As we get ready to start 2014, I am reflecting back on all that 2013 had to offer. It has been a good year. A really good year.

We went from announcing that we were expecting, to finding out we were going to have a boy,  to going through his semi-stressful delivery (more on that some day), and finally, to spending five whole months with our beautiful blessing. It has been quite the year. It has been the best year.

Our first family picture. Blurry, but I love it. 

I'm looking forward to 2014 though. I think it could be the best year yet. Jonathan and I will celebrate four years of marriage and seven years of being together, Daniel will turn one, Jonathan is going to participate in a Tough Mudder, I'm dreaming up big plans that involve becoming a healthier version of myself, and who knows, maybe by the end of the year we will be expecting baby number two (a mom can hope can't she? ;) ).

All I know is that I'm ready to ring in a new year and a new chapter in our lives! 

Welcome 2014, it's nice to meet you! 

Welcome, come on in.

Ohh goodnes...my mind is going fifty ways to Sunday today! I blame it on an overdoes of caffeine, Christmas spirit, and, well let's be honest, sugar.

As I attempt to calm myself down by organizing, putting away, and sorting, taking a nap, I will leave you with a quick before and after for your viewing pleasure.

A few months ago, I had the bright idea that I would "quickly" spiff up our entryway. Well, it didn't turn out to be as quick of a project as I planned. This always happens doesn't it? I figured I would knock it out in a couple of days and we would be left with a much cheerier entry! Well, its been a couple of months and it still isn't technically done. Oh well, it will get there!

I still would like to paint the basement door and surrounding trim, stain  the back door, paint the stairs, and possibly make some curtains. Oh and maybe a new rug for the floor. Either way, there are still a few projects and the painting is probably going to have to wait until spring/summer when the weather is warmer. Paint or stain + cold = no go.

Well, I'm off to enjoy this snowy and blustery post-Christmas day! Peace.

A Merry Christmas

This morning I'm thanking God for the blessing of His son. What a humbling gift to give. 

Today will be spent with family. A low key, lovely day is planned. I'm already enjoying it by folding some laundry and drinking eggnog in my coffee.  Here is a bit of our Christmas decorations for your viewing pleasure.

From our family, to yours, Merry Christmas!!

This Weather

Oh, this weather! I have been giddy about the weather that we are currently getting.

I missed the first storm of the season--we were out of town for Thanksgiving--so, this new storm is just what the doctor ordered :)

These are the days that I have dreamed about sharing with my children. Even though Daniel is still too young to comprehend the beauty of what is going on outside, I'm determined to share it with him.

We have played under the Christmas tree. He has watched me excitedly open the many packages of gifts coming in and then watched me wrap said gifts. We have snuggled and enjoyed lots of time curled up in our little house. Guys, let me tell you, this house becomes magical in the middle of winter. It is like a warm cocoon for my little family. We love it.

What I'm most excited about is the fact that they are calling for more snow!

More snow?! Man, I'm a lucky girl. 

Excuses.

Today I'm just feeling the urge to blog. There are so many things racing through my head. It's times like these that I wish I were a better writer. I need practice. In these moments I am able to formulate various blog posts without an issue. They sound great (in my head) and make tons of sense. But when I sit down to write them, they come out jumbled and confusing. Maybe if I took a few writing classes it would help. Fellow writers, any advice?

Moving on.

This time of year always has me thinking about the start of the new year. It's almost like a have a month to prepare for my new life. The start of a new year makes me want to be a whole different person. I find myself saying things like "from this day forward..." or "after today I won't...." Yea, then nothing ever happens.

I have been focusing on my motivation (or rather, lack there of) lately. I'm starting to realize that motivation isn't something you necessarily have, rather, it is something you do. Recently on Facebook, I asked a general question about motivation: "Where do you find your motivation?" The answers that I received back, were not what I expected. The majority of people said that they just. do. it.

Maybe Nike is on to something-ha!

Of course there were some very good ideas for holding yourself accountable and self motivation, but the comment that was the most frequent was to just put one step in front of the other. Maybe this is something that a lot of other people don't struggle with, but it is definitely something I do. I am able to generate a lot of ideas for things that I would love to do. They sound great in my mind and I think "oh that should be easy!" but then, when I attempt my idea, it turns out to be easier said than done. The process usually ends with a lot of excuses as to why I didn't accomplish my task. Anyone else have this problem? Please tell me I'm not alone.

Slowly God is doing His work in me. He is showing me, at a pace that I can handle, that all of my excuses are empty ones. They have no substance. They may be fears, shortcomings, or just plain nonsense that I have developed in order to justify my lack of motivation. When you really don't want to do something, or something becomes hard, it's easy to find a reason not to. I often find myself asking if it is really worth my time or energy. Rationalizing an idea away can be quite easy.

Trust me, I'm an expert at it!

All my life I have been concocting all sorts of reasons why I can't accomplish my on going to-do list. I don't want to do this anymore. By second guessing myself and coming up with excuses, I'm left believing that I'm incapable of doing a lot of things that I can definitely do. It's almost paralyzing to some degree. I think enough is enough. 

As this new year approaches, I have a new perspective. Not only to I want to focus on giving myself realistic tasks to accomplish, I also want to make sure that I'm not creating any excuses. I want to be sensible about what I want to tackle and set up a plan to finish those tasks. And when I start hearing myself make up excuses, I want to be able to immediately put an end to them. With a lot of prayer, focus, and understanding, I think 2014 will be completely different than 2013.

I'm excited! I'm excited to grow even more as a wife, mother, and follower of my heavenly Father. I'm excited to show my little boy how healthy his mom can be. I'm praying that God will continue to create in me the mother that my little boy deserves. I'm so thankful that through Him, and Him alone, I can be changed into an entire new person.

Thank you Lord for your amazing power and understanding. 

P.S. These pictures have nothing to do with the content of this post, but you have to have pictures right?

Delightful.

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. 

It's that time of year again. My favorite time of the year.

The weather turns cold and blustery. Winds whip, precipitation-of all sorts-happens, and it generally becomes beautifully gross outside. 

I love it. 

I think this year is going to be extra special and I will probably remember it forever. I'm already cherishing it. This is the first year that I will have a baby to share this extra-special time of the year with. I'm excited. I can't wait to teach Daniel how hibernate during these next few months. I hope he grows up to love this time of the year as much as I do. 

This is the time for some serious rejuvenation to happen. While the world hides away for awhile, we will be doing the same in a figurative sense. It is the time for deep contemplation--challenging the body, mind, and soul. It's time for rest. It's time for a bit of a break. To me, winter is an opportunity. I look at it as a blessing to take a break from the hustle and bustle of spring, summer, and fall. Only winter can bring about this type of peace and quiet that we all need. 

I'm hoping that there is a lot of snuggles, reading, tea-drinking, blankets, movies, playing, baking, and crocheting to be had. I'm going to try to make a point of enjoying winter with a baby--there are so many fun opportunities to be had during this time in our lives. This is all so new and exciting and I'm ready to jump right in. 

I think I will make it a point to stay at home as often as possible. Not only because going out with a baby and doing errands in the snow sounds horrible, but because it just seems right to do so. Winter is for being home. Spring, summer, and fall are for being out and about.

I'm sure there will be many adventures out into the winter wonderland, but whenever possible, I want to full embrace the comfort and nest-y feel that seems to envelope our home during these next few months. I'm telling you people. It is magical. 

Now to find a cozy fireplace...

On Perfection

The other day I was making our bed and noticed the way that the sun was streaming in through our window. I instantly thought about taking a picture and posting it on here. The way that the sun was hitting our nicely made bed, seemed to make the perfect picture.

But here is the thing. This picture makes it look like our bedroom is clean and all put together. I could post this picture and give the impression that my world is clean and organized. I could let you assume that I have it all together. That one simple picture could make you think so many different things.

But there is so much more that you don't see.

You don't see the pile of laundry that is just behind the headboard--I just easily moved my camera to block it out. You don't see the stack of pregnancy clothes that is sitting in the corner, waiting to be put away (for almost 3 months now). You don't see the stack of dirty dishes sitting in my kitchen sink (and all over my counter). And you don't see this:

or this:

See, it is so easy for a picture to give the impression that everything is perfect. That a person has everything together. That, even during a chaotic time in life, such as having a newborn, one can seemingly hold it all together. Yet, that really isn't the case.

Having a baby--and, well, also having the propensity to constantly challenge my unhealthy habits--has made me realize that my type A personality and slight OCD are a heavy burden to carry. Having everything clean and orderly isn't necessarily a good thing and only gives the outward appearance of being in control.

Hear my out for a second.

As I was staring at the first scene above--the one where light is filtering in through the window and everything is seemingly "perfect"-- I realized that perfection is only 'skin deep' so to speak. When someone posts a picture on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, we only see what they want us to see. The perfectly smiling child or the well kept house might look a little different if we were to get a glimpse of the whole picture. That child might have just stopped screaming after an hour of being unsettled and that perfectly kept house, in reality, is just a calm corner in the midst of chaos. We need to realize that what seems like perfection, might not always be.

Even more so, we need to stop using these false glimpses as a standard for our own personal lives. Finding the beauty in our everyday activities should be our goal. Trust me, there is so much good around us, we just need to learn to be aware of it and see it. 

I tend to expect too much from myself. When I make this huge list of unrealistic goals, and then don't accomplish them, I get really frustrated and beat myself up about it. If things aren't 'perfect' I get mad at myself and the negative self talk starts.  If someone comes over to our house and every space isn't spotless, I am ashamed. I set my expectations so high, only to never achieve them.

This needs to STOP.

In short: NONE of the above is important.

Rather, I should be looking for the perfection and beauty in my day as it happens. I should be focusing on snuggling my beautiful boy and watching him learn and grow, instead of worry about how clean my house is or if the files on my computer are organized. He is only this young once.  I really don't want to look back and think that I missed something about the process of him growing up.

If I wait for everything to be perfect, trying as hard as I can to get there, I am going to miss a lot, and will probably never actually get there.

There are so many more important things in life. Having a clean house is not one of them...