friday

It was zero degrees(-17c) this morning when the kids got on the bus. It has warmed up! The temperature should be rising a bit today, but the wind will pick up, so it will still be cold. Tomorrow, more snow, more wind....

My coffee got cold before I even drank it this fine chilly morning. That can only mean one thing: I need another cup.

Mirielle, my nocturnal nurse daughter, made muffins in the night. Healthy ones, with almond flour and coconut and bananas and craisins....and chocolate chips in some of them. With coffee, oh yum. Even cold coffee.

I rather like a few things about the freezing weather, or, "The Polar Vortex", which is the new name for really cold weather that always comes and goes in January. I like that the dogs go out, run around, do their business, and come bounding back up the steps. No running off to the neighbors for them, no, they are smart enough to come in out of the cold. I like the coziness too, and how good a hot cup of tea is in the evening.

This morning as the older kids were getting ready for school, we were talking about the Going Off The Road incident of last evening. Apparently they were going very slow down a big hill, and started to slide. There is a huge embankment on one side, but they spun around, across the other lane, and went off the road into a snowbank, missing a ditch and the guardrail. As soon as she lost control, one of them started crying....when she got out to inspect the damages and try to dig out with a snowbrush, she heard her sisters laughing hysterically in the truck, probably glad they were alive, knowing them. A nice guy with a town snowplow also showed up, and helped Thomas get them out. All's well that ends well, I guess. A few more gray hairs for the mama though.

So it's Friday, the weekend is welcome! There has been a good spirit here in our house this week, as we seemed to have gotten closer through some different trials. We always have a choice when "bad" things happen...we can either blame and get bitter, or we can walk in the light and acknowledge our own sin, saying a resounding NO to bad thoughts. God would not send it if we couldn't get victory in it.

Life goes on, there are Nerf guns all over my livingroom (love homeschooling Jon!), there are clothes in the washer and dryer, dishes in the sink, and now Kathryn and Jon are up and we need to get some stuff done....