Wow! Don't Laugh

Good morning friends.  There is still lots of snow on the ground and we have another snow day.  

Yes, we are snuggled in and warm and cozy.  BUT...there are many near us who are not. 

I know many of you up north are used to a lot of snow and it's not a big deal.  You go on about your lives pretty normal and your children still go to school and you still go to work.

Here, we are not prepared for such.  Since seeing snow is pretty rare, our state is not nearly as prepared as one that sees it often.  

This is a picture of our Kroger grocery store in town.

This was taken the night before the snow started.  Ha!

Schools are called off here at the mere mention of snow.  That happened this time too for us.  However, forecasts had the snow staying further south and not reaching Atlanta. During the night before the storm, the forecasts changed and included the Atlanta area and areas northward.  However, those counties decided to still have school as regularly scheduled.  

When the snow started, it started sticking quick.  The schools dismissed early. The roads got icy and bad quick.  It's terrible.  There were many many buses that headed out to take children home and couldn't make it.  

Some turned around and came back to the schools. Some are still stranded on the side of the roads.

There were hundreds of children at many schools that had to spend the night. Can you imagine?  I can't.  I cannot imagine not being able to get to my child.  I cannot imagine how scared those little ones had to be either.

These pictures are all from the Atlanta Journal Newspaper.  Just look.

 The interstates became a nightmare.  Businesses shut down and traffic was at a standstill.  Guess what?  It still is.  I have heard reports from several friends whose husbands were trying to get home last night.  One said a normal 30 minute commute took over 8 hours. The reports on the news are unbelievable.  No one can get anywhere.  The cars are running out of gas. Several home depots in the Atlanta area stayed open all night as a shelter for the stranded people to stay the night. There was a Facebook group started where people were writing in offering the homes to stranded motorists near them. 

The National Guard has been called in to try and rescue people stranded and try to get some of the cars off the roads so that the DOT can bring in the salt and scraper trucks. 

There was this story on the news this morning of this good Samaritan who is walking up and down the interstate handing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bottled water.  Thank God for people like him.

And there are stories coming in like this one.  This dad walked six miles to get to his daughter's school so he could spend the night with her.  What love.

So..as we are planning on enjoying another fun day playing in the snow, there are many still trying to get to loved ones or just make it home.  

Would you say a little prayer for them?  Pray for their safety and pray for their families as many have been up all night worrying.  

Say a little prayer for my hubby too.  His company was closed today but as you know, he works in the water and sewer department.  There are things that must be done everyday at those plants.  Guess who gets to go do it today?  Yup...hubby.  He is out now.  Please say a prayer he gets back safely. 

Stay warm.

Until next time....

We got it!!

Good evening everyone!  Guess what?  We got our wish!  WE HAVE SNOW!  We have lots of snow.  Well, a lot for us.  There was 2 inches early this afternoon but it is still falling.  I am sure there is easily 3 or more inches now.  I haven't seen this much snow in a very long time. 

Darbee woke up this morning very disappointed.  The snow had not started and Nana wasn't here yet.  She was NOT happy.  But...her wish soon came true!  The snow slowly started to fall and Nana was on the way.

As soon as we saw the first flakes falling, we headed outside.

She was so excited! 

She just wanted to touch it she said. Haha.

She ran around like crazy and it was just starting to stick. 

I love this.  Look at that toothless mouth.  Haha.

Nana showed up and we were so excited. 

She decided to go back to her house and get their stuff.  She decided her and papa would spend the night so papa would have a quicker and hopefully easier commute in the morning to work.  I was like a little kid.  I was so excited.  Snow, no school today and Nana and Papa were spending the night.  What more could I ask for?  We hurried to their house, grabbed their stuff and hurried back to our house.  The roads were looking rough quick.  It was amazing how quick the snow started sticking and how quick it came down.  

In about two hours time, look at the difference.

Here is our back deck when it first started sticking.

Here it is about 2 hours later. Wow!

I know that's not much to a lot of you, but to us here in the south, it's a LOT!

What could make it better?  

Papa got sent home from work at 1:00 and came to our house.  We were ready to play! 

We headed outside as soon as he got here.

First, we had to measure it.

There was nearly two inches then.  It has been steadily falling all day.

Then it was time for fun.

Look at the playhouse.  All snowed in.

We got our Darbee's swim intertube and she slid down the little hill into the neighbor's yard.  

I have an old wooden sled that I got at a flea market in Nashville several years ago.  

I used it to decorate for Christmas.  

We tried it, but the snow was to powdery for it to work. I bet it will work tomorrow once it freezes tonight.

Here is our cozy home.

Darbee had been dying to make a snow angel.

I decided to let her.  Gotta have some fun.

She loved it but she was covered in snow.  

She was going to be mighty wet!

Papa decided to pull Darbee on the sled all the way up to the high school.  It's a goo walk from our house but they have HUGE hills.

I love this picture.  What a good Papa. True love for his grandbaby.

It didn't work at the high school either. 

We will try again tomorrow.

Darbee was soaking wet from laying in the snow and was getting really cold.  

She wasn't too happy on the way home.  She was ready to get in the warm house.

I had to take this picture of her just before we got home.  She had snow on her eyelashes and a build up of snow on her glasses.  I loved it.

Here is our view walking back to our house. 

The snow was so pretty.

Hubby got to come home early too.

We went back out with him when he came in.

I played with my camera a bit and took a few more pictures.

I love this feature.  It's a sketch feature.

I love the magnolia tree. So pretty!

I have had so much fun with my girl today.

These pictures just crack me up.

Of course, we had to have a little snow ball fight. Smile.

Once we were in, we whipped up a batch of shaving cream snow paint and Darbee had fun with that.

I cooked chili in one crock pot and potato soup in another.  Nana brought a crock pot full of chili too.  

Darbee and I baked a yummy cake for dessert.

Who do you think picked out the icing for that one?  Hehe.

It was delicious.

Darbee and I headed back out in the snow one more time right after dark.

She stomped her name in the snow and had so much fun once again.

It has been such a good day.  So fun.

Nana and Papa are here with us and life couldn't be better tonight.

I am a happy girl.

No school again tomorrow.

Hubby got called in to work just a bit ago for a water main break but thankfully he made it back home safely and rather quick.

His work is closed tomorrow but he has to go in for a bit.  There are still sewer and water tests that must be run.

Papa doesn't have to go until a little later than usual.  

Nana will snuggle in with us.

Another fun day ahead of us tomorrow.  

Please remember those that are stuck in traffic.  

You know, our state is not prepared for a lot of snow.  The interstates here are at a stand still.

It has taken some people over 5 hours to go just a few miles.  It's bad.

Several counties still had school today too.  The snow wasn't forecasted to start until later for those areas.  They had to dismiss early and buses were stranded.  My niece didn't get home tonight until after 8 p.m. Some schools still have kids stranded there that will be spending the night.  A report just a little bit ago stated one high school had over 600 kids who would be spending the night.  Wow.  I would be a crazy parent with my kid stuck at school. I can't imagine.

Sorry for the overload of pictures!  We rarely see snow so it is a big deal for us. Haha!

Until next time...

Weekend Recap and a little anticipation...

Good evening everyone!  I am not ready for the weekend to come to an end.  It's hard to get back in the groove on Mondays.  

I am just thankful I have a job to go to and have a little one who is so excited to go to school everyday.  I shouldn't complain.  

We had a good weekend.  This was hubby's on call week which always ends with him working the weekend.  I don't like him working on Saturday's and especially on Sundays as he cannot join us at church.  

On Saturday, Darbee and I had planned a mommy-Darbee date.  Nothing special, just shopping and being together.  First, we slept late and snuggled.

Someone wanted to be a sleepy head and be lazy.  I have to admit, I enjoyed it.  I layed in bed and surfed the internet on my ipad and started a good book.  

Once she was up and ready, we decided just to head to an early lunch.  She had a Book-It coupon from Pizza Hut for a free pizza so we decided to go there.  Did you ever participate in the Book-It program?  I did as a kid and remember being so excited to go get my free pizza and get a sticker on my button.  They were out of buttons, but we enjoyed a good lunch.

After lunch, we browsed around several thrift shops and a craft store.  I got a hair cut and then I treated her to frozen yogurt.

We love this place called The Mix.  They have a ton of different flavors of frozen yogurt to choose from and a buffet type bar of toppings.  You fix what you want and it is priced based on the weight.  Darbee loves it.  It was yummy!

We had a great day. I so enjoy just being together with my girl.

Today was church.  Darbee has started a new Sunday school class and she LOVES it.  She has several little girl friends in there and they have a good time.  She was so anxious to go this morning.  We enjoyed a good service and then lunch with Nana and Papa afterward.

This afternoon, our local weather started mentioning the "S" word.  Yes, the winter "s" word, SNOW!

Just the mention of that here in the south sends everyone in a panic and all of the school kids hoping for closed schools.  (smile)

Look at this:

We are just barely in the watch, but we are in it.  That's all that matters right?  Hehe..

I am crossing my fingers and toes and hoping for a snow day!  

I hope all of you have had a great weekend!

Until next time....

A day at home....

Good afternoon! It's so cold here but I know so many of you have weather so much worse than ours.  We have no snow, just cold.  I wish we could see a little snow but it doesn't look like that is going to happen anytime soon.

I am home today with a sick little one.  There has been a horrible stomach virus going around and it seems as if Darbee has caught it.  She was up in the middle of the night last night and isn't feeling much better today.  So..I stayed home from work and she stayed home from school.  We are just hanging out and relaxing today.  Hoping she is feeling better soon.  I hate it when she is sick. 

I know most of you have already read my mom's blog about our girls trip, but I had to share a few pictures too.  We had a long weekend thanks to a holiday so we girls headed out of town for a much needed get away.  

We went to visit my aunt Maudie and her family.

Since they have moved, we don't see them as often. Darbee was so excited.

She has fun wherever she goes so she was so happy to be going somewhere new. We had a great time.  We stayed up late, shopped and just enjoyed visiting.  

While we were there, Darbee lost another tooth!  I can't believe how many teeth she has already lost. 

She already has two "grown up teeth" coming in on the bottom.  Wow.  My "baby" is growing up way too fast.

Can you believe the tooth fairy still was able to find her way up in Cleveland, TN?  Darbee said she was magic and she could find her anywhere she went.  Guess she is right. (smile) I was a little worried how she would feel with no front teeth, but she couldn't wait to go back to school and show it off.  She was so excited to share with her class.  Her teacher makes it sort of a big deal.  THey get a certificate and get to bring the tooth book bag home for the night.  How neat.

Nothing much new is going on.  School is going good and I am still loving my job.  Those kids are so cute and keep me smiling.  

I am in charge of doing the bulletin board in the hallway right outside our classroom.  I had to share what we did for January.  I just love them.

They made themselves looking up in the sky and catching snowflakes on their tongue.  

I LOVE these.  They are so cute.  They had fun making them too. 

I've got to get busy coming up with something for February. It will be here very soon.  

We are staying inside today and snuggling in.  It is not supposed to get out of the 30's for the next few days.  Brrrr!  

Hope all of you are staying warm too.

Until next time....