Christmas is over…

I love Christmas and the month leading up to it.

I love spending time with family and friends.

I love all the decorations.

I love the music.

I love the Christmas movies on Hallmark & Lifetime channels.

I love all the treats.

I love hot cocoa with marshmallow crème and cinnamon and nutmeg.

I love sending and receiving Christmas cards.

I love all the lights on houses and the Mesa Temple.

I love when we find the “perfect” gift for each kid.

I love the big family dinner on Christmas Eve at our house.

I love the looks on the kids’ faces when they unwrap their gifts.

I love seeing the kids happily play with their new toys.

I loved the beautiful musical program at church on Christmas Day.

I love all sharing and giving.

I don’t love all the cleanup.

Christmas is OVER and now I want everything cleaned up. Who wants to come do it for me? Although, as much as I want someone else to do it, I’m a little OCD about how things are done, so ultimately, it’s up to me. UGH!! How soon do YOU put all the decorations away?

Also, I’ve completely derailed my diet and workout. I found 101 Healthy Things You Can Start TODAY! (<--click to see them)

I only skimmed thru the list but I’m pretty sure I need to do ALL of them! Starting TODAY!

What are you going to start doing in 2012? I also starting thinking about MY WORD for the new year. Have you?

My Word…

I had two different words on my mind when this word popped in my head:

CHOOSE “to select from a number of possibilities”

CHOOSE the Right

CHOOSE a positive attitude

CHOOSE to be productive

CHOOSE NOT to be offended

I was inspired a couple weeks ago, when we had a lesson at church during Relief Society that came from President Thomas S. Monson’s talk “The Three R’s of Choice” from the October 2010 General Conference (Priesthood Session). He talks about various aspects of choice and put them into three categories: the right of choice, the responsibility of choice, and the results of choice, hence the three R’s of choice. I really enjoyed his perspective. He ended his talk by saying “…may we be filled with gratitude for the right of choice, accept the responsibility of choice, and ever be conscious of the results of choice.”

I hope I can be more aware of the choices in front of me and do a better job this year with my attitude and being a good example to my family.

I’m also choosing to attempt Project 365 again this year {a picture each day for the year}. Hopefully I’ll get farther than I did 2 years ago. LOL! If you want to follow along, you can check out my Project365 blog HERE.

Did you choose a word to center your goals around this year?

If you want ideas for a word, go HERE.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas!

We did! It was simple but nice!

I'm so grateful for my family and friends {real & online}!

I can't believe that this year is ending and 2011 is approaching so FAST! It's been a strange, hard, changing and wonderful year! I've also started thinking about my new word of the year. Have you picked a word yet? I'm still thinking. I'll reveal mine when I finally settle on one.
*Need some ideas - look HERE and HERE

News & Spring is almost here!

I’ll start with the shocking news…

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, my Dad met someone online, they met and immediately became engaged. They have recently set the date for May 20th to get married. It’s been kind of difficult dealing with this. My sister and I have been trying to be happy for our Dad but it’s still too fast for us. But it’s what he wants, so there’s no changing his mind. She will be visiting here March 18-26th, so that’s when we’ll get to meet her.

Good News…

I finally removed the hangers, bagged, and donated all of my Mom’s clothes. It was 2 huge trash bags plus a bag for her shoes.

Fun news…

I shopped for bunko prizes last week. Then I hosted bunko at my house on Friday. It was a blast! And I got a cute prize (I really wanted to keep all of them)!

On to sweeter news…

My darling Ashley had her 8th birthday over the weekend. I can’t believe how quickly she is growing and changing. She has been wanting secret journals, so she received a couple of those. You know the kind that has a mini key with it? She thinks they are so cool. She also got a Moxie doll (like a Barbie doll but with changeable heads) and an iCarly notebook, but I forgot to buy some batteries, so she hasn’t used it yet. I think you have to use a passcode to get it open, then you can write your notes in it. My sister also found a gift & card that my Mom had bought for Ashley before she died. So, Christy was able to give that to her. It’s a necklace with a charm and inside is a mustard seed with a quote attached that reads, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Ashley was so excited!!! I love the one I got just like it when I was 8 from my Aunt Wendy. I still have it.

Enjoying breakfast (homemade Belgian waffles) with her BFF that spent the night. Playing a little xbox.Eating lunch after the makeover her sister gave her. her bday cake (rainbow chip with rainbow chip frosting) The whole gang! blowing out 8 candles. her Moxie doll. some wall scrapbook kits Ashley with Grandma and Grandpa Stradling              Ashley & me Ashley & Ben

And because Ashley turned 8, she will be getting baptized this Saturday. She is thrilled!

Decluttering news…

Ben & I helped the kids go thru their closets & dressers to gather all the clothes that don’t fit them. We filled 7 trash bags!!! {well 2 or 3 were already filled with baby/toddler clothes just waiting to be donated}. Ben dropped off ALL the clothing for donations yesterday! It really feels good to get all that stuff OUT of the house that we weren’t using. Now, if I can just get the computer room organized. Hmmmm. That’s for another day. LOL

* NEW * March Challenges are posted.

Head on over to the DSO Challenge Blog for some inspiration, plus you earn freebies!

Here's what you get FREE if you play along:

{remember my posting bonuses are coordinating}

FONT Challenge

QUOTE Challenge

HAPPY SPRING and HAPPY SCRAPPING!

my word for 2010

ACHIEVE: to bring to a successful end; carry through; accomplish; to get or attain by effort; gain; obtain; to bring about an intended result; accomplish some purpose or effect; to attain with effort or despite difficulty.

Notice the last definition. It means I actually have to WORK on my goals and not just sit by and wait for them to get crossed off my list without any effort.

I have so many goals for this year {especially since I failed miserably with my word from last year} that I’m hoping I can ACHIEVE something this year. I will take one goal at a time and WORK on it until I ACHIEVE it.

Have you picked a word for the year? If you need ideas, like I did, you can go HERE. {I totally got this idea from Allie Edwards} I looked thru the list of words, for inspiration, then wrote down a few that stood out to me and narrowed it down again from there. Good Luck!

Gym, Conference & Project 365

Went to the gym today! YAY ME!!! Didn't go all December and probably most of November. I can totally tell. UGH! Must work off holiday treats that are stuck to my hips & waist, plus more. Even though I was tired and wanted to go home right after we got there, I feel better knowing I got something done that's good for me.

Parent-Teacher conferences today. I actually enjoy going to these. The kids are doing GREAT and I LOVE hearing wonderful things from the teachers, plus seeing what projects the kids are working on.

Speaking of projects...I finally have my album put together for my Project 365. WOOHOOO!!! I signed up for Hobby Lobby's online newsletter & received a 40% off coupon {for ONE regular priced item - one coupon per customer per day - don't you just love those special rules?}. So, I printed several and told my Mom about it too. She printed more than me. LOL

We went to Hobby Lobby together Friday after the kids got home from school and again on Saturday to make an exchange plus get a few extras. We decided to take advantage of our fabulous coupons and regular priced items and get a good deal on them. We each went thru different cashiers, then switched and also sent Felicia thru the lines to get each of our items using our coupons. It took forever (as Hobby Lobby usually does) but it was WORTH it!

Look what I finally have completed (well organized so I can begin)!
It's my album for all my photos for my Project 365 that I'm doing this year. I even started printing my pictures & put them in my album! I'm so EXCITED!!!! You can see my photos HERE.

Well, gotta go. Kids getting out of school and have conferences soon!

Word of the Year 2009

52 Blessings - Week 4

This morning I was thinking about what I could spotlight as my Blessing for this week, and then it really hit me today at church. In primary, our lesson was about Lehi's Dream, and we were discussing the symbolism - the Rod is the Word of God, the Tree is Christ's Love and the Fruit is Eternal Life. Also, I was thinking about yesterday at Felicia's activity, she brought home a plaque that says "Daughter of God" and they told the girls that every girl is a Princess because our Heavenly Father is our King and she really loved that. I am so thankful for my Savior and knowing that I am a Child of God.

Journaling:

It is such a Blessing to know that I am a Child of God and my Savior Loves me! I know He suffered and died for me and was Resurrected so that I may live again. I am so thankful for the Gospel and to have it in my life. I am grateful that I have the Word of God so that I may grow closer to Him with each word that I read and study.

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you."

John 14:27

(Credits: Little Dreamer Designs "Lima Bean" paper sampler

Font - Susie's Hand)

Christmas is Officially OVER

OK, we finally took down our Christmas decorations yesterday, packed them up & Ben put them in the attic. Whew! We also put away our extra table that has been out because we've had several big family get-togethers over the last few months. YAY! Now our house is feeling spacious again! Now if we can just get the rest of the kids' crap put away & clear off our kitchen island (that seems to be drop-off central). Getting stuff put away actually gives me PEACE! Looking at clutter stresses me out. So, there's several mini-projects that I need to do, so I can have more peace & less stress!

One of my friends sent this quote to me (which I have seen before & absolutely LOVE, but couldn't find it again until now - thanks Janan!):

PEACE - it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

Isn't that fabulous?! So, I'm working on that. But it doesn't mean living in the mess and being in denial. I can be at peace in my home even when it's not perfect (because it's not), but I can definitely improve my space so that I have more peace! Does that make sense? Well it does to me.

Word of the Year

I've seen that several bloggers are coming up with ONE WORD as their inspiration for their goals for the year. I really like this idea, so I have been thinking and thinking about what I want mine to be. I had two that I kept going back 'n forth but finally settled on this one:

PEACE

(some of the definitions I liked)

~ freedom of the mind from Annoyance, Distraction, Anxiety, an Obsession, etc ~ Tranquility; Serenity ~ Untroubled ~ Content ~ At Peace ~ Keep Peace ~ Make Peace/Peacemaker ~ Absence of Hostility ~ Freedom from Quarrels & Disagreement ~ Harmonious Relations ~ Absence of Mental Stress

"Our Priorities Determine what we Seek in Life." by Dallin H. Oaks (found this quote on Cara's Blog, it's from a book she's reading) I really fell in love with this quote when she posted it.

I really want to do things that give me PEACE. I still need to make a little list (& put it where I can see it all the time) of the kinds of things I think will give me more Peace in my life.

One thing that I've been thinking about a lot since Testimony meeting is visiting the Temple. It really hit me kind of hard when one of the counselors in the Bishopric spoke about visiting the Temple often. We live SO CLOSE to the Temple that we should be able to visit lots! Well, we don't. Actually, we haven't been in a long time. Thinking about it makes me sad. But something else came to mind that could help me accomplish this goal. A gal in my ward does "drop-off" babysitting 2 days a week (during school hours). That's perfect! My hubby has a couple days off the first part of the week (one of them is a day she babysits), so I thought maybe he and I could go visit the Temple on one of his days off and we could drop off Anson for a little while at my friends' house. Awesome! Now we just need to accomplish it. I think it would also be such a neat experience to have a Girls Temple Day! So, anyone who's interested in going together just let me know! (BTW, my friend babysits on Wednesdays & Fridays, so I could go one of those days.) Hey, if you live close, you could use my friend for babysitting if you need to also. She charges $2 per kid per hour. I only have one kid at home during the day right now, so it's totally affordable for me.

Ok, so this post has become longer than I originally planned. Sorry. I'll post the rest of my goals when I finish writing them down.