I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  I can’t believe 2014 is here!  Is everyone excited for this new year?  Ready to start anew?  Challenge yourself to do something different for yourself or for someone else?  How are you going to make this new year different from last year? What are your goals?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Sharing:

2013 was a fun, but busy year.  Full of adventure!  Living in Ohio we get 4 seasons to enjoy, and boy do we!  In the Winter we still play outside and enjoy the beautiful snow. In the Spring we are outside enjoying the newness of life.  Taking walks and smelling flowers.  Listening to the birds sing, and feeding the squirrels.  Summertime is crazy busy!  School is out and the sun stays up until 9 at night.  In the Summer we do a lot of swimming, biking, hiking, climbing trees, skipping stones, bouncing balls and chasing toads.  Everything little boys love to do!  Fall is our favorite season of them all.  Seeing the leaves change from green to beautiful colors of orange, yellow, purple or red. Amazing!  Smelling the Autumn air…amazing!  So beautiful!  We go on hayrides and enjoy pumpkin patches.  Bond fires and roasting marshmallows.  Raking leaves and jumping in the leaves.   God’s creation is so beautiful!

Moving on to:

The last month of the year…on December 9, 2013 I had bunion surgery on my right foot.  I won’t go into all of the details at this time, but it has been a very difficult and painful recovery.  I guess, more than what I expected.  Thank the Lord I am seeing progress being made with everyday that passes.  I am trying to learn from this experience while God has me sitting still.  As you know, I am not one to sit still for long. There is always something to do or someone to take care of.  So, while I have been still, I have been journaling my ups and downs through this recovery process.  I also have been watching a lot of cooking shows and getting ideas for what I can cook when I can actually get up and walk again.  My son and I will take notes, and share with each other what looks good.  Then I download the recipes in my computer for future reference.  Ree Drummond is my favorite cook.  I love her show – The Pioneer Woman. I am thankful for my husband, Jared who has taken such great care of me and Caleb during this time.  He even had to keep up with the house.  Bless his heart!

So… for 2014

– I will be cooking more interesting and fun meals for my family

– In a pretty little notebook, I want to write down one thing that I am thankful for everyday

– Maybe take some more moments to be ‘still’

– Be more patient

– Extend more grace

– Try not to take life so seriously

– Laugh louder

–  And… NEVER HAVE BUNION SURGERY AGAIN!

Blessings,

Melissa ~