The Postman finally made it!

Today we had the return of mail service! We finally received every one's Christmas Cards. However, about 5 days before Christmas we had some last minute gifts overnighted in case we were not able to make it out of the house before Christmas. We have yet to receive one of those gifts and they are all ordered via different carriers! It is not just USPS but also Fed Ex and UPS! I think it is some kind of conspiracy! Some of those gifts were for Spider's Birthday! He will be three tomorrow and we don't have any of the gifts we ordered for him! Thanks goodness Grandma sent her gift early so he will have something to open. Poor Kid!

Released into the Wild

We finally ventured out today. The roads were mostly slush and once we got out of our neighborhood we did fine. We celebrated by going to lunch and then headed to the mall. We didn't actually go inside the mall because between dodging the overflow of cars and avoiding icy puddles, the parking lot was too treacherous, but we made progress towards normalcy! It was great! Now all we need is garbage collection to return (this is week 3 of the smelly garbage in the garage) and we still have not received any mail. I am getting a little annoyed with the mail service. It has been a week and if I feel safe driving on the roads they had better get their little jeeps back down here soon!

Remember When the Snow was Fun...

I have added these pictures as a reminder that we did have some fun during this long snowy period. The boys enjoyed the snow for a few days and even though Spider only lasted about 5 minutes (it took me about 20 minutes to get him dressed) we had fun sliding down our overly steep driveway. When we moved-in during August the neighborhood kids informed us that our driveway would be the one they needed for sledding. They were right because within 5 minutes of being out in the snow our hill was crawling with kids. (Notice Spider decided he could sled WITHOUT a saucer-didn't work out too well).

Being trapped in the house has sparked a bit of creativity. We decided to decorate Gingerbread families. Gabriel proudly displays his large, colorful Ginger family…

Nick also made a beautiful, detailed family. He gave special attention to his favorite family member, the dog. Personally it was my favorite of all the cookies…

Spider had a tragedy befall his family. These are the only remains to be recovered. We are launching a full investigation into this horrific situation but I think the answer to this mystery is written all over Spider’s face…

It is Day 15 and we are losing hope. The temperature began to climb and it looked as if the snow was beginning to melt. Alex cleared the snow from our sidewalk and driveway (for the fourth time), preparing for a great getaway tomorrow morning. As soon as he finished, a fine rain started and our hope began to rise. Then it happened...the rain turned to snow. It snowed for hours, the temperature has dropped and the snow has covered all the clear pavement. What is happening to our nice moderate Northwest weather? I have never missed the rain so much! Please let it RAIN soon!

Blizzard of '08

I think Spider sums up how we all feel about our WHITE CHRISTMAS! It is day 14 of the Blizzard of '08. Except for a brief expedition for supplies, we have been trapped in the house for two weeks. Christmas is here and we have enjoyed our day but I would like to know why Santa was able to traverse the streets of Lynnwood but we have not had any deliveries or mail for over five days? What happened to "neither rain nor sleet nor dark of night"? Postal propaganda if you ask me! We regained some hope last night as we ventured out through the ice and found the main roads bare to the pavement, only to find the snow regaining the upper hand this morning. It is as if we were being mocked for gleefully singing "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" just a few weeks before, oblivious to what would unfold. Cabin fever has long since set in and we are longing for a break from our icy prision. Spider grabbed Alex by the face and looked him in the eye announcing "I need to ride in Daddy's truck, NOW!" He has yet to take that ride. We got desparate enought to check the bus schedule and found they had cancelled our route due to the weather. We were forced to email Santa with our wish lists in the hope he would receive it in time. We were unable to visit him in person this year. As we wallow in our circumstance it was Spider who put things into perspective. Before we eat we take a moment to share what we are thankful for each day. As we went around the table and expressed our thanks for the food, the presents and of course our family, it was Spider that added, "I am thankful that the lights did not go out". We all had to stop and think hard about the reality of the situation. Think about how much worse it would be if we did not have power throughout this situation. Think about those on the street, without food, shelter, warmth and family. It took a two-year-old to point out how good we really have it. We enjoyed our bountiful turkey dinner a little more after that and thanked God for how truly blessed we are.