"Snowmageddon"

"Snowmageddon," as the media dubbed it, will not soon be forgotten in Alabama or the Powers household.  I dropped the girls off at school and headed to run errands.  I met a friend at the Summit to pick something up as the snow started falling.  I left there immediately and headed back to school; planning to pick the girls up early and head home in case it accumulated.  Ten minutes later the roads were icing over and within fifteen the small county road to the girls' school was iced over and completely backed up.  After a couple of hours of trying to drive in snow and on ice, with Myla Grant in the backseat and tears falling down my face, I gave up on getting the the girls.  I called a sweet friend, Tiffany, from the adoption world, who happens to live close to the girls' school and to where I was, and detoured to her house.  At the time, I thought we would be able to get to the girls' at some point that day, but the temperature stayed low and the ice remained, so Adair and Emalyn spent the night at school and we spent the night at Tiffany's house.  While the Powers girls were stranded in Birmingham, Hank was stranded in Cottondale.  Thankfully, he was able to get a hotel room and didn't have to spend the night in his car.

Tiffany and her family were such a blessing to us.  I am so thankful that Myla Grant and I were able to get to their house where it was warm and dry.  So many Birminghamians spent the night at work and in their cars.  It was a very scary day and I was a complete basket case that my babies were spending the night at school!

The next morning, Tiffany's husband, Steven, went walking to see what the roads looked like, so I (somewhat jokingly) mentioned trying to find someone with a four wheeler and see if they would go get the girls from school.  Well, he just so happened to run into a perfect stranger on a four wheeler who offered to help.  The gentleman couldn't get the girls on the four wheeler, but he took Steven to his neighbors house who had a mule.  They then drove to Hilltop, picked up the girls and brought them to me.  Such an incredible act of kindness by complete strangers and I will always be grateful for those men, whose names I don't even know.

Thankfully, things improved enough by late afternoon that Hank was able to drive to Birmingham and he and my dad were able to come get us.  We still couldn't get to our house, but we were able to get to my parents' house.

On the third day, we finally made it home!

A sweet mom who got stuck at school with her children, emailed me this picture during the whole ordeal and reassured me that the girls were doing fine.  It was a bright spot in the experience for sure!

It's a BOY!

Welcome Two Thousand and Fourteen!

We had so much fun welcoming the new year (a little early at 8 pm) with our friends, the Beasons!  We made "sparkler" cupcake toppers, a balloon drop, wore fun hats and tiaras, and a countdown.  We also had our own minature fireworks display.