New Year's Day 2014

Since my back was still very sore, we kept New Year's Day pretty mellow around here.  David worked on the storage shelves in the garage some more. I worked around the house and ran to the grocery store.  The kids did what they always do - they played and watched TV, etc.  The girls also started getting their lives in order for school to begin again.

Knowing that it was time for us to put the holidays behind us and start eating healthy foods again, we splurged on the most delicious home made hamburgers.  Oooh!  They were everything a hamburger should be!  Huge, tasty, juicy, and satisfying!  Dave has really mastered the art of grilling the perfect burger.

After dinner, the kids all attacked their dad.  I love watching these whole-family wrestling matches and occasionally (like when I'm not almost 8 months pregnant) I help the kids out.  Even with all four kids ganging up on him, David still seems to come out the winner.  Is there such a thing as a winner in family wrestling matches?  In my experience, the only way to end them is with at least one person in tears.

And that was the beginning of our 2014.  Last year (2013), I decided to attach a word to my year - kind of like a New Year's Resolution that covered everything all at once.  Last year, I chose the word "Deliberate."  I wanted to do things for a reason, with intention, and a plan.  I wanted this to spread to all aspects of my life, from my interaction with David and the kids, to my diet and exercise plans, to the way I fulfilled my church callings, and even the way I cared for my home.  I feel like I started out pretty strong.  Morning sickness in the summer side-railed me a little bit.  But I really tried.

This year (and actually the last couple of months of 2013) my focus has changed.  My word of the year for 2014 is "Survive."  I know that sounds bad, but let me explain.  I'm not trying to be melodramatic, I just really want to be realistic.  I am going to lower my expectations for 2014.  Hopefully, doing so will make me a happier person.  I am about to welcome a new baby into our home - probably for the last time.  I want to focus my attention on him and on the other people in this home.  Especially while he's so little.  I don't want to bog myself down with expectations of big house projects, family vacations, large parties, unrealistic weight loss goals, etc.  I just want to survive this year.  I want to focus intensely on a small number of items and enjoy them while they're here.  Perhaps 2015 will be a more aggressive year for me - we'll see.  I've already talked to the bishop about needing a couple of months when the baby's first born to keep him home and away from germs (this is my first winter baby and I'm a little freaked out).  He totally agreed.  David's been warned that 2014 is going to be pretty mellow and I think he's just fine with the idea!  So we're going to slow down and enjoy this last little-baby phase as much as we can.  Our family history may not be very exciting - I expect to write a lot more "look at how cute these kids are" entries and a lot less "look what we did" ones.  I'll understand if you just want to skip 2014 and start reading again next year.