Winter Strategies

Today I’m linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy for her What’s Saving My Life Right Now post.

 

Things making me happy this winter…

Morning routine. God’s Word, good coffee, and the softest blanket ever. {Fun side note on that mug: our small group leader had everyone bring one with their initial on it to our Christmas party. Whoever’s gift we ended up with in the White Elephant swap, we also got the mug with their initial. And we pray for that person each morning. Love.}

Kitchen Time:

My boys have been helping with dinner often lately. When they’re not interested, I’ve been putting on Pandora Dinner Party Station or Vince Guaraldi Radio or Podcasts and enjoying the opportunity to make soups, chili, and skillet goodness.

Green Smoothies pretty much daily. I truly can tell the extra vitamins are helping with energy.

Herbal tea. It’s a new staple since I relied on it for 30 days for after-dinner sweet tooth issues.

Family Stuff:

I’m grateful one of my hub’s top love languages is acts of service. He regularly builds me a crackling fire in the evenings, which happens to be my winter love language.

Enjoying any sunny days we get – including walks to the river and park play dates and spontaneous hang outs and neighborhood bike rides.

 

Board Games. Youngest and I often enjoy a game of Slap Jack or Memory or Sequence in the morning together. And games are one of our family’s favorite ways to hang in the evening.

Wisdom and Self-Care:

A Facebook friend posted her mom’s simple but profound quote the other day: “Never trust your feelings in January.” Amen.

 

Praying for and serving other people. Along with looking for ways to be grateful, these two things are the best way to get outside myself.

 

This article Jen Hatmaker posted on Facebook. Been rolling around in my brain, but don’t have any completely processed thoughts about it yet. You?

 

The YMCA – for everything from walking dates with friends to the classes I get to teach to the people I love to run into to family swims to the chance to get some work done. The Y blesses our family in so many ways.

The Library. For good books, kid DVDs, and another place to get some work done. Love, love the library.

 

Reading a little before bed most evenings. The 2016 Reading Challenge is helping me think more creatively about what to pick up next. And it’s helped me get out of the reading slump I’ve been in lately.

Creating – Experimenting more with photography, buying my first oil-based Sharpie and whipping up a mug, using some frames we were given to put some of the boys’ artwork in, and thinking through ways to incorporate old photos into decorating. I like it.

I’ll end the same way I did last year: my Jesus, my family, and my community are my heart. I’m so grateful.

 

What’s making YOU happy this winter? I’d love to hear.

 

{Thanks, Anne, for the great Winter Halftime share.}

 

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