1. It’s cold and snowy. My kids love it. They love snow angels, snow ball fights, snow sledding, and they want to try skiing.

   On the other hand, my body wants to curl up on the couch with a pile of books, an endless supply of hot coffee, and a blanket, and hibernate all winter. Instead, yesterday we all bundled up in snow pants, snow boots, coats, hats, mittens, and scarves (it’s quite a production for anyone who has never done this before) and went to a little “hill” near our house. The kids played for two whole hours, though the youngest got cold after about an hour. I took him home and started soup for the rest of the crew. It was beautiful being out there as the snow sprinkled, the lights from the houses sparkled, and the kids’ laughter rolled across the hill.

2. Snow mean my entire house is a drying rack. All that snow gear from five bodies is hanging up everywhere drying off so it’s ready for the next sledding adventure. Which will NOT be this weekend, when we’re expecting single-digit temps and no amount of layering can keep a body warm.
3. I found out yesterday that the appointment I thought we had for my son next Tuesday is actually not until February. Boy am I glad I found out before I made him fast for 8 hours and then showed up. So those of you who have been praying for that appointment, we have another month to pray things resolve on their own. We’re hoping to avoid a procedure requiring general anesthesia and a hospital stay.
4. Hibernating is easier with comfort food! We enjoy steaming bowls of soup to warm up our insides last night. This morning I whipped up a big batch of homemade waffles for the crew. It wasn’t enough to bribe my husband to stay home from work, but oh well!
5. If you were on Facebook yesterday, you saw a lot of random colors in people’s statuses. I never got the misguided message to show my support of breast cancer research by sharing my bra color. I’m really not sure how that did any good for breast cancer, but it sure gave the men an interesting day. Here’s a tip, ladies. When you tell men your bra color, the one thing they are NOT thinking about is cancer.
6. I love cooking soup when it’s snowy out. Last night we had Nordic Potato Soup with  Ham, a recipe from a church cookbook I got many years ago. It’s super-scrumptious and my kids all had seconds. That’s unusual at our house. A friend asked me on Twitter if we could do a soup exchange, which I think is a fantabulous idea! I’ll post my recipe below. Please either share your favorite soup recipe in the comments or post yours to your blog (if you have one) and put the link in the Mr. Linky below. This will be fun!
7. Nordic Potato Soup with Ham
   1 1/2 lbs or 3-4 med-sized potatoes, skinned and sliced
   1 lg onion, finely chopped
   1 lb smoked ham hock (or leftover ham from the holidays!)
   1 T dry dill weed
   2 tsp grated lemon peel (I’ve substituted 2 tsp lemon juice before)
   1/4 tsp white pepper
   3 c chicken broth (I double broth and add more potatoes for larger pot of soup)
   1 T cornstarch
   1/2 c whipping cream (I’ve substituted 2 T sour cream and 1/3 c milk)

   In 3-qt or larger crockpot, combine potatoes, onion, ham, dill, lemon, pepper, and broth. Cover and cook at low setting until ham and potatoes are tender (usually takes 7-8 hours). (If doing on stove, bring broth to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.) Lift out ham hock and let stand til cool. Meanwhile, remove about 1 cup potatoes with a little broth. Puree in blender or food processor with cornstarch and whipping cream. Blend back into soup. Remove fat and bone from ham, dice and return to soup. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes (or for about 5 minutes on stove top), stirring occasionally. Yields 4-6 servings.

Add your recipe to your blog and link up below, or add it to the comments!