.Happy New Year.

Wow. Christmas came and went. And now I sit here as the first day of this new year, 2010 yawns to a close. Time is so fleeting. The older I get, the faster it goes. I can remember how time nearly stood still for what seemed like forever when I was a child, and now that I am an adult with two children it is just whirling by. I am looking forward to what God has in store for our family in 2010. I think He has some huge plans. And I am scared. And I am excited.
I have kind of hit a dry spot with my blogging. I need to give my blog a makeover, but enjoy the Christmas music, the snow, and all, for a few more moments. {grin} Too much going on - too much living and busyness and family togetherness and stuff, but I wanted to quickly share an idea that I heard of a few months ago that I am so excited to try this new year.
I think in my last post I mentioned how I was a list maker, and I liked organizing things in my own handwriting, and how I had a deep love for pen and paper. Well, I love journaling, too, as you can probably guess. However, my journal entries seem to be getting sparser, and I really wanted to remedy that. As much as I love blogging - there is just something about writing things down in my own handwriting - not sitting and typing on a sterile keyboard.
I have lists all over in a very unorganized way in my house - a to-do list on my island, a grocery list on my fridge, a calendar with appointments on my wall, a menu by my computer, a housecleaning schedule on my fridge or in a drawer, etc. A mess of lists, a big, unorganized scatterbrained mess. And then I have my beloved journal that gets neglected lately. All of these things are essential for me. I need them, or at least it seems I do. I do operate my day much more efficiently off of a to do list, a menu, a calendar, and such. But not only is it scatterbrained and unorganized, it is not creative either.
Enter: The Homemaking Visual Journal.

This was my Christmas gift to myself, along with some felt tip pens. It is just a blank book with heavy weight pages - nothing fancy and pretty inexpensive. I glued this pocket (it came off of an old calendar) to the front.

This journal will be home to my to do list, my cleaning schedule (found on the inside of the front cover in a plastic sleeve - in case I change the schedule!) my menus, new recipes I want to try, prayer requests, praises, memorable quotes my children say, memories, photos, decorating ideas, new recipes to try, my calendar, etc.
It is perfect. It is creative, yet practical, and I am so excited about it. It currently sits on my island, and I think that will be its home. It will be handy there, for phone messages, a quick look at my day ahead, and maybe even it will catch some of Cadi's drawings.



I started my journal like I start all journals - just done more creatively - a quick overview of where I am in my life right now.



I then went on to write some of my hopes, dreams, and prayers for this new year.



Then I started right in on menu planning for this coming week and a to-do list for my weekend.



I also started filling out January's calendar.

Maybe this gives a fun idea to some other journalers out there. I am excited to see how this evolves, and I may share a few more pages here and there on my blog.
(This is not an original idea of mine, I got the concept from another woman, and as soon as I remember her website, I will share it!)

Here are a few quick photos from our Christmas break. I do not want to overwhelm this post with photos, so I only pulled a couple.



My boy {finally} took four steps! Do you know how hard it is to take a photo while helping/watching an almost 18 month old walk?! HARD.



I found Cadi like this on our bed one morning after I finished my shower. She was tuckered out from the past few days.




This was Christmas morning. Yes, my children are eating leftover cookies from "Santa's" plate. It was Christmas, after all! How cute is Scotty?! We always read the Christmas story and pray to focus on the meaning of Christmas before opening any gifts. (Cadi really was as exhausted as she looked! She went to bed too late on Christmas Eve.)



If you come to our home on most days this is how you will find my children. It's a good thing that Scotty is so laid back!



My children opening their Christmas Eve jammies.

I trust you are looking forward to the new year. Maybe this is the year Christ will return? Maybe this is the year my daughter will accept Jesus as her Savior?
What WILL 2010 hold?