A New Year and a New Word for that year

Oh man. This post has been writing in my head over and over again. We sat down with the kids this last week for family home evening and helped them set some goals for this coming year. I love their 'can do' attitudes especially when we approach them with stuff that they know is going to be tough but they also know they can do it. But I digress, because that is a post unto it's self. This is a post about my word for 2015. Though, I will get to our family goals and individual goals soon.

This is the quote that is solidly in my heart and mind as I welcome 2015. It is from Jeffrey R Holland:

"The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives"

That quote seems to ring so true to us. I plan on taking all our experiences from Montreal thus far, taking the lessons, bringing the best (like the most happy baby who is sleeping soundly against my chest right now), and most importantly, leaving the ashes.

Montreal has been a roller coaster ride of emotions and experiences. We have had hot water tanks spill out into our basement, fires a light in our oven, thousands of dollars stollen from us, attempted identity fraud, car accidents (minor - thank goodness), ambulance ride, medical frustrations, trust heavily misplaced in those whom we thought were trustworthy, judgement and ridicule, stereotypes, tax errors by our accountant (not in our favor) from several years previous, a serious lack of friendship, and countless experiences of fruitless efforts to move forward, make friends, get settled and get clarity.

There were some very painful days where our family felt isolated and alone. There came a point in my pregnancy where we had to make the decision to leave a lot of things off our plate so that I could keep the stress levels low and focus on spending quality time with the kids. Despite some negative feedback and criticism, it was the right choice. It was that choice that allowed me to not only see the beautiful golden threads woven among every day, but to help them truly shine.

It's those beautiful golden threads that I will take with me into this new year. First and foremost, my Saviour. Through a serious lack of time to read the parenting books that I had hoped to read last year, I discovered a deeper dependence and appreciation for the teachings of my Saviour, and how they apply to parenthood. Not to mention, the lifeline of prayer and priesthood blessings. Who better to seek parenting advice from than Heavenly Father? Scriptures, prayer, and the guidance of the Spirit are the best parenting tools that everyone can have access to.

Which brings me to another golden thread - my family. Words truly cannot describe how much my heart swells when I am with or doing something for my little family. They amaze me. They take all the love that I give them and they build on it and expand it. I feel so honored to be a wife and a mother in this family. We're all here, we're all healthy, and we're all happy. And we grew by one last year! I've always loved my children very deeply but I have felt such a large, palpable increase this last year. Love is a powerful force. I'm grateful for it and it's capacity to help me come into my own as a mother even more than before. I am very protective of my time with each of the members of my family and our time together as a whole. It is the most precious use of my time. The sweetness and blessing of getting to spend time with my children each and every day really does bring happy tears to my eyes. Getting to give and get cuddles and kisses from those precious children and husband that stole my heart; That's the stuff that heaven is made of - I'm sure of it.

And finally, there is the golden thread of a new perspective: of people, of trust, of faith. It consists of many lessons learned through hard means, but I am grateful for the perspective and the experience of feeling faith in a new way. The story of Christ walking on the water to his disciples has soaked deeper into my soul than ever before.

And with those golden threads I am going to make this next year shine. Which is why my one word for this year is 'Shine'.

I'm going to polish those threads, nourish them and hopefully add some more threads to them. I'm going to take our long list of blessings (because we do have a long list of them that we wrote out together!) and use them. There is light, warmth, purpose and roots in those threads and I am excited for them to be part of 2015. So while I have no plans of large, drastic goals this year, I do have plans of steady, faithful growth in a year filled with beautiful golden threads and my family that I love so much. I am going to immerse myself in my family, soak it all in, enjoy the moments, and be happy.

Here's to a year filled with family, light, love, warmth and faith. Welcome 2015!