Fall/Winter

Some of my favorite things about winter

(in the wonderful state of Idaho, I consider fall to be winter because it's just as cold and it starts snowing in the fall)

Hot chocolate

I love waking up and having a cup of hot chocolate, or coming in from the cold and having a cup of hot chocolate, or having a cup of hot chocolate before I go to bed. I guess I love winter because it's my good excuse to drink hot chocolate. It also reminds me of how Danny proposed. :)

Hoodies

I love wearing hoodies, not because they make me look frumpy (which I admit they do), but because they are so warm and comfy. It's like having a blanket wrapped around me without having to hold on to it. I love wearing Danny's hoodies (I know this will sound cheesy) because even thought I get to see him every day I miss him whenever he's not here.

Snow

I don't like to drive in it or really play in it, but I love to watch it. I love how clean and white it is(before my animals get to it, anyway) and I love how excited the boys get when it snows. I also like snowboarding even though I have only gone a few times and don't have a snowboard yet. I would really like to go this year, but we'll see if it happens.

Family and Holidays

I love all holidays, but the winter holidays are just awesome because we get to see so much of our family.

I love Halloween and try to go all out. I'm not really good at decorating my house, but we always have a theme for our costumes. I'm not sure that we dressed up the year Danny and I were dating, but the first year we had Kleyn we dressed up as farmers, the second year we were a doctor, a nurse, and a patient, and the third year (when we had Kaleb) we went as two little frigs and their flies. This year we're going to try and pull of The Incredibles theme. We'll see how that works.

We always try to visit one of our families for Thanksgiving and the other for Christmas. It can get really crazy and stressful, but I wouldn't change it. I love being able to see everyone, catch up, and just be together.

I absolutely love Christmas. We have all these little traditions that I try to hang on to. I love making up the stockings (Danny probably thinks I go a little overboard), but that was my favorite part about waking up Christmas morning. The rule was we could look at our stockings before anyone else got up, but we had to wait for everyone before we could open presents. When we were little, my dad would make us Christmas pajamas and we got to open them on Christmas eve so that we could wear them that night. I guess that has stuck with me since I have so many pajama pants that I don't know what to do with. I have to put an orange of some sort (it usually turns out to be the chocolate oranges, but the sentiment is still there) because when my great grandma was doing the stockings, oranges were rare and such a special treat, so that one has really stuck with me. I always have to buy at least one carton of eggnog (I have a childhood memory linked to that one and I can't have a Christmas with out it), but Danny likes his mom's homemade stuff. I know how to make it now, but it's a little too sweet for me. I also love decorating the Christmas tree. We always do it on the fourth of December because that's my grandma's birthday. Danny puts the lights on the tree, with help from his boys, and I put all the decorations on. We have a tradition that everyone gets one new ornament each year. I have an awesome nativity set that my mother-in-law got me last year and I love putting it up. It's so fun to sit and read all of the wonderful Christmas stories and reading THE Christmas Story from the Bible. I love being a part of all the church things that go on in this season as well.

Fireplaces

It's so nice to sit in front of the fireplace with my little boys and just watch the flames. We have a propane fireplace and a wood stove. I'm not such a big fan of starting a fire in the wood stove, but after it gets going, it's so nice to have. I love technology, but there's something about that stove that reminds me that if I didn't have all the technology, I would still have my family and I would still be able to take care of them.

I really like summer better, but whenever I get bummed about it being over, I have to remember all of the things I am grateful for and all of the things I love about this colder season.