When winter was close, I dreaded it. I don’t like to be cold. And then something changed, and now I’m excited about snowy days, brisk weather, and don’t mind the cold.

What changed? I bought a nice big warm coat. That’s all. I haven’t had a good coat in years. I would layer jackets, which worked, but it also often left me pretty cold at times. I’m very grateful for warm coats that change winter to a time to dread to a time to love.

We went sledding up by the lake at Mantua.

Today I told the kids they needed to play outside and up in the toy room, just for five minutes, before they could do computer time. Peter responded, “But if I go outside I’ll end up playing basketball more than five minutes!” Exactly. Sometimes with kids, the trick is getting them to do something is to figure out how to get them to start.

Peter is loving basketball. He plays all the time. Curtis loves playing with neighbors, and we are lucky to have two boys on our street that are in the same grades as my boys. Nothing can replace having a good neighbor friend to play with.