Blizzards and Birthdays part 1

First let me just say that I hope that all of you who read this had a wonderful and joyous Christmas day. We sure did.

It doesn't take much for our family to get excited. We revel in the simple pleasures of life....a frog caught....spotting a rare bird at the feeder....fresh garden veggies....iced coffee....tickle fights....snow storms.

Woke up this morning to this forecast on weather.com:



2 things...first: do you see that the forecast for the next 36 hours are bracketed in red? That means trouble...it also means awesome. Second...do you see the forecast under the "Tonight" heading? 1 word. Blizzard. BLIZZARD. YES!!!!! We're big on natural disasters around here. We spend lots of time, money, and energy getting ready for stuff like this. My pops and I feel that it's much better to be proactive and prepared than reactive and frantic. The Winter storm warning mentioned widespread power outages, 50 + mph wind gusts, and the possibility of 20+ inches of snow. Let's party.

We started by stocking our wood bin and hearth with 3 days worth of wood:


Between my dad and I, we've got a pretty good supply of wood, food, water, gas....probably enough to lock it down for several months if we had to. I credit him for instilling the attitudes of preparedness and pro activity in me. While others are scrambling to react to adversity...we are able to calmly deal with what comes our way with an attitude of preparedness. It may seem overkill to some...but the reality is, that it doesn't take that big an "X" factor for the average family to start panicking. 2 Winters ago there was an ice storm that knocked out power for thousands of families just North of here for 17 days. Most people had to scramble to figure out how they were going to survive....many families had to head to emergency shelters....our household would have hardly noticed.

In my families opinion...it's important to be prepared. Tonight there is a blizzard outside with wind gusts reported locally of 44mph....if a tree branch were to break off and smash through someones front window, would they have the knowledge and resources to be able to immediately deal with the situation? most wouldn't....If the power went out for days or the water were to get shut off or sanitation removal were to cease or if gas or food were rationed...would most households be able to survive without panic? It's sad to say that the answer is probably "no".

The Lord, through His Scriptures, has called us to be skilled and wise....I'll go ahead and include "prepared and proactive" in the definition of "wise". It's a joy to be able to enjoy this storm. My work called me this afternoon and cancelled for tomorrow. I get to ride this baby out prepared and protected alongside my family. That's a simple pleasure that I'll take any day. Here's a few more pics:


First Flakes

Here's how it looked at about 4:45 pm EST:



The call is for 15 to 20 more inches to fall before all is said and done. Bring it. We're ready.

On a completely separate note...my son turns 4 tomorrow. I can't even begin to believe that he's 4 years old. Someone is stealing months away from my calendar when I'm not looking, I swear it. He told me today that he doesn't want to turn 4 because he's afraid that Mommy and I won't care for him any more or carry him to bed. Sweet little soul. If he only knew that I'd do that 'til he's 30 if he'd let me.

We were planning on heading to Chuck E. Cheese for some birthday fun tomorrow, but given the present weather circumstances, we're gonna be home bound. Well, score another one for preparedness and pro activity....we dug through some old totes of old party stuff that we had stored downstairs and found a bunch of decorations that we used to dress up the dining room:



We decorated after he went to bed, so he'll be surprised when he wakes up. I know for a fact that he's not too old to be excited over a roomful of decorations and 2 feet of snow outside. I'm 36 and I'm not.


Once all is said and done and the snow totals are tallied, I'll post part 2 to discuss how we fared on all counts. Right now i've got to hunker down and get ready to party.