Yesterday afternoon, our power went off at 3:30.  The temperature outside was below freezing, and the heater is run by electricity!  Needless to say, the kids and I were super chilly.  I turned on the fireplace, put the kids in blankets on the couch, and curled up next to them with a pile of books!  We read books by the fireplace and enjoyed each other so much.  By 4:30, we decided to switch gears and get our color books out.  Keith came home around 5, and still no electricity.  At around 5:15, the power came on!  Thank goodness I jumped up and cooked a really fast dinner, b/c by 5:30, power was gone again!!!!  We enjoyed our dinner by candlelight, although clean up was a bit more challenging.  After dinner, we pulled tons of blankets into the living room and gathered around the fire to stay warm.  Keith pulled out his guitar and we had a fun praise and worship session with the kids.  Oh how they loved it!  At this point, we had decided that we would all sleep in the living room because it would be too cold for the kids in their rooms with no heat.  We got their mattresses set up, bunches of blankets, their favorite stuffed animals, and started the bedtime routine.  The kids were having a blast!  When they were all tucked in around 8:30 - the power returns!!!!!!  We decided that we would proceed by moving everyone to their own beds, but I have to say it was fun while it lasted.  Just the shear enjoyment of being together......no distractions.....no noise......

Although, I do NOT hope that the power goes out for that long  anytime soon, I do have to say I think we all learned a valuable lesson about being still.  I will remember last night for a long time to come.