Snowfall

We've been asking all winter - do you want to build a snowman?  And today, the answer was completely YES!  Here's our version of Olaf above, and he turned out pretty decent!

This amount of snowfall was completely unexpected though.  We were supposed to get a dusting, if anything at all.  Instead, we got 2-3 inches.  This forecast was so off that school buses in our area were frantically trying to get the kids home before things got worse.  And they did get worse:  other schools in the area did not fare so well.  Nobody saw this coming:  as a result, school buses were trapped on roads, and children literally spent the night at schools, trapped there.  Madison's Uncle David spent the night at work, trapped there.  But a lot of folks spent the night actually trapped in the madness that was traffic in Atlanta.  It's a state of emergency, declared by the governor - and nobody saw it coming apparently.  We were all expecting one thing, and the next thing you know, there's panic.  Everyone in Atlanta rushes out of the office all at the same time and tries to get home on roads that are becoming more and more icy.  Accidents occur, back-ups happen, and into the next morning, people are trapped away from home.  We know more than one person who was stuck in this sort of situation, and we really feel terrible for them.

Our friend Josh was in a worse position:  he apparently flipped his car on the way home from church.  He's okay, we hear.  But nobody foresaw that this would be this cold, icy and treacherous.

Daddy went home early from the office today, meeting Madison and the rest of the family safely at home.  The roads weren't dangerous yet, but within an hour they would be.  He timed it just right.  Actually, he probably wouldn't have left early if it weren't for the carpet cleaning that was taking place. The office smelled of cleaning chemicals, and some of us weren't reacting so well to that.  This, combined with the potential of bad weather, convinced us to take a break and go home - maybe doing some work there.

It turned out to be a blessing, those cleaning chemicals.  It drove us home, and apparently just in time.

Of course, we did no work at home.  Josh unfortunately lives much further north, and encountered sheets of ice in his direction, hence the accident.

We lived up north for a time, so we know snowstorms.  A few of our friends do as well, and it irks us all when we hear people currently living up north mocking us for shutting down things.  Clearly, these people have no idea what they are talking about.

Again, fortunately everyone made it home safely.  We had a heavy heart about Josh, but were glad to hear he wasn't hurt.  And so, as it was around 1:00 or so in the afternoon, we got ourselves ready for an afternoon in the snowfall.

It was safe and warm here, with everyone accounted for.  We had a fire in the fireplace, and had electricity too.  Madison and Daddy, of course, went outside and got busy in the snow.

Let it snow!  That's the sign hanging on our door this season, and we've been anticipating at least one good snowfall.  Time to make the best of it while we can, with plenty of fun in the snow while we can.

Here's a shot of Madison taking a shot at Daddy.  This is the first thing she typically wants to do with a snowfall - throw a snowball.  Again and again and again!  We had a bit of a battle in the front yard, with lots of giggling and lots of snow being thrown.  Soon, we were covered in it - but we had plenty of layers on, so we never really felt too cold out there, despite the temperature.  I think it was about 28 or something like that.

Here's a photo of an angel making a snow angel:

She made several of these in the front yard, naming each one after family members and characters from movies she's seen.

Oh, and remember that snow shovel Mommy ordered back in October?  We have Madison down below wanting to use it for a bit:  child labor at it's finest!

She was enjoying this for some reason, collecting big piles of snow to dump and play around with.  She built a big "snowcano," a large pile of snow which she used to sit on when done.  Of course, with the slippery snow around, there's always a place to plop down!

Here she is, having just slipped down on her bottom.  As you can see from her expression, she's just loving the snow!

We eventually came in, quite soaked and cold.  But we had a fantastic time playing in the snow, and are so thankful for the good time.  It's all tempered with the understanding that there are currently people trapped in cars or schools or work, of course.  We pray and hope for these folks, as that story unfolds.  But here at the house, we're okay - safe and warm.

Currently, there's a fire in the fireplace and after a warm bath for Madison, we sat down to watch a movie together with popcorn and big blankets.  The snow stopped just before the sun went down, and some of us were ready for bed after the movie, ready to dive under all the blankets in bed.

Here's one last shot of our Disney Infinity Elsa. We probably should have consulted with her before the day started - it looks like she was in the mood to throw all that snow our way.

"You kind of set off an eternal winter."