A New Year Begins

So it is January 1st 2011. 2010 seems to have sped by so quickly, I really can't believe it! When I was a child and in school, the year would move sluggishly along(summer vacation/Christmas was ever so far away!)...but as an adult, I find that the years move increasingly quicker and my children grow so fast. Some days, I wish time would slow down just a bit for me so that I can truly savor each day.

Each year brings its own joys, blessings, and difficulties. 2010 was really no different. We have had joyous birthday celebrations, my brother has been sober for more than 6 months and has called Christ his savior, and we've bought and moved into our very first house...swiftly becoming a home :-) There have been challenges too...in May my dear Rowan had to be taken to the emergency because she was choking and then had a procedure to remove the object(a blade of grass lodged in her larynx). Praise God for His mercy and protection of her. And always there are financial challenges that seem to dog us regularly.

Despite the challenges...2010 has been a most blessed year! I am thankful for a God that is sovereign and sitting on His throne. Life without Him would be bleak indeed.

No doubt 2011 will come with its own challenges...but mixed, thankfully, with its own blessings. This month already has its concerns placed before us. In about 2 weeks my Mom will be going in for surgery to remove a suspicious mass. We do not know yet whether it is cancer or not, but there is that possibility. My Mom and I have been "bossom friends" since I was but 8 and my heart aches as we wait.

But with that, I know there will be days full of joy and blessings. My husband and children provide me with that frequently :-)

We will continue to eek by and be thankful, joyful, and prayerful. I really don't like to make official resolutions or goals..though perhaps I should. I do have some personal(and this may also include my family) goals/desires that I've been thinking on though. I'd like to share them, so that perhaps I can look back to remind myself where my heart was on the first day of 2011:

My prayers for 2011

~That I will glorify God in all I do...at home and outside of the home.

~That I will be a more loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.

~I would like to be more consistent and diligent in my time with the Lord and in prayer.

~I want to find ways to be a better steward of the money/tools God has provided us through my husband's work and other means.

~I would like to be more consistent and diligent in my homekeeping, so as to glorify God in what I do and to be a better example to my children.

~I plan for us to get into a better chore schedule.

~I want to snuggle and laugh more with my kids.

~I want to have more special time with my hubby..my best friend :-)

~I want to make more time for my hobbies(sewing, knitting and learning more).

Perhaps one will call this a list of resolutions...and maybe they really are. My main goal here is to remind myself of the important things and the things that I realize need changing. May the Lord bless me with the desire, diligence, and love that all this will require!

Happy New Year dear friends! May God bless you greatly in 2011!!!!