Dear Mother Nature

We're sorry. Would you like to come in for a cup of cocoa?

A special little elf hid these tiny festively wrapped chocolates for us to find after her departure. That little elf escaped our snow only to become stuck in Vegas since yesterday afternoon. My brother Zach is flying from Denver to Houston today to attend my brother Ray's college graduation tomorrow, so I know she's getting anxious. Good luck mom; it's the biggest reason why we don't try to leave home and take to the friendly skies this time of year!

We here on the farm are in our 24th hour of snow. Our state highway is closed to town. The kids are home from school and are probably beginning their winter break right about now. The hospital has me on stand-by for my body scan; as soon as the weather breaks we are heading to Spokane with the intention of maybe not getting back home for a while. The radiation that's been emitting from my body will eventually degrade and we might miss the opportunity for pictures. Can you say have to do this again? No way. We WILL make it to Spokane.

And to our friend Wendy who will be managing the homestead while we're away, we say "hang in there baby, it's not always this way, we promise!" And really, when you change your perspective and look at it in a different way, being snowed in is a gift of time, one that many of us may never have the pleasure of experiencing.

And then there's always the room service....