This is NOT my yard!

Well, when we awoke Saturday morning, it was supposed to look like this....

(o.k. maybe a slight exaggeration)

Instead, it looked more like this....

The poor children ran downstairs when it was barely daylight, peered out the window, and yelled, "Manna! Manna!" It was a natural response for children who have never actually seen real snow but have spent much time hearing Bible stories! They remembered the story about the Israelites being in the wilderness, and God sending manna for them to eat. It fell on the ground and the Israelites did not know what it was either. ("Manna" means "what is it?") Anyway, it wasn't snow when white stuff fell for the Israelites, and Friday night's deposit on the lawn really was not a snow for us, either. What little "angel dandruff" we did get was supposed to stop by Saturday night, but we awoke Sunday morning to yet another small dusting.

So, where did the big storm go? Well, I can tell you that Nashville weathermen can't explain how a sure thing became a near miss, and the Dept. of Public Works is not real happy that it sent small armies of men in salt trucks out Friday night for nothing!

I was so depressed Saturday. I had suggested to Tim that he stop and load up on groceries on his way home Friday night so that we could eat well while we were snowed in. I had it all planned out! We rented movies and had plenty of popcorn, hot chocolate, spice tea, soup, and all the comfort foods you eat when it snows.

We had also loaded up on the obligatory loaves of bread and cartons of milk that it is necessary to buy when there is going to be a snow event in Tennessee. When we hear that there is going to be even a quarter an inch of snow, the radios run "Kroger Alerts" every 15 minutes so that people can leave their jobs to run to the grocery and pick up a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. The stores empty their shelves quickly, and angry mobs soon move from store to store seeking Bunny Bread and Purity milk! Woe be to the ones who wait too long and have to go home empty-handed. Oh, the humanity! They have to wait a good 8 hours or so before the snow melts enough for them to get out and get the needed staples. And we all know what happens to Southerners who have to do without their bread and milk for even a few hours!

So here we were with all this good food, rented videos, and children filled with excitement and anticipation at the thought of getting to build a snowman for the first time in years. But once again, it was not to be!

Further north, in Kentucky where my eldest now resides, it looked like this:

And even further north, you probably have seen the pictures by now that tell of the record-breaking blizzard of 2006 in places like New York City!

My in-laws got completely snowed in up in New Jersey. They dug their way out the front door and down to the car, but with snow levels reaching nearly to their necks, they decided that they probably were not going to be able to dig the car out in time to get to church! My mother-in-law, being slightly shorter than my father-in-law, was nearly misplaced once during this ordeal, but she managed to dig her way back to the porch, hoist herself up to safety, and she and my father-in-law were pushed back through the front door by the avalanche that happened when a snowplow drove by.

Meanwhile, new Kentucky resident and lucky child Daniel told me joyfully on the phone late Saturday afternoon how he and a bunch of young men and ladies had all gone sledding in their town that day. The exhilaration in his voice was some comfort, though my other four children were suffering.

Outside, here in New Florida (previously Tennessee,) little Sarah and Micah managed to find a few unmelted ice crystals under the branches of some trees so that I could make one 6-ounce glass of snowcream.

No, it does not look like we will get any measurable snowfall this year. I am resigned to it now. I will live. We spent the remainder of Saturday night pretending there was a huge snowstorm outside. We made homemade soup, watched movies and snacked. The kids took turn sledding down the steps on makeshift cardboard "sleds."

We still hold out hope that one day, our children will get to see real snow. Otherwise, I guess we will be changing our vacation time to February and heading up to see Grandpa and Grandma in New Jersey, which I hear is contemplating changing its name to Old Tennessee!

Young children arrive at the door of my in-laws in New Jersey to deliver Girl Scout Cookies!