Happy New Year!

We have FINALLY gotten a good Colorado snow here!! It's been fun, but it's okay for me to be ready for Spring, right?? Maybe it's because I was born in California and that's why I'm not as thrilled about snow as many Coloradans. One or two good snows and I'm done. Anyway, I took this picture of Natalie today, isn't she a cute little snow bunny?

I got to take Natalie shopping the other day--and not just grocery shopping, real shopping :) We went to the Disney Store because she wanted to pick out a birthday present for Layla. I'm proud to say, she has not told Layla what her presents are, even though she knows and Layla continually pesters her for information. What a good little secret keeper :) Anyway, after that, we went to Old Navy because she could really use some long-sleeve dresses. She had so much fun trying them all on, it was great. Once, between dresses, she smiled at herself in the mirror and said, "hey, I thought I lost all those teeth!" It was too cute.

But, the reason I actually opened this post was to tell you about my New Year's resolutions! I have been inspired by many ideas this year. Many people are taking the "one word" approach, where you pray about and choose one word to focus on throughout the year. Something I've been trying to implement in my life is to rejoice in all things--the house work, the kids, the cooking, the high points and lows. So, my one word would have to be rejoice!

I know a few friends who choose a Bible passage or verse to focus on throughout the year. I love this idea and will be praying about and seeking the Lord on this one.

As for my typical resolutions, I would really like to come up with and implement a better house cleaning routine. Maybe Fly Lady can help? I'll have to play with some ideas until I find one that works. Any ideas you have are very welcome!! Also, after a season full of eating way more junk than I should have, I'll be going on a sort of detox--no processed foods for the month of January is my goal! I don't think this will be hard for me, since I've succeeded at similar goals before. Plus, I'm armed with plenty of good cook books geared toward clean eating. Like this one. And this one. Oh, and this one :)

Okay, last but not least, I have decided to join the 5 o'clock club. I just read about this "club" this week and my first thoughts were something like, "Pshaw, forget it, no way." However, I do long for time in the Word and for all my efforts to squeeze it in while my kids are awake, it is simply not consistently happening for me and I couldn't get this club off my mind. Don't be fooled by the title of the club, you don't actually have to get up at 5 a.m. The goal is to choose a time to get up before everyone else in the house, in order to spend time with the Lord daily. This will be a hard one for me, so if any of you would like to join me, a partner might be nice!!??

I would love to hear about your goals for 2011!