Brrrrrrrr!

Well the big news here for the past several days is the weather...the extreme cold! As I sit here writing this entry, it is -20 outside, with windchills -40. Unbelievable! The children are all home from school today, due to the extreme cold. From what I've heard, once it hits -15, but busses won't start. Besides, in weather this cold, it really is too dangerous for any child to be waiting at the bus stop, even for a few minutes. It looks like it will be down to -17 tonight, so they might have a 2 hour delay to school tomorrow. I think this is the first time they've actually canceled an entire day of school since we've lived here...

The really cold weather started on Friday, I dropped the kids off at school and then had to make a trip to Walmart. I sat in the car for awhile, in the WalMart parking lot, getting up the courage to grab Amaya and run into the store quickly. It was -7 at that time. Getting into the store wasn't a problem. It was coming back out and loading all the groceries into the car!!! I knew it was going to be too cold to get out again for several days, so I stocked up and had a lot to load. Brrrrr!!!

On Saturday, we had swim class in the morning. Pavan and I took Noah and Amaya to class, Kindra stayed home with Amaya. After class, Anna and Noah went to the child care area (free for members) while Pavan and I got an orientation to the wellness center (workout area). We are at the YMCA so often, just sitting on our butts and watching the kids....we figured maybe we could start working out for a little while instead of just sitting. About 20 minutes into the orientation I realized how overwhelmed I was by this room full of equipment...none of which I've ever used before. So I ask if they have personal trainers...it was partly a joke. But it turns out they have a program called Coach Approach. A coach meets with you and helps you develop a work out routine based on your personal fitness goals. They meet with you every two weeks for awhile and then every month. AND it's free for members! Very cool. So I signed up for my first meeting on the 16th. Hopefully Amaya won't have any trouble staying in the childcare area, if she completely freaks out, I'll have to rethink my plan. Oh, I also signed Pavan and me up for a cycling class that will be on Wednesday evenings starting the beginning of March. Anna's gymnastics class will be over by then, and he's off work on Wednesday afternoons, so hopefully it will work out ok.

On Saturday afternoon, Anna was singing during Mass with the Nativity Youth Choir. Kindra and I took her this time, we had to be there at 330, so they could practice for an hour before the 430 Mass. I am happy to report that time time I didn't stick out as much. I was careful to sit in the back row (haha) where nobody could stare at us except for the people in our row. In all honesty, I find Mass to be very beautiful, and deeply spiritual. Would I be satisfied as a Christian if that was the only type of service I ever attended?? Probably not. You basically do the same thing each Mass, with a change in the scripture that is read, and the message given by the priest. But, I enjoyed Mass and was moved by the devotion showed by this huge crowd reciting together and kneeling before the cross. By the way...when I told Anna's teacher (during parent teacher conferences a couple of weeks ago) about wishing I knew more about Mass so I could get through one a little easier...she recommended that I come to the children's Mass at the school on Thursdays. You see, Anna's school is basically a big church in the middle, with a hallway going all around the outside. This hallway is where the classrooms are located. So, last Thursday morning, Amaya and I went to Mass. Anna was so thrilled to see us there, we will probably go every Thursday when we are able.

I'd better get going. The kids are all awake (except for Kindra...I don't expect to see her anytime soon though). We are basically living out of our bedroom, since it's the only room in the house that's warm. As you probably know, our house has MAJOR problems with the roof. One of them being that the insulation is all wrong, so our warm air goes straight up and out the roof! With the temperatures being so low outside, our furnace just can't keep up. It's been running nonstop for more than two days now. It's set at 70, but the temperature in the living room/kitchen area is only 62. Brrr. I have a small space heater that I bought for the loft, and it's helping a little...but to spend much time in the living room you have to wear a couple of layers of clothes! However, our bedroom has 5 heat vents!! So it stays comfortable, thankfully! And the basement stays comfortable...for some reason the basement has too many air ducts and too few air return ducts. So the hot air gets blown into the basement, and then never gets sucked back up. We actually have to close the vents in the basement to keep from roasting! What a goofy house...some might say it fits out family perfectly, haha. I'll be happy when we can start building our new, properly insulated house!

The big news (other than the cold) this week is Pavan's parents coming to visit! They will be here on Thursday, and will stay for 10 days! WOW. I wish is was going to be warmer, coming from Texas it will be a real shock dealing with these temperatures! They might never come to visit us in winter again! And the strange thing is that we've had such a warm and wonderful winter so far, and the week they come we get this major arctic blast! Seems to be our luck...like two years ago when we had a house full of people show up for Christmas...and the water pipes to the loft froze and burst....on Christmas Eve!! Did I mention I can't wait to build our new house???

Oh, one more thing. I spend all day yesterday reading my brochures about Alaska, and read about half of the book Alaska for Dummies. I hope to finish that book today, and then nail down an itinerary so I can start booking hotel rooms and activities. For anyone traveling to Alaska, I HIGHLY recommend that book! It's just awesome, and the man who wrote it has lived in Alaska for 20 years...he has four children, ages 3 to 13, so throughout the book he recommends specific hotels, restaruants, activities that are good for children. The book is so specific too, lists specific hotels and restaurants, the price of the food, type of food offered, etc. But at the same time it's a very easy and quick read, with such valuable information!

By the way, Amaya is feeling much better. I said I was going to take her to the doctor on Monday if her diarrhea wasn't gone...a week is more than enough to convince me something is wrong! As of Sunday morning, the diarrhea is gone! Hooray! See the kind of stuff that gets you excited once you become a parent?

More later,

Rebecca