Where Do I Begin?

Tis the season! I can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone already. This year has seemed to fly by without me knowing it. So, I'm sure all of you here in the Southeast Idaho area can agree that Monday and Tuesday were both super crazy weather days. Since I wasn't planning on going farther from my home than my sister-in-law's home, which is just around the corner, I wasn't too nervous about it. Well, Monday rolled around and Peter and I were so excited because we were going to pick up his brother, Josh and his family (consisting of his incredible wife Roxanne and their cute little boy J. Will) from the Idaho Falls airport, my wonderful mom let us borrow her mini-van so we could all fit. Well, we bundled up and started on our way. It took us about an hour to get there. It still amazes me how hard the wind can blow here. Well, Josh and company were coming from Arizona and even though they've lived here before for years, I still think they were pretty shocked at how cold and windy it gets. We did make it home eventually and Livy and J. Will hit it off right away and talked most of the car ride. I LOVE when babies talk to each other.

So, fast forward to Tuesday. Peter had been feeling kinda icky the last few days but by Tuesday he was pretty sick with a sore throat and a bad cold so I decided I needed to get into town (we live out in Lyman on the way to Big Judd's for those of you who don't know that yet) to get him some good medicine so he'd be feeling good by Thanksgiving. The wind was blowing fiercely throughout the night and I barely made it out of our driveway, but I powered through and was on my way. The trip to town and back was pretty uneventful until I turned onto our street and tried to get back into our driveway. Just past the first house on our street there is a wide open field and with the wind blowing I wouldn't see past the front of my car. Weirdly enough, I was grateful for the piles of snow on either side of the road from the plows because I nudged them a few times which saved me from going into ditches. Then I tried getting into the driveway. Pretty sure that ice hates cars that are trying to turn on it. So, I end up stuck with half my car sticking out into the road. I call my strong working man and he bundles up to come help me. We did leave Livy inside, but before anyone judges us for being horrible, negligent parents we left Peter's phone on speaker in her room (where she was napping) so I could hear her if she woke up on my phone. While I was waiting patiently for Peter to come help I was a little irked when this truck passed by me...twice, without even a sideways glance. HELLO!! I am a HUGE pregnant girl trying to dig my car out. Rude. Anyways, between Pete's huge muscles and my thinking of using our car mats for traction, we got back into our driveway. You may think this is the end of my story...oh no...so if you want to stop reading I don't blame you. Peter's family was due to roll in that evening so we were all pretty worried when the Blizzard Warnings, Road Closures, and Hazardous Driving Conditions started popping up on the radio and websites we were constantly checking. They left Orem at about 12:30 PM and didn't actually make it to Peter's sister's (Annalyn) house until about 7 PM. Geez... six and a half hours.

Now, rewind back to just after getting our car back into the driveway. I had Peter take his medicine and drink some herbal tea and relax so he'd start feeling better, then Annalyn's husband, Ryan, and Josh came to rescue us from a day of boredom in his Huge Man Truck. He got us all safely to his house where we could play games and socialize and wait for the rest of the family to make it safely. After hugs and greetings were done I was pretty anxious to get home before we couldn't. So Peter, Livy, and I piled into the backseat of the Huge Man Truck and we were on our way. As we turn up our street, we don't see it. It is white from drifts of snow and I'm thinking, "There's no way we're going to make it!" and we see a pair of headlights coming at us so we wait to see if whoever is coming will actually make it through. He does...barely. So, we're like, "We'll just follow this guy's tracks and be just fine." Oh, no. We hit the drifts and get about a truck length's in and get stuck. I mean stuck. And we're still about 150 yards from our house. Which may not seem far but with whiteout conditions, it is. So, Peter and I decide he just needs to tuck our precious Livy like a football and run and I would follow...slightly slower =) So we wrap her up tight and he goes for it. On my trek towards my porch light I couldn't believe Mother Nature's power. It's incredible. Unfortunately, once I got out of range from the truck's headlights I couldn't see much and I ended up twisting my ankle and falling pretty hard. Thankfully, neither the baby nor me were injured, just a swollen ankle and a good dose of being scared. Well, needless to say we made it home to our snug little house. I was pretty frazzled, hoping our little baby girl was ok and didn't suffer from her mother's clumsiness and just with walking in that weather, even for that short distance. Peter headed back out to help Ryan get out which he did thanks to some helpful people who were willing to stop and help. Livy was pretty scared. She wouldn't let us out of her sight or clutches. She was still smiling and her cheerful self but she needed some extra TLC before we could put her to bed that night. After this grand adventure I keep thinking how grateful I am to live in this day and age. I keep thinking of the pioneers and the fact that they had to walk for days and miles in weather like that, without proper clothing, the women weighed down with dresses and petticoats, and little ones so cold. I know it may seem silly, but I was gasping and freezing by the time I made it to my home and I just started crying thinking how happy I am to live here, to have a house, to have heat, and to be able to crawl into a warm, comfortable bed. I am just so thankful for everything in my life. I know it sounds pretty cliche, but I really am. So, thank you to all those who have played a roll in my life and continue to do so. There are a lot of you, and I'm so glad to have so many incredible people to look up to and go to for help and guidance. Most of all I am thankful to a loving Heavenly Father and to my Savior for never giving up on me and for providing the tools I need to better myself each day so that I can spend forever with those I love most. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and thanks for sticking around long enough to read all of this =)