- First, the Hannaford Women's Retreat was Friday-Sunday. That means that we, in the Powell household, were sans-Andrea. Andrea left Friday afternoon. This means Dad gets to make meals, wake kids, etc.
- At the same time, I was continuing to prepare for and participate in the worship team for the local Promise Keepers conference. We had a final rehearsal on Friday and then the event was slated from 6am to 5:30pm on Saturday.
- If you're keeping track that means Andrea was gone AND I was gone all day at a men's conference. So my mission was to find someone to watch the kids - and I was hoping they could spend the night on Friday to eliminate a lot of trouble before sunrise on Saturday morning. So I had to find someone to have the kids over one the same weekend when many dads from Hannaford have their wives gone as well. Well, I finally set it up. It would work pretty much as I planned except having to leave the conference early (after the worship was finished) to get the kids.
- Dropping off the kids, I was blessed to receive another "Kellin-ism." He was jokingly told that for dinner, He and Andrik were going to have either Broccoli or Monkey Brains. Kellin replied, "I don't know about Monkey Brains, but I don't like Broccoli."
- On Saturday during the conference, it started raining, then sleet, then snowing. And then snowing more. Worship went well. It was great to see all these guys from different Helena churches gather in one place. It was also great to see and hear them engage in worship, singing out loud, and really connecting with God. After slipping out on the afternoon speaker, I walked 50ft to my car and ended up covered in snow - it was really coming down.
- Due to the logistics, after returning home with the kids, waiting a couple of hours, I needed to return to the church of the PK conference and retrieve my equipment (keyboard, etc.). Although there was a little snow here at home, the landscape was completely white at the conference venue. Eventually, we made it home and settled in for Saturday night.
- We woke Sunday morning to a wonderland of near spring snow! We were late leaving the house and found all the roads (and freeway) laden with snow. No snowplows were out on the freeway or downtown. I later found out that it wasn't just me, but I wasn't mentally prepared for the snow. I think it caught me off guard. I really had to re-adjust when I nearly slid into a truck just out of our neighborhood. Finally we arrived at church, without breakfast. It was still snowing. I'd say we got almost 12 inches overnight and it was still coming down.
- Sunday worship went well, but was quite different than usual. Because of the Women's Retreat, I planned a special team of just guys. And I tried to pick some songs that would suit the guys' vocal ranges. All in all, it was just a little out of ordinary.
- Between the services, I took the kids across the street to McDonald's for some quick breakfast. The snow was still coming down and it was built up one the streets. I got stuck on the somewhat steep entrance to McDonald's. With no traction, I finally had to back up back into the main street and find another way in. It wasn't just me having problems, either. After we got our meal in the drive-through and parked in the lot, we saw another truck slide up on the curb in the drive through and almost take down a tree.
- Finally when the services were over, it stopped snowing and things started to warm up. With all the weather, I was starting to think that I might not see Andrea until Thursday as she and the other ladies fought the mountain snow. She got home about an hour later just as I finished shoveling snow out of the driveway.
Until next time, peace...
