More adventures

 When I was in town with the kids Friday, we went to Sam's club.  Harper had to have a gingerbread kid.  It was a desperate kind of asking that I just had a hard time saying no to.  Besides, they were predicting a terrible winter storm for the weekend and they had already cancelled most of our activities for Saturday, so I knew I was going to be inside all weekend and need something to keep the kids entertained.

 The box showed a very nice, stately manor where all your gingerbread dreams can come true.  Let's just say we built a gingerbread crack shack where nobody seemed to care if Saige and Harper ate the shutters and shingles!  It did keep the kids entertained for quite a while, but nobody here is going to be getting a job in the gingerbread house making department!

 We waited most of Saturday for the big storm to roll in.  When it did finally arrive, it came as ice.  I am always happy to see ice turn to snow, as I dislike driving on ice, being without power due to ice, and well, just about everything else about ice unless it is in cube form in my tea.  All told, I think we got about a quarter inch of ice and sleet and then about 4 inches of the white stuff.  The kids had a remarkable time playing outside in it!  I stayed inside and watched out the window!

 Around 3 pm, Jim headed outside to do something.  He came back in and asked me to step out on the porch because he smelled something weird.  I thought it smelled like chemicals, he thought something was melting.  After several minutes of sniffing, we decided it was coming from the breaker box.  Luckily, the handyman we have been using to paint the outside of the house was available to come over and  look.  He took apart the box, and said he just couldn't see anything that was hot, out of place or unusual.  Just as he said that, the power blew out to the house.  That was perfect timing, and he was able to then tell us what was happening, and that he knew how to fix it.  He and Jim ran to Topeka to buy parts while the kids and I stayed home and did some crafts.

 Notice we had to craft by candle light?  The kids were amused with this for quite a while as we made coffee filter angels and coffee filter snowflakes.  All good things must end though, as the kids quickly got tired of the dark, tired of the crafts we were doing, and a little bit chilly since we had no furnace.

 I explained to them that this was our Christmas adventure.  All the while I was crossing my fingers that we will have no more adventures for a very, very long time!

The story has a happy ending, as the power is back on, there is no more melting smell on the porch, the house warmed up nicely, and all the children have been bathed to remove the excessive amount of glitter glue, and are fast asleep!  And I have said an extra prayer to thank God that our house did not burn down during this electrical disaster.