Marvelous Monday!

Good morning! I hope everyone got themselves dugout from the Blizzard of 2013, incredibly inappropriately named Nemo, and their power back on! It was a cold one here, and once the house went below 50*, we all hopped in the car and headed to my in-laws, all 2 1/2 miles away, where they still had power. Read on!

On this Marvelous Monday, I want to direct you to a posting from last week. That is all is have to say about dwarfism for this Monday.  Please check out Let’s Change the World. If you want, you can join me in writing a thank you letter to Mr. Barry Spector at Gedney Foods, as well.

The address is: 2100 Stoughton Ave.; Chaska, MN  55318

Thank you to everyone for their continued support and the encouragement to keep pushing for the equality of Addie and the family that has surrounded us and helped us navigate this new world.

For my thankful of the week… there are not enough words. Did you know it snowed?

We lost power around 11:30pm Friday night. Over 14 hours later, Carter was thrilled to be in the snow, while Addie was wrapped up like a mummy, but still freezing:

Dave dug us out as best he could, and we headed 2 1/2 miles away to my in-laws’ house where they still had electricity and heat. This weekend, my in-laws were truly amazing. Dave, Addie and I showed up with bags of stuff, leaving our cold house behind. We spread everything we owned (or so it seemed) out across their kitchen table and then took over the couches. After calling National Grid and hearing we would be without power for at least the night, we realized that we could not go home to sleep without heat, as the house was well below 50*:

…so Dave and I left Addie, got back into the car, and went to the house to care for the dog and grab our PJs and some books to read to Addie before bed. It wasn’t the most comfortable stay, but as I braced myself and headed out of their house yesterday (Saturday) morning, leaving the family to sleep, I was thankful for the incredible back pain that replaced the inevitable frostbite we would have suffered at home.

I pulled into our driveway at 6am to feed the dog and let him out, thankful the street lights were on. The house wasn’t warm yet, but Addie’s apnea monitor was blaring and all the lights were on! It was a sight I’d longed to see. I ran around the house stopping the drip from all the faucets, and turning off everything that was left on. The clocks were blinking 3:14, meaning we got power back well after midnight. I’m SO glad we had a warm place to sleep!

I went back to my in-laws where everyone was still asleep, and treated myself to a hot shower and pumped before anyone had the chance to need me. My mother-in-law made a big pot of coffee, then she and my father-in-law made ham, onion and mushroom omelets with a fruit bowl! I tried to nap on the couch before we headed home around 11 for Addie’s nap. We were warm, safe and loved for our first sleepover. I am so thankful they were there for us- I have no doubts they always will be.

As I unpacked our bags in our bedroom, I reminded Dave we needed to clear our sidewalks for the kids heading to school. The lowest point on the walk was about 3 1/2 feet, and seemed daunting. As I looked out the window to check it out, I noticed snow flying up in the sky and over our fence. Our neighbor was snow-blowing our walk for us! Knowing we are surrounded by such loving, caring and giving people really makes me feel warm inside… even when it’s below freezing outside. Our backs hurt and my nose is still cold, but as I bake sugar cookies for our neighbors and write a letter (from Addie) for my in-laws, I know that it could have been worse for us had we been alone, or had to take the babe to one of the warming centers where she would not have had a place of her own to sleep. I am thankful for love, which seems appropriate this week, doesn’t it?

Lastly, a random tidbit… I said I would write about movies sometimes, and so I will. I’m sure many of you have seen this film, as it’s not new, but for me, it was a first time: This is 40. It wasn’t some change-your-life-watch-this-movie-now type of thing, but it was certainly a poignant satirical movie that really brought marriage (in film) into a new light. If you read my post from yesterday, you know that my husband isn’t the most romantic man, however, we make it work because of love and life. This movie really hit home in the way that it shows sometimes what we think is the most important thing in the world, isn’t so for our spouse. Case-and-point: to prepare for the possibility (and it happened) of the power going out, I vacuumed the house because I CANNOT sit in my house when it’s dirty and stare at the animal hair and dragged in road salt. This was NOT at the top of Dave’s list. Oh well. He appreciated it, none-the-less, and watched Addie so I could get it done.  After watching the movie, I really took notice of how we both check-out of the time we have together by being on our phones playing games (him) or on Facebook (me). While I agree we all need time alone, trying to not take that time while we’re together remains important.

With Valentine’s Day coming up Thursday, it really is a great movie to balance out chick-flick and comedy. Happy viewing and happy Monday!