Carnival of Beauty~The Beauty of a New Year

I love celebrating the New Year. I'm not into staying up all night at wild parties, by any means. (See earlier post on how we spent New Year's Eve!) I think what I like is taking the time to reflect on the past year, and dreaming about a brand new year.
As I think back over 2006, I smile. It was a wonderful year for me. It was my first year at home being a wife and a mother. It was the first year I didn't work outside the home. I felt so much more peaceful and not as torn as I did as a teacher for all those years. I've tried to learn how to be the best wife and mother I could be. Sweetheart enjoyed it too, as I was more able to keep house and cook dinner and be available to him than in years past.
I also learned how to be a mother. No, I don't know it all and usually, just as I'd feel like I was really getting a handle on some aspect of it all, something would change. But both Pumpkin and I survived and even thrived.
There were difficulties in this year, too. Feeling like I couldn't "do it all" even though I had more time. Never having a day off. Sleep deprivation. Post-natal hormonal adjustments. Loneliness. Pumpkin's broken leg and subsequent fallout we're still dealing with.
But as I look to 2007 I am excited. I am reminded of Anne's comment to Miss Stacey, "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it." I think that way of the New Year: it is fresh, with no mistakes in it (yet!). What a joyful promise of hope and New Year brings!
I'll spend time this week writing down my dreams and goals for the New Year. I'm not one to just do that quickly I prefer to take my time, think and pray. Will I make a formal list of New Year's Resolutions? Probably not. It'll look more like a mix of ideas, dreams, goals, but not a list of do's and don'ts.
I am also working on a new daily, weekly and monthly schedule of routines. I'll spend a lot of time on this as there are new things I am adding to the mix this year including Precepts Bible Study on my own, and a modified Body for Life program of healthy eating and exercise. Also, Pumpkin's schedule changes and I'm adjusting for that as well.
I love this time of reflection. I think it's important. I'm also wanting to set aside time this year for Beauty itself. I want to culitivate Beauty in my life and home. I have some projects and crafts I'd like to do over this New Year that I need to plan for as well.
I usually take time in January to check out gardening books from the library as well. While we are still buried under more than a foot of snow here, I can dream about the beauty of my garden that will come later this year. I can sketch and watercolor my ideas in my journal filling it with beauty as well.
My heart is also rejoicing at the new life growing inside of me in this New Year. What could be more beautiful than that? What a beautiful new hope for 2007 we have been given!

I don't have anything profound or wise to share really, just the great feelings of hope and joy I'm experiencing as I think about a fresh start, a new beginning. Isn't a new year a wonderful gift from God? I am reflecting on how I might grow closer to Him and serve Him more in this New Year. What about you?