~Happy New Year~

Happy New Year!  I always love the feeling of a fresh start for each New Year.  I love taking quiet time to reflect on my past year and look at the things I want to bring forward to our new year and of course keep in mind changes that I want to make for the New Year as well.  My wonderful husband took care of the children last night, while I went to bed early.  What a blessing that was!  

Our little Christmas tree will come down today.  I am always so excited when we put it up, but I also get excited to take it down so that our little home can be back in order, all fresh and tidy.

Here are some photos of the children on Christmas day.  We had a very simple Christmas this year.  We went to Steven's family gathering on the 24th and then had a cozy Christmas day together in our little house.  This Christmas, we will be attending my family's Christmas gathering, so I will look forward to that!

After Christmas my parents came for a little visit.  They took Steven and I out for a early morning breakfast.  It was a blessing to see them both, and get to spend time with them.

The day my parents left, we went to the mall to let the girls purchase some clothing with their Christmas money.

I enjoyed using this little Hallmark Christmas ornament that was a Christmas countdown.   It was so much fun to see how many days, hours and minutes before Christmas was upon us.

Lauren went to a Church New Years dance the night before New Years Eve.  This is her with one of her best friends, Britney.

I am using some binders to help keep me organized this year.  The first one is the book I am writing about the art of homemaking, the next one is our family's financial binder with our budget and money plan, the next one is where I will keep track of every dollar I spend this new year, and the last one is my binder that I keep my goals, my wish list, and such.  I find it works for me to write down the things I may want to consider purchasing and this has really helped me to be mindful with what I actually decide to purchase.  Then there is the book I am reading.

Of course my binder system must have a home, so they live inside this little tote beside our living room chair.  It is so very important to have all of your items organized so they are both user friendly and do not become clutter.  

Here beside our living room chair is where I keep my planners and such.  They are such a blessing to me.  I have my Christmas planner, my planner in which I keep addresses and little recipes for things such as my homemade kitchen counter spray, and then there is my family's planner where I have my calendar and daily to do lists, and my prayer journal that I use to pray for people.  My planners keep me on track in my daily life as well as my prayer life.  They are a blessing!

As I sit here this New Years morning, I just want to let you know that I am thankful for each one of you who come to visit my little space.  Doing this blog just truly blesses my heart and I want to wish you all a very happy and blessed New Year.  I hope you all have a cozy day!  Hugs to you.  ~Juli