The Cusp of Winter

We had our first real snow of the season here the other day.  The kids were quickly out in it, rolling a snowball so big that their dad had to help finish it.  The snowman is still on our front lawn, attesting to how chilly it's been.

As the daylight hours wane and the weather turns cold, thoughts turn to the holidays and family and baking, and just fun, quiet times indoors.  We have baked the pumpkins we carved for Halloween and have saved the mush to make cookies and bread and pie.

Since times are tight financially, we'll probably be making baked goods for Christmas presents this year.  In my opinion, this is much more fun, anyway, and may mean more to the recipients.  I feel fortunate that my family loves these simple pleasures and we don't need a lot to be happy.  Great memories are made of such things as these.

During the last few weeks, my daughter, inspired by a class she's taking, has captured a lot of end-of-fall preparedness in nature.  Amid the dying perennials in a flower bed in our yard, there were still a few California poppies blooming.  She took the time to find that there were bees taking advantage of the warm afternoon to collect pollen in these flowers.  The poppies are usually among the last flowers to disappear completely for winter, and come back each spring when they reseed themselves.  After more than a decade after I first planted the seeds here, they've naturalized.  It's a lovely surprise to see them coming up in the spring.

The heavy clouds coming in from the west this time of year are always spectacular, too.  We see them coming over the Rockies and sometimes they disappear entirely before coming right over our house.  Sometimes they look perfectly patterned and it's not hard to image that God is painting them there purposefully.

Soon, we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving.  I hope this is a time to reflect on what is truly important to us all, and to give thanks for all the many blessings that have been bestowed on us.  I know I'm deeply grateful for all the beauty around us this time of year as well as the rest of the year. I'm grateful for my family and my kids' health and well-being.  I'm thankful to everyone who has fought for this country and the freedom and liberty we have here.  I'm thankful for this life and all the experiences I've been able to come through and learn from.  And I hope my children learn to appreciate the many blessings we have as well.