The Farm Wife Sagas

It’s been a while, y’all! Life has been nothing short of chaotic around here. In North Carolina, we’ve been living smack in the middle of a winter saga, the kind where you wake up every morning wondering if school will ever open again or if this is just your life now. Two full weeks of school closures, 9 to 11 inches of snow, a couple inches of ice underneath, and wind that could cut straight through your soul.

And listen… I have done my fair share of ice busting. I joke that I only had to handle it about a third of the time (only when Colton was on shift), but I promise you that third felt like a lifetime supply. After about day three, I officially decided that ice baths may be great for Olympic athletes, but the rest of us normal humans? Absolutely not. Whoever swears that “cold therapy heals you” has clearly never tried busting frozen troughs in 20 degree weather. I am healed enough, thank you very much.

But in between the slipping, sliding, snow sledding, and the general “Lord, please give me strength before I lose my ever loving mind” moments with this sassy mini teenager of mine, something unexpectedly sweet came out of the chaos. We slowed down. We connected. We put our crazy, go go go lives on pause and actually lived inside our home instead of just passing through it. And that, honestly, felt like a gift.

If you know me, you know we are rarely home. Like… ever. Our schedule stays so full it feels like we’re running a marathon with no finish line in sight. And if you really know me, you know that while I can drive in winter weather, I fully choose not to. I will simply not do it. “Safety first” is my excuse, but truthfully, I’m just a homebody who wants to be on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, with VJ snuggled in close and Colton pretending I’m being dramatic.

So being iced in for two and a half weeks? As inconvenient and sanity testing as it was, it was also exactly the shove I needed. A holy pause. One of those quiet reminders God slips into your life when you’ve been moving too fast to notice you’re running on empty.

Because sometimes God doesn’t slow the storm. Sometimes He slows you.

And sometimes that slowing looks like canceled school, closed roads, and a calendar wiped clean whether you wanted it to be or not.

And in that strange, still, frozen quiet, we remembered what it felt like to just be.

To laugh.

To rest.

To breathe.

To enjoy the four walls He blessed us with.

To appreciate the things we already have at home.

To enjoy each other without rushing to the next thing.

Cabin fever? Absolutely.

Frozen fingers? Yes ma’am.

A deeper appreciation for home and each other? One hundred percent.

And while we were tucked inside trying to keep warm and keep our sanity, it was also a reminder that the farm doesn’t stop for weather. Animals don’t care that school was closed, or that I was tired, or that the world was covered in ice. They still needed to be fed, watered, and cared for. Life on the farm never hits pause, not even for a blizzard.

So if you haven’t lately, thank your local farmers. Truly. Their days didn’t stop because of a little snow. They were out there every single day making sure their animals were fed and watered while the rest of us hunkered down with hot chocolate.

Funny how God uses 9-11 inches of snow, a sheet of ice, and a whole lot of North Carolina chaos to remind us of what matters most. Home, family, and the people willing to show up no matter the weather.