As with tens of thousands of fellow Mississippians since a winter storm struck during the weekend, the Hood family of Oxford was coping with the loss of electricity as best they could early Monday in their Northpointe neighborhood home about 2 miles north of Square.

Tucker and Leanna Hood, husband and wife and both lawyers, and their two young daughters were all bundled up and “camping in” around the gas fire logs in the living room. Mary Ann Hood, Tucker’s mom who was visiting from Brandon, was also sleeping under several blankets. They were all fairly cozy, until the home’s carbon monoxide alarm, which had converted from electric power to battery-operated, went off at 5:30 a.m.

“It woke me up, and I immediately turned off the gas logs,” Tucker Hood said.

The temperature was 7 degrees outside and it was going to get really cold, really fast inside the house. The Hoods’ oldest daughter, Reynolds, is 2. The youngest, Ida Orley, turned 5 months old Monday. The roads were covered in ice and snow.

What to do?

“We decided to go for the cars,” Tucker said. “Seemed like the best option.”

One problem: The car doors and locks were frozen. Using heated water from a gas stove, the Hoods were able to get in the family van and crank it up, along with Mary Ann Hood’s small SUV.

In the vehicles, they had all they needed, except space.

Mary Ann Hood posted on Facebook: ”I am sitting on my lovely heated seat and the warm air is blasting away. I am charging my phone while listening to channel 28 on SirrusXM or sometimes to my favorite playlist… I have three excellent books to choose from and just had a delicious breakfast of belVita Crunchy biscuits. I have on my best Patagonia long underwear, flannel PJ’s, puffy jacket and two pair of Ugg socks in my cozy Ugg boots (thanks to whoever gave me these wonderful socks for Christmas). …Thank goodness, I have a full tank of gas.”

Tucker, LeAnna and the kids were parked a few feet away in the family van. Reynolds, the 2-year-old, was watching a movie in the backseat.

And that’s where they spent the next five hours until a family friend arrived with a generator to use in the house. File this all under: All’s well that ends well.

Said Tucker Hood, “I’m just glad that carbon monoxide alarm worked.”