My Word for 2012

As many of you know or remember last year, my word for the year was GRACE. I needed a year of introspection, really examining relationships in my life, forgiving things in my past and even things in my present. I must say it was a word that was very tough to live out but I am glad I tried.

When the new year rang in, I had not yet decided on my word for 2012.

I had been wrestling with some feelings of sadness brought on by the holidays, a tragic accident in our town, and a death in our family. Because of those feelings, I felt more pressed than ever to live in the moment. Really grasp the taste and essence of everyday life ~ good, bad, and ugly ~ and just feel joy for having experienced it.

That is when I realized my word for the year would be EMBRACE.

I would like to in 2012:

Embrace

~ love (my family, always)

~ laughter

~ friendships (old and new)

~ honesty

~ forgiveness

~ knowledge (learn new things)

~ success in my business

~ the world (ie: travel!!)

~ the ordinary every day moments that could be our last

~ books (read those books I've been wanting to read forever)

~ faith (not just praying, but living it out with actions)

~ giving (find ways to give that are meaningful every week)

~ life

I hope you will choose a word for 2012 and share it in the comments section with me. I would love to know what words are your focus for the new year.

Day 16

So, it was MLK day today and as much as I would like to say I did something educational with my kids, I did not. We all headed through the drizzle to the bowling alley and laid out some strikes! I love this angle, mostly because it does not show my back side. I love the reflection of the bowling balls painted on the wall down the lane. I took one of each of us like this and then had Ben take one of me ~ this is what he got. Pretty cool.

Day 15

It's one of my favorite comfort foods for winter. And every year I cook a HUGE pot (because I don't know any other way to make them) of red beans to eat with rice. YUM! With the gray weather and no boys in the house, Sarah and I chopped and sauteed and whipped up a pot of beans that simmered all day long. Then I sat down in my chair and read a book in peace. What a fantastic day!

Day 14

After three opening games of getting slaughtered, I can honestly say I was not looking forward to spending my Saturday night watching my son play basketball. It's not that I don't love to watch him, I just feel so badly when they lose. So, when his team hit the court, I did not have high hopes. They surprised me. It seems they finally gelled as a team and played well! They ended up winning and by quite a few! So I found it fitting to post this picture of my sweet son for Day 14. I love you Ben!!

Day 13

It was Friday the 13th and our monthly bunco night! Since it was chilly and we all just really wanted to veg out we decided to arrive in our pajamas. Here is a picture of our slippered feet! I love this group of women ~ no matter what is going in our life we find a reason to laugh and lift each other up!

365 Project

Okay... better late than well, a lot of things. I have decided to try to take part in The 365 Project. This project intrigued me last year, and each year I say I am going to participate. However, each year I seem to remember about halfway through the month of January and feel like "it's too late". So this year, I figure I will just "embrace" my tardiness and do it anyway! I hope I can stick with it as life sometimes takes over and some of my postings might be groups of photos instead of one per day. I think the final project will be one that is worth it.

The objective is to capture the year in photos by selecting one photo per day to post or share. At the end of the year, you have a history of moments captured by pictures. Since I already have this blog I figured I would post the pictures here. Some might be artistic, but I actually envision them depicting my everyday life, which is not too glam!

Maybe a scrapbook at the end of the year with all the photos? Who knows?

New Family Member!

We have been stricken with a terrible case of LOVE!!! Puppy Love!! Welcome our furry little bundle of fun and puppy breath kisses - Boomer! He is only 2lbs 10 oz at his last doctor visit and is part Maltese and part poodle. He has very special beginnings, because he was the lone survivor in a litter birthed to one of the puppy mill rescue dogs. Mama survived too but Boomer was the only puppy to survive the premature delivery. He is all spunk and super fun to watch. Our neighbors thought we had acquired a bunny rabbit since all they could see was this little white fluff hopping through the grass. Yes, that's right he hops because his little legs are short. Each day is a new experience for him and he truly is a smart and special dog we look forward to loving on for years to come!