1) We're snowed in! Well, technically we can get to the supermarket, but schools are closed and my husband has been working from home. The family, altogether, not having to be anywhere.
2) Being snowed in has its advantages, even though the kids are sick of each other. We're not rushing around. It's Advent, and the highlight of our day is opening the Calendar and sticking the next ornament on the cardboard Jesse tree. We're not doing much - baked some snowflake cookies, made some soup, watched some movies. It ties in with the season.
3) I'm thinking about those it affects adversely. Especially the homeless. My bed was freezing last night when I got in it. But I have a bed. And shelter. And heating. I give thanks.
4) I also have food, even though my grocery delivery was cancelled. (They said they could re-deliver in 6 days time. 6 days time?!!) My husband popped out for nappies (diapers) and essentials. But we are kind of living out the freezer. I defrosted some meatballs in tomato sauce so we could have a hot lunch. It reminds me that we have opportunity to buy the food we want most days if we need to. I'm waiting to see if my fruit and vegetables get through this morning.
5) A week ago we finished reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We're not snowed in for months, getting down to our last potato, in temperatures of -40, enduring blizzard after blizzard. But I can empathise a little with them, and it makes me admire them all the more. How DID they survive that pioneer winter, all in the same house, tired, cold, hungry, without killing each other? OK, even saintly Ma got snappish at one point according to Laura, but honestly - I couldn't do it.
6) The first day it snowed, I manage to engage (well, semi-engage) the big girls in wrapping ALL of the Christmas gifts we have so far purchased. Job well done! I'm trying not to put the tree up until the third Sunday of Advent this year. Usually I'm an early Christmas person (our cake was baked in September) but this year I'm trying to place more emphasis on Advent.
7) Did I mention we're loving the Jesse tree? The kids are enjoying the OT stories - we had Abraham's Veggie Tale yesterday (not the best of the series, but it's something that they know) - and I'm getting a real sense of the waiting, from Eve through Noah and Abraham, for the birth of Jesus. And we're not even at the prophets yet! Hopefully it will rub off on the kids too, and shift the focus from waiting for Santa to waiting for the Son of God. (Mind you, Monday is St Nicholas' day, so Santa Claus will get a look in!) The Conversion Diary tips have helped set apart the season very nicely thanks Jen.
Thanks to Jen at Conversion Diary.
We were really shocked when we read The Long Winter. I can't imagine having lived through that. And then how brave of Almonzo and Cap to travel to get the wheat that everyone needed!
ReplyDeleteWe just finished The First Four Years a month or two ago, although I think our favorite has been Farmer Boy.
Ahhhh! I cannot IMAGINE being snowed in right now. We have been snowed in (absolutely cannot go anywhere) exactly three times in my whole life. I love that it is turning your attention to gratitude! I hope your kids build a fort together and get over being tired of each other!
ReplyDeleteOK - only got these comments today, 15 December for some reason, hope you are still with me! SO nice to have people in touch from the online world when we are stuck inside!
ReplyDeleteAngie - I have been thinking of how they coped during that long winter more than anyone can imagine.
Elizabeth - All our first snow has melted but we are expecting some more. Luckily the girls made friends and we have been doing lots of Advent crafts (dipping marzipan in melted chocolate, painting stained glass window type tree decorations) as well as breaking up fights!