of humor (and scary dragons before he spiked a fever). And camping on couches is loads of fun!

I haven't had to sanitize any buckets/bowls/pitchers yet today. 

 Fevers tend to make for lots of naps and quieter afternoons.

This guy is almost back to normal, after being like this for the past three days.

After looking through Lego instructions, we were inspired to clean up our entire Lego table (with Mommy's help), sorting all of the colors and having a designated "build" station and "play" station.

 Our rash has gone away!

 
And praise the Lord, Daddy came home this evening (he's primary and backup this weekend), and inspired everyone to get some fresh air outdoors at the park nearby... because the good Lord made the temp in the mid-50s today!!

We aren't out of the thick of it yet (still waiting for normal appetites and bowel movements), but I feel like we've maybe... dare I say it... turned a corner! Please pray that our health will continue to improve and that God will give me more reality checks like this when they are more then due. :)


**Update: I may have lied... A couple hours after I typed up this post, Callum ended up making me clean up a bowel movement mess upstairs on the carpet (how does that happen on a diapered child with a onesie on??) and vomit downstairs (praising God that he decided to aim on the wood floor that time)... but after this exercise, I had a much better attitude cleaning it up tonight. :)

Snow in NC

So I'm a bit behind in my blogging... chalk it up to a 2 1/2 week trip in Phoenix, with two of the boys getting sick towards the end of the trip, followed by weeks of being sick back here at home. We all came down with something... and that something is still lingering... and I've decided one of the hardest parts about having more (vs less) children, is that when one comes down with it, and they pick their noses, and touch each other (along with every other object in the house)... well, it just continues to get passed around with new symptoms. Sigh.

That combined with cooler temperatures here has meant a bit of cabin fever. Until this morning. When they woke up to an inch of snow/ice...

Yes, every once in a while, it does snow here in the southeast.

And yes, although their Mommy wasn't all that thrilled about seeing the white stuff the one winter she's supposed to get a break from it, they had a blast and are hoping God sends snow again (apparently we might get another  less then 1in on Wednesday evening...), she let them out to have fun and had hot cocoa on the stove waiting for them when they were through.

So they aren't the best pictures, because this pregnant Mommy wasn't crazy enough to go slipping and sliding on the sheets of ice to get in front of them (especially after seeing a couple other adults wipe out), but they did take full advantage of the slight slope in our yard to go careening into the back fence...

... not the safest, I know... but they were having fun... and feet first on a rimmed sled seemed a lot safer then their other ideas of "snowboard sledding" and sledding off the roof of the play structure onto the slide and down the yard...

and it sure beat Aiden's initial thought of sledding down the rooftops, because they would make great hills. ;)

"Wow, Aiden, you are all in blue!"

"Yeah, I look like Superman!"

 Callum loves the outdoors, but he was in and out this morning. He did not want gloves (none of my chidlren liked them at this age), but quickly learned that hands get chilled in cold, wet environments ;)

 Both had to shove off the first bit to build enough momentum on the ice.

Callum was indoors after Round 1 of cold fingers, but with the sled out, he wanted in on the action. I would've loved to have snapped a picture from the front...

 ... but the children wiped out every few steps, so I knew I probably wouldn't fare any better.

And when Aiden would ride back "up the hill", the weight pretty much caused Liam to hands and knees "mountain climb" his way back up :)

 The rule was supposed to be feet first, with the older child in front of Callum... it wasn't always followed, but Liam usually had control when it wasn't.

By the afternoon it was all slush, but the boys had fun using their shovels and pails and playing with it sandbox style! So even if the governor declares another state of emergency with the weather, and the whole city shuts down, there will be three little boys happy if we get more snow later this week ;)