Texas blizzard 2021

 Well this is one for the books.  In Texas we have 205 hours of below freezing temperatures.   Through this I learned a few things (as a girl raised in the cold north): 

Texas homes are not designed to keep warm

Days without electricity is not fun

It was good to unplug and play games and have no agendas

It was exhausting playing board games with three hyper boys for three days

We discovered potatoes keep reptiles warm and all our keys survived

I learned to appreciate even more being back inside a warm house at the end of this week

Through this adventure I was reminded of the fun of snow days and exploring the cold and doing all of that with my kids     It was honestly a relief to not teach for a week and stay in pajamas and just be a family.  At the end of it though o appreciate even more my routine and schedule.  Our home lost power for over 24 hours and became frigid cold.  Thankfully my parents had a gas stove and fireplace so we were able to stay warmer there and still have warm food and family close by.  The boys had many adventures of playing and off electronics and just being kids.  We all slept super early as the lights out reset our internal clocks a bit.  We huddled in the cold, relaxed when we could in the warmth, enjoyed family time, while also driving ourselves crazy.  This was a truly historic event for our area, and was a memorable experience I hope we never experience.  

It caused a lot of stress as well though being thrown off our routine, living with uncertainty, hearing and seeing horror stories from across our town and state as many had it much worse.  Today we were able to have our first normal day with friends, food, and clear roads

As our kids went through this relatively calmly it reminded me today how days of uncertainty show their trauma in other ways   We are constantly recovering and growing through our pain as it evolves 

I am looking forward to fitting back into a routine.  I am so thankful for the family and friends through it all that supported and loved us 

Stay safe   Stay warm  and keep those you love close by  

Here's a small glimpse of our week:

Hello 2021~!

 Hello ya'll!

It's been a hot minute, and I'm SO sorry, but our Deember and January have been INSANE fun and busy!

Life is just now starting to slow down, as we go with our amazing homeschool journey.

December we spent a week going back to the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum.  After a long year of slowed down traveling and lots of disappointments with that it felt SO good to do a road trip where we could just reflect on God's amazingness in our lives and family, and be with friends.  The Ark Encounter had only magnified it's amazingness since the last time we were there three years ago.  They added in more animals, a playground, virtual reality ride, and still had the message of salvation in every area of the place.  We were able to stay at an AirBnb just a few miles away with lots of land so we were able to unplug and get away a little bit.

A big blessing of the trip was us being able to resume our Jr. Ranger badges again!  Earlier this year we lost out on over 15 because of closures, so it was fun to get another 8 for our collection and get to explore more battlefields and get a lot of insight to the Civil War from the Southern perspective.  It was something I had never been taught and it was interesting to see the different views and step out onto the battlefields where so many people lost their lives fighting for the freedoms they cherished.  So much of history is disappearing in our current days, so I am thankful we are able to teach this to our children while we still have the chance.

At the end of all of that my youngest brother got married, and we ended Christmas break by going to his wedding and watching him marry the most amazing girl!  I've loved watching how God brought them together, and so thankful for them both!

In January we also resumed our Pod School!  We have several new families, and after re-arranging the whole house, we were able to set up better classrooms, and give ourselves some more space for school.  We now live completely upstairs in our house, and our pod school operates 4 days a week downstairs.  We have it set to Monday and Wednesday we do Bible History and Science, and then Tuesday and Thursday we have less students to focus on Math and Grammar.  Some parents do all 4, and some only choose one or two classes.  It's great to watch homeschool families encourage each other, and support each other in our different areas.  We still keep our Fridays open for our field trips, and lately it's been more park days, board games, and a little more low key.  We are still looking for a building, and praying one will show up soon!

January has just been flying by!  So much traveling, rearranging, and growing!

We have also started REPTILES!  Our oldest son, Samuel, has been spending months researching and begging for a snake.  Now, he finally convinced his dad that this would be good to do, so we ended up with a snake for Christmas.  Since then, we have now, two snakes, a chameleon, three turtles, two fish, and now a leopard gecko!

It's been quite the adventure getting to know all these animals and watch how they all work!

Now, onto my "word" for 2021!

This was SOOO hard because I've done Rooted, Grow, Content, and some others in the past.  I've always been focused on rooting in the BIble, growing in God, and being Content with what he provided.  After losing our daughter I learned that GRACE has been needed more than almost anything.   We needed it desperately after our loss, and in 2020 we watched an entire nation fall apart and need the same grief love and grace that we needed back in 2018.  I've learned that beyond all, Grace is needed.  When someone else is hurting, suffering loss, confused, losing jobs, health, normal life, Grace is needed. 

This year I pray we are able to provide love, encouragement and grace to those who need it.  Grace which God provies to us so often, I continue to pray we extend to others around us.

I'm so thankful for the amazing year 2020 has been, and I am excited to see where God continues to bless and take us throughout 2021!