Thursday, January 2, 2014

A New Year

We have had a pretty great start to 2014. Yesterday was a lazy day at home cleaning up, watching football, and relaxing. Exactly what we hoped and planned for.

On New Year's Eve we went to my Nanny's for supper and a NYE family gathering with my dad's side of the family. The boys were a little wild... which made things interesting... but we all had a great time.

We have to miss out on lots of family gatherings because of living an hour away and having young kiddos who can't travel and be out late certain nights, but this one we were able to do and I'm so glad we did. The boys even got to experience sparklers (leftover from AnAn's wedding) before we left. They had so much fun! 
 
We all slept in yesterday morning after our late night and it was glorious. I love when daddy has the day off! The biggest boys in the house enjoyed football most of the day. Espcially during naptime. Garrison was a little disappointed in UGA's loss and even shed a few tears, but he found a way to cope by playing outside yesterday afternoon with daddy and Austin. Then we enjoyed a big home cooked meal together. My first time to cook in almost 2 weeks! We had a great 1st day of 2014. =)

And now for a recap of last year...

2013 was a pretty fun and exciting year for the Selph's. The word I came up with for 2013 way back a whole year ago was "New"... and we've had a year filled with lots of things new. A new pregnancy and baby boy who will be joining our family soon, a new church, a new brother-in-law, and new experiences and outings as a family. All of our "new" have been lots of fun and full of blessings.

My favorite memories of NEW in 2013 are:

*Our fun long weekend in January when we took the boys to Snow Mountain
*Celebrating Garrison's 4th birthday with his first ever "friend party"
*Also in February I loved celebrating Valentine's Day with all my guys and starting our new project I love you because (not sure I can make that happen again this year if baby boy makes his debut before V-Day, but I'd love for it to become a tradition)
*We celebrated our 8th anniversary by taking a weekend trip to Savannah. It was our best anniversary trip yet!
*June also included a family outing to see the Braves (Austin's first ever game), my sister getting ENGAGED, and my biggest boy taking swimming lessons.
*AND, we found out we're expecting Baby #3 and finally announced our news!!
*In the Fall, Austin turned 2, we found out we're having a BOY, and Anna's showers began... then she got married!!!
And of course I have great memories of our yearly vacations and holiday traditions. It was a blessed, full year for sure.
I haven't come up with a word for 2014, but more of a theme.... transition and adjustment. =) This year will bring adjusting to a new normal as we welcome our 3rd baby to the family. We'll be out-numbered all the time. It will no doubt be an adventure. It will also include transitioning to me either staying home (fingers crossed and praying hard!) again or going back to work but this time with a baby instead of a toddler or preschooler. My biggest boy will start Kindergarten (a huge adjustment for me I'm predicting) and my middle guy will either go to preschool for the first time without mama, OR I will be doing preschool at home with him and he will be with Layton and I all day everyday.

We have some school decisions to make for both boys, some financial decisions to make, and lots of praying to do. Sometimes it's so hard to know what to do and what's best! We definitely need God's wisdom and peace going forward. But, as we transition and adjust and our family life changes and evolves, I want to do it all well. I want to go with the flow better, I want to keep a positive attitude, and I want to be a better wife and mom this year.

I'm not saying I want to put pressure on myself to be perfect or to handle everything flawlessly and with a smile on my face... because that's just not realistic. There will be moments of stress, exhaustion, and just being overwhelmed I know. But, I want to do better this year. I want to work hard to keep a good attitude. I don't want my emotions to get the best of me and control me all the time. I want to prioritize my husband better. I want to demonstrate more patience and wisdom with my boys. I want to be more supportive of my husband. I want to be more present and intentional with my boys. I just want to serve my family well this year. (Prayers are appreciated. =))

Our year of transition should be full of adventure and craziness and I am hoping to take it all in stride, with my ultimate goal being to enjoy it.  

We are looking forward to 2014 and seeing God's hand at work in our lives once again. Happy New Year!!

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