2016 Word of the Year

Once again I'm doing a Word of the Year.  This has brought me so much peace and clarity since I started doing these.  As everyone around me focuses on Resolutions that end up getting forgotten or pushed to the side.  I choose in 2009 a different path I picked one word I wanted to achieve out of the year.  The idea came from Ali Edwards.  Since 2009 I've had Strong, Organize, Remember, Brave, Faith, Happy, and Sparkle last year.

So I held off posting my word till it was actually 2016 and of course I've had my word since before Christmas and have hashed it out with my good friend Alayna .  And after some self reflection and seeing how meaningful Sparkle was to me last year.  I have choosen   

I feel profoundly attached to Create.  I've fallen so far behind on my crafting of any type. Christmas made me notice the most when all I made for a gift was a mismatch sock snake for the dog.  So with a new little addition to our scrapbook collection I think I need to focus more on creating.  Creating scrapbook memories, creating memories with my children, creating a more (to steal a phrase from the Bloggess) Furiously Happy me.  I think this is the one that stands out to me the most especially after using Happy as one of my previous words of the year.  I need to Create in my the person I feel comfortable with all the time and not revert back into myself or feel like I have to shut down around people.  

After reading all of these "I'm so glad 2015 is over it was awful posts".  I have noticed a change in myself. I thought back at my year and all I could see was the memories I wanted to stick out the ones where I was Happy.  We were blessed with Calvin and even if being pregnant with him kept me sick at every turn that's not what I take away from it.  I take away this amazing boy who loves me unconditionally, who smells like baby soap and gives some of the best little heart squeeze type moments.  I have two AMAZING daughters who despite one being older than I wish she was I couldn't ask or more.  Little Moments stand out and make me realize the impact I make on them.  Being able to be there for them at every turn.  I was fortunate enough to see my Mom twice this year.  Once when I flew down to watch my little brother graduate and again when she flew up here after we had Calvin.  Yes I wish we all could have watched Austin graduate.  Yes I wish that would have been an option but instead of holding onto that negative I relished the time I got to spend with him and my Mom.  Don't get me wrong my year was probably anything but perfect we had our downs but I choose to focus on the ups when I reflect back at it.  Maybe all I needed was a little Sparkle to make me see that the littlest moments SPARKLE the most.