Applying My Word of the Year in January

 Rather than my typical sentence a day posts I've been writing for the past few years, this year I thought I'd focus my sentence of the day posts on my word of the year "Embrace." So each day I tried to log something I was grateful for, ways I embraced life, and the small joys of daily living.  

1. Even though it was cold, I agreed to go on a Ranger ride with my husband through the woods and we had a good time; I might not have been all in when we bought our new toy but I can't deny we really have had a lot of fun and gotten so much use out of it. I embraced the adventure. 

2.  So thankful for a day date to Red Robin with my husband even if I did have to spend part of my morning at Best Buy and my afternoon at the grocery store.  I embraced our time alone. 

3.  Grateful for such a productive day organizing our bathroom closet, my nail polish bottles, and getting lots of blogging done.  I embraced my chores.

4. Alec unexpectedly had a huge chunk of time off in the middle of the day so the other two boys set aside their schoolwork as well and we all went on a hike.  I embraced the moment and brought along my camera to take more nature photos; something that always makes me feel calm, centered, and happy. 

5. I embraced my mom when we went to drop off her birthday gifts. 

6. My day got a bit off track when my oldest son decided to rearrange a bit of his room but we still got all our schoolwork done, squeezed in a hike, and cleaned the whole upstairs so it was still a great day.  I embraced the shifting purpose of our afternoon.  

7. Alec and I finally made time immediately following his school day to make our hot cocoa bombs.  I was so grateful for the time together and fully embraced the activity.. and all the chocolatey mess that went along with it (I swear we were finding melted chocolate in places two days later!). 

8. My one goal of the day was to finish reading my 4th book of the month and I embraced any and all quiet moments that I could between school with the boys and getting the whole downstairs cleaned.  I finished up book 4 and turned to book 5. 

It was such a cute and good story

9.  My mother in law came over for a delicious dinner and I embraced the excuse to get a fire going in the fireplace.   

10. I got to spend a portion of my day visiting with my husband's aunt; we always have the best time together! I was so grateful to get to see family we rarely see. 

11.  I was so grateful to get a clean bill of health from my gynecologist for another year.  

12. I embraced another month of not knowing what is going on with Evan's ear but am grateful that his hearing is 100% and it doesn't sound like anything major is wrong.  I also set aside time to work on my blog to embrace some time playing Yahtzee with Ian.  

13. After more than 17 years living with the same curtains I embraced the change! Adding in some blue touches to my living/dining room has given us a refreshing change of pace with new curtains, table cloth, throw pillows and decorative accents. 

14. Despite a bit of drizzly rain Evan and I headed out for a walk in the afternoon.  I took my camera with me and was determined to get some great nature photos.  I am so grateful that he's almost always willing to walk with me no matter the weather.

 

15. I embraced my husband's last minute plan to get take out; we ate a delicious dinner from the Black Dog while watching TV as a family.  

16. I embraced the mess in the kitchen and spent a whole afternoon baking with Alec.  We made bread, a sour dough starter, and some white chocolate/raspberry blondies.  

17. We had a small party for Alec with all his grandparents and I embraced my mother and step father when they arrived and when they left. 

18. We had friends to come and visit for the day and I embraced the opportunity to visit; spending 6 hours chatting and catching up while letting all the household duties slide for the day.  It was wonderful.

19. I embraced my husband when he got home from work (OK, really I do this everyday but I couldn't think of anything else to write since this was just an ordinary day in the life...)

20. I embraced the cold and headed out with the boys in the afternoon for a nearly 2 hour hike!  It was fabulous to get in such a great workout despite the fact that it was cold enough it began snowing before we were done. 

21. With Alec starting Geometry I embraced the opportunity to review some simple terms and formulas with him. 

22. We embraced a cold morning walk with our friends at one our favorite hiking spots.  We hadn't seen these particular friends in months and it was so nice to get caught up with one another. 

23. I embraced a very last minute invitation from my husband for a family lunch out at the Pub 99; my first answer was a no since I have been trying so hard to stick with my Weight Watchers goals and eating out is tough on those but I am so glad I agreed to go.  We had a wonderful meal out! 

24. I embraced the process of making sourdough from scratch and while I can't say I am 100% thrilled with the results or even the process of making the bread I am so glad we tried.  Alec and I both learned a lot! 

25. I embraced the messy hair and threw it all up in a ponytail until it was time for my hair appointment. 

26. Though it was cold out, Evan and I embraced it and enjoyed a leisurely walk in the falling snow.  

27. While I wasn't looking forward to leaving the house and driving in the snow my husband and I had an appointment with our lawyer to review our will.  I embraced the opportunity to cross this chore off my to do list and we were in and out of there in record time. 

28. Evan and I embraced some time alone together while his older brothers were at work and at school.  We went hiking and out to lunch and had a great time talking just the two of us with zero interruptions. 

29.  Alec had a 2 hour delay because of the cold/ icy weather and though it threw off all our schedules we embraced the shortened day of school for everyone! 

30. I brought my camera with me while working with my husband and despite the freezing cold temps I did embrace the opportunity to take a few photos. 

31. I had to make some titles and embellishments for my scrapbooking pages and I really embraced the not knowing; watching a few videos, learning some new techniques. 

Linking up with: Sentence a day,  Spread the Kindness, Lovin' Life,