Friday, February 11, 2011

I HAVE paid my dues!

I realized yesterday that most of you who visit my blog, have only known me since I moved South.  And as I whine and complain about all the snow we are having, you don't realize that I DO know what real snow fall is like...my friend, Wendee, reminded me of that (by the way, Wendee you need to send me a way to contact you!!!)

So, I went back in my photo albums and pulled out some proof......

The very first church God led us to was in Minot, North Dakota.  This Arizona girl had never been north of Kansas.  When my son, Jason, was born, we were snowed in for a week.  They induced me early so I would have him before the storm.....one poor woman had to go to the hospital on a snow mobile later in the week!  this picture is of the neighbor kids climbing onto the roof of the school across the street just by walking up the snow!!!




 The day that Jared was born, 2 years later, it was 92 BELOW zero.  Yes!  Below zero.  The raw temp was about 60 below and they wouldn't let me take him home from the hospital until it was 30 below.

 wasn't he cute?!!
During the winter, we would let our children go out to play if it was 1 degree above zero!!!

This same year that Jared was born, we had so much snow, our best friends had to hire a snow plow to get them out of their house.  They lived on 5 acres just outside of town.  This picture is of the wall around their house created by the snow plow....we called it "Fort Smith"!!!

 This wall went all the way around on both sides!! 
And we had our very own sledding hill!!!

 God next moved us back down to Texas where we had just enough time to warm our blood before he moved us to Indiana.  The first week we were there, it snowed 18 straight days and dropped 4 feet of snow!!!
 My kids loved it since they really didn't remember ND that well!!
And in IN, they don't close school for a few feet of snow!!!

And they didn't run out of meat in their supermarkets either!!!  :)

So, you see I have paid my dues.  And I was SO happy when God moved us back to the south and I knew I would not have to endure any more winters like that.....or so I thought!!!

By the way, Sara, the best part about being 50 and having grown kids is that I don't have to go out in the snow any more......hence no snow angel!!!  :)

19 comments:

Skoots1moM said...

kudos...you HAVE been in it. My goodness, 90* BELOW...my head can't even wrap around that temperature.
Our snow yesterday was gone before lunchtime. Hope you'll be out of the coldness soon :)

Rebecca Jo said...

How does anyone even SURVIVE in 90 degrees below????? How does a house even get warm? I'd think power shortages would happen...

I just got a chill up my back in honor of this post... no joke! :)

Shelly said...

Loved this post!

Robin Lambright said...

Oh my stars, I don't think I could live in those extreme temps!

I think you can defiantly make your bill paid in full!

Blessings
R

H-Mama said...

oh my word. those are crazy temperatures! sounds like parts of alaska hubs traveled in. speechless.

Anonymous said...

I laughed when I saw my name this morning in your post! Makes me feel kind of famous! :-)

I had forgotten your boys were born up there. If there was a medal for snowbound champions, I would definitely nominate you!!!

We had free heat with the military during those years, but now I am wondering how you paid your heating bills!!

Having lived in both areas of the country, I have also noticed that people in the southern states "prepare" differently for a storm. Several activities were cancelled and our grocery shelves were empty with the recent storms here!

Loved your memory pictures as they took me back to my days as a young bride which I am realizing was quite some time ago!

It would be fun to reconnect...I will email you soon! Wendee

STILLMAGNOLIA said...

Yes, no more snow angels. I have some friends who moved to Osnabrock, ND...from sunny Cocoa Beach, FL. That was indeed culture shock. My friend would send me pictures must like yours and I thought for years they were rigged....until the mother died...and they could not bury her until mid-may. They kept her on ice....literally. I thought that was awful. Still do.

April's adventures said...

I absolutely loved our time in ND...such a great place to raise your family!! You also have A LOT of time to make friends because you are always inside and wanting company. Good times!

April's adventures said...

And yes Sara,...you and a few others of us have paid our "cold dues" for sure!!

April's adventures said...

and to Rebecca Jo, sometimes your house is only partially warm, my contacts would freeze solid over night in the case, and we would have to set our alarm to pour warm water down the toilet so the sewer lines would not freeze.

Tiffany said...

Jared was a super cute baby:) I could not even imagine that kind of snow. My sister lived in N.D. for about 4 years and she always complained of the snow. Southern gals just can't take those temps!

Sara@iSass said...

These pictures look like home to me!
I will say I am glad we don't get the cold like Minot does. That is horrifying.
Not gonna lie, I was hoping for the snow angel ;)

StephieAnne said...

For SURE you have paid your dues! Those are some crazy stats about your experiences in North Dakota, it must have certainly felt like its own mission trip....

Hopefully you'll return to the southern warmth soon!!!!

LuAnn said...

WOW !!! I don't think I ever saw as much snow as you had in ND. That is crazy !!!

Lisa said...

Yup...you are legit, Sara. I was born in North Dakota in January and my parents have stories! CT is plenty north for me. Fun going through old pictures. :)

Karin said...

I can't even imagine 92 below. YUCK! I'm just hoping that before I die, I will get to live in the south. I love it there. If not...I'm asking God for a place in the south during the millenium. :)

Mocha with Linda said...

I seriously think I would die in a place like N.D.

riTa Koch said...

You have such GREAT snow stories.
You have been seriously snow-persecuted!

Mimi said...

Sadly, my dues are still being paid!

Hugs & love,
Mimi