a whole new year

2014 is here! A whole new year to be alive and to live and learn and explore. Last year was "the year of the wedding;" and, oh boy, was it! Nine months of planning, one day of wedding, and three months unpacking! Now we are man and wife, partners forever in the eyes of the government, our families, and most importantly, each other. This new year is to be the year of dreams. As Kenneth quits his job to go to school full time, we dream of his future career working in a field that fascinates him! As I continue to grow in my chosen career, we dream of a day where my job is to raise our littles and manage our home. As we cook and laugh in our little kitchen, we dream of a farmhouse kitchen where our ingredients are from our backyard! As we tighten our budgets, we dream and dream and plan and scheme about the future we are working so hard for. 

All this dreaming does not mean that now is not good. Now is wonderful and wild and magic and love. Now is filled with learning to knit and bake bread and keep our apartment tidy. Now is cups of coffee together on the couch. Now is long walks in the woods holding hands in warm mittens. Now is family dinners and having friends over for tea and scones. Now is good and made even more wonderful because it is so filled with dreams. We are so new in life and so much of our adventure is ahead of us. And isn't that wonderful? Isn't it amazing to think of all the things we have yet to do, the people we have yet to meet, the dreams we don't even know we have!? Oh 2014, I look forward to seeing what you bring!

At the beginning of last year, Kenneth and I sat down and wrote our 13 for 2013. 13 things we wanted to learn in the year. We thought through and wrote them down and promptly forgot them. Learning from that I am simplifying my goals for this new year. 

1. More time in the kitchen. I'm dreaming of new bread recipes, homemade yogurt and cheese, canned jams stored in the pantry, and soups for every season! An afternoon in the kitchen is never a waste of time. 

2. Managing my free time better so it includes more time with family and less evenings spent in front of the computer isolated and alone. Although, solitary time is just as important--we introverts need to recharge!

3. I want to knit a hat. Along the same vein, I want to make more things with my own two hands. More knitting, more mending, more painting, and more creating!

4. More God. I lost him someway along the way or maybe it's that I never had him to begin with. Either way, I feel a call to come back, to rediscover God in a new and better way.

5. I want to love my husband more. I want to learn new ways to love him and I want to continue to grow as a partnership. I've loved Kenneth for years as a boyfriend, months as a fiancee, and I'm looking forward to loving him forever as my husband. 

Happy New Year.

Bring it, 2014!