So this winter has proved to be quite the event for the south!  The picture below is deceiving....it appears as though a beautiful dusting of snow visited our little home.  However, it was all ice that parked itself on our house, covered our roads, downed our power lines, and sent trees crashing into unsuspecting territory.  

 Our "live life to its fullest" child took advantage of the ice and decided to create his own Olympic event - ice sledding.

 Then, in the blink of an eye, the power left us.  The limbs began to crack.  The crashing sounds began.  Green lights lit the sky from transformers blowing.  An eery silence fell upon us.  

 Honestly, it wasn't too bad.  My children will remember this event differently - they were all ready to run to safety at their grandparents' homes.  But we stuck it out.  We had campouts in our room.  We played games by the fire.  We talked and told stories.  

 Finally, the power was restored - 48 hours later....we were part of the lucky ones.  Others went without power for several days.  And just when we were all nestled into our cozy beds with our newly reset clocks brightly lit beside us, the shaking began.  The sound of a freight train could be heard.  The house did an amazing little dance.  

An earthquake.

As if the ice was not enough.

 With all of the excitement, we decided to throw a little Valentine's Day celebration in for an added flare.  

 With the power on and the shaking halted, life went on.  Colin has kept the courts warm....

 MK visited with the orthodontist and we were told she will begin ortho preparation for her bone graft surgery, which will likely occur late this year.....

 Maddox and Ava spent their afternoons chasing the "bad guys" - take note of Maddox's sweet face turned into determination AND Ava is holding a stick for shooting.....

 P continued on his path of fun.....

and these three donned their favorite spring attire - craziness....exactly one week ago we were under layers of blankets in our layered clothing doing everything we could to keep warm - and yesterday, 80 degrees and windows wide open!