Winter?

What happened to winter? Sad to say, we've hardly had it here in Virginia. We had some cold days, but almost no snow. Nada. Zilch. Less than one inch total all winter. Makes me very sad. I like snow. It is peaceful and beautiful and slows the world down a bit. I don't always like shoveling large volumes of it, but prefer that to none! Sigh. I am holding out hope that maybe February will bring one last vestige of winter, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe next year.  :-(

More Snow Pictures

Just some more pictures for you to enjoy . . .

I thought it interesting how the wind sculpted the snow on the roof next to the house.

Hasn't avalanched yet!

Yes, it's pretty deep!

The snow mountain next to our driveway . . . and I'm not done the driveway yet!

And see the mailbox? I still have to dig that out too. That one's gonna be tough.

Officially . . .

Blizzard update: The National Weather Service has my neighborhood at 23.5 inches of snow as of late last night. So yup, we got two feet. After Church "on the air" this morning, time to dig out . . .

And some pictures:

I posted this one yesterday morning . . .

Here's an update from this morning, after we knocked the snow off yesterday for the birds to be able to drink. (You can see where our "footprints" were!) The heater inside kept it from being completely submerged.

My back deck. That's my grill in the back, and an elevated garden box on the right.  :-)

Preach the Word . . . In Season and Out of Season

Due to the weather, Saint Athanasius will not have Divine Service in Vienna tomorrow. The likelihood is that even if we could get to the church building, neither the driveway nor the parking lot will be plowed, and there may or may not be power.

HOWEVER, there WILL be preaching! We will have a brief and adapted order of Matins online at our regular time, 10:15 am. Click here to go to our web site and get instructions for how to log in and join us.

The Lord bless and keep you, especially safe as we await the end of the snowfall and begin digging out.

Morning Snow Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures from the overnight snow. So far we have about a foot. It's supposed to keep up pretty good all day today as well, so we'll see how much we finally get.

Looking out a kitchen window to our back deck. I just liked how the thin column of snow was balanced on top of the railing. 

Out the front window at our bird feeder. It didn't come out great, but this should be a busy place today!

Right below our bird feeder is our bird bath. Even though I have a lightbulb inside to keep the water from freezing, it was overwhelmed. I'll clear it off later today, but this one little fella was asking: "Water, please?" :-)

This is nuts!

This is what it's like in Boston. Crazy. I like snow, but . . .

Catching Up, Snow, and . . . Really?

Well, as the title says: Catching up. No, not on my work! That will never happen. By here on the ol' blog with what's been going on . . .

Last week and a half were pretty busy. A couple of deaths, and then a funeral, a memorial service, and an interment in three different states kept me hopping! But it is so great to preach the Gospel at such times, and focus so clearly on Christ's victory for us over what defeats us. "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Next, it is snowing again today. Pretty much everything is closed or cancelled today. So a day to watch the beauty of the snow falling out the window, and to watch the birds coming to our feeder to eat and our bird bath to drink. They're fun to watch.

And finally, in the "What were they thinking" department . . . my mother-in-law got my daughter (8 years old) a "Bible Word Search" puzzle book for Christmas. She got it out over the weekend and starting doing some. And then we found this page:

Really? Do we really need such a page in a kids word search book?

Snow! and Happy Birthday

Last week we got some more snow, I think almost a foot. I like living in a place where there are four season and having snow in the wintertime. Though I must say that I was very grateful for my son who helped me shovel out! The snow was pretty wet and heavy, but we got it all done, and then had time to build a snowman, who turned out pretty good, I think!

We also built a snowdog (a snowman's best friend!), and if you look closely you can see him just a little in front of his snowmaster.  :-)

In other news, today is my daughter Sarah's birthday. She turns 16 today! So Happy Birthday! I'm proud of you and love you very much.

More news: I already reported that my son had been accepted into one college - last week he received another acceptance letter, from Old Dominion in Norfolk, VA. So he's two-for-two so far! Now we're waiting to hear from the other three schools he applied to, and then we'll try to figure out how to pay for it!

And finally, I received a phone call this week from a long lost friend, the Very Rev. Gerald Sudick, the priest of the Russian Orthodox Church across the street from me when I was in New York. He finally retired and moved down close to me. So one day soon we will get together, enjoy a bottle of wine, and talk about old times.

A Peaceful Night

I like Christmas night . . . after the services are over, thinking back over the past two days, the words, the music, the meaning . . . relaxing and enjoying the day. I tried to stay up for the Vatican's midnight mass last night, but couldn't make it.

This year the day is not quite so peaceful, however. For tomorrow is Sunday and there is the Divine Service to be ready for. I was not quite done, so still some work to do. Then also traveling to see family right after the service, and so getting the kids packed and ready to go, organizing, loading. Oh, and did I mention my wife is working tonight? Oh, and did I mention it's supposed to snow tomorrow, starting at daybreak, and that we'll be driving into it as both our van and the storm travel north? It's gonna be a looong day tomorrow . . . so even though the "5-hour energy" drink is one of the vilest tasting things on earth, I'll chug one after the Divine Service to keep me going as I drive, as my wife sleeps in the back seat, as the kids bounce off the walls of the van with excitement, and as the snow blankets the road!

See ya' Friday when we get back!

But I must say, despite all that awaits tomorrow, it's still Christmas, and Christ is born! Our services were small (my folks mostly go away for the holidays) but good, as we rejoiced in the birth of the Lord.

I leave you, then, with one of my favorite Christmas hymns, by Paul Gerhardt:

O Jesus Christ, Thy manger is

My paradise at which my soul reclineth.

For there, O Lord, Doth lie the Word

Made flesh for us; here in Thy grace forth shineth.

He whom the sea And wind obey

Doth come to serve the sinner in great meekness.

Thou, God's own Son, With us art one,

Dost join us and our children in our weakness.

Thy light and grace Our guilt efface,

Thy heav'nly riches all our loss retrieving.

Immanuel, Thy birth doth quell

The pow'r of hell and Satan's bold deceiving.

Thou Christian heart, Whoe'er thou art,

Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee!

For God's own Child, In mercy mild,

Joins thee to Him; how greatly God must love thee!

Remember thou What glory now

The Lord prepared thee for all earthly sadness.

The angel host Can never boast

Of greater glory, great bliss or gladness.

The world may hold Her wealth and gold;

But thou, my heart, keep Christ as thy true treasure.

To Him hold fast Until at last

A crown be thine and honor in full measure.

[LSB #372 (c) 1941 Concordia Publishing House]

Noooooo!

National Weather Service is predicting more snow for us tomorrow into Wednesday. Another 10-15 inches is the forecast. Ugh.

No.More.Snow.Please.

Snow Rant

Yes, its time for another rant!

Why, O why, do people decide to shovel their snow into the street? Oh, I know - because its easier. But you know what? When the plow doesn't come, then it simply blocks the street for everyone. My cars both have low ground clearance, and so it would be difficult for me to get out anyway, but with these mounds dotting my street, I'll simply get stuck. Argh!

On a lighter note . . . saw this "cancellation" notice on the TV last night, from a local church (name not given to protect the guilty): "Classes cancelled, all services cancelled, Super Bowl Party pending." (!)

Snow So Far

This is what we woke up to this morning. About half this tree is now in our yard. Snow is extremely wet and heavy. In my backyard we have 16 or so inches, with another 5-10 being forecast still to come today. This won't be like the big December snow which was all light and fluffy - this is going to be hard work to shovel and clear. Hard work.

Update (10:00 am) - Kids wanted to go out and sled but couldn't get the front door open; the snow is too high and heavy. Also couldn't get the back gate open. So had to send them out the living room window! And yes, its still coming down . . .

Update (1:00 pm) - Still snowing . . . my kids and I just went out and took some video. More of our tree has come down. About 2 feet pretty consistently all around our house. The main road looks pretty bad.

Update (7:00 pm) - Last update for the night . . . The snow stopped sometime between 3-4 pm. We probably got an additional inch or so, so let's call it 25 inches here. Went out and cleared off the cars and shoveled a bit. Still lots more to go, but it will wait until tomorrow. Hopefully the plow will come and clear the road tonight. Otherwise, not going anywhere tomorrow. Got plans anyway - some sledding and snowman building with the kids! :-)

More Snow. Lots More Snow!

Yes, more snow is on the way for DC. Lots of it! 16 to 22 inches are the lower end of their estimates as of lunchtime. Now, I like snow. I do. That we've had a lot this winter has made me happy. But even I am getting a bit shovel weary now. And the specter of canceling church again makes me unhappy. Some of my brothers will never cancel church; I respect them for that. Yet I recognize the reality of my situation also, of folks showing up and not being able to get in the driveway, which I am 99% sure will not be plowed. So, stay tuned. If necessary, we'll have Matins on the Internet again, and at least you will be able to hear the preaching of the Word.

What a Day

Well, this day is about over. Soon I am off to bed. But what a day. The snow forced us to cancel church (see previous post) and so this morning saw our first ever video conference Matins so that the folks of my congregation could still hear the Word of God proclaimed. It worked pretty well. We offered two times so that everyone could log on who wanted to. This is a nice tool to have - not a substitute for church, but nice when situations like this arise.

After that was a couple of hours of digging out the house and cars. Still haven't had a plow down the street, so getting out tomorrow will be dicey. After shoveling, played games with the family for a while. We were supposed to go hear the US Navy Band's Holiday concert, see the National Christmas Tree and all the state trees around it, and then go to dinner in DC, but that all got canceled. :-( But the games were fun.

Then it was to the TV to watch my Eagles clinch a playoff spot with a win against the 49ers. So all in all, a nice day. Tomorrow a busy week of sermons, family plans, finishing up tasks, and getting ready to travel after Christmas. Now off to bed. I'm beat.

Too Much Snow!

Well, the snow is 14 inches or so around my house and still coming down strong. We have canceled the Divine Service for tomorrow - even if they manage to get the highways clear, the side streets will be too difficult to navigate. We will offer Matins online at 10 am and 11 am tomorrow morning instead. Click here for instructions on how to join us. Stay safe and warm and see you all on Christmas Eve!