My 10 favorite things this winter

My ten favorite things this winter...

 1. More time with my sons. I love when they are home and inside!

 2. Snuggling with my husband, the most amazing man in the world (no joke!)

 3. Hot drinks.  (Hot Chocolate, hot tea or the occasional white mocha from Starbucks.)

 4. Warm meals.

 5. Wearing scarves.

 6. The snow! We haven't had enough to complain.

 7. The extra downtime because it's too cold to be out and about.

 8. Having a fire in the fireplace, so romantic and relaxing.

 9. Burning candles.

10. Dreaming about the spring flowers that will be here in a few months.

What are your favorite things this winter?

31 lbs?!

This morning when my 10th grade son left for school it was raining and I offered him a small umbrella to take along. He said "Mom, I don't have room for anything else, I'd rather just run through the rain."

This afternoon I picked my 6th grader up from school and he was hunched over all the way to my vehicle, I soon realized it was because of the weight of his backpack. 

Tonight both of the boys went to hang out with their friends so I decided to see just how much stuff they had in their backpacks.  I could not believe how heavy they seemed, so I decided to weigh them. The 10th grader had a book that didn't fit in his backback, I weighed the book and his bag together... 30 lbs! Are you kidding me!?  Then I went on to weigh my 6th grade son's backback, 21 lbs! 

How ridiculous is that? They aren't carrying anything in those bags that aren't school related. 

Both insisted that they didn't have much in the way of homework before leaving for their friends. When they return, I look forward to hearing why they carried so much stuff home if they don't have much homework! Does anyone else worry about the weight our kids lug around these days?

Three things I am liking about snow today

1. The fact that my sons can now effectively clear the driveway by themselves.

2. The pleasure of sitting in front of the fireplace with a good book, hot chocolate and watching the snow fall.

3. Watching our dog play in the snow that he loves.

The things I treasure...

I try not to be a materialistic person. I do not want to need things. Unfortunately, although I may not be a materialistic person, I do tend to be a sentimental person. The items I treasure most are the ones that remind me of people, or moments in my life, that I hope never to forget. For example, this angel, it was given to me when I was 16 years old.

To me then, it was just an angel, nothing special. I said thank you, upon receiving it and didn't think any more about it. Until now, 16 years after the fact. Now this angel is non-replaceable. Is it a collectable? No, it's broken in several places and if it could talk it would surely say, "please bathe me."

So why is it so special? It's special because when I was 16, the person that gave it to me, was my 19 year old sister. My sister who is no longer with us. And now, when I look at this angel and see it's smile, I think of her. I think about how happy she must be in heaven, surrounded by the angels.

Do I need this angel, this thing that collects dust? No, because I have my sister with me in heart, every moment of every day, but I still enjoy it.