How was your Christmas break? Ours was delightful but busy. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner, and I delighted to spend most of the morning in the kitchen, pottering around. It was so good (toot, tooting by own horn, here), Toby didn't even make it away from the table before dozing off! Everyone had a great time opening and using their gifts - and I was so gratified that the sweater I started knitting for Tobes more than a year ago (!) actually fit.
We had snow for Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and again over the break, which delighted the children to no end - we still have the remains of an impressive snowman in our backyard. There was dinners with family: Boxing Day dinner with my parents, followed by some shopping, and the annual sibling get together - kudos to the winner of the chili cook off!
The horseback riding session that Abi and I had booked got postponed due to weather, but Toby and I (and Caleb) still got to see The Hobbit. Excellent movie, must see. Caleb was perfectly behaved!
New Year's Eve was the best I'd had in a long time. Toby and I are not party people, which usually means we go to bed around 10:30pm. This time, we got together for dinner with another family of non-party-ers and ate food and played games. So. Much. Fun. After they headed for home and the kids were in bed, the two of us saw the New Year in while watching The Return of the King. What a great way to finish the year.
What are some of your plans for 2013? Maybe you're a resolution maker, maybe you're not. Either way, the beginning of the new year is a good time to take stock, make a plan and get in gear. Personally, I feel a little behind on things. (I told Toby last night that I haven't even made a reading list for this year yet, and his helpful reply was a mocking gasp, "But you're already 2 days late!") I'm still kind of in the place where I'm making lists of what lists to make, you know? But it's all good. I make a list and if something is important, it'll happen. Eventually.
Aside from the reading list, another thing that I do annually is go through Shopping for Time by Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters. I've done this at least once a year, sometimes more, for the past few years, and it's always served me well. What are the priorities and how do I approach them? I always feel steady on my feet when I have a biblically-informed, God-honoring plan, and this is the tool I use to help me strategize.
Some of the other ideas we're working through together as a family is whether Abi can try violin lessons and where, signing Noah up to play baseball for the first time, when is the right time to sign up at the local YMCA, and evaluating our various commitments. All good stuff, but the need for wisdom is high when weighing the good against the best.
What are your methods for getting ready for 2013?
2 comments:
Les Miserable was our holiday movie of choice, although I look forward to The Hobbit when it comes out on dvd. Our NYE was a let down, as the kids were sick and we were going to have Libby and family over for snacks and games but it didn't work out, since Sophia had a fever the night before.
We FINALLY signed up for swimming lessons! We just started today and the boys love them. With only 3 kids in the class, it's almost like one-on-one teaching!
Happy new year, and let's plan a play date soon!
Glad to hear your holidays were "merry and bright"--ours were, as well, though NYE was our typical non-party-stay-up-past-midnight kind of night. I just don't like to be on the roads that night. If you decide you want to start Abi on violin for sure,
I can recommend a good teacher. She is the music teacher at our school and she has taught violin for years. She starts kids at about 5th grade because they can easily hold the instrument. But she doesn't recommennd waiting till past 13. After that, she says, most brains have a hard time adapting to the requirments of a nonfretted instrument. She stresses that the CHILD should really WANT to learn the instrument. We had signed Joel up for school lessons with her, but he was only one of 2 boys signed up, so the "girliness" of it turned him off, and the teacher and I discussed that it would be a constant struggle if Joel didn't think it was "cool" or "manly" in this stage of his development, even though he technically COULD pick it up easily, I think. Anyhoo, let me know if and when you want her name and number.
Post a Comment