fire and ice...

the holidays really were so magical for me this year.  our annual trip to NY was very snowy.

  i mean it.

  very, very snowy.
it was an exceptionally long trip this time, as we followed a big storm all the way up.

and as i don't love snow very much, i only stepped out onto the deck briefly to snap these pictures.  i have really embraced the southern way of living and this was just too much snow for me.   and so cold!  but it is so very beautiful when the sun hits it just so.  and when you are warm and toasty inside.  and when you don't have to shovel.

 we had several birthdays over the holidays.  that always makes our holidays extra special.  hubby's is on Christmas Eve and the twins on the 27th and my youngest is a New Years baby (no, not the first one of the New Year, but i really tried).  if you think cake boss was invited, no.  my sister makes us such a beautiful cake every year.  not just pretty, tasty too.  i ate two slices. 

it's tradition to go ice skating every year at our favorite outdoor rink in downtown Syracuse.  can't do that down South.  we picked the sunniest, warmest day to go.  30 degrees and sun - woo hoo!

here's a better view.  i love the big Christmas tree.  when we used to live here, we took the kids to the tree lighting ceremony every year.  miss that.

a tradition that we started last year was a New Year's eve bonfire.  of course, it was considerably warmer last year.  but we weren't cold.  my brother really outdid himself.  i think he started this wood pile right after our last visit.  it was an impressive fire.  and warm.  we came back outside at midnight and had a fireworks show as well.  i think it runs in the family.  i love to build a good fire, as do my boys.  and my husband and boys have been known to cause a few explosions.  my brother is a pretty quiet guy, but you can just see him come alive when he's lighting big fires and blowing stuff up.

all in all, it was a very magical holiday.  it passed by way too quickly.  i found myself getting teary eyed the night before we came home.  and then again in the car when we left so early in the morning.  and then again later when i called my sister-in-law to tell her we had made it home safely.  and yet again at dinner, when the kids were talking about going back to school.

we've been in Virginia for seven years now.  we get back to NY once or twice a year, but in between times, i really miss my family.  and there's also a sadness about my own kids.  growing up so fast.  my baby is in his last year before becoming a teen.  the twins are 15.  15!?!    my oldest will be graduating this year and heading off to college.  and then life changes all over again.  and even though i know change is inevitable, i'm really slow at adjusting.  it seems like i finally get used to something and then it's over.

but of course, somehow i always make it through.  there are a lot of positives in my life.  i just need to remember that.  and a new year is always so fresh and exciting to me.  after the mad Christmas rush, January is like a quiet respite.  a time to get the studio cleaned out and organized.  a time to work on goals for the year.  to think about what i would like to learn and try this year.  so many possibilities....