Our Social Life during the Storm

During this snow storm, we have had the chance to socialize with others. It's hard being stuck at home for so long. Here are some of our outings (or gatherings at our place). The first one actually was before the storm. Two weeks ago we had the opportunity to go to a Michael W. Smith concert at Rolling Hills. My (Scott's) parents had tickets, but Steve was leaving for Bend Friday morning, and Sue was helping Grandma Bettie after Grandma's surgery. Since Heather had mentioned trying to get tickets (they were $45 each. Ouch) my parents decided to gift us the tickets. It was a great concert, and Melinda Doolittle from American Idol was also singing.

That weekend Heather played at Good Shepherd for the Christmas Services. She played extremely well, but then had to drive home alone Sunday afternoon which was when our car was first completely covered with snow. Since then, we've been stuck at home.

We did get out on Thursday (Dec. 18th) Scott had work in the morning, but was sent home because the school district thought the storm was going to hit bad. It was snowing really hard in the morning, but after the decision was made to send kids home, the snow had stopped. We were able to go on a date that evening while Steve and Sue babysat (thanks Mom & Dad!!!). We had dinner at Taco Bell, and then worked on some Christmas shopping. Little did we know that we wouldn't get out after that.

On Saturday we had our good friends Matt and Elizabeth over for baking (the girls) and games (the guys). Heather and Elizabeth made sugar cookies, fudge, and fruitcake cookies. Matt and I played Settlers of Catan, Mario Cart (N64) and Goldeneye (N64). Matt and I also got to go out in the storm (Matt loves driving in the snow) because we had Redbox movies to return. It was incredible seeing how big the storm was (we've been isolated in our house). We also had an amazing Christmas dinner with them, which Heather made. Turkey, green bean casserole, pasta, salad, and bread sticks. It was a fun time, and Stanley was even able to open his first Christmas present from Matt and Elizabeth (Uncle Matt and Auntie Lizzie to him). They gave him the most adorable Christmas outfit.

As the storm became worse, it wasn't possible to get out. So we looked to our neighbors for some sort of social interaction. Two of our neighbors, Ernie and Marilyn, are an elderly couple who live two doors down. Earlier in December Heather enlisted me to helped Ernie put up their Christmas lights. This past week, we've gotten their mail (just getting out to the mailbox is a challenge for some), helped shovel Ernie's car out of the snow, and picked up a prescription at Fred Meyer. We also had a chance to meet some more neighbors when we had a neighborhood potluck. We were going to have a Stanley's First Christmas Open House and Potluck on Monday, but with the weather, no one was able to come. So we went around our neighborhood and invited our neighbors for the Potluck. Ernie, Marilyn, Chad, Wila, and Nadia attended, and we had a great time getting to know our neighbors better. Later that evening, another neighbor, Mike, stopped by, and we invited him in for some hot chili and good conversation. Mike is the neighbor who will jump out and help other neighbors. He tried to get a plow into our neighborhood to clear our street. He also helped someone put on chains late at night when they couldn't get into their driveway.

Through this whole storm it has been fun seeing the neighborhood come together. Another one of our neighbors is having a Stuck at Home Christmas Party for those whose Christmas plans changed because of the storm. Chad gave Scott a ride to Fred Meyer on a day Scott was going to walk to get diapers and other necessities. Scott helped Ernie shovel out his car when Ernie tried to get out of his driveway. Mike let some neighbors stay at his place when their power was out for over a day. And the list goes on. Our prayer is that we can be a light in our neighborhood, and be the house willing to take someone in, offer them a hot bowl of chili and a listening ear.