Reflections

I still need to post about Christmas and Parker's 12 month stats, but I need to do this post while it is fresh on my mind.
This year has been a whirl wind of emotions, wonderful ups and downs- getting to know this new little being, watching him grow and becoming a family of four- Brad losing his job, questioning our stability, questioning God and my need for control and coming to terms with those issues and seeing that what seemed so hard has only made our little family even stronger because it caused me to reflect on what matters most- not my bank account, not how much we have, but what we do with the time that we have with each other. In the past three months I have seen my boys grow to depend on their dad and need him and that truly makes my heart smile. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to hear Braden ask Brad to get him juice or a snack or sit in the floor and play a game of Memory with him...not because I don't have to do it :), but because it means that my boys have developed a relationship with their father in which they need him too. And they need him because he has needed them and shown an interest in them and once again my heart is happy. There is absolutely nothing sexier than a man who turns off Sportscenter to sit in the floor and build a train track with his 3 year old son. Can I get an Amen?
So in reflecting upon all of these things I have been thinking about 2011 and what I want to accomplish this year (of course I want to lose 10..actually 40 pounds, but that didn't make the list).

• I want to learn the art of canning and preserving fruits and veggies. I do believe that this is a dying part of our culture. I remember listening to my grandparents talk about sitting in the yard shelling peas and I have been fortunate enough to watch my grandparents and parents do this, but I haven't taken an interest in it myself. I want to learn how to plant a garden and then preserve what I worked so hard to nurture. I think there is something very honest and pure about growing and preserving your own foods. Now I'm not saying that I won't be hitting up Kroger's produce department, but that I would like to learn how to plant and can green beans, pickles and tomatoes. My goal is to start simple- also pear preserves- I remember eating these on biscuits when I was little at my grandma's house and they were as sweet as candy.


• Learn to sew- My parents gave me a sewing machine for Christmas and I chat I really wait to get around to learning to use it. I already have a few projects in mind!


• I want to do a better job at blogging. When Braden was born I scrapbooked and I loved it, actually I still do love it, I just don't get to do it because there is never enough time and I hate dragging everything out and then having to put it up again before I finished a layout. Therefore, Braden has a scrapbook of his first year and Parker has nothing. Poor Park! So I feel like blogging gives me a chance to journal my thoughts and memories for my boys. I just need to do a better job about posting the little things that they do that I don't want to forget...like Braden these past few days Braden has started drawing attention to rhyming words, is making patterns (triangle, square, triangle, square) and added 5+5=10. And Parker has been trying to say "uh-oh", follows Braden from room to room and got himself stuck under the bed yesterday. Small things, but things that I will forget about unless I write them down. I feel like this is my gift to them- Memories of their childhood that may be forgotten otherwise.


• More one on one time with my B-I-B-L-E in solitary reflection and worship with my Savior. And getting back into a small group - which I desperately need, but neglected this year since it was too hard to be away from a nursing infant and yet so hard to take him to bible study with me.

All attainable and very desirable goals if I say so myself!