To "Embrace" 2012

Each morn is New Year’s morn come true,
Morn of a festival to keep.
All nights are sacred nights to make
Confession and resolve and prayer;
All days are sacred days to wake
New gladness in the sunny air.
Only a night from old to new;
Only a sleep from night to morn.
The new is but the old come true;
Each sunrise sees a new year born.

-excerpt from New Year's Morning
by Helen Hunt Jackson (1892)

Saying goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012 is a slow process in our home. Although 2011 held its share of sadness, we are a sentimental bunch and tend to hold on to the joyful moments, especially the wonders of the last few week.

A welcome scene

A moving live nativity at a local farm

Anticipating the celebration to come the next morning.

A few homemade gifts (mint lip balm, felted soap, star ornaments)

(More on that in a future post.)

As the decorations come down, I look forward to the renewed hope, growth, and adventures that 2012 holds. What does it hold exactly? I do not know, but I do know that I can live purposefully. With that in mind, Jessica, from the blog Bohemian Bowmans, encourages her readers to pick one purposeful word for 2012. This year, my word is "Embrace." I will allow myself to embrace my life for what it is and not regret what it is not. I will embrace my family for who they are. I will embrace the day that is given to me, not just set back and watch, although I tend to be a wallflower.

I am not the resolution type, but I do have goals for the year. I am going to try new crafts in these cooler months. I am in the process of making a Waldorf Doll, and look forward to making wool roving scapes, people, and animls. As the months move on, I hope to relearn the piano and teach my oldest son how to read music, I might even break open my cello and our dulcimers. I will teach my children about cooking and in a perfect world, will learn to enjoy hours in the kitchen. We will see. Regardless of it all, I will Embrace what comes.