Creating a New Year

I am excited for 2013! And in all honesty, I'm kind of glad that 2012 is over. While it gave us our greatest blessing in the birth of Briella, other than that 2012 was a hard year. I don't want to seem overly dramatic, but adjusting to being a mom along with being a wife (that was harder for me than I ever would have imagined), adjusting to Ryan's new position at work which required a lot of travel, and just some blah moments, I am ready to move onto a new year! And I am determined to make 2013 great!

I don't really do too well with resolutions and goals that usually come with the new year, but I did read a couple of ideas that I really liked to help things to be different in 2013. The first was to pick one word that you would like to describe the upcoming year - just one word. That seems simple enough! I had thought of a few words, one of which was "intentional," but that seems sort of cliche to me because I have "tried to be intentional" before. I like intentional, I just wanted something different. As I continued to ponder my word for 2013, I came up with "create." I want to create my (and our family's) 2013. I don't want to just take what life throws at me. Yes, things will happen that I can't change, but I CAN change and control how I respond. I want to do more with what I'm given.

• I want to create memories together as a family,
• I want to create a better marriage,
• I want to create stronger relationships with friends and family,
• I want to create the best of every situation even if I don't like it (for example Ryan having to travel (sad) gives me an opportunity go visit friends and family (happy)),
• I want to create a peaceful, joyful, loving atmosphere in our home,
• I want to create opportunities to serve others.

The second idea, I found here. This idea really appealed to me as well as the above idea. Actually, I think they go very well together. This helped me to narrow down those things which are most important and will help me to create the life I desire. :) In case you didn't read the link above, the idea is to fill in this blank up to five times: "Time Spent _____________ is not a waste."

I chose:

• Time spent with God is not a waste.
• Time spent investing in our marriage is not a waste.
• Time spent interacting with Briella is not a waste.
• Time spent making our house a home is not a waste.
• Time spent with family and friends is not a waste.

After I came up with those five things, I spent some time coming up with simple ideas on how I could work on these things. Hopefully, this will help me to actually create the best possible 2013.

What are your goals for the new year, or what one word would you pick, or how would you fill in the blank above, or what other ideas do you use at the beginning of each year? I would love to know. :)

Here's to a wonderful new year! Happy 2013!