After the bell rang yesterday, sleet was starting to fall to the ground as my kids made their way out. As soon as they saw me waiting they asked, "Can we make hot chocolate, mama?"

Why not? I thought. As we headed home, I got out all the ingredients to make the stove top chocolate deliciousness. They couldn't wait for it and started digging into the marshmallow bag.

As we prepared dinner, I told Alexa to play Frank Sinatra Christmas. Because why not? The year has been hard on all of us. I think we should have played Christmas music sooner!

We lit our fall candles and as we ate dinner it felt magical as it was dreary and cold outside.

first day (no snow yet!)

While we are fortunate enough to be back to school in our town, our family is also in transition while my husband is searching for a new job.

Our home is under contract and the kids' toys are all packed in boxes. The walls are growing bare and there's a feeling of angst and restlessness. It's stressful on daddy and mommy too.

And even though the world is chaotic right now, I'm thankful we can still control our home in the midst of it and still provide comfort and happiness to our children through familiar musical sounds and a warm cup of cocoa. We can still laugh, hug, and forgive when we fight.

We can still provide joy and love in a time of great uncertainty and despair. We can still tell our kids, "This is really hard. But we'll get through it together."

Today is another cold day as snow blankets the ground. If my kids ask for cocoa again after school, I'm going to say,

"Sure! Why not? Let's play Let it Snow again."