More Winter? What to drink?

Hello from Erie, PA.  Land of the seemingly endless winter!  Today was a long day... mostly due to the weather and related challenges.  More snow fell today, pushing our seasonal total to somewhere around 130"!  Tonight I am enjoying a cup of warm tea.  I keep finding great new flavors at Wegmans.  At $1.99 a box, you can't go wrong.  This is one of my three most treasured mugs.  Each of these mugs have one thing in common.  They were each a gift from a close friend and whenever I have my evening tea, I think fondly of these women who have played key roles in my life.  Sentimental, I know!  Perhaps this could describe me more often than not?        

 
 

As I find a few moments of quiet and reflect back on the past few days, I remembered to take a look at my phone!  The kids tend to abscond with my phone and wander around the house taking pictures and videos.  This group shot made me smile!  Back to the sentimental thing, one day I will look back on this image and will remember each of the dolls and animals that are so special to my daughter during this time in her own life.  On another note, I also just viewed some rather interesting videos that captured a bit of everyday life between my kids... perhaps it is a good thing that I am not 100% aware of all that is happening around here each moment of the day?  The constant-ness of these two kids and what already bombards my hours is plenty already!  And then I come across a gem of a different sort.  The photo that Kylee took of this Proverbs sheet was an encouragement to me.  God's Word does that!  Even when cropping up in unexpected places.  Like when you are flipping back through 137 random photos that a 4 and 7 year old have added to your phone!  Last week we had learned Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding" and this week we continued on with verse 6.  


Something for which I have been very thankful these past six months is that I have only had a couple of borderline-migraine headaches!  For those who know my family history on my mom's side, this is huge!  It is so neat how I continue to reap the benefits of making the switch to clean eating, a path of fitness, and a few other minor adjustments.  I have always been a water drinker, but previously did not realize just how much water I should be drinking.  Following the guideline of drinking half of your body weight in ounces of water per day has been so helpful!  This tip is something that I picked up during the first "challenge group" that I had joined this past September.  A challenge group is a closed FB group where you join up with others who are working towards goals similar to yours.  I am currently involved in a super-active challenge group which is tackling the 21 Day Fix together!  This one will run through the end of March and a new group will kick-off on April 7th!!  Let me know if you are curious about more details on this.  The fact that everyday people are able to really and truly change through everyday decisions is simply amazing to me!  What a neat time in life, to be able to support others on their own journey towards their goals.

As with anything, the people and their stories are my own favorite part.  Speaking of stories... here is a photo of me with the friend who gave me the special mug pictured at the beginning of this entry.  This photo was taken around my 90 Day mark, before this dear friend had to move to Texas.  She is an example of those who encourage others!  Back when we first met in October of 2012, we talked about how I could help her to meet some awesome people here in Erie.  Our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group was instrumental in bringing this to fruition.  And she mentioned how she could help me to get back into shape!  I never did make it to the actual gym with her but she has been an encouragement to me from Day One.  These are the friends who make all the difference in our lives!