February 1st

Interesting day today.

Awoke to a coating of ice on everything. Very gloomy outside. Took several pictures and posted them on Facebook. Ken salted and then left to meet Luke at Massie's Pizza and to play ping pong at church.

Melody dropped the 3 youngest kids off around 11:40. She had to take Joshua to see an ENT at Children's Hospital. She thought she'd cancel but they said that if it was broken, today was the last day they could set it. So, I made grilled cheese for the kids but they didn't eat much since they'd had a big breakfast a little later than usual. I cut Seth's hair and then put him in the bathtub. I put Elizabeth down in bed but she didn't go to sleep. While the boys did their Wii Fit tests, I mopped the kitchen floor. Melody picked the kids up around 2:15. (Joshua's nose is not broken.) I then read and took a couple pictures for eBay. Nice and quiet around here. Ken got home about 2:45.

Very quiet and lazy day. Made meatloaf and baked potatoes for supper but Ken wasn't very hungry after his pizza buffet.

I've been praying for Mark and Bekah all day (and last night several times when I woke up). I don't usually worry but I was concerned about them driving in this bad weather. So, I decided at 5:30 that I'd just try to call. That wasn't reassuring since they didn't answer. So, I left messages. Mark called back; they were at home. They had given up last night after an hour and a constantly-icing-up windshield (Belleville) and turned around and came home. He said their power went out during the night. They had no food since they'd used it up or had given it away. So, this morning they went to get some food and got some DVDs from the library. They were "just chillin' out" at home. They thought they might be able to leave this afternoon but the forecast is bad so now it looks like it might be Thursday before they can leave. He sounded so down; I felt bad for them. But I was glad they weren't in a ditch somewhere or in heavy traffic in Hartford. I'm sure the Helgersons are disappointed as well.
Storm getting pretty bad this evening. Looks like we'll probably have some power outages. The branches on the Northern Pine are actually touching the ground. Why do I feel a little scared tonight? (Lights are flickering now...)