the year of MY STORY

This is one of my favorite photos! We now have a 2 foot by 3 foot canvas gallery wrap of this photo hanging above our bed. Yep, 2 foot by 3 foot. Once we add some finishing décor touches (wall art that I'm still planning on creating...), I’ll upload a photo of this bad boy hanging on our wall.

Its freakin’ fantastic.

And now, on a more serious note....

For 2011 the “one little word” I’ve chosen for myself is “story”. Focusing on really documenting the stories that make my family who we are. The big things. The little things. The everyday things. Mostly this will manifest in my scrapbooking. Which I’ve been doing for years now, but will be focusing on it a little differently this year. I’m doing Project Life again this year, but this time I’m doing it alongside a dozen or so of my friends. (I’m beyond words excited that so many of my friends are seeing the power of photos + words to document their stories!) I’m no longer concerned with HOW many layouts I create or HOW many albums I can fill. (This is something I’ve not necessarily always been too concerned with, but I’m REALLY making sure to let this go now!) I’ve got some bigger projects planned that aren’t even necessarily scrapbook pages, which I’m excited about too.

But more specifically than just documenting my story, this is the year I really want to focus on me for some other reasons. (But it all relates to MY STORY, right?!) The past two years have been a period of discontent for me. I’ve not necessarily gone through depression, but there have definitely been periods where I’ve had stronger feelings of discontent. I know God laid all this on my heart during this season of discontent in order to shake things up in my life and force me to see where changes need to be made. For whatever reason, the start of 2011 feels like a fresh start for me. Digging in deeper with some new friendships that were cultivated in 2010. Getting on track with my relationship with God (something I’ve ALWAYS struggled with), starting with participating in the Scripture Memory Challenge started by the Women’s Ministry at our church. Continuing with our “going green” initiative that started in our family in 2009, but was off to a slow and intimidating start, and then in 2010 we made BIG eco-wise changes. Making some big strides in our adoption process. (read: actually STARTING the process…) Really, REALLY buckling down and focusing on losing weight and getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Basically, stepping it up to the next level and LIVING my life the way God has intended me to. Living my life and then telling the story.

Looking back at the past two years, I see my life as being inside this big bubble. And I’ve just been skimming the surface around the bubble, never really penetrating inside it and getting to the core of things that matter. Just wasting time by not necessarily accomplishing anything. (Or ignoring the things that matter.) Basically, its time to get off my butt and stop being lazy! And, I don’t even consider myself as a lazy person, BUT when it comes to actually accomplishing the little things in my life that REALLY matter, I have certainly been lazy. I’m tired of procrastinating in the little things! Its time for some necessary changes.

So, here’s to 2011!

P.S. I promise to get back to the whole “why/how I scrapbook” thing I was posting about in November. Clearly the month of December came and went and I didn’t even touch on the subject! More to come soon.