Happy New Year!

Have you made any resolutions? I just looked up "resolve" in Mr. Webster. Basically, he says resolving to do something requires determination and decision. A decision to be determined about doing something or not doing something.

My resolutions always seem daunting at the beginning of new year filled with pressure and potential for failure if I miss a day of being "determined". I would like to resolve this year to have more grace with myself in these lofty goals. Be honest, aren't your resolutions lofty? I mean, if they were easy and took little work, we would just do them and not have to write them down, making a point to remember and reach. Fantastic! Make your resolutions large, vast, and great! Reach beyond yourself and believe you can achieve your greatest desires! My word of encouragement? Take each day as its own entity. We are human, and we will drop the ball, our resolve waning, from time to time. Have grace with yourself. Expect some lapses. But, don't throw in the towel or beat yourself up. Start again tomorrow. Baby steps and process teach the greatest lessons, ones that we will remember. A challenge? Grow this year. Whatever that means to you...just strive to grow.

Ok, I will now update you a bit on me. I write that paragraph of admonition above to myself just as much as to anyone else. I constantly need reminders of perspective and healthy expectation.

As you can see above, I had some good quality time with my nieces, Ella Claire (the eldest) and Isabel (Izzy), over the holiday here in Little Rock. We made my favourite Christmas treat with our hands, laughed a lot, and did a bit of work cleaning the floor. : )

I have a handful of days left here in LR before going back the ville to jet back home to London. As with any trip home (where the fam is) since leaving for university, my heart always looks forward to returning to "my" world I call home. Strange that this time around I call England home. Still surreal, but oh so lovely! As I have mentioned several times to many of you, I feel the haze has lifted a touch, and I look forward to feeling more like "Kym" in London over the next several months. I am making lists like mad, preparing for projects, and getting excited about formulating talks and reading books.

Happy New Year, friends!

May the Lord bless your days, one day at a time!

kb