Christmas and New Year's

I can't believe that it is 2010! Where did 2009 go? The past year has flown by! It's been a year with many ups and downs, but all in all 2009 was pretty good. I just hope that 2010 is a year full of smiles and laughter, and less heart break.

We had a wonderful Christmas! The kids got so many toys that we need to hire a construction company to come out and build an extra room onto our house! =) I've opened box after box of toys that the manufacturer makes nearly impossible to get into without some wire cutters and a screwdrive (why do they package these things so ridiculously?), and we still have boxes sitting in our living room unopened! My kids are soooooooo spoiled!

I LOVE Christmas, but I hate when it's over and all of the decorations must come down. I always say that "next year I'm not putting everything out.............just the tree" and I end up buying more and more decorations to add to my headache every year. Does anyone else do this? It just looks so pretty once EVERYTHING is up.

I usually don't make any New Year's resolutions, but this year I have a few in mind that I'd like to stick with.

1. Go to church every Sunday.
I have been taking the lazy way out and sleeping in on Sunday mornings. Growing up I was raised to go to church every Sunday, and I have not been a very good role model for my children when it comes to church. I'm going to make an effort to get everyone up and ready so that I can hopefully make a difference in their lives and mine.

2. Be more patient with my children.
Ashlyn is 5 going on 15. She argues with me 24/7. It drives me nutty! I start out calm, cool, and collective and then 5 minutes later we are both in a screaming match. I'm going to try to handle these situations with more patience and less raising my voice. This one is going to be a tough one!

3. Make time for others.
It's tough finding extra time to do much of anything these days, but somehow I find extra time for a nap on my weekends off. I'm going to try to cut out naps and make better use of my afternoons spending quality time with family and friends instead.

These are my BIG goals this year. I do have a few others that I'm working on also. 2010 is going to be a GREAT year..............I can feel it!