Unplugging, and One Little Word

There's a lot to be said for unplugging. Personally I find it hard to turn off my computer. I find it almost impossible to not go online and check forums and emails a dozen times a day, and yes I'm very guilty of spending too much time in my study when I should be out doing stuff with my girls. So our recent camping trip to the beach was the perfect opportunity to get away from it all and really focus on the family. And you know what? I totally didn't miss the computer at all. I really enjoyed the down time. I enjoyed being outdoors a lot and spending quality time with my husband and kids. Have a look at the layout I did about our time away:




I also used these photos for my 365 pages for 2010:





Have you heard of the "One Little Word" idea? Ali Edwards wrote this on her blog:

"The idea behind the one little word concept is to give yourself something to focus on throughout the year. As I stated in my newsletter back in January 2007, "A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can sharp and biting or rich and soft and slow.

Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2009? It can be something tangible or intangible. It could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother's word or your spouse's word or your child's word - this is YOUR word. One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities."

After much thought, I have decided my One Little Word for 2010 is going to be "PRIORITIES". The kids, my husband, housework, church, scrapping, family, school and playcentre...I have many responsibilities, and I need to prioritise them and put them in the right order. Too often last year I put scrapping above housework, and even above my family. I'm determined that won't happen this year. I read on another blog how changing the WAY you say things really can make you think twice about WHAT you say. Instead of saying to the kids "No, I don't have time to play right now", what if I said "No, you're not a priority to me right now." That really hit me. Telling my kids they're not a priority? I don't think I could do it. They're number one in my life, and I want them to know that. It's really changed my thinking and got me reassessing my life.

Every time I sit down to do some scrapping, I now think to myself "Is there something else that needs to be done first? Do I really have to do this now? Is this my highest priority?" I'm determined to get my housework done each day before getting on the computer. I'm determined to do more activities with the girls. I'm determined to be more active and get outdoors more. This One Little Word has given me much thought, and a lot of direction for the coming year, and I'm excited to have it as my focus for 2010. What about you? What would your One Little Word be?

Oh, I want to show you this article too. It's called "Children are not timeless". It's a great read. Actually I had to look over my shoulder to see if someone wasn't observing ME and writing down all the things I say to my kids. Seriously - it's as if they wrote the article based on me. I really need to change the way I respond to my kids. It's one of my new years resolutions.

Something else happened this week that gave our family a bit of a scare. Mum had to go into hospital for some tests. I won't go into why, but it brought us kids down to earth with a bump, realising our parents are not as immortal as we would like to think. I know you all think you've got great parents, but I can officially confirm that we have the best parents in the world. We don't know what we'd do without them. It got me thinking (I've been doing a lot of that lately) that although my brothers and sisters and I have had many years getting to know our parents, our own children have not gotten to know them so well yet. They're only at the beginning of that journey, and should Mum or Dad pass before our kids are older, they'll miss out on really knowing their grandparents. So Mum, Dad, George and Dawn (hubby's parents), I'll be sending you all some questionnaires in the next few weeks for some albums I'll be putting together over the next year. There will be a ton of questions, and you can answer them as in depth or as briefly as you like. The questions will start with your birth and childhood, and extend through your teenage years, right up to now. It will seem like a whole lot, but if you just plug away at it bit by bit, we'll be able to create a wonderful family history album for the future generations.

OK, I think that's it for now. The kids will wake up soon and my day of new priorities starts again. I have a cleaning schedule that I'm actually excited to start again, and either today or tomorrow I'm going to take the girls to a movie too.