Oh January, oh winter, will you please end soon so we can go outside and play?  The wind here is bitter cold– too much even for us Montanans– so inside we will continue to stay for awhile.  Even though I miss the sunshine on my skin, the warm outside, the woods, and the sounds of neighborhood children playing, I know this is a time to be enjoyed… a time of movies and books, games (board games, imaginative games, and, of course, computer/i-phone games) and art, knitting and crafting, and snuggling up together.  Those things are good.  And for the last two days my children have been playing together so wonderfully; it is truly a joy to listen to their stories, hear their excited voices, and see the costumes they show me.

I do feel a little dreary with the cold, wind, gray, and alone time inside, but I am reminding myself of the blessings.  Yes, the blessings.