Becoming as much of a homebody as I possibly can given the fact I'm a work-outside-the-home mom.

The clearest purest blue sky this morning.

Packages in the mail (a hand-made scarf meant to give love and hug every time I wear it and a birthday present from my sister who was trying to come visit but was stopped by the storm).

Dinners and evenings with my kids and their fun friends.

Finding the perfect January wall planner/calendar well, before the middle of January!

Husband doing the dishes.

Post-holiday retail therapy.

Central heat, flannel sheets and my favorite Buggy Barn Log Cabin Crazy Quilt.

Not to mention my very own cozy pair of sheepskin slippers.

(Thank you dear friends--you know who you are--for the scarf and the slippers.)

A quiet evening home. Safe and warm from the storm blowing outside.

Peace. Once the wind stops blowing there is a gentle and quiet peace that lies across the land when it is blanketed with snow. It's nice to feel the same peace within the walls of my home and within my heart at this moment.

I'm in a much better place today than I was this time last week.

A good part of that is because of the love and prayers that have blanketed us.

Thank you.

Feeling snarky:

I'm thankful I only had to wait an hour and a half for Z~'s doctor appointment today instead of 2 hours like last time.

I'm thankful for my "almost-free" digital TV converter box. (That works at the moment, except for the channel programming part, but which--despite it's high ratings--did not get rave reviews on the news tonight.)

I'm thankful (or am I?) that every time I convince myself I can quit blogging someone makes a comment about how much they love my blog (thanks cousin via FB) or they sort of reach out via my blog (thanks person whom I will protect by keeping anonymous) and I wonder if somehow this tiny thing isn't somehow a good thing, too. If it's a good thing--if it is somehow making a difference (even a tiny difference)--can I really quit?

I truly am thankful for my real family, my ward family, my blog peeps, and my heated home.

And I really love how I can start the dishwasher and/or a load of laundry on my way out the door to work and come home and have it all washed. If someone would find a way to have it dried, folded (only in the case of the laundry) and put away I'd be such an accomplished woman.

I can't seem to get warm, but I'm grateful that at the end of the day I have a warm quilt that should do the trick.

I'm also thankful for a laid-back week--at least for the kids. I have to work, but it's nice they don't have any homework so things are a little chill around here.

I'm grateful to have a job. I'm a bit frightened about the future, so I don't know if I'll be so blessed indefinitely, but I'm going to keep plugging away...