My Hopes for 2012

I love a new year.  The same way I've always loved a new school year or a new journal - they are so unknown - so full of promise.  This year I am especially excited for the new start.  The last six weeks of my pregnancy were really difficult for me and every day (multiple times) I would imagine it being the new year - knowing the pregnancy would be done and Luka would be here and that things would start to "normalize."  I am extra thankful this year for everything that happened during 2011 and that it is now done.  :)  And here are some of my hopes for the new year:


Settling Down
I am tired.  Yes, you say, of course I am tired with a 2.5 week old in the house.  'Tis true, but I am also just exhausted from all of the changing landscapes of our life.  In the last two years we had our first baby, stopped sleeping for approximately 11 months, renovated a condo, moved twice, lived with the in-laws for 9 months, sold a house, bought a house, I started a new job, Ray started a new job, we survived The Pregnancy, we had another baby, Ray accepted another new job... we have had 4 different nannies and 1 day care, 1 cancerous tumor removed from Ikaika, a cancer-scare tumor removed from Mela and countless other dramas (good and bad) that I am repressing forgetting.  So many of the changes have been good (VERY good!), but all of that changing is making this girl long for monotony and predictability, if only for a little while.  I am looking forward to a year with no new jobs, new houses or new babies.  A year where we can settle into our little family of 4 (plus 2 stinky pups) groove and just BE.

Nesting
Moving into a new house while pregnant and starting a new job does not leave energy (or time or money) for nesting.  Heck, we haven't even unpacked most of our bathroom and office stuff and need to rummage through The Pile of Boxes every time we need a paper clip or a band aid.  I am hopeful that this year I will unpack those boxes (I will give myself the whole year because I don't deal well with pressure) and start to make this house more of a home.  Ray is more than ready to have some grass come Spring instead of the dirt and weed patch we currently have.  Maybe even paint the outside of the house so that it is all one color (I do love colors, but don't particularly like any of the 3 colors currently on the house).  Get rid of the broken hot tub, perhaps give the kids some space to play, finish the eletrical for the exhaust hood... ah the fun of dreaming!

No 2012 resolutions for me, just the intention to appreciate the days as they come and go.  I love my life and my family and I am ready to settle in, nest and enjoy where I am in this journey of life.  Happy 2012 to everyone - I hope it is our best year yet!