12/18/22 We picked Jayden up at the airport at 7 and took her to Johnny's Italian for supper. It is always such a treat when she comes home.
Jake worked at Peterbilt until midnight. He likes working with the night crew and sometimes works until closing at midnight.. His semester ended on the 14th. 12/19/22 Jayden and I had an Ames day. We did our last minute shopping, got stocking stuffers, and ate at Panera. Mark came to town at 3 to do his Christmas shopping with Jayden. He got all his shopping done in a little over an hour at one store, Western Edge. Jayden and I met Donna and Riley at El Azteca. It was so fun to visit with them. Donna was Jayden's youth group leader for several years and Riley is her daughter who is Jayden's age. We had lots of laughs and stories to share. Riley was married last year and is newly expecting. 12/20/22 I had committed to babysitting Titus for the day to help Ali out. I wanted to bring him to our house to watch him rather than go to Eagle. I had to be at Ali's work at 7:30 to pick up Titus. He is such a good baby, easy to watch and fun to take care of. Basically it's just entertaining him. In the middle of babysitting due to the incoming weather, we scheduled a last minute wedding dress shop day. Because the snowstorm was expected to come in on Thursday, we knew we would probably not get another chance. We had an appointment at 1. Mark came to the house and watched Titus so we could shop. He was super easy, fell asleep after 20 minutes and slept 2 hours. Mark had an appointment in Boone at 3, so Karen came and watched him until I got back. It was a shuffle getting everyone in the right place at the right time. In the meantime, Grandma Karen went dress shopping with us for the first hour along with Grandma Connie. We found the dress! After the dress shopping, I drove back to the house and had to have Titus to Fort Dodge to meet his daddy after work. Jayden went along with me holding Titus's hand on the way. He was such a good boy all day.
12/21/22 All day it was an hour by hour weather watch hoping and praying that Noah's flight to Iowa would not be cancelled or delayed. The snow and stormy weather were expected to start coming in after 6 and his arrival time was 6:45. Jake drove home from DMACC and got to the house around 6. The roads were already snow covered and lots of snow falling. Mark went to get his massage at 4 and then workout with his trainer. I really hoped he would be there to help Jayden get Noah. He got home around 8. Jayden and Luke did some Christmas shopping on the way to the airport, but the snow was accumulating so much they were worried. They waited an hour at the airport as Noah's plane had to circle the airport while the runway was cleared. It was after 9 when everyone was home. It was a tense night and I kept myself busy so as not to worry so much. I prayed, did lots of laundry, mopped, and wrapped presents. I could relax when everyone was safe in the house and awaiting the blizzard. Luke came in the house shivering and told me he didn't feel well. I could feel his face and hands and he was hot with fever. I got him some tylenol and sent him straight to bed. I piled the blankets on as he continued to shiver. Again I prayed that he would be better and not get the whole family sick. Mark had the generator in the truck, which I insisted on, ready if needed and I caught buckets of water in the house. We hoped and prayed we wouldn't lose power. You never know what to expect in blizzards and being prepared is key. 12/22/22 The wind chill was blowing a -40 degrees! The actual high for the day, -10. It didnt look that bad when we woke up in the morning. With all the talk we were expecting more snow and blowing. We had some drifts, the road grader plowed, the mail carrier came, and the guys all came to work at the shop. It was beyond cold, but we let Jayden and Noah make a trip into Boone to get a few things. We also did some cookie and candy making. Jayden and Noah had fun rolling out the cookies to just the right thickness. Luke and Jake slept until close to noon. Luke felt much better than he did the night before. In the evening, we all watched the Grinch movie with hot cocoa and popcorn.
12/23/22 Friday was still very cold and blowing snow. It's so cold and blustery, not fit for anyone to go anywhere. We all spent the day inside. Jayden and I made more cookies and candies. Noah and jayden enjoyed frosting and decorating. We also did a lot of gift wrapping. Noah spent a lot of time playing video games. He bought a headset so that he could play online with his buddy. I think its kind of crazy. At first the boys were annoyed because Noah was always in the basement playing games. Luke learned how to play one of the games and was super good at it. 
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