Looking Both Ways

Um... whoa on the Midweek Confessions.  THANK YOU to all 33 of you who linked up on Wednesday.  I spent some time that night reading and commenting on most of your pages (and I was thrilled that we had over 20); but then, Thursday morning - lo and behold - there were TEN more!  If I haven't made it to your list yet, I'm coming.  You guys rule.  Thanks.

So... Looking both ways.

I've been wanting to write this post for some time now.  (Six days to be exact.)  I feel like it needs a good bit of time and energy to really do it justice.  But, I seem to be lacking in the time and energy department these days.  Anywho, I need to move forward in life (I'm officially celebrating the start of a new year - with champagne and all on MONDAY), so we'll just write and see how it goes...

2010 was a year of adventure. (See the year-in-review post here.)  A quarter of a century-old we threw caution to the wind (quite literally actually - hence November) and just had fun.  We did a lot of travelling - including our big cross-country road trip - and we made changes in our lives (like quitting jobs and getting pregnant) that didn't exactly make sense, but made us happy.  It was a good year.

2011 was a good year too; but it was different.  I'd say 2011 was a year of preparation, patience, and change.  We spent much of the year unsure of where we were headed.  Our house was on the market for the first six months while we researched new jobs out of town and apartment/loft living and - all the while - a little mister was preparing to make his grand entrace into our lives.  Although there were many times that we doubted or worried how things would play out; our faith (as well as our marriage really) grew stronger.  We were not unhappy or ungrateful.  (I'm so thankful to be able to say that.)  THEN, as we knew He would, God provided well beyond our hopes or expectations.  The second half of the year brought us TWO new jobs and a new BABY.  Wow how our world was rocked as we (sometimes slowly) adjusted to the wonderful, but often hard, changes. 

July 13, 2011

In my post on January 1st, 2011, I said my resolution was to SIMPLIFY.  I'm going to go ahead and call that one an epic fail.  Haha!  My life most certainly did NOT get simpler in 2011. In fact, it got quite chaotic to be honest. Never before have I felt so stretched, busy, tired, unorganized etc. 

Then again, when I really stop to think about it, some things DO seem a lot more simple these days...

I've learned SO much more about myself and who I am.  I know now what truly matters to me - my husband, my baby, my faith, and my relationships with friends and family.  I know love in a deeper and realer (is that a word?) way. And, I've learned that life is about SO much more than how clean my house is or how cute my clothes are (although I still kinda care about those things too).

This is me now.  And, most days, it's pretty black and white.  (Like that?)



From our photo shoot with Mary of Merry Studios.

Which brings me to my look ahead...

My hope for 2012 is that it will be a year of balance.  I do not want to continue living like a chicken with my head cut-off - I don't think that's what is best for me or my family.   I want to take care of myself - my body, my spirit.  I want to spend time doing things that make me feel alive and with the people I love the very most.  I want to bring some order back to my daily life, some routine for Sam, some home-cooked meals and folded laundry.  BUT, I don't want to be on such a rigid schedule that I can't pass up my weekly cleaning or let the laundry go for a few days to really BE. I want to treasure the small things and soak up every single minute of the days that seem to be flying by right now. I want to laugh a lot.  And take a lot of pictures. 

More to come on this soon - like my "resolutions" on Monday and some thoughts on the first six months of motherhood - can you believe Sam will be six months old next week?

For now, cheers to finding balance in 2012!  Thanks for walking this road with me...

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