Cozy

It is getting colder, the sun rises shortly before 8, and sets before 5. Hats, scarves, gloves and mittens multiply and replenish the entry way, and I'm constantly asking "Where does your coat belong? On the floor like this, or hanging up??"

Going outside becomes a task requiring at least twenty minutes of prep. Quick! Snow pants, then sweatshirt! Where's your coat? No, not your dress coat, your play coat. Yes, that one. Hat, scarf, are these your mittens or Peter's? Are you sure? Socks! Now boots. NEXT!! Lather, rinse, repeat three times. Out we go! And you're still cold? Yep, me too. Go run around, you'll warm up.

Five minutes later cherry noses and rosey cheeks are ready to come back in. I make them play a little longer because I worked too hard to get them ready. I don't think they mind most of the time...

We have warm soups several times a week. Warm bellies make for sleepier children who sleep soundly in snugly beds and thick blankets.

The house is snug and warm, safe from most of the chilly breezes. We are hunkering down for winter, warm and safe in our home.

Only two weeks before winter break. David is counting down. I am counting down. I miss having him around. He missed two days last week because he was sick and needed the break. We had so much fun!

I have a little boy at my daycare three days a week. He is a talkative 16 month old that has a love for chalk and trains. Peter has taken to him faster than he did the little girl I watch on Tuesdays. Andrea is upset that there isn't someone her age with which to play. We have been arranging play dates for her so she doesn't feel too left out.

Rechartering is nearly finished. A few more signatures and I will turn in our paperwork and a check. I'm only slightly panicked. Next year will be better.

Candle

One of the crafts we were working on yesterday....

Cheer

We walked down the seasonal isle at Kroger yesterday and Peter saw a giant bear and shouted "BEAR!!! HUG!!!!" He could not do anything but squirm and squeal as I handed him that bear. He absolutely adores his bears at home, and he usually has one curled under and arm, twisting the soft fur between two left-hand fingers, whilst sucking his two middle fingers on his right hand. The true test for how soft something is would be to hand it to Peter and see what happens with those two fingers of his. If they go in his mouth, the item is acceptably soft. If they don't, move on; you will find something softer.

I bought pomegranates a couple months ago. Apparently they keep for a long time in the refrigerator! I pulled the last one out yesterday to top my salad and the big kids ate the portion I didn't use. It was the sweetest, juiciest pomegranate I've ever had. It was like eating candy!

The kids devoured every seed and splattered juice all over their faces. I see it as a mark of how good the pomegranate was.

David stayed home from school yesterday. He's home today, too. He's had a stuffed nose the last few days that interfered with his sleeping yesterday and made him feel pretty awful. So he worked on homework and read his scriptures and worked on crafts yesterday. Today will be more of the same.

Something I've been reading

I wish I could say I'd been reading some riveting novel or life changing self-help book... But nope. I've been reading a lot about soap.

We currently have soap bursting from the seams. We've almost got a year's supply!

My favorite soap has been a yogurt soap with lemon zest and lemon oil. It comes out pale yellow, velvety soft, and smells like a lemon cookie. Yum. But not, don't eat the soap!!!

Busy time of year was made busier by rechartering our pack. It really isn't that difficult, just time consuming. And I've got to have our paperwork turned in this Friday before racing off for the RS Christmas party. I'm supposed to play the piano there, so I've been practicing a bit more than usual. AND I have a few sewing projects to tend to. I think I'll turn in early tonight and tackle a few of them in the morning.

Dishes are done, floor swept and mopped, homework filed away. Laundry to fold, time on the treadmill, and I should be done with this day.

A picture I am thankful for

This was the last picture I got of me and my grandmother before she died. I gave a copy to my Grandpa for Christmas that year. He cried. "You're holding her hand!" he said.

I think I got my love for red dresses from this picture. :)

This ends the gratitude challenge. Ready for another?? :D

Something from my childhood I am thankful for

When I was very young my mom had me start writing in a journal. It took a while to catch on, but then it did and I have several journals from the time I was 8 or 9 to when I got married.

All of those journals are in my memory box now along with several other items. I go back and laugh at the absurdity of my youth quite often. Keeps me humble. Maybe I should show David how terrible my handwriting was when I was a kid? He'd get a kick out of that.

For some reason keeping a journal became difficult for me after Jonathan and I got married. I use this blog by default, but there is a LOT I gloss over or just don't mention on this blog. Important details of my life aren't being documented, and maybe they should be. Maybe I can make that a goal for next year.