A Vision for 2020

See that wrinkled nose? When I'm smiling hard, my nose tends to do that. I was outside, in the snow, on a mountain,
with all of my kids and Chuck. I could NOT have been happier in this moment of time.

2020. I love the way it sounds; the repetition of the twenties just rolls off the tongue. I like the way it looks; the alternating twos and zeroes has a tidy appearance. 

Our Utah Kids

2020 is going to be a big year for me. Maybe not a year of big changes, but I will celebrate my sixtieth birthday toward the end of the year. I think it's kind of cool that I was born in 1960, and will turn 60 in 2020. I like all of those even numbers. 

Just a small representation of my side of the family; we are missing so many who live in Virginia.

2020 will be about PRIORITIES. For a few years, I've chosen a word for the year. As of yesterday, I only had vague thoughts about my word, but after hearing from two of my kids who had chosen their word, and their wanting to know what my word was, I decided to consider my choice thoughtfully. 

My handsome and me.

2020 will be filled with our family and friends. Relationships and connection are so important to me. Face-to-face time, and phone calls, and emails, and texts are ways to connect, and I hope I do a good job of telling people I love how important they are to me. I want my husband and our kids to know they are my number one priority because my family is everything to me. 

I've met so many creative people out here in Illinois. This particular group is an amazing group of poets and authors. 

My circle of friends has grown since moving to Illinois. I want to deepen the relationships I have with my new friends, and stay connected with my faraway friends in Utah, Virginia, and various places around the world. 

2020 will be about spiritual growth. This last year I feel like I lost my way for awhile. I want to experience reverence and spirituality. I want to honor God with my life, and with service to others. 

They call me Grandma Poo.

2020 will be full of photographs and memories. I want to pursue my photography and my writing with more enthusiasm. 

In November, I hiked in knee-deep snow in search of a Christmas tree while we were in Utah. I cannot wait to hike again!

2020 will be an active year for me. So much of 2019 was spent nursing my bum knees, and then rehabilitating the new knees after double knee replacement. I want to get back to my yoga practice, and walking outdoors. Hiking in Utah is something I want to do the rest of my life.

In the kitchen with my loves. Again, the wrinkled nose is the tip-off; I'm super happy.

2020 will be full of laughter because it will be full of my favorite people who make me laugh. I was going through some of Chuck's photos recently, and noticed he had not bothered to edit some of the photos of me. They may not be as flattering when I am laughing, but they remind me of happy moments I love to relive. 

Part of our Illinois clan.

2020 will be full of adventurous eating. Our kids are all pretty adventurous when it comes to food. I want to try new  restaurants and new recipes, and get better at making soups and nutritious dishes. I'm a pretty darn good baker, but I need to expand my culinary talents with veggies and meats!

If you were to look at my phone usage for last year, you would assume my sole priority was Facebook. While I comforted myself with thinking Facebook is a good way to make connections with others; the truth of the matter is, I spent hours and hours, going down one rabbit hole, then another, and before I'd know it, my day was nearly done, and I had not accomplished much of anything. 

Grandson CJ with his awesome Dad, Chuck's middle son Chris.

The first thing I did this morning, after checking the weather, was delete my Facebook app from my phone. I will still use my computer to look at Facebook, but I want to be intentional about it, wishing friends happy birthday, checking on friends who are grieving or battling illnesses, and reaching out to faraway relatives. 

My daughter-in-law with her babies, our grandbabies.

It's only 8:35, but I have not spent my two waking hours on social media. What I have done is meditate, take a bath, pick up my groceries and put them away, and I am roasting some vegetables while I WRITE!!! 

My BFF Susan, my Coffee and Cameras Companion.

Today is off to a great start. It feels good to be intentional about my plans.

Do you choose a word for the year? I'd love to know what yours is!

My firstborn Dylan.

My sweet Sierra on her wedding day.

My baby boy Bridger.

Love these boys.

When your therapist becomes a good friend.

I love when extended family become friends. Meet Karen, my daughter-in-law's mom. 

My Mama.

My Natalie and Jackie.

My best friend since junior high, Lynn.

Selfie time with some of our Illinois family.

Who Put Jesus in a Burrito?

Berries, pine cones, and frosted branches!

Christmas trees fascinate me; I am drawn to them, like a moth to flame. I study them, deciding what it is that I love, and figuring out if it's something I could copy at home. We bought a new tree this year, and I am in love. It was "half off," if I can believe that. Seriously, weeks before Thanksgiving, the store marked EVERY Christmas item half off, which probably means they jacked the prices up so they could reduce the prices to something less horrifying. Okay, that was my inner Scrooge emerging; sorry.

This year I decided to drape a gauzy, shimmering garland that must be about two feet wide around the tree. What a beautiful product THAT is. And what a pain in the butt to get it wrapped around the tree. It's like trying to put on nylon stockings with fancy rings on every finger. That fabric catches on every little thing.

After snagging the ribbon all over the top few branches, I got smart. I stuffed the garland in part of a gift wrap tube I'd snipped to shorten it, and then I could bypass all of the snafus which dangling ribbons create. I just fed the tube through the branches, allowing the ribbon to fall out as I threaded the tube through the branches. I know; my brilliance surprises me, too. I expect MENSA will be contacting me after the holidays to see if I'm interested in joining their illustrious group.

Look closely, and you will notice the lace valance is being pulled over by a guide wire. This is
the Christmas tree that fell over several times before we got smart, and used a wire and hooks
to keep the tree upright.

Over the years, I've tried just about every tree there is: real (that  one became a serious fire hazard because I like my tree up for about a month and a half); real, ultra large (fell over about five times before we wired it to the window frames); artificial (that one smacked of fake-ness); and flocked (that one left a crumbly, white mess for me to clean for the next several weeks).

One of our ornaments is my very favorite, a small handmade clay ornament of Jesus in the manger that I purchased at a holiday boutique when Sierra was born.

Many years later, when my youngest was old enough to talk, the children and I were in the living room decorating our large live tree. Bridger tapped me on the back as I was unpacking the Christmas ornaments.

"Mama, look, somebody put Jesus in a burrito!" 

That is exactly what it looked like. No wonder I love that ornament so much; it combines my favorite holiday with my favorite cuisine.  

Every year, he smiles as we retell the story of Jesus in the burrito. One day, I'll give my favorite ornament to him, so he can tell HIS children the story from his childhood Christmas.  

Feliz Navidad!