Growth

Welp, 2013 is well underway.  And here I sit, resolving to revisit this little space more often.  Blogs, they're great for stretching out my fingers and taking the time to really ponder what is on my heart.  BUT in this season in life, there are many days that I don't want to ponder, I just want to veg out and watch Switched at Birth on Hulu.  This season of life is busy, which means that I NEED to step back and wrestle through my thoughts or else they'll just fly right by.  Therefore, I'm back at this forsaken screen, greeting any of you readers who might still be out there with a "Happy New Year!"

Quick glance back at 2012: It was such a hectic year.  While ringing in the new year on Jan. 1, I was trying to think of anything significant that happened during the year. . .as I held my 10 month old daughter, the one who was born in 2012. . . Poor Marguerite, such a second child.  And it was a really full year.  Marguerite was born.  Aurelia took her first steps in July.  Marguerite took her first steps in December (crazy, right?).  We had adventures to B.C. and N.C.  We celebrated my 30th birthday.  We had a lot of fun times, a lot of challenging times, and a lot of changes.  It was a good year.

Now let's look forward.  I'm happy for a fresh start and new possibilities.  I've never been a huge New Year's resolution person.  I would fall into the category of people who give up on their resolution around January 14th.  Instead, I choose a word that I want to embrace for the year.  And it's interesting how that word really becomes a theme for that year (see determination, joy, and faith).  When I considered this year's word, I took into account areas where I wanted to see growth in my life.  I want to grow into a better me. . . a better follower of Christ, a better wife, a better a mother.  I want my children to grow into little ladies who are honoring, gentle, confident, and a thousand other things that all parents want for their kids.  I want my marriage to continue to grow and bring Joey and I closer as we celebrate a decade as Team Hawkins.  I want to grow into a better writer, a more consistent writer.  I want Aurelia to grow. . . as in literally grow (more on that later).  And I realized that my year already has a strong theme.  I want GROWTH.  And that can be painful, and hard, and tiring.  But it can also be enriching and empowering.  Growing is a necessary part of life, and I want to embrace it.  I want to celebrate it.  I want to work at it.  So, here I go.  I'll keep you posted on how it's going.