Healing and Homebound

Joshua is feeling much, much better after that day in the brier patch. I am very surprised at how fast he is healing; this photo was taken four days after his accident. Now it is nearly gone, but still there enough that we are slathering on the aloe vera in hopes that it won't scar. And he's already gone sledding lots since then. Thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes!

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Speaking of snow...

I thought moving to Ohio would provide milder winters. In some ways, yes. The temperatures have dipped below zero once, maybe twice, since we've lived here. Christmas was brown, not white. The day after Sophia came, it was seventy degrees outside.

And then we got an ice storm.

We don't have ice storms like this in MN. Actually, they don't usually have them here either. Most of the people at Eric's work blame him for bringing this harsh weather with him. At any rate, last week we had a snow-ice-snow storm that has effectively stranded us at home.

That's right. I cannot get the van onto the road. I can get it out of the garage, but I can't get it down the steep-hill-of-a-driveway that we have. Well, that's not totally true. I could, but it would most likely involved several crashes along the way. Our driveway is not only long and steep, it's covered with a good inch of ice.

Last Tuesday, when it started snowing, Eric came home early from work and parked his car at the bottom of the driveway. Smart move. If it weren't for that, we wouldn't have any vehicles at our disposal. On Wednesday, the ice moved in and the state declared our area a level three snow emergency. That means that only emergency vehicles are allowed on the road and others will be arrested. Yikes! But that didn't affect us, since one vehicle was marooned at the top of the driveway and the other was encased in a block of ice at the bottom. Eric got to stay home from work that day. And he spent his day off shoveling the entire driveway. Now, for those of you who have yet to visit us (when are you coming, by the way?), our driveway is not short. It is about 100 yards. And he shoveled it all, uphill (to be fair, Joshy did help for awhile).

So although it is annoying yet liberating to be stuck at home for awhile (Eric says MAYBE Sunday we'll be able to get out, but not in time for church), we are thankful. We are stocked with groceries, we were all home (if Eric hadn't come home when he did, he may not have made it home for a few days), and we have electricity. Many, many homes in our area are without electricity, and we are told they won't have it again until mid-February.

And it really is beautiful. Everything is encased in an inch of sparkling clear ice. I have never seen anything like it.
Unfortunately, the beauty comes with a price. The heavy ice is causing many big branches to simply snap off the trees. When we were outside (standing safely on the porch) we could hear, every few seconds, a booming and rattling noise--branches falling and skittering across the ice covered snow. Just look at these trees bending! Branches that I could not reach even by jumping are now touching the ground.
Besides all the snow to shovel and ice to break through, Eric also had to remove a few huge branches from across the driveway. That's our driveway running across this photo, down the hill.
Today the sun finally came out, though the temperature was still below freezing. The result was breath-taking. Every branch on every tree glittered with dancing sparkles as a gentle wind blew in the air. It was as if they were made of brilliant crystal glass. It was surreal. I felt like we had stumbled into Narnia. And the best part was the sound. There was a soft, constant tinkling as each ice-branch knocked into another or cracked under its own weight. Amazing.
Some of the tree branches were so thick and bent with ice that they became densely packed together. In those bunches were the most impressive sparkles.
These photos just don't do justice, of course. Since I'm stuck at home anyway (not that I really mind, actually), I'm glad to have something so magnificent to look at.

You know, that and my sweet baby girl, who makes even double chins look adorable.