How will "BELIEVE" Shape Your New Year?

Happy Holidays, Friends!

What a month it's been! After wrapping up the Christmas holiday at home, I found that our "low key / low stress", spend less / do more, time together Christmas was just what the doctor ordered!

While part of me still laments that our tree wasn't bursting at the seams with presents wrapped with care (or hurriedly slapped on paper on Christmas Eve after everyone went to bed), I don't miss the stress, the money struggle, the crowds, or the mess on Christmas Morning.

I can remember many holidays where gifts were played with for 1 or 2 days, items left unused for months (even til the next year) or added to a pile or similar items, with no special memory tied to it, no reason to sit back and say, "remember the year I got THIS". We were slipping into the gift for the sake of gifts habit, and the giving was losing it's meaning.  Sure, sure, some of that comes when your children get older and you just don't know where their spark of interest lies on any given day, or they are of the age where they just buy for themselves the things they truly want.  Our goal has been to make an impact - an experience or items that they will look at/use and think of us.

This year, well, we didn't plan our workshop time very well and our gifts weren't ready on Christmas morning. Note to self - making gifts (cutting, sanding, painting or staining, assembling, etc) takes time and care. No rushing next year!!

But truly the items and the stories that accompany them are really what I hoped to accomplish!  "Remember that time I made THIS and ... "  It may seem like it happened to the Griswolds, but it's the memory and the story that make it special! 

I BELIEVE that this is the feeling I want for the holidays - I want more time with my family (this year, 7 of 8 of my siblings were together on Christmas as my place!), more silly games (I got spanked in Mario Cart AND Monopoly), yummy food (baking breakfast casseroles and sharing the recipes), and watching our favorite movies together.

As we approach the new year, the final year of the decade (remember you count 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, so 2020 is the final year, not 2019), I find myself making lists, building plans, setting my calendar... all while considering if these tasks bring me closer to the life I choose.  Will it bring me closer to my goals and dreams? Will it add value to my life? Will it make me feel good about myself, my family, and be good for my health - physical, emotional, and mental?

If the answer is no - to any of those - I need to move away from that activity. Life is too short to start working backwards.

So, next up on the to do list - my 2020 Blogger Challenge. I'll be writing up a 2019 One Word Challenge finale to discuss an reflect on all that we've been through this year. There have been challenges and changes, victories and set backs. I'm excited for the review and a chance to look back on where we started on this journey! 

But what's next? What focus should I narrow in on? Should I keep it to all things Jen? Or set my sights on a task designed for growth - personal or professional? I'd love to hear your ideas and thoughts in the comments!

BELIEVE me, it's going to be an amazing year - and I can't wait to share it with all of you!

With love and cheer this holiday season~
<3 Jen