We finally got our power back this afternoon after losing it on Friday at about 5AM! I woke up and looked at my clock about 3:30/4AM and everything was fine. I could hear the rain coming down pounding on the roof and wondered if school would be in session or not. I fell back to sleep and when I looked at the clock again, it was dark... no red lights. The furnace was silent, the only sounds I could hear was the of raindrops .... the power went out!
Ordinarily, when this happens within an hour or two we are up and running again.... but not this time! As you already know if you watch the news or listen to the radio, we had a bad storm! ICE, ICE and more ICE! It really is absolutely beautiful to look at! Audrey took some amazing pictures but... it was also very destructive! 
Downed trees, powerlines, frozen pipes, icy roads, over-worked electric crews, cold houses..... 
Oh ya, this is the winter-wonderland life! :) Friday, during the day, we heated with the stove top (on for a while and then off for a while) and candles. Thank God for gas stoves, I could at least make hot meals! (Obviously, for safety reasons the candles and stove were OFF during the night!) The temperature inside on Saturday morning was 42* yikes, it felt like we were waking up on a camping trip! We could see our breath... now that is chilly! (It was 15* when I looked at the thermometer outside, so we were pleased with 42!) Austin worked diligently on a generator that a friend had loaned us. He had it going for a while so we could keep the fridge from thawing out too much and everyone charged up the cell phones! 
Thankfully, Darlene & Marc (my brother) regained their electricity Saturday and loaned us their kerosene heater for last night! It was in the low teens again last night, but inside it was a balmy 62* AHHHHH, the simple things in life are soooo amazing! We went to church Sunday morning (an awesome & appropriate message series by the way) 'In Pieces or In Peace'.... this week's message was about worry & anxiety! You can listen if you'd like http://www.gccnh.com/ at the bottom of the page, part 3!!
We were on our way home discussing the next plan of action (empty the fridge into boxes for the back porch, drain the water lines etc.)when my cellphone began to ring, it was TJ with "GOOD NEWS.... the power is ON!" THANK GOD!! We had been told not to expect it to come back much before Thursday ... so having it back 4 days earlier is a true blessing!! :)
The crews had arrived to repair the lines that had snapped.... all that is left are a few orange caution cones and some random branches of trees & sawdust beside the road! (This tree is in our front yard, draped over the lines coming in from the road to our electrical box!)
The crews had arrived to repair the lines that had snapped.... all that is left are a few orange caution cones and some random branches of trees & sawdust beside the road! (This tree is in our front yard, draped over the lines coming in from the road to our electrical box!)
We had two families join us for dinner yesterday! The Hacker family of 4 and the Walsh family of 2! 11 people around the table was a beautiful sight! I could go on and on about the yummy food & dessert, but I'd rather go on about awesome friendships!! What a blessing these two families are to us! 
We eventually all regathered for coffee, tea and desserts (Did I mention they were DELICIOUS?!!) and games!! We had a lot of fun playing 'Apples to Apples' (for the first time) and then a few rounds of 'Fact or Crap'! (yes, I really did use that word, it is the title of the game)!! Laughs, teasing, friendships strengthened, warm weather (I think we hit a balmy 42*) and late day snacks!! 
A guy that Audrey knows who plays in the Christian band "Blueprints of the Heart" was in a car accident Saturday night. Shorty, the drummer, was killed and the other three of his friends are in critical condition in a MA hospital. PLEASE keep them and their families in your prayers as the doctors are not being too hopeful for these young men.