A Brand New Year

Design by Buttermilk Basin

This past year I worked on Buttermilk Basin's Calendar Block of the Month. Now that I have it just about finished, I thought I would share them each month since you have already seen my monthly mantles :)

My favorite New Year's were the years that we rented a big house in the woods with several other families.

We all had young children about the same age. 

During the day, we would hike, sled, and play in the snow. At night we would play board games. Each family would be assigned a meal and would cook for all. 

On New Year's Eve, we would have a nice meal and toast in the New Year with bubbly knowing that we only had to wander to our bedrooms. The kids were surrounded by playmates and loved the noise makers, party hats and the big countdown. They have happy memories as well.  

Maybe someday we will rent that big house in the woods again and create new memories.

This year we spent a quiet night at home which is exactly where I wanted to be. 

My friend, Jan, was talking about jigsaw puzzles recently and I thought how very long it has been since I did one. While cleaning for Christmas, I came across the one above. We put it together quickly on New Year's Eve. So I picked up another larger puzzle:

The white of the birch bark was a challenge, but my younger son is a puzzle master and finished it up in no time. Good thing I bought an even larger puzzle for next weekend :)

I've made a New Year's resolution this year. Maybe blogging about it will help me hold myself accountable :) I usually sleep 5 - 6 hours a night, but know that more sleep is much better for my health. I am going to try to get 7 hours of sleep a night. There is always so much to get done, that sleep is always the first to go. We will see how I do.

I also like to pick a word to focus on for the year. This year it was actually a Bible verse that kept coming to mind. So my verse for the year:

"Be still, and know that I am God!

I am exalted among the nations,

I am exalted in the earth.”

~Psalm 46:10

In a culture of constant multi-tasking and constant electronic communication (of which I am guilty), "Be still" is a tough concept. It is something that I want to be conscious of and try to make time to "Be still".

We will see if I can slow down, take time, focus on faith and sleep more.

Blessings, Patti