Snow Days {And Restored Faith}

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. It may not always be a reason I'm willing to listen to or want to hear, but I believe it nonetheless. In light of the events over the last few days, I believe that maybe, just maybe, God allowed this to happen in order to restore my faith in humanity.

This is a crazy world we live in. You almost never (and I only say that because I hate to say NEVER) hear anything good on the news. But the last few days have been different. In the midst of all the chaos I've seen story after story of people helping people. Not because something was in it for them but simply because other humans were in need and they were in a position to provide.

Anyway...we have enjoyed our unexpected "vacation" and taken advantage of the rare occurrence of accumulated snow here in Alabama. Yesterday we made snow cream for breakfast and then we grabbed all of our beach gear (ha!) and headed to the big hill at the church to slide. We checked on cows and filled up with gas. (Have I said how thankful I am that we Justin decided to go with a 4-wheel drive when he bought his truck last year?!) We have basically just enjoyed our time as a family with nothing pressing to do and nowhere to be.

Snow Cream:)

BBC

Barfield School

"The Hill"

A farmer's work is never done...

Abandoned buses (and cars) at LES

My snow bunnies:)

  

Back at home having a wrestling match...

 

We just got word that school will be out again tomorrow, and as much as I've enjoyed this down time (and let me say how thankful I am to have had power the entire time too), I don't like being "stranded" anywhere for too long without the option of picking up and going. I'm looking forward to seeing all my school kiddos Monday and hearing all their snow stories.

And we are hearing that since Alabama has been declared in a state of emergency, we won't have to make up these three days. Here's hoping that's right!

40 days until Spring Break...:)

The time when we ALMOST got stranded at school...

Today started off relatively normal, other than the fact that yesterday the BOE announced that we would be getting out 2 hours early today and be delayed 2 hours in the morning due to extreme winter weather. We heard the "S" word in the forecast, but it was minimized to a "dusting" here in CC.

I went to sign in this morning and noticed the "lunch will be 1 hour early" note on the sign in table. I sighed, since we already eat at 10:30AM on a normal day. I never dreamed when we walked out of my classroom at 9:30AM going to lunch that we'd be seeing full blown snow. It was coming down hard! As we left the lunchroom around 9:55, we got the word that school would be dismissing at 11AM.

The snow kept pouring. And kept pouring. And it was hard. And it was fast. And NOBODY could have predicted what was going to come.

We finally began loading buses around 11AM, but the high school buses still hadn't made it over. Around 11:30AM, they told us to pull the kids back off the buses and a few minutes later we got the word that the buses were officially "grounded". There were wrecks everywhere and the roads were terrible!

Meanwhile, Justin left CHS about 10AM and went to get Luke. And wouldn't you know that the one day of the year that I forget my phone at home would be today? Anyway, I was finally able to reach him and tell him to come get E and me.

I finally walked into my house around 4PM...roughly 6 hours after we got the word that school was dismissing early and parents began showing up to pick up kids. Justin got home around 6PM, after helping deliver students and teachers to their homes.

I got the word a little bit ago that all CC children were finally safe at home...Praise the Lord! Many students in school systems around our state aren't so fortunate. Many people in general aren't so lucky. My mama is stranded on 280 in Birmingham. Thankfully, she's found a hotel that has offered her and 9 other stranded folks a conference room and blankets to stay in since they have no vacancy.

We are out of school tomorrow and Thursday, which is probably going to cut into my long-awaited Spring Break. But I'm thankful I'll be safe and warm in my home with all my people:).

Watching Franklin in Mama's room to pass the time:)

Ironically, I just hung the snowman yesterday.

We FINALLY got to enjoy it!

The Circus and Date Night!

Yesterday after work we loaded up and headed to the circus. Justin says we live in a circus and he wasn't sure why we needed to go, but he went along and kept a smile on his face the entire night;).

Luke said he liked all the circus animals and people, but his favorite part was the elephants. E agreed, but her close second was the acrobats. She told me that if she practices really hard at gymnastics maybe she could do that one day. I told her that while being a circus performer is a perfectly respectable job, if she was that good I'd much rather see her in the Olympics;).

Apparently it's a good thing we went Friday night...

We went to MawMaw Nell's house today to get some things they were cleaning out when we came across the picture Luke's holding. He insisted the little one was him. I must admit that I've certainly never seen as much of Justin in him as I do Emma, and I've always thought he favored my side of the family more. But...between the cousins pic at the bottom where I think he heavily favors Chad and the pic of his daddy, I'm not so sure who he looks like!

And tonight was Date Night! They are few and far between but so nice. We are thankful to have parents who are always willing (sometimes begging;) to keep our babies. We started off with Lone Survivor, which hurt my heart and reminded me how thankful I am for the men and women (who are somebody's babies) who serve this country. Then we headed to Garfrerick's where we felt underdressed, but the food was out of this world and the service was great! Of course, married date nights usually end with grocery shopping and this one was no different. We went to my least favorite place on earth (Walmart), where I felt overdressed, and ended our night with a milkshake from Chick-Fil-A! Back to the grind next week, and the countdown continues to Spring Break...45 Days! :)

The trip that almost didn't happen...

Last Tuesday I woke up in the middle of the night throwing up. I couldn't find a sub, so I had to go on to work. The next day I felt much better, but by that time Luke started acting funny. And by funny, I mean he stopped eating. He didn't have any other symptoms other than loss of appetite and he was acting normal, so I wasn't quite sure what to do.

Well...

I was scheduled to fly out to CO on Thursday night, so wouldn't you know it that Luke would wake up at 12:15 Thursday morning throwing up?! Bless his heart. After changing two sets of sheets we moved to the couch where he stayed awake until 5:15AM watching Mickey Mouse! His head finally just fell over on the chair.

 

Once again, I went on into work to get things ready while MawMaw watched Luke. I came home and spent the day rocking him, packing my clothes, and feeling guilty about leaving him. Luckily, he slept off whatever it was and woke up Friday morning good as new (according to his daddy;). He sent me this on Friday after school.

 

Back to Thursday night...I flew to Colorado Springs to surprise Allie...my lifelong friend...for her birthday. The last time we saw each other was when she came to Alabama in 2004. I spent the weekend catching up with her, loving on her girls, and doing a little sightseeing. It is absolutely beautiful in Colorado!

 This is the view from Garden of the Gods.

The Incline

We were riding around and saw a bunch

of these deer right in this person's yard.

 The Broadmoor

 

I woke up at 4:30 Sunday morning to get ready for my 6:30 flight home. I had a wonderful weekend, but I was definitely ready to see my babies! This was the sunrise as seen from my plane window.

 

Daddy picked me up from the airport, and we met Justin, Emma, and Luke in Douglasville for lunch and Christmas shopping. PawPaw DeWayne took them to Toys R Us and let them pick out some things. Luke decided on a Ninja Turtle (aka Engine Turtle) mask and sword, while E picked out a new baby doll and stroller.

 



Today we are spending a lazy day at home.

And starting our count down to Spring Break!

 

49 days...;)

Another New Year {Random Thoughts}

We rang in the New Year with friends and spent New Year's Day eating our greens and peas at Nana and Papa's and MawMaw and Poppa's. I did not sweep the floors or do laundry this year, although it didn't seem to affect my year last year.  

Last week we went back to school (and Justin started his student teaching) with a 2 hour delay Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday due to extreme cold temperatures. By Saturday the weather was like springtime. Welcome to Alabama.

Friday morning Jesus called home Justin's maternal grandmother, Nealene Graben. She lived a long, hard life and fought until her final breath. I'm thankful that my children have her blood running through their veins, and I hope that they take her work ethic and caring heart with them all the days of their lives.

Yesterday, as we prepared to go to the funeral home for visitation, we found out that 24 of our cows were out roaming the country. You know the saying "when it rains it pours"? That felt like our weekend. We are so thankful to have amazing friends and neighbors who found the cows and walked miles leading them back home today as we buried MawMaw Nell.

Today was also the birthday of a very special man who my kids call Papa. He's been an amazing dad to me and I love him dearly. We were able to celebrate with supper tonight, but I forgot to take pictures. Happy Birthday Papa! We love you!

There is so much heartache...in our family, in our community, in this world. I often take for granted all that is good. I am so blessed. I have a wonderful husband, two amazing and healthy children, parents and in-laws who would go to the moon for my kids and me, in addition to extended family and friends.

This year, I resolve to spend more time focusing on what is right in front of me and less time worrying about things that only matter this side of Heaven.

Happy New Year!

Happy Anniversary! {8}

8 years ago today I changed my last name. Since then I've changed jobs, pants sizes, and income tax deductions, along with many other things. One thing hasn't changed. Justin McCollum, you're still the one! In the words of Luke (and Buzz Lightyear) I love you to infinity and beyond! Happy Anniversary!

They aren't always this sweet to one another...

but I could eat them up when they are!