The snow lay on the ground

-Day 5 of the ice storm saga~ Our power was restored tonight, and we are all thrilled.
Even better than the lights, is the wonderful heat-hot water in my bathroom, and the ability to use my washer and dryer hoorah!!!

Things were so incredibly difficult, my body has really had a difficult time keeping up with everything demanded of it. Getting up around the clock to keep the fire stoked, the children all camping in the living room, because it was the only room with heat. Cold, and dark reduces even the largest home into a small central area.

My bedroom, the living and dining area, the kitchen and Alexandras' room, all on the main floor, had the most light, and the only source of heat...

I am going to put down some of my thoughts on life in the dark, because, i just may forget it until next time....

We are back in survival mode. After the power shut off, and came buck up 7 times Thurs. afternoon, at 4:00 p.m. we lost power for good.

Our preparations were a very good idea, the only thing i didn't consideer in my menu planning and food was the small detail of an electric oven-

Nicole made chicken tortilla soup, and later we had graham crackers and herbal tea in front of the fireplace, by candlelight.

Ashley read stories to the children-they all fell asleep pretty early with no lights, or noise. I got up with Ben at 5:00am, because his thermals had gone into hiding, so i had to find them-i crawled back under the covers and fell asleep.

It had been a difficult night. Alexandra woke up around 11:00pm, and wanted a bowl of cereal. She kept insisting it is too dark in here, turn the lights on.

The sound of ice coating the trees kept me awake most of the night-It is so quiet and looks like a scene from the chronicles of Narnia-the icicles hanging off everything.

The trees are covered in ice, and are all groaning from the weight. The terrifying sound of limbs snapping and crashing to the ground is so unique, even sad.

I love my trees, the native pecan, oak, sycamore, magnolia and the shade trees around the house have all been damaged.

From the house I can see 5 trees with huge limbs on the ground, the freezing temperatures in my room woke me this morning, the fire was dangerously low,and there was no wood left in the house.

I collected some wood from the porch and added kindling to get things warmed up and going, but it took a while.

I found one of my camp coffee pots, and even though the electric started won't work on my stove, we are able to light the gas with a match....

We had coffee, milk and homemade don-nuts for breakfast, it is very hard to cook in a dark kitchen-i put some mirrors around the candles to reflect the light. We ate breakfast in the formal dining room, the windows face west, and we have a lot of light in there.

We took the wet laundry out of the dryer, and hung it on hangers in the sun room to dry. I had the boys carry in a lot of firewood ,put 2 cases of water in the garage,along with 3 gal. of milk

We picked up every room, swept the floors, put away laundry and fed the animals.

We have spent a lot of time watching the birds. It is all bird channel all the time. I have 8 pairs of cardinals-some very fat chickadees, a woodpecker, and one very mean blue jay. Without the distraction of the t.v., computer, and video games, my children have kept very entertained by my birds.

After getting everything in order, i retreated to the warmth and comfort of my bed.

I am in extreme pain from the r/a and fibromialgia. I have so many layers of clothers on and i am under 4 blankets with gloves on because my fingers hurt so bad. Keeping me company are 2 tea cup chiahuahuas and Nicoles' crazy cat Miss Kitty.

The ice has turned to snow, and we have snow on top of the iced branches, and the ground blanketed in big, fluffy snow.

Ashley got Mr. Chaucer her bunny out of his cage so Christian could cuddle hime, she said her bunny was cold-Christian turned a brown and black bunny loose in the living room-a very dark living room-we all joined in the bunny hunt.

We finally found him hiding behind a cushion on the couch!!!

Andrews' lizard Gordon has taken up residence on my sun porch as we have a gas heater in their. He is under a blanket, they are hoping he survives this weather...

And so our days have gone...very busy, very cold, very exhausting, but at night huddled together in front of the fire, reading the chronicles of Narnia to my children as they drift off to sleep together, i must admit, life is simple and sweet. More difficult than you can imagine, but there is a beauty in the simplicity, and i know God is with us...he has met our needs, and preserved my family safely through this time...

I don't know how long it will last, but for this moment, i am enjoying, the light, and the heat, and being able to use my washer and dryer....later today i will begin preparations for round 2, when Andrews' friend delivers another rick of firewood, and i start getting things in order all over again...

crazy house on the prairie

We have been having such an adventure lately with no water. Hauling water to wash dishes, flush toliets, bathe children, it is very time consuming and difficult.

Ashley has to drive to city hall regularly to get us a supply of drinking water. We spent an interseting Sat. afternoon, with buckets of water, and washboards, in about 40 degree weather, with a freezing north wind...loads of fun...

Ashley is so tired of having to haul and boil water to wash dishes...we are using paper plates, and plastic stuff as much as possible, but we stilll have dishes, bowls and pots and pans....

Alexandra and Christian had a great time sitting in the shower in my industrial size stock pot, they thought they were taking a bath. We just stood them up to wash their hair and soap them up, and then they sat in my pot...I wish it was that easy for the rest of us...but, alas we don't fit in the pot.

We have limited water right now, and i don't know when it will return to normal, but i am praying it is very soon. We still can't use it for eating, drinking, cooking, or teeth brushing. We aren't supposed to bathe the babies in it because they might drink it, so they all had to take a shower...Alexandra protested...but she eventually lined all her ducks up ;in the shower...

Ashley didn't attack the kitchen today, and it is the biggest mess imaginable...Oh well, theres' always tomorrow, thats if we still have water...

Wednesday, we have to collect as much water as possible, and kindling. Andrews' friend is supposed to deliver us a load of firewood. A huge snow storm is supposed to hit on Thursday, one that is supposed to bring ice and high winds, which could mean power outages, which has in the past meant no power, and no water... we have to prepare for the possibilities.

Maybe it will all just go away, no ice, no more snow, no power outages, no more school closings. I am frankly sick of winter, and looking forward to spring....

Nicole and I have decided we are not cut out for the little house on the prairie, we don't like hauling water, we don't like camp bathing, and we absolutely hate doing laundry on washboards...

water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink

We are in the middle of day 2 of our water crisis. We still have no water. Last night we had just enough water to shower, but today, there is absolutely nothing but air coming out of the taps.

I am praying Abe finds the dreaded water leak and gets our water lines back up ;and running. It was annoying yesterday, but today with the children out of school, it is down right dreadful. We are boiling water i collected from the torrential downstorm last night, otherwise known as rain to wash 2 days worth of dishes.

If we run out of buckets of rain water, we will have to collect water from the pond to flush toliets, oh joy, i don't want to have to do that again. Did i forget to mention the temperature has dropped about 40 degrees , and we haven't turned the pilot lights back on the wind is swirling out of the north, and we all think we are freezing to death.

To just make everything perfect, we have done no laundry at all in the last two days, none, we are out of towels, today is bedding day, but i decided to postpone it until we have water, why look at all those sheets unnecessarily?

It is one of those miserable winter days that makes you want to crawl under the covers with a good book, unfortunately, if i crawl under the covers, half the children are coming with me....the squirming, wiggling ones. Nicole has been sick for a week, so she would gladly get back in bed with me, but i am afraid of catching what she has. I have had her in semi-quarintine for a week.

Ashley wants to invite her friend Lee over to visit, Dylan wants to take a shower(ha) I want a nap, Alexandra wants a drink, we all want something. My puppies don't want to go outside, it is not chihuahua weather. I did tell Dylan he could brave the wind and weather, and take a dip in the pond.

Rumor has it, that the seminole nation will begin bringing drinking water in tomorrow, if the problem isn't resolved, and turn on their water at the hall for us to haul water home. Life is always an adventure on the prairie, we are still pioneers, it is just not everyday, that we know it. We have had sporadic electrical service for the last week due to horrible storms, and now this adventure.

I know how to collect rain-water, I know how to wash dishes with-out running water, I can cook over a camp stove when we have no electricity, and have survived weeks with no power during ice storms, by keeping my fireplace going bundling up kids in bed together, and cooking in my fireplace, the worst thing, though is no water. I am not tackling this laundry, I am not hauling it to the next town to wash it, so for now, we wait....

Please Abe, I am praying for you, fix our water , the entire rural water route, is praying for you, find the leak, fix the leak, get the tower back pumping water....we are all so desperate.....we really don't want to play pioneer for another day, we want to turn on the taps, and have all that lovely hot water run out...we want to flush toliets, and not have to refill the tanks with buckets, we don't want to play crazy house on the prairie any more....