Enjoying winter

Yesterday I was sitting with Caroline by our family room window which overlooks our front yard. Just then Christina arrived from school and was walking along our snow-covered lawn. She seemed to enjoy seeing and feeling each boot sink in the snow. I realized this scenario is the norm for her growing up with New England winters, and so I grabbed my camera, snapped these pictures of Christina.

Having grown up in So. Cal., we (my family & I) had to scrounge for hats, gloves, and snow gear for our family excursions to Mt. Baldy (oh, the memories there!), and so it's hard for me to believe that throwing all this gear on is the norm for us Beantown Menzies nearly 4 months of every year. Watching Christina play in the snow, I thought about how I never imagined living with snowy day winters, and how New England winters have grown on two native Californians (that would be me & Waynerd). We've come to realize that happiness isn't contingent on the weather, it's a choice. Every location comes with it's pros and cons, and being happy wherever we are is something we choose.

Our family makes the most of the winter months by building snowmen, sledding, having snowball fights, making s'mores AT HOME!, skiing, watching snowflakes fall, sipping hot chocolate, bundling up, waking up to silence outdoors & fresh white snow, feeling snowflakes melt on our tongues, digging out of the driveway w/ the help of the snow blower, and warming up by the fire. My sister, Sara pointed out that figuring out where to put wet clothes and gear when the kids finish playing in the snow is key to enjoying a snowy winter...SO true, and spoken like a mom:).

When the April comes around we watch with anticipation every budding leaf and every sprouting bulb. We throw on our flip-flops as soon as we can and bask in every ray of sunshine as we go about our days. For me this anticipation and appreciation that comes with the changing seasons is truly childlike wonder. I thank our children for making the wonderment of discovery and rediscovery a regular part of our lives.

Obviously one doesn't need changing seasons to find childlike wonder. One of my favorite moments on my church mission in Texas was when my companion, Sis. Rivera, and I were walking down the street in Lubbock and came across some sort of blossoming tree. I walked right past it. We had places to go, people to see...we were busy people! Soon I realized Sis. Rivera was no longer by my side. I turned around and she was standing at the tree admiring a blossom..."Look at this! Did you see this? It's beautiful!" She was in awe and I was embarrassed for having walked right by and not appreciated it as she had. This was the norm for Sis. Rivera, who had come all the way from Ecuador to serve a mission. She was constantly pointing out blossoms and the beauty of the world around us (in west Texas no less!). I loved that about her, and count my blessings that now I have children who point out the beautiful things in the world just outside our home.

I hope that you're finding happiness this winter wherever you are...in the snow, at the seashore, out in the middle of nowhere, under the vast Texas sky, under a sunless Alaskan sky, or in the buzz of a big city.

Warmest wishes!