Christmas, New Year, and Resolutions

What a stressful time it has been at my house! We just returned home last night and I'm not sure I realized just how depressing it would be coming home to a house whose kitchen is being remodeled. I'm very grateful for progress but boy is it getting difficult. I have no idea when we'll even be able to take down the Christmas decorations - the house is in chaos and this not typical of my home! Thankfully the new countertops and sink were installed while we were away. Chuck is playing plumber right now (at midnight) and hooking up the new faucet. It's coming along, however slowly.


We had a nice Christmas holiday but we are terribly road weary. We did lots of going as we usually do. We spent three nights in Chuck's hometown at my in-laws and we also visited three sets of good friends. It's so nice being with good friends, isn't it? You know the kind I mean - those you just pick right up with even if you haven't been able to visit for a while. I'm so thankful for friends like these! Next we traveled south to have Christmas at my mom's. We had our festivities on Saturday, then we got up early and traveled east a couple of hours to visit Chuck's grandparents in yet another part of Louisiana. It's sad to realize how much things have changed in just a year. Last year we were visiting Granny and Pop in their home, but this year we spent time with them at the nursing home where Pop must live after his stroke. It was great to see them and they are two people I admire most in all the world. We had lunch at my grandmother's house with my cousin and half sister also stopping by. Grandma cooked okra gumbo! Even at 91 she still has amazing skills in the kitchen. We went by my dad's house for about an hour and then made our way back to my sister's quite exhausted.


We stayed five nights at my sister's house, not returning home until New Year's Day. It was so nice to enjoy our nephews while school was out! Here's a pic of me enjoying my new computer (and reading your blogs!) while snuggling with my older nephew. We both love to read, and he finished all 240 pages of that Peter Pan book in one night! Pretty impressive for an almost-8-year-old, I think! (And yes, it does make me very sad that his feet are almost as big as mine. He's growing up too fast.)

We spent lots of family time all together, playing games and doing silly things. My younger nephew got a karaoke machine for Christmas and I had a great time singing with my mom and sis! (If you know me in real life you probably know that I would NEVER sing karaoke with any crowd other than my immediate family!) It was a blast. We also spent New Year's Eve just down the road from Mom's at an old family friend's house. They have a bonfire and fireworks show every year, so it was fun hanging out there. I can't tell you how sad it was to return home after all of that time with family and friends, especially with so much work to be done here. (Sigh)


I've been thinking about resolutions for the new year. It's nothing really spectacular or exciting, just a few simple goals I've decided to work on:

1. I hesitate to classify this as a New Year's resolution for fear of setting myself up for failure, but I really would like to settle into a regular fitness routine. I could certainly stand to lose a few pounds, eat healthier, and get into shape.


2. Next, I'd like to work harder on not getting so stressed out by schedules and circumstances. I'm getting better about saying no to people, but I have a tendency to fill up the calendar weeks and months in advance and before I know it I'm all tied up in knots because it gets to be too much. I want to really limit that this year.


3. I want to have more consistency and organization when it comes to daily devotionals and prayer time. This one is so important to me, and I tend to let it slip (usually as a result of too much activity as mentioned in #2).


4. This year I hope to get caught up on my scrapbooks. I'm almost 2 years behind already (I do a chronological album for each year) and I have several other mini-album ideas that I hope to work on as well.


5. Finally, this is just a little something but I've decided to keep a log of the books I have read and want to read in 2009. I wish I'd been doing this for years because I absolutely love to read. I'd love to hear any good recommendations! I've got a stack of books that I'm already dying to tackle this year.

These are my goals for the year. What about you? Do you make resolutions? Do you worry about not meeting your goals?

Oh, and one last thing. Definitely one of the highlights of my year in 2008 was starting this blog. It's been a pleasure to get to know so many of you out there! Because of you 2008 will hold a special place in my heart. Happy New Year, friends. I'm hoping for a year of miracles!