I love the different seasons, I really do.  And I actually prefer cold to hot.  BUT.  Here in Nebraska, we’ve been dealing with snow after snow after snow and very cold temps (basically the norm for you Northerners, I’m sure) and I’ll admit I woke up this morning wondering if it was Thursday or February after a night with a cranky sick toddler.  The good news is that spring will get here, eventually.

I kind of chuckled when I found a link for a free download for the audio version of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter book.  I’ve been thinking how glad I am that we aren’t suffering through that!!!

Sorry I can’t offer any helpful advice—I sympathize, but that’s why I moved to Texas!!  (Although we do get our cold snaps down here too, like today.)  Couldn’t deal with South Bend/Chicago/Columbus endless winters anymore.  I do admire your resolve to find a way to be more joyful this winter though.  Prayers for you!

I do not love winter, and I can’t offer any encouragement regarding the snow, cold or indoor dry air (yuck!), but I will say this:  December 21st is the shortest day of the year (as far as daylight, that is).  That means that every single day from then on, there will be a tiny bit more daylight each day!  For me, the lack of daylight can be one of the worst parts of winter, so there’s my tiny glimmer of hope for you! (Not much, I know).

I’m with ya!  Winter seems to last the longest of the seasons.  What I try to do is get out in the sun each day.  That helps my perspective on things.  And although it may only be for 10-15 minutes, it does brighten my mood.  On those endless no sun days, I try to get out in the public, the mall, library, target..any store to walk around and maybe treat the kids to a pretzel/drive thru later.  Sometimes I think of all those days in summer that it was sweltering and that makes me warm, for a couple seconds.
Besides Valentines day and some birthdays, I am looking forward to watching the Winter Olympics this year.  Those athletes seem fearless to me.

I’m an outdoorsy gal, but I don’t think you have to be to love the quiet of winter.  I like to bundle up and go for a walk in the woods, just the small city park woods, and listen to the stillness.  It won’t be long before everything starts waking up and chattering again!  Do you have the picture book “Owl Moon”?  It’s a lovely tribute to woodsy winter walks.

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.  I live in the southwest, where we have endured two LONG HOT summers with endless days above 100 degrees, and lows in the mid 80s.  It’s too hot to have the kids outside, but it is miserable inside.  I enjoy winter because it is a chance for us to enjoy more temperate weather!

We love winter here in WV…it is beautiful!!!
We enjoy homemade peppermint marshmallows in a cup of hot cocoa after coming in from the cold…steaming bowls of chili, soups & stews for dinner…using “I need to heat the cold kitchen by using the oven” as an excuse for baking a treat…making s’mores over a small campfire in the backyard (or over the gas burners on the stovetop)... evening walks in the snow on a moonlit night…making stovetop popcorn & watching an old movie…impromptu snowball fights & sledding with neighborhood families…getting under flannel sheets & a down comforter at night…celebrating “Fat Sunday” with our homeschool group before the beginning of the Great Fast (Lent)...piping hot cups of herbal tea or cardamom coffee in the morning…seeing the green leaves & red berries of a holly tree against the stark, white snow…watching our puppy & our 19 month old enjoy their first experience with snow…
That being said…there IS definitely a certain JOY in hearing those first bird chirps in the early spring!! 
(We also downloaded Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “The Long Winter” & look forward to listening to it.  It helps us to keep perspective when we grumble about the cold!)

In our family we LOVE winter and prefer it to the heat of summer (weird, I know!) I agre with Jennifer, though: clothing is KEY!  We splurged and bought our 8 month old really warm clothing so I never had to worry if he was warm enough.  I find that getting outside at least 30 minutes every day in the day light is SOOO important.  We love to bundle up and go on walks/skis/hikes!  Finally, I love winter sometimes because it is a great excuse to snuggle up and watch movies, drink hot chocolate and do crafts.  I feel too guilty being inside in the summer!

I am going to have a baby at the end of this month—-*that* is something we are looking forward to so much!  I am immensely relieved that our new little one did not show up in the middle of the Christmas/New Year craziness…  I don’t like our rainy, gray and dreary days at all, (I am up in the Seattle area) but I’m secretly glad they are here because I need the cold days to get blankets/jammies/bedding cleaned and folded and to super-clean my house!  If only that “nesting mode” other women seem to get toward the end of their 3rd trimester could envelope me and get me motivated, I’m sure I would be a cleaning machine gone wild!

Even though you might not want to go out in the cold, bundle the kids up, and go out even for just 15-20 minutes.  It will invigorate you all and the warmth of your home will feel great afterwards!

(I know, your kiddos are very small, and it will probably take at least 15 minutes to get them changed into outside clothes, or longer if they fuss ....  but you will be glad you did)

Hot cider or hot chocolate tastes good and is a good bribe—-I mean “motivation”—- to getting everyone out!

Hang in there!

Wish I could be helpful, but I really can’t.  I’m in upper Michigan (Ontonagon County) and I’m getting so tired of winter.  And there’s gonna be snow on the ground for four more months!  Ugh!  I guess I deal with winter by spending too much time on the computer, LOL!  I do try to like it.  We moved here little more than three years ago from southern Alabama.  Until living up here, I’d never seen more than a couple inches of snow at a time!  It sure can be beautiful…

I’m not a big fan of winter, but I do find that it’s easier for me to warm up in the winter than it is for me to cool off on some of the hotter/more humid days of summer.  I find that I have more control over it.  Reminding me of that helps me to get through the long winters (and in summer I try to endure the heat by reminding myself that at least it doesn’t slow me down or pose a danger to cars and pedestrians the way some winter weather does).  These extremes are tough.  But there are some perks to winter:  evenings by the fire, time to focus on indoor activities with the kids such as arts and crafts, cooking, etc that often take a backseat to outdoor activities in the summer.

I SO needed this today!  Just not “right” after my October birth of my 3rd and I think this has alot to do with it!  Thanks Arwen and all you ladies!  I will wait in “holy darkness” for the “new springtime”

I loved this article because I could have written it; it’s exactly how I feel!  I’m also dreading the next couple of months of winter but try to focus on what we can do in the house that we wouldn’t want to do if it was nice out.  For example:  cleaning out closets or kitchen cupboards, watching a movie with the kids and having some hot chocolate, baking, reading under a blanket, getting up early just to stay in the dark and warmth of my bed and listen to the sounds of the furnace (which remind me to be thankful for a cozy home), weekly visits to the library, crafts, etc.  We have a whole series of birthdays in Jan/Feb/March which add celebration and our children are really looking forward to the Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure! (http://www.holyheroes.com/)  There’s also sledding, skating, skiing…

LOVE WINTER!  Living here, snow is a treat when we get it, although it gets cold, but our days are usually SUNNY and mild.  Sorry, northerly gals.

I am in Australia, and expecting 100F over the next few days. Can we go halves? - then we will both have decent weather I like winter better than summer, but we rarely get snow, just cold, sunny days. I really don’t like the heat of summer.

I don’t “hate” winter, but it’s my least favorite season, rivaled only by gray, wet, gloomy springs here in northeast Ohio.  The one thing about winter that is positive for me is that it makes me appreciate SO much the summer and fall.  I think because we do have a drastic change of seasons I enjoy them so much more.  Part of the misery of winter is that it gets dark so early.  So I try to read more books, watch more movies with the kids, and drink more hot chocolate.

I love winter ! The snow is what makes it bright and white . Even when it is cold and blistery outside I love it . For some reason my inner child comes out everytime I think of snow . Snowballs, squishy noise underneath my boots, making snowmen , tobogonning(sp?). My boyfriend and I plan on doing some <strike>taboggoning</strike>tobogganing , before winter is over. I look forward to anything that isn’t going to break a leg . like skiing ; although it would be fun to do if you can do it . I never could ice skate that well , but I love to watch and calgary Olympic plaza has hot chocolate and the rink is all lit up , with lights underneath the ice. http://calgary20.com/pics/mark2006_12_25_11_13_19.JPG. I am terrified of slipping on the ice though. We went to Zoo lights this year and if you can, try looking into a sleigh ride or some other fun event in your city . Ta ta for now..

Winter arrived in late September here (100 miles south of the Arctic Circle).  While the lower 48 is having a cold winter, we are having a really warm winter - daytime highs are running 5+ to -10 F and overnight lows -5 to -25F.  Life is nice!  Though we are low on snow this year.

Re: Clothing…go get yourself some CuddleDuds immediately. They’re a little pricey, but very worth it. I’ve seen them at Marshall’s and TJ Maxx for cheap, too, and they really help and you don’t look quite as ridiculously bundled up because they’re just lightweight (but WARM) long johns underneath your normal clothes. I also own “hunting” boots from Cabelas that were only about $30 and have been a lifesaver on my commute in Boston.

Growing up in Michigan and now living in Boston, I feel your pain. I also, ridiculously, have a summery playlist on my iPod with fun summer songs (Beach Boys, Rooney, reggae, Bob Marley, etc) that I listen to during my walk through the evil snowstorms of the northeast. It makes me chuckle to listen to Surfin’ Safari as I stumble ungracefully through mounds of snow.

Perhaps you are among those whose bodies respond to the decreased sunlight and colder weather of winter with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or the “winter blues”?  Feel free to contact me at http://www.solutionsforhealthylives.myshaklee.com/us/en/about.html#/contact.s.html if you’d like some info about some natural self-help measures you could try. Even if you’re not diagnosis material , these ideas may be helpful. (Sorry this response is a little late…)