Snow and Ice....Now Go Away!

Good afternoon friends.  I am so happy to be able to post.  We did receive a good bit of ice yesterday and some snow on top of that last night. It was really pretty on the trees but a bit scary when I heard limbs popping and falling.  We lost power several times but thankfully, not for longer than 2 hours at a time.  There are still people in our county that have been without power for more than 24 hours.  

I had to share a few pictures with you of the ice.

Hubby had to work most of the day.  Darbee and I hung out at home and cleaned house.  After those chores were done, we had a few fun activities.  We made Kool-aid paint.  It's super easy and smells yummy!  She enjoyed painting with that for a bit.

Our power went off for a few minutes in the evening and hubby got called back in to work. He took Darbee and I over to Kathy's. We got there and her power went out.  Ugh!  

We hung out there until he got off and then came home.  Thankfully, we had power.  He got called back in yet again and ended up being gone all night.  We lost power again for nearly 2 hours but it is back on this morning.  The sun is shining and it is all melting fast.  Kathy still doesn't have power so they are here hanging out with us for a while.  Darbee was so excited when she woke up to find them here.  All we need now is Nana and we could really party!

I have a few last minute Valentine things to pick up in town if we are having school tomorrow.  No word on that yet.  

I am hoping school is cancelled.  Haha.  I am so ready for it to be gone for a while.  We are out on winter break next week and are headed out of town! Yippee!  

Hope all of you that are getting more snow stay safe and warm.

Until next time...

Daddy Daughter Date Night

Good morning!  It's cold here and a bit icy.  We are under an ice storm warning and expecting 1/4 to 1/2 inches of ice and up to 3 inches of snow!  We are in a bit of a lull right now with nothing but they are saying there is lots more to come.  We already lost power this morning but thankfully it wasn't for long.  The crews were out quickly and fixed it.  Just hope we don't lose it for long. 

This past Saturday night, our local Chick-fil-A held a daddy daughter date night.  You had to make reservations and they went quick!  Luckily, I got a spot for hubby and Darbee Rae.  She couldn't wait! 

She had big plans to get all fancied up.  She had a new dress that she kept hidden from her daddy.  She didn't want him to see it until date night.  She requested her hair to be done in curls. We bought new pantyhose and had her high heels ready. She couldn't wait to get dressed.

I will let the pictures tell the story.

They had the best time.

She came home with a decorated picture frame, a picture of the two of them from a photo booth, a carnation and more.  I am so glad our Chick-fil-A takes time to do things like this.

So thankful for the fun memories they made.

I hope all of you have a good day and stay warm!

Until next time...

Again?

Good morning!  I can't believe it.  Snow twice in a year?  That's the forecast!

Only this time, we are expecting an ice storm.  

They are saying we could see any where from .25 to near a 1/2 inch of ice and near 1 inch of snow!  Yikes!  

You all know what happened last time we had snow however, I feel like they are better prepared for it this time.  I am cooking up a few things to have done in case we loose power.  Sure don't want that to happen but want to be prepared.  

We have school today but probably not tomorrow or Thursday the way it is looking.  

Stay warm and safe!

Until next time!

What is going on?

Good evening everyone! 

I am not sure what is wrong with mother nature.  I think she is a little confused.  I think the snow we had here in the south last week threw her for a loop.  She doesn't know what to do now.

Today,  it was like a spring day! After a great service at church and lunch with Mama and Daddy, we headed home.  Darbee Rae couldn't wait to get outside and play. She even asked if she could put on shorts and a tank top.  No...not that warm yet, but certainly comfortable in short sleeves and pants.  It made it up to over 70 degrees today!  Wow.  I think I read somewhere where we broke a record.  

She and hubby stayed outside all afternoon.  I stayed in and screwed up everything I touched.  I wanted to play on my embroidery machine.  Everything I tried, I messed up. Do you ever have on of those days?  

Just look at this shirt.

See what I mean?  It was terrible.  I started out by forgetting to trim the material before the satin stitch around it.  Then I pressed start on her initials and realized I hadn't rotated them.  Oops.  What a mess.

I finally quit and ventured outside to check on Darbee Rae.

She was having a blast with her chalk.

It was really a nice afternoon to be outside. 

It's not gonna last long though...

The clouds are rolling in and the rain is on its way.

It's supposed to be a really rainy week.

I took this picture tonight in the car.  

Look at the temperature. 

Can you believe it?

I can't.

I hope all of you have had a great weekend and are ready to begin a new week.

Until next time...

Believe

Good evening everyone. 

We are finally warming up here and the snow has quickly disappeared.  The roads are fine and we have ventured out of the house again.  Life is getting back to normal.

I really enjoyed the snow and our unexpected break from school. 

I have seen several posts about a word of the year.  I enjoyed reading these and the reasons why one would choose the word they did.  I started thinking about a word for me.  My word of the year.  Wow.  SO many to choose from. So many words have a deep meaning to me.  Hmmm....One came to my mind pretty quick. I have pondered for several weeks now.  Here it is...the beginning of February and I think I have chosen a word.  

Are you ready? 

The dictionary meaning of this word says 

believeVariation | Phrase

Houghton Mifflin

• v.verb

1. To accept as true or real.
   Do you believe the news stories?
2. To credit with veracity.
   I believe you.
3. To expect or suppose; think.
   I believe they will arrive shortly.
4. To have firm faith, especially religious faith.
5. To have faith, confidence, or trust.
   I believe in your ability to solve the problem.
6. To have confidence in the truth or value of something.
   We believe in free speech.
7. To have an opinion; think.
   They have already left, I believe.

I am going to believe in what my Father says and trust those words.

I am going to believe I can do those things that I don't think I can.

I am going to believe that I can be really strong and keep going when I feel like falling.

I am going to believe in fun. In laughter. In life.

I am going to believe in others even when I don't think there is any good in them. 

I will look for it.

I am going to believe in my dreams.

I am going to believe in myself.

What are you going to believe in this year?

Have you chose a word of the year?  I would love to hear what you chose!

Until next time...

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...