Snow angels.

We had our first snowfall of the season here in Roanoke today. It was the wet, heavy kind. Huge flakes and quick accumulation. The boys and I bundled up after naptime and went out to play.

We were having a great time. Jerry called to say he was on his way home from work, and we were ready to greet him with giant snowballs. Alex loves a good snowball fight.

After about 45 minutes on the road (we live about 15 minutes from his office), Jerry called to tell me that he was in a bad place and that his car slid sideways. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers. A man helped him push the car until he could get it turned around again.

Another hour went by, and I called to see where he was. Still stuck in the same place. Even though the car was no longer sideways, several cars couldn't get up a hill, and he couldn't either. He told me he might need to walk home. He was probably three miles from the house, and darkness was quickly setting in. I'm thinking that this is not such a good plan.

Fortunately, our neighbor knocked on our door and offered to go and get him – after he had already wrecked his work truck trying to get home earlier this afternoon. Poor guy. We took him up on his offer because we didn't know of any other options to get Jerry home. And at this point, I was starting to get anxious.

Jerry had to abandon his car in an apartment complex parking lot and walk/run about a mile in the snow to get to a place where our neighbor could pick him up without getting his car stuck. While Jerry was walking/running (in a business suit, sweatpants over his dress slacks, dress shoes, a coat, and carrying his backpack), our neighbor called to tell me that he couldn't get onto the major highway that would typically get him to Jerry quickly. The highway was shut down. I called Jerry to try and tell him, but I couldn't get in touch with him. In desperation, I called some other friends who live in that area to see if they could get to him. They were able to get in touch with Jerry to try and come up with an alternate plan, but then Jerry's phone died mid-conversation because it was too cold for the battery to hold the charge.

Fortunately, Jerry had stuck to the original plan of trying to meet our neighbor because in the meantime, our neighbor called to tell me that he had managed to find another way to get to him. Oh my goodness. My nerves were shot, but I felt a little relief at this news. Right after that, I got a call from Jerry (from a kind stranger's cell phone) telling me he had made it to a restaurant and that he saw our neighbor. PRAISE JESUS! Once I saw them drive up, I could finally exhale. I tell you, I have never been so happy to see him walk through our front door in all of my life.

So grateful to have our little family all together tonight in a warm house. And so very grateful for the kindness of friends and strangers.