winter wonderland | 4 little Fergusons

If you follow 4 little Fergusons on Facebook, then you have already seen the following photos, but there are a lot of you that haven’t, so these are for you. 🙂

We have had a very dry last few years, this year was proving to be no different….we barely have had any snow. And if we did, it melted right away! If it is going to be brown and dead and cold, we need snow to brighten things up at least once a month, right!?

Right.

I had nearly given up hope of ANY big snows this year. Oh well, Spring might as well come. I packed up all my “Let It Snow” winter décor and THEN……..

Then they started forecasting this BLIZZARD! YES! I should’ve packed up my décor a month ago!? lol 🙂

They were predicting 2 days of snow! Like 16 inches worth! I prayed soooo hard it would come. The kids joined in my plea. When we woke up……………..

It was Snowy Heaven.

Big fat flakes falling most of the day. No school, no work for Dale, just 2 days of fun in the snow and cocoa by the fire.

Oh man, we LOVED it!

There was even MORE snow by day 2.

Here are the photos from our days at home:

I headed out to help Dale with chicken chores. He was super sweet and made a path for me to follow. Except, I think he forgot how much shorter 5 foot 3 legs are than 6 foot 1 legs. I hollered at him that these steps were TOO BIG!

He said, “I am already taking steps half the size of normal up here!”

Needless to say, even though he took smaller steps and I made it out to the coops, I did NOT end up helping him with chores.

Probably because I had my camera in hand?!

Maaaaaaay-be.

I ended up walking the whole property before heading back in. I could hardly walk it was so deep, but it was worth it! 🙂

After quiet reading time, we let the big kids go outside.

Poor little Peanut, she couldn’t walk and kept falling down. She’d just sit there so quietly in the snow, watching everyone else have fun.

Daddy came to the rescue

She soon came in, but not before playing in the cool “Fort” the big kids discovered under our evergreen tree. It really was like a little snow house under there, so fun!

You know, I used to want to move somewhere tropical SO bad! But days like this, I am thankful to live in a place that sees ALL four seasons in all their glory.

Bringing you Winter Wonderland-Midwest Style…..

PS Guess WHAT!? They are forecasting 12-16 MORE inches today and tomorrow.

WOO-HOO!

Oh the weather outside is frightful…..

They are forecasting 10 inches of snow {16-18 in some areas} and I sure hope they are right! We have 14 inches this morning!

But the fire is so delightful…..

And since we have no place to go….

Let it Snow

Speaking of cold and snow. I’ve been wanting to tell you about something.

Here is the BEFORE:

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This is the 1930’s style fireplace we tried to heat our home with.

30% efficiency, $150-250 gas bill depending on how hot we could keep the fire all day.

{If you wanted to be toasty warm, you stayed RIGHT by the fire!}

DURING: Mr. Do It Yourself saved us $900 by installing the fireplace insert himself, woo hoo!

Hour 5 of the Installation Process:

What? No more smiles, Mr. DIY?

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AFTER:

We now heat our whole house with this fireplace insert. It is listed to heat 2000 square feet. That means the heater hasn’t been turned on once!

87% efficiency, $25 a month gas bill. {for heating the water heater}

YAY!

Our house went from an average of a nippy 60* in the side rooms and a drafty 71* in the living room, all winter long, to a warm 71* in the side rooms and a toasty 76* in the main living, dining and kitchen areas. {We shut bedroom doors now, to keep the main rooms warmer, plus, I think we all sleep better in a cool bedroom with lots of snuggly blankets.}

With this wood burning fireplace insert, we are going through a third of the amount of wood, too because it burns hotter, slower. Meaning Dale loads the wood bin the morning and I can keep the house warm all day without heading out back to refill it. It lasts until he gets home in the evening!

Why, oh WHY, did we wait 10 years to do this?!

If you have a fireplace and you are interested in heating your home with cozy, wood heat, we highly recommend a Regency Fireplace Insert, we sure love ours.

Now, like I said earlier!

LET IT SNOW……. 🙂