a storm to be remembered

Everyone remembers the Halloween Blizzard of '91 because it happened on Halloween. Well, I'm going to remember the Blizzard of the Decade because it happened on my birthday.

I will remember it because...

1. We couldn't leave the house. The snow was coming fast and furious. The wind was blowing like crazy. The mail was never delivered. The streets were impassable. The temperatures were dropping. The restaurant we had reservations at, called to cancel them because they were closing. We stayed warm and cozy inside in our jammies all day watching Christmas movies and making Christmas cookies. There was only half a bottle of wine left in the house.
2. Around 4 AM, the girls woke up crying. After we calmed them down, we realized it was FREEZING. We checked the thermostat and it was 59 degrees! The furnace was running but no heat was coming out. We started calling 24 hour heating services and leaving messages. Nobody called us back. We kept calling and calling. Daddy finally decided he needed to blow out the driveway so that we could get out and go somewhere warm as the temperature in the house had dropped to 56. With the temperature outside below zero, we were really afraid the house would get extremely cold. When he went out to clear the driveway, the snow blower wouldn't start even though he had used it the day before. Now he had to start shoveling the foot of snow. The girls slept peacefully (I had thrown two more blankets on top of them) until 8 AM when one of the companies we had called, finally called us back. The guy said they were really backed up and probably wouldn't be able to get there until the afternoon. We decided that since we were supposed to go to Aunt Brenda's that afternoon, we would call and ask if we could come sooner! Daddy dropped the girls and I off at Brenda's around 9:30 and we spent the entire day there while he went home to figure the heat and snow blower out. The girls and I had a GREAT time playing with Katie and Lobo in the morning and then with the rest of the family in the afternoon. The girls were SO GOOD. They had so much fun exploring and playing with everyone there. I couldn't believe it but they actually took a nap. I was so glad because I wasn't sure if we would go home that night or not. They were in such a great mood and we had a wonderful time celebrating my and Katie's birthdays.  The furnace was finally fixed (a broken part was replaced) around 3:30. It started heating up fast. Daddy still couldn't figure out the snow blower, but he came and picked us up and brought us home. When we got home, Gramma and Grandpa were there! They came down because they are going to AZ on Tuesday. The girls were so surprised and happy to see them. Daddy and I continued to work on removing the rest of the pesky snow from the driveway and try to get the snow blower working while Gramma and Grandpa got the girls ready for bed. As we knew would happen, everything worked out just fine. We know we are never alone and always have family, friends and neighbors to help us out in frustrating situations. We are grateful for everyone that was there for us. We are also grateful that we even have the luxury of having a home and a furnace that can go out. It puts things in perspective when something you take for granted (like much needed heat) is suddenly gone.
3. The Metrodome collapsed! Early Sunday morning, the Metrodome, covered in feet of snow, tore and collapsed. It was the most bizarre thing to see! Cameras that were set up for the Vikings game, captured the collapse from the inside. It was crazy!

This will definitely be a birthday to be remembered!