Dead...of winter.

It is here, the dead of winter, when everything is cold and grey and there are no more festive holidays to brighten the mood.  The snow is piled high and dirty, the 4 wheel drive is on pretty much constantly, and the ice dams are solid in the corners of the roof.  I didn't used to know what ice dams were...
BUT
that means we can be grateful for a home to keep us (mostly) warm, and snow gear, and shovels, and plows, and snowblowers borrowed from work.  We can be grateful for an SUV that is still drive-able even in snowy slick weather conditions. 
The girls are having a blast collecting icicles that we knock down from the room and digging snow caves in the towering piles in the yard.  Today, they were able to do cannonballs off of our back porch into snowdrifts! Kip watched a few videos on how to build a legit igloo, but we're still figuring out the details on that one.
Kip and I were able to go to the temple yesterday and even though it was snowing, the roads were clear and the traveling was easy.  It's not too much farther away than before!  The new year gives us new opportunities to refocus on what's really important.
So even though it's the dead of winter and grey and cold and gloomy, I mostly feel gratitude for our family, our health, our friends, our opportunities, and more.  January is not so bad after all!