Happy New Year
Hello again and happy new year!
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. We had a very merry Christmas. It was the first Christmas that I felt was truly easy. No stress, no rushing around. I used to put SO much pressure on myself as a young bride, making lists and obsessing over them. Racing around trying to make everything perfect. But I feel like this Christmas was the first one where we could focus on the true meaning of the season and I found myself soaking it in.
I am feeling extremely encouraged lately. The girls really are starting to play together for prolonged periods of time, and not only is it so wonderful to watch their relationship grow, but it is so freeing to get to unload the dishwasher or cook a meal sometimes uninterrupted! Occasional refereeing is of course still needed, but we are going in the right direction, and our winter break has been a nice settling-in as a family. Lots of relaxed time around the house, some fun outings and family get-togethers, and almost all of our weeknight dinners have been served around candlelight. It has felt like a cozy, laid back breather for all of us, and I am so very grateful for a little bit of ease that we’ve felt lately.
I’ve been feeling a little bit reflective lately. Overall, 2016 was hard. Going from 0-1 child was the hardest transition, by far, but after Eloise turned one I remember the clouds parting and life getting much easier. The second time around, it was almost seamless adding Amelia (who was the easiest baby) to the mix, but once she became mobile things got pretty hectic, and it has taken longer to find our stride as a family again. I am feeling hopeful that we are getting there!
Do you make new year’s resolutions? I haven’t, for the past few years, but I have a few this year.
1: COOK DINNER.
Did you know that when I was newly married, Nick and I would often spend hours each night cooking gourmet dinners together? That I would do such silly things as make my own tomatillo sauce? The past year or so our dinners have gotten so simple to the point of being boring and flavorless, and I’ve been trying to bring some interest back into the kitchen without sacrificing too much time. Lately this has looked like a lot of soups (this was a big hit, this has been a favorite for years, and I'm trying this one tonight) and I’ve also been cooking from two of my favorite cookbooks (here and here).
If you have any favorite dinners you make, I’d love to hear!
2. OPEN THE HOME.
Again, survival mode for the past year has not resulted in opening our home as much as we’d like. It’s always been important to Nick and I to open our home to family, friends and neighbors, and we used to be really good about hosting others and reciprocating invitations. I’d like to start this up again.
3. READ THE BIBLE.
The whole thing! I’ve rediscovered my She Reads Truth app, and it has a free plan to read the Bible through in a year. You can choose which translation (I’m currently doing The Message) and it keeps track of your progress. I’m currently at 1% complete, so there’s a long way to go! But this feels like a breath of fresh air, because I had done a douple of devotionals I wasn't crazy about, and now that the girls are playing together more it’s helpful to have the readings on my phone because if I get a free moment, I’m not spending that time running around the house trying to locate my devotional and Bible.
And if I could really get it together, I’d resume my old ways of waking up before the girls and getting in my morning reading/coffee drinking before the house is awake, but lately we’ve all been lazy (which is NEVER word that accurately describes our family so I’m going with it because it’s glorious) and have been sleeping in.
I hope you have a happy and healthy new year! Here’s to 2017!
