Winter Wonderland....On the Gulf Coast??!!

We live in a large town on the Gulf Coast region of Texas, where our winters usually amount to rain and maybe a little sleet, but seldom. The cold here is unlike cold in the cooler climates of the country. It is one that is wet and miserable, when, and if, it gets cold.

Well, a MIRACLE happened here a few days ago, on December the 10th to be exact! There was a cold front that was heading our way and was bringing blistering cold temperatures to the northern states. Normally by the time those fronts make it here it is down to a minimum, so we might get to the 50s, which is pretty chilly for us. However, this blast made it's way and actually drove the temps way down.

It is true about what they say of the weather in Texas...you never know what the temperature will be, so you better pack for rain, sleet, sun.....and now even snow!


YES, IT SNOWED! Now, I know you sweet people up north are chuckling at my response to the snow, but it was absolutely a remarkable moment! Normally, IF it snows, it is just a little dust with very few flakes. When the few flakes occur, we Texans run outside and try to scrape up the snow on the car and make a six inch snowmen on the hood. Not THIS TIME! No, it was far greater than the snowman hood ornament of the past.



I was in the kitchen and my husband excitedly told me that it was snowing. He and my kids get excited about the dust snows we have, so I just kind of shrugged it off. I then received a phone call where a friend informed me of how huge the flakes were. I got off the phone and took a peek outside and was astonished! The snow was inches thick! Never had I seen so much snow in the Gulf Coast! It was breath takingly gorgeous.

As we stood outside watching the flakes you could hear the snow hitting the branches of the trees. My husband remarked at how peaceful the sound is. It truly was a moment I was taking in. You could hear the kids in the neighborhood out in the yards having snowball fights and building their first REAL snowmen. Now, I have been in snow in the past that was much greater than this, but it was an amazing moment for it to take place here. The last time it did this was on a Christmas Eve about five or six years ago, and there was not this amount.

Our moment of solitude was broken when my girls came running! I ran in and got our ski toboggans, scarves and gloves...then guess what WE did! Yep, we started building a snowman! We could actually roll the snowball without worry of leaves and pine needles being stuck all in the snow! It was a memory burned deep within my mind, and will not be forgotten anytime soon.





We played out in the snow for a couple of hours, it was 1 or 2 in the morning when we finally came in for some hot cocoa. Yes, I know, it was crazy to be outside playing at that time, but HEY, we knew it would all be gone by morning! In Texas it will freeze one minute then have a tropical storm bringing in the warm air the next!

The only bad thing about the memory is that Alan was not with us, however, he was in the snow too, just a little north. Believe it or not, we got more snow than THEY did! HA!

Well, I am dreaming of a white Christmas this year, but I think the white is gone. Today it is getting up to 67, so I guess the tropics are blowing in. Oh well. Life is great, and that snow was a reminder of miracles within life.

I will leave sharing a few more of the memories we made on the blessed night of December 10th, 2008!


Even the dogs got in on the snow fun!


Catching snowflakes on our tongues!


Jen trying to escape her dad's powerful snowball....yeah right!


Holly cuddling with dad!


Bently with his snowdog!

Rennovations After The Storm

Well, they arrived with a loud knock in the early misty hours of morning. I was thrilled with their presence, all six of them with tools in hand pressed close against the front door excited about the destruction, I mean...construction, project.

Hurricane Ike succeeded in damaging several rooms within our home and left us without carpet, roof or ceiling in many places throughout the house. We did what we could to remedy the immediate issues within our home, but it still left us with bare floors and plastic on the roof and ceilings. Little did we know the mess would become LARGER when the rennovations began...

Yes, it was early one morning when they all showed up. Sweet, hard workers stormed the house and made paths of destruction throughout. Their main goal was to have all the ceilings ripped completely out and replaced by the end of the day, well, replaced with the sheetrock. So off they went!


All I can say is WOW! They worked with such fury and down right focus and determination. I could not believe the work I saw happening in such a short amount of time. The ceilings were ripped out, and the new sheetrock was hung. One man was upstairs on STILTS working on the ceiling. It was rather interesting. I kept wondering HOW he got up on those things. I would definately fall and break my leg...well...probably my neck with my luck! I would have asked him how he did that, but all he could do was smile and say, "Si, Si." I have no clue what he was saying yes to.

So, we are all kept hostage in our own home at the moment. We are containded within the kitchen/dining area and 2 bedrooms. There is stuff EVERYWHERE, not that there is not stuff everywhere anyway, but just MORE stuff! Also, I have never seen so much dust in my life!

Okay, so I am not griping at all. As a matter of fact, I was upset that our insurance company was dragging their feet so. We have twins coming in a matter of about six weeks and we need a room for them to live in, a livable one!



They DID get the sheetrock hung. There is still so much more to do. We are deciding to go ahead and rennovate some other areas of our home as well. There are things that need to be done, so why not just get them done now, right? Just pray that Jen will hold on for the next six weeks, although she is about to pop and is miserable.

Brent, of course, is having to work. He has called ME to be foreman and I have no cluse what the heck is going on. Someone come and help me! I put him on the phone with them. I just want to go shopping or something until they are done.

Okay, so here is the run down; the house is falling apart....and getting uglier by the minute, a sick dog, a pregnant daughter, a sick mother in law and all I want to do is go shopping. Yep, a nice escape would be great.....or just some coffee...