{A Recap of Our February}

We spent the entire month of February really soaking in the slow season. After finally getting some snow for the winter, the kiddos were SO excited to get out and play in it! Between the weather, frigid temps and sickness, we’ve spent a lot of days at home getting creative with all those Christmas and birthday toys that we had accumulated. The girls have been loving their Our Life As dolls and Legos lately, and Oren has been diving deep into science experiments.

In the middle of the month, the kiddos had their first ever friend sleepover! We’ve had TONS of cousin sleepovers but this was their first time inviting a friend from school. We took advantage of all the snow once again, getting in as much sledding time before the sub zero temps dropped. Everyone had such a blast, I hope their friends will want to stay again sometime soon! Finally, we rounded out the month taking in as much sledding/snow play in with cousins before it all disappeared.

This year, I have decided to really focus on being present and finding all the joy during the winter/early spring months. I have notoriously HATED this time of year and would often times just sulk in my seasonal depression. But…I wanted something different this year. I wanted happiness for this season…and I can honestly say that the little steps I have taken have given me so much more peace and joy! Making an effort to really slow down and be present with my family can sometimes be difficult this time of year. Cancelled school days and sickness used to cripple my soul because I LOVE my work and it’s SO HARD to work at home with kiddos. If you’re self employed with kids, I’m sure you can relate! But I forced myself to change my perspective, and work on more patience with them while working at home. Taking it slow and reminding myself that all my deadlines are made up by no one but ME. It does help that they are getting older and becoming more self-sufficient and independent.

In order to build more gratitude, I forced myself to find 3 things in my day that I am grateful for. Even if it’s the smallest things. Some days are hard to find 3 things, but I have found that there is SO MUCH in our lives to be grateful for that we often times take for granted. Even though, in the depths of our hearts we are appreciative for everyday things and conveniences, but we tend to forget it often, especially in tough or uncomfortable moments. I think actually bringing them to the forefront of our thoughts really improves on our general perspective towards life. I’ve been sharing my daily gratitudes on social media stories lately to, in a way, physically bring out gratitude. If you want to find more true happiness in your life, give it a try! Another change I made was scheduling something on my calendar at least once a month that brings me joy. This way I had something to look forward to and get excited about.

Last, but certainly not least, I started a “read the bible in one year” plan with commentary last fall and I have become obsessed with it!! In fact, I almost crave it every day! As a child, learning all the bible stories, we are given a really pared down version of the real stories to accommodate children’s learning and maturity levels. As an adult, I find that I am SO intrigued with how people lived during biblical times and how God factors into all of it. If you have never read the bible with commentary, I highly recommend!! Spoiler alert, there is quiet a bit of graphic and mature content! The bible studies I have been referring to are Heart Dive 365 and The Bible Recap book. If you are like me at all and struggle to overcome the winter blues, I highly recommend trying out at least one of these things I have done! I used to loathe this season with all my heart, but lately I have found contentment, more peace, and true joy! 🙂 I guess the winter time really isn’t all that bad. 😛

Until next month..