Life is too short to sweat the small stuff...

We kicked off the weekend before last with our first major snow storm of the year. It couldn't have been timed better since there was no school on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King day. The kids were so excited to spend the day sledding their hearts out on the golf course and I have to say I always love a big snowfall. The day was filled with hot cocoa, snow angels, sledding, and lots of wet laundry...




The boys of the hill...



These boys spent countless hours sledding, rolling, racing, wiping out, and surfing down the hill. I can't imagine what the greens will look like after all this...



Connor's only request was that I come down at some point to get a photo of him going off the jump. Luckily I was able to get one of each of them catching a little air!



On Thursday we awoke to a beautiful but dangerous ice storm and of course another day off school. By this time there was a couple feet of snow on the ground and now a thick layer of ice on top of it. As Jack headed out the door that morning, we lost power. This isn't anything new to us but in the recent years it's usually come back on fairly quickly. By 6 p.m. though we still had no power and things outside were only getting worse with fresh snow now dropping again on top of all the ice. Thankfully when the power goes out, we still have hot water and working stoves and fireplaces, not to mention cell phone service but the house gets chilly fast. (58 degrees) Thankfully, Jack ended up booking a room downtown since he knew if he drove home he'd probably not make it back to work on Friday and he had meetings he couldn't miss on Friday. I'm always up for an adventure and we were all a bit stir crazy after spending the day indoors because it was just too dangerous to be out in it so I packed up an overnight bag and the kids and I made our slow drive into the City to join Jack. It was pretty scary because I90 was covered in snow and ice, hadn't been plowed for some time and I found myself trying to avoid trees and branches that had fallen onto the highway after no longer being able to support all the snow and ice that was on them. Thankfully we made it safely!



I thought we may get power restored by the next night but unfortunately that didn't happen. My phone service was now down so Jack and I weren't able to communicate the plans for where we'd stay the next night. I decided we'd just camp at the house for the night which Jack wasn't very excited about but the kids enjoyed wearing their headlamps around the house and Ty and I became the king and queen of Sequence. It was also a gentle reminder to me that i would have never made a good pioneer...

Thankfully we got word early Saturday night that our power had been restored. By this time we had determined we wouldn't camp at the house another night and had settled on a hotel, the boys had won their basketball game and we were enjoying our visit with Ted and Kristina who had flown into town for the day. We enjoyed a nice dinner out with them and Ty experienced his first oyster (something Connor had attempted before but had determined he'd never do again), and Jack was reminded yet again that even after trying the most expensive oysters, he still doesn't like them. All it took was me looking at them to know that... We arrived home late that night to a nicely heated home and the terrifying sound of a garbage disposal that had accidentally been turned on (by me) during the power outage and had been running without water for the past five hours...not to mention a horrible smell from the motor probably burning out.

Unfortunately the weekend ended on a sad note when I received a heartbreaking call from Ty's teacher on Sunday evening alerting us that his classmate Lily had passed away during the week. It was clear when you first met Lily that she had some disabilities. She was very small for her size but not any less smart than the rest of the kids in the class. Apparently she had a seizure during the week which caused her heart to stop. It was absolutely devastating to the boys but especially Ty who had come to know her quite well. Thanks to our faith and the wonderful response of councilors and teachers at the school, the kids have all come to recognize what a privilege it was to know Lily and that she is in a far better place now where she never has to deal with the disabilities she faced here on earth.

During the walk a thon at the school, Lily was one of the many students that had asked if she could wear Ty's mascot costume for a few laps. Thankfully we have this one photo of her with some of Ty's other classmates.



Although losing power felt like an inconvenience and even a hardship at times I was quickly reminded and brought back to the reality of how easy my week was after receiving this call.

We had another scare last week when our dear friend Ty Bailey who is struggling with cancer was diagnosed with a severe infection which required immediate surgery and the possibility of a negative outcome. Thankfully the surgery was a great success, and instead of a full week of being in the hospital they were able to release him a few days early. Our faith continues to grow as we watch Ty and Rachel exercise their own faith during this difficult time.

On a much smaller note but nonetheless sad, Sage came downstairs this morning to find Connor's beta fish, Luther, dead. Of course this was quite traumatic for Sage and reiterated to me the reason why I'm so hesitant to get a dog for the kids. Pets are indeed members of the family no matter their size or cost and I just don't know that I'm prepared to commit to any further members of the family.

Finally, as we drove on the highways and around our neighborhood over the past week and saw all the damage that the winds, snow, and ice had caused to all the trees, I felt a sense of sadness. It didn't take long for me to witness on TV some of the horrific storms in the south to realize how lucky I was to have a home to come back to...