The Wells Weekly: Winter

I absolutely LOVE this time of year, and all (or most things) that winter brings.  I do admit, the other morning was a chilly one, and when I got up to take Manny out, opening the door was bone chilling!  So I'm pretty sure I was whining about having to get out of the warm bed.  The moment I opened up my devotional that morning the verse was:  "You made BOTH summer and winter."  (Psalm 74:17).  Wow and oops all at the same time.  Funny how God will set you straight real quick. (You can't tell me he doesn't have a sense of humor.)  Anyways, here are some more things I love about winter:

1.  Winter clothes:  I love sweaters, boots, hats, gloves....so warm and cozy!

2. Fa-la-la-la Lifetime: A girly Christmas movie every night starting December 1.

3.  Hot chocolate:  I have a cup probably every other day.  With marshmallows.

4. Christmas Events & Parties:  Victorian Christmas in Thomasville. Live Nativities. Cookie Swap. The Lawn Mower Parade. Tacky Sweater Christmas Party.  I love them all.

5.  Soup season: Cold weather calls for hot soup. Jeremie & I have cooked chili, taco soup & beef stew the past few weekends.  We eat it until it's gone. : )

6.  Operation Christmas Child:  This actually happens in the middle of the November, but I still consider it a holiday activity.  Jeremie & I have been doing this for years, even when we were dating.  Every year I find myself essentially sitting on the shoebox to make everything fit.  I totally wish I could see the sweet child that receives it. The neat thing is that they've added a feature where you can track your package to see what country it goes to!  Can't wait to find out.  If you you've never heard of this go to:  http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/

7. Winter College Football:  Rivalry games are played; shocking upsets ruin the rankings.  And the debate begins on whether a College Football playoff should be instituted as opposed to a "bias" BCS system.  Happens every year.  Don't know why the ESPN announcers are so surprised EVERY year.

8.  National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation-need I say more?


9.  Real Fires in the fireplace:  I know the gas logs are easy & clean, but there is nothing like a real fire.  My dad is the MASTER at a big fire, and we used to spend a lot of time in front of the fire doing our "thinking pose."  (One foot up on the hearth, one hand leaned against the mantel, then stare into the fire. And THINK.)  Jeremie can make a mean fire too; in fact, too good sometimes.  Last year, I was brushing out my hair and felt a chunk of VERY short hair on the very top of my head. (Think Alfalfa from Little Rascals.) Long story short, we finally realized that I was singeing my hair off by sitting in front of the fire too long!  (The evidence was the smell of something burnt one night.)  My hairdresser assisted in the recovery.

10. Christmas Tree Hunting: The last 3 years, Jeremie and I have gone to Tallahassee Nurseries to pick out our tree.  The place is so charming and the trees are hanging, not bunched up in a net laying on a sidewalk. The workers will even take it out and twirl it around for you if you wish.....Jeremie is very methodical about his choice tree; I love watching him choose.

*Disclaimer:  I know that when people think of Florida, the automatic mental picture is palm trees, sun, and sand.  To much surprise, the Florida panhandle is not as tropical as you think, in fact, we are under a freeze warning tonight!

Hope everyone is enjoying the season as much as I am!