New Beginnings

Just when I was starting to wrap my head around 2013, BAM! Another year gone.

Welcome, 2014. I trust you will be good to us.

Last year was a good one. We welcomed a baby girl into the family and our world was shaken to its core in the best possible way. I wholeheartedly embraced the job I always knew I was meant for and became a stay-at-home mama. K and I adjusted to our new normal, kissing sleep goodbye for the foreseeable future and figuring out how to juggle the added responsibility of caring for a tiny, helpless human.

Since ringing in 2014 nearly one week ago, I've been spending a lot of time pondering what it is that I envision for this new year; what it is that I want from it– from myself, really.

More so than any other year, I feel I have a true opportunity for a start fresh. There are several things that need tweaking in my life and I feel ready to dig deep and put in the work. There really is no time like the present, right?

Above all else, I want to stop using time as an excuse for my shortcomings. Phrases like, "I'm too busy" or, "I wish there were more hours in the day" frequent my vocabulary more than they should. I want to stop complaining about time because the more attention I give to lack, the bigger lack becomes.

Once I've loosened my grip on the clock and allow time to flow as it should, I plan to re-prioritize the important things in life:

Health- Physical, Emotional, Spiritual. I want to schedule more time each week to attend a yoga class, journal, sit in silence, take a bath by candlelight, and serve others. I want to get out of the city, away from the constant chatter of people and buzz of electronics. I want to find a church that we are excited about attending and one that we can raise our daughter in. I want to finally start the book study with Keane that we've been talking about doing for months. I want to simplify my world.
Relationships- I want to strive to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend everyday. Send a handwritten note just because. Help someone move (it's truly my least favorite thing to do EVER so this is a big one), cook a meal and deliver it when someone is ill. Smile at more strangers. Chat with the clerk at the grocery store rather than rushing off to my next activity. See the Good and the God in everyone I meet. Be selfless more of the time.
Creativity- Turn off the television, put down the phone and create something. A lavish meal, a fun painting, a blog post that's been brewing in my brain for months. I want to paint my nails, listen to loud music, dance wildly with my husband.

I'm avoiding using the word "resolutions" because statistics prove that those things are never successfully kept. Instead, this list is more of a direction I wish to take. It's a personal mission for my life.

I took this photo a year and a half ago in Aspen.
It makes my soul happy.

Here's to you, 2014...

Let's make it good.