December...And Happy New Year 2013

Now that December has come and gone (really? that fast?) I've been trying to desperately hold onto some sort of schedule after the festivities have subsided. And by festivities, I mean three days of forcing myself out of bed to spend time (i.e. sit on the couch) with my family while trying not to get them sick. In fact Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I was so sick I went nowhere and Ed took the kids to his folks and the Christmas Eve service and such...oh well. Sicky holidays happen to all of us. But I digress...
Lowe's has a whole buttload (yes, I love that word) of totes with a big banner that says something along the lines of "Ring in the New Year by Organizing your Life".  Hah! I'm lucky to just stick to a weekly routine of feeding my children remotely healthy meals and cleaning their clothes. And weeks like this week, when all three of them are sick, even less gets done. Well, actually, LOTS gets done:

1. Lots of TV is watched

2. Lots of snot is wiped

3. Lots of books are read

4. Lots of sheets are cleaned

5. Lots of prayers are prayed

6. Lots of medicine is administered

7. And Lots of cuddling is performed

Nonetheless, every January I find myself trying to instill one new good habit into my life. Something attainable. Something manageable. I don't need more failures to add to my list of non-accomplishments (who does?). So how about one thing that I can succeed at? I think so. So in the midst of all the above LOTS I did manage to carve out 15 minutes to write a letter of encouragement to someone. I know, it doesn't seem like much, but that is my New Year's Resolution: write one letter of encouragement every week. That's hopefully 50ish people this year that I will uplift via snail mail (give or take, I always give myself lots of grace with resolutions). Why am I telling you this? Because in the midst of all that Facebook, e-mail, twitter, etc. has to offer, there's nothing quite like a real handwritten note, no matter how simple it is, that can bring a genuine smile to someone's face.  So maybe it's something that you might want to try along with me??

I do believe life as a mother of three young ones is teaching me that even though 95% of my life is consumed by needs and cares and precious little sleep, there still is a little time leftover. And if I choose to make it a priority to bless others in that time, now matter how small it is, God will use it and indeed bless others. Plus I reap a bit of joy too, which never hurts =: )

So cheers to another fresh year with plenty of chances to bless those around us!