Word of the Year - 2013

 I learned about "the word of the year" trend on one of my favorite home/diy blogs that I follow called The Lettered Cottage.  I'm sort of over the whole "New Year's Resolution" thing because they never last and they tend to focus on the month of January.  I like the idea of a special word that "has the potential to inspire you and create intention in your life." 

 

2013 will close out the first decade (of hopefully 8) of my marriage (Jan 3 2004) and it has been such an amazing decade.  It will also mark my ten year graduation from college (Dec 2003).  The two big events just happen to coincide perfectly.  People always want to know what your 10 year goals are in life and I think I subconsciously set a few back when I was a wee 21 year old.  Upon marriage:  move somewhere, get a dog, buy a house, have 3 kids, raise them, etc.  Upon graduation:  get a job practicing architecture, get licensed, etc.

 

So, for my Word of the Year I decided to pick the word "FINISH."  Here's the "official" meaning of the word according to dictionary.com:

 

1. to bring (something) to an end or to completion; complete.

2. to come to the end of.

3. to use completely.

4. to overcome completely; destroy or kill.

5. to complete and perfect in detail; put the final touches on.

 

and here's why I chose it:

• I am now 12 weeks away from having my 3rd baby and unless God tells us otherwise we will be finishing our family.  Making and raising babies has definitely been a physical, mental and emotional challenge and while I'm a little sad this will be the end of the "making" them part, I'm really excited about what the future will hold for our family of 5.  Raising children is one of the greatest blessings and I can't wait to see the ways God molds Dakota, Corban and "Crumpet" over the coming years as they are in our care.
 
• I am 4 of 7 exams away from being a licensed architect in the state of TN.  After thousands of hours of required experience in specific areas and a few failed exams, I will be finishing my path to licensure.  This has been a physical, mental and emotional challenge that I am thankful will be coming to an end!
 
• And because I like things in 3's, I thought I needed one more big goal.  Since, I'm going to be done procreating in April, I've joked that I want to "get my body back" (whatever that means).  My last goal is to finish a marathon (St. Jude on Dec 7 to be exact).  I'll have plenty of weeks to train once I get my clearance from my doctor and I can't think of a better way to end the year than triumphing over a physical challenge that I've often thought about doing.

There are other smaller goals/dreams I plan to set throughout the year, and since I'm notorious for starting projects without bringing them to fruition, I will continually remind myself of my word and I think it will bring me just the encouragement I need to FINISH them.  I'll keep you updated!

 

p.s.  I started this blog post a week ago and because of a computer glitch, never got to publish it.  I thought about the irony of not completing a blog post about finishing things and it pushed me on.  See, my word of the year is already having a positive effect on me! :)

Celebrate: Corban Turns 3!

Our handsome little guy turned 3 on October 22 and since he likes dirt, destruction and trucks we went with a dump truck/construction theme.  The party was held on the 20th at a local church's playground.  I didn't plan any activities because the play area was so nice and it's hard to corral a bunch of 2-3 year olds in an organized manner when there are swings, slides, etc.  So, we played, colored and ate lunch.  It was a nice October morning and we are thankful for his friends.  I love Corban immensely and his happiness and sweetness fill me with warm fuzzies. 

 I asked a civil engineer at work if I could have some old drawings with roads, sewers, etc. for the the kids to color.  We used them as the tablecloths and for entertainment.  Kids really like big paper.  Oh, and check out my little lefty!

 Favors.

 Chris and Isaiah. 

 Jacob pushing Gates and Corban.

 Corban had been asking for pizza every night for dinner the week leading up to his party so we did that for the food.  It was certainly easier on me than trying to prepare a lot.

 I did a dirt cake (chocolate pudding/cool whip/oreos) instead of the usual and it was a big hit.  We may or may not have had a kid licking the pan when it was empty.

 In lieu of presents we asked friends to bring new or gently used coats to help keep some less fortunate kiddos warm this fall/winter.

 Caroline.

Haston.

Girl Trip: Rocky Mountains

My friend Tonya sent me an email back in the spring asking if I would be interested in meeting her in CO for a few days of backpacking.  She had to go out for work and thought it would be nice to enjoy the mountains for a few days before her conference.  Tonya and Jason used to live in Memphis and they are probably our only friends who actually enjoy doing outdoorsy things.  I would say Jacob and I were somewhat responsible for planting the backpacking bug in them.  I really had no reason to turn Tonya down and it actually sounded like a lot of fun - 2 girls in the middle of bear country?  Why not.  Jacob gave me the go ahead and even gave me miles for my flight.  I flew out on a Thursday night so I was able to catch up with my friend Sara from Clemson who lives just outside of Boulder in the quaint little town of Louisville.  Tonya picked me up on Friday around lunch and we spent the next 2 nights (3 days) camping, slackpacking and eating cheese.  Since she's already blogged about the actual hiking part, I figured you could go to her blog and read about it.  Why do the work if you can just take it from somebody who has already done it - gosh, I sound like a democrat!  Oh, sorry didn't mean to get all political there.  Annnyway, after a few days in the woods we were able to stay at a REALLY nice hotel in Denver (on her works dime).  I stayed an extra 2 nights and flew home on Tuesday.  On Monday (while Tonya worked), I relaxed by getting my first-ever pedicure, taking a light stroll, eating sushi and watching entirely too much trash on TLC - isn't that supposed to be "the learning channel"??  It was a really fun time, a perfect balance of reunion, recreation and relaxation.  My kind of trip.

2012 Lake Days

Jacob has wanted a boat for a few summers now and we've always had "more important" things to spend our money on. This year, I really had no excuse for saying we shouldn't get one. And I'm glad I didn't. Jacob spent a majority of his summers as a child/youth on Lake Keowee skiing, tubing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, etc. and wanted to provide those opportunities to our kids too. The kids had a blast this summer and we made a lot of fun memories: the kids squealing and giggling on the tube, mommy throwing the kids off the tube, Dakota being scared of the tube, Dakota overcoming her fear of mommy throwing her off the tube, Corban pooping on the back of the boat, eating watermelon on the back of the boat, jumping off the back of the boat,  lots of swimming, having friends come along, Crumpet wakeboarding and lots more. Since fall has arrived, I think our 2012 days are over but we'll be looking forward to bringing the boat back out in the spring. Lakes visited this summer: Pickwick, Beech and Sardis.