Blizzard 2016

We had a blizzard... snow for over 24 hours straight. It just kept on snowing...

We prepped.. because being snowed in with 6 kids, and a bunch of animals is quite stressful. We prepped our generator, brought down our lanterns, dug out flashlights, charged phones and bought groceries. :) We made sure we had meds and back up meds. 

 It started earlier then we anticipated.. Beautiful snow... thankfully it was not windy. It just snowed and snowed and snowed and snowed and snowed. 

Saturday morning the hike to the barn was not to bad...

    
By Saturday night the Struggle was real. It was a HARD trek. The snow as up to my thighs. Literally over my knees! I was very thankful or the brand new pair of muck boots I had bought! (with my Christmas money that I was saving to redo my bedroom!)
Thankfully by Sunday morning we had a path packed down. We currently walk on top of approx 2 ft of snow. It is def an adventure but much easier! 

                                  
We repeatedly dug out the barn doors... We really had to be careful because it kept piling up..



The animals are all crammed into the barn... I will do a seperate post on that! But it took some creativity to get everyone in safely. The horses don't share nicely and the goats are all very pregnant!~

We love the beautiful sunshine on Sunday! 

Early morning sunrise after the storm..

This was our gauge of how much snow we had... it just piling up...

Some very kind neighbors came and plowed us out on Saturday around noon, then again Saturday evening AND again on Sunday morning! We were so blessed by their kindness!

The kids had a total blast on the massive snow piles! 

The roads were a mess...

My kitchen was a mess... 

The great outdoors however, was gorgeous! 

On Monday morning the boys dug out my van! 

Note the snow up to the middle of the gate! 

This blizzard will def be one we remember for a very long time. I am so thankful that we live out in the country. Yes, we have a lot of work. But our driveway and street are completely clear we are free to come and go. The kids had a total blast sledding with friends once it warmed up a bit. We have dug out caves, clean up piles of mud, drank gallons of hot cocoa and watched entirely to many movies!

Christmas...

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We had a fun, normal, low key Christmas. Such an amazing blessing compared to the stress of last year. 

We were blessed by so many people over the holidays! A friend's family brought the kids all new shoes and pjs. They stayed for dinner and games. The kids were so happy for their new friends and their blessings! 

Lee made this star for me! The picture is rather crappy but I was very tickled with the star! He used scrap wood and small nails to create it off a pinterest image. 

This picture portrays our Christmas season. So much fun, so much down to earth, not really perfect but good, quality family time.


We did not focus so much on gifts this year, we did not take much time off school. We just hung out and had lots of fun over a lot of days. We did fun things with friends, we watched movies and made memories. Taking pictures was not on the top of my priority list! 

Homeschool Art

Several weeks ago, we decided to take a fun day off.  Shopping, lunch and art class was on our agenda~ 

First we headed to Target. Now I rarely shop in stores with all my kiddoes. It is just not easy and I really do not enjoy shopping. So target is a rare treat for my kids. I had some returns to make then we browsed for a bit. 

After Target we met up with a friend at a local Spanish restaurant to try out their empanadas! We had a quick lunch before heading to the homeschool art class just down the street. The big kids had a total blast. Bubbie was not impressed. He was tired and cranky. Sitting quietly was not happening! 

The kids really enjoyed their painting time!!
We finished off the day with treats from a yummy bakery!! We have been working hard on sticking to a budget so not much fun has been happening. But I showed the kids the benefit of saving, as we pulled out our "fun" envelope and splurged on a fun day with no guilt!! 

Serving Others..

 BEcause we have been blessed we pass on the blessings. God has been good to us in the past number of years. We live in a community where people are constantly looking for ways to serve others. As a single mom with lots of kids I can not ever express enough gratitude for all the things we are blessed with.

So we have decided to pass on the blessings. We found a local homeless shelter that welcomes young volunteers. Once a month we visit the shelter and cook lunch for the clients. These are single moms, young women and men who do NOT have support systems or have made choices that have burned bridges with their support systems.

My kids love to serve here. They help plan the menu, grocery shop and then cook and serve. Their favorite part is dishing out the food for the clients of the shelter.

The best part: We do not have to clean up!! 

Elizabeth is making biscuits..

I love teaching my kids how to prepare and serve food to large groups. We have been blessed with friends who join us and help serve.