Let it Snow

They said it would snow.  I didn't believe them.

I was wrong.

It has snowed over a foot and a half in the last day and a half.  It is amazing.  It is beautiful. 

And it has trapped us in our house! lol  We tried to get out today and our car got stuck in the driveway.  Two feet outside of the garage.  Close to a foot of snow and the car was completely stuck.  We tried to rock it back and forth to move it just enough to get traction but it was no good.  We put ice melt under the tires...nothing.  We put planks under the tires for traction...no good. 

We persevered and we won.  Until the car got stuck in the street in front of our house.  I think the car was actually high-centered because at least one tire was not touching anything!  My wonderful husband by this time had already been shoveling snow for about 30 minutes before he moved to start shoveling the street.  He shoveled out a path for our tires...nothing.  He put ice melt on the street to melt the ice from our spinning tires...nothing.  Planks...nothing. 

We rocked the car back and forth for what seemed like forever.  Seriously, it was a very long time.  I was behind the wheel and Steven was pushing from the front to dislodge the car from the snow bank.  It was terribly exciting.  Especially when I was throwing the car into reverse, gunning it, and then throwing it into drive while gunning it.  All the while praying I didn't run over my husband.  Yeah, good times.

We eventually made it backwards about three feet and decided we couldn't make it to the hospital after all.  The decision to get the car back into the drive was easier said than done.  And I do mean that oh so literally.

Steven cleared another path, a wider one this time, while our oldest started clearing the drive from the garage out.  It was very slow going as I sat in the warm car watching them shovel snow.  ;-) 

After Steven had cleared a space of about 5 feet in front of me I decided to try and make it up into the driveway.  It worked and I gunned it a little too much.  The car lurched and started sliding right for Steven.  I mean the car was going 100mph and spinning wildly out of control.  No, really. 

Okay, it wasn't going that fast but it scared the stuffing out of me.  And it didn't help any.  I went sideways and had to back up to where I had been previously.   grrr.  More work for the shovelers so I could straighten out and get back on the right path. 

More rocking.  More tire spinning.  More ice forming under spinning tires. 

This time when I rocked the car back and forth I made it about three feet.  We almost threw a party!  It was pretty exciting but then I looked at how far we had to go and the party ended.  They were out there working hard and I was in the car crying.  Yeah, I was crying.  My step-dad was having surgery this morning and we were trying to get to the hospital to sit with my mom.  My sister couldn't get out of her town so mom was alone. 

Steven worked quickly and we were able to get the car back in the garage just under an hour and a half after we left.  We were successful and I started crying even more.  sigh.

We went back into the house to some happy kiddos.  Well, they were happy we weren't going to be gone for the day but sad we couldn't see Papaw and Memaw. 

A few hours later we talked to my mom and she really wanted some company so she said she would come and get us.  But we didn't want her driving on our street so Steven and I walked two or three blocks to get us to the main road to wait for her. 

We misjudged the time and had to wait for almost 20 minutes!  We probably looked like vagabonds standing in the street (the sidewalks were knee-deep with snow) just waiting.  But it was kinda fun too!  We laughed and joked and I made ice with my feet.  Seriously I did.  The boots I borrowed from my 11yo-yes her feet are bigger than mine-don't have any insulation so I was losing heat through the soles of my feet.  The boots would stick to the snow causing it to melt and then I would pack it down and it would get slick.  I thought it was pretty cool.  Steven did not.  lol

Mom came, we went to the hospital, we stayed until he was out.  He is doing alright.  My dad came to get us and drove us home.  The roads were getting worse.  Even his 4wheel drive was struggling. 

We made it home to five extremely happy kids and a clean kitchen.  ;-) 

We had burritos for dinner and made snow ice cream for dessert.  It is so stinkin' yummy and rich. 

All in all it has been a grand adventure this little snow storm of ours!


Snow Ice Cream:

1 can Condensed Milk
1 tsp Vanilla (I used our homemade)
10 cups snow (we used 20)

mix and enjoy

 

Sickness and Silence

We have had sickness in our house.  All but one of the girls have had it with Sweet Pea having it the worst.  :(  She was sick all week and weekend. 

But, I have some pictures to share to get you by until I have time to post again! lol

Steven gave me m&m's for vday and I shared!

Wrestling with Dad went oh so wrong for the 13yo!

The wrong holiday is represented with these GIANT pellets.  heehee

 

 So there is us in a nutshell.  ;-)  Hopefully the girls will feel better in the morning and life will resume. 

They call me...

crazy light bulb lady.

No, seriously they do.  When I went through the line at Wal-Mart today the checker looked at the conveyor belt I had filled and her eyes grew to the size of saucers.  "Wow, that's like a lot of um...like light bulbs."  She truly said like that many times.  I am not even lying to you.

I must admit it was an impressive amount of light bulb purchase but I absolutely refuse to buy those curly new ones that are so much better that you have to have a haz-mat team come in and clean them up.  (getting off the soap box before this turns into a raving lunatic rant against light bulbs, government, big brother, and being told what to do!)

So, I buy light bulbs in bulk.  Is that so unusual?  I mean come on.  We have a lot of light fixtures in the house and they need light bulbs.  For some reason the kids don't like reading by candle light to do homework! lol

Here is my stash.  I would have bought more but couldn't remember the sizes I needed!

It's not that many is it?  I haven't turned into the crazy cat lady have I?

If I have, someone please tell me.  Not that I would change anything but at least I would know.  Ya know?

Avoiding Burnout in Homeschooling

by Israel Wayne
2013 Convention Speaker


Has your decision to homeschool your children ever left you feeling tired, overwhelmed or stressed out? As a student who was homeschooled (my family began homeschooling in 1978), I have learned a few things over the years about how to avoid burnout in your homeschool. 

One of the most common reasons for weariness and frustration among homeschooling parents is the weight of self-inflicted deadlines and standards. It is good, of course, to have goals in mind, but we must always ask ourselves: "Am I seeking to do the Lord's will, or am I merely pursuing my own agenda?" 

As Christian families, we need to view homeschooling not as a glorious end, in and of itself, but rather as a means to an end. The main goal is to raise children who love the Lord, and are committed to following Christ. It is not to produce robots that can recite random facts and data at the drop of a hat.  What a child knows is really insignificant compared to what he or she believes.

We must move beyond facts to convictions. It is vital that our children know: 
1. What they believe. 
2. Why their beliefs are true. 
3. How to articulate their beliefs.
4. How to live their beliefs consistently.


To read more sign up for the TPA Newsletter here and have it emailed directly to your inbox.

The Downside

After a week of practices and being up late for performances followed by an equally busy weekend we all felt punky.  A few of us actually got sick.  :(

Sore throats and stuffy sinuses had been plaguing a couple of different family members, yes they were snotty!  heehee  But come Monday, more of us were going down.  By Monday night two had fevers and needed medicine.  Tuesday morning found a different two sick!  lol  One seemed to get better after a few doses of meds but another needed to be added.  The one that worries me most is the 11yo, Peanut.  After her sinus surgeries I worry that we won't catch her infections in time and she will have more problems like last time. 

But for now it is just a wait and see and make sure they get better.  And that no one else gets it.  That's what large families are great at...sharing!

So Stinkin' Proud

Last night's show was just as wonderful as opening night.  No, it might have been more wonderful.  I had several cast members come up and ask if they could do some improve between scenes.  Yes, you read that right.  4th-High Schoolers are asking to do improve in front of an audience!  They are just that comfortable with each other and trust each other enough to wing it like that.  Awesome. 

In all I think there were four mini-scenes that were totally improv'd last night.  We had a few costume changes that were incredibly quick and needed extra time between scenes-the kids stepped up to help without a second thought. 

There was also a lot of improv going on during scenes too.  It was fantastic.  I loved every minute of it. 

I loved the cast party too.  Where else can you get a group of 25 kids in your house and not worry about a thing?  They were all respectful and watched out for each other.  They mingled with the adults, they joked around, and they did Just Dance 4 until the basement smelled like sweaty kids.  It was kinda gross but oh so fun to watch! 

Did I mention that I love these kids?  I seriously do.

Now I'm getting excited about next year...