We are pretty excited you are here. 2018 was good to us with the best part welcoming our little Belle into our lives but we are definitely excited for you to be here even with all the unknown that you will bring. You are a reminder of a fresh start and even more new beginnings.
2019, we really want to focus on being more present as a family. With all the distractions around that bombard each one of us daily, we want to make sure we focus on what is most important-each other. That means putting down our phones, forgoing the cleaning or the laundry at times, less worrying about the future and past, or the never-ending "to do's" and being fully involved and 100% there.
Thanks for coming! We're happy to have you stay awhile, at least a year?
Xo, The Larson Family
Now time for our goal words for the year.
April 2018 was a good month for us with the birth of this cutie. Isabelle continues to be the happiest baby around. For 2019 we want this little girl to focus on keeping that smile around. Belle is a bundle of joy and pretty much ALWAYS smiling. Her smile is absolutely contagious and we hope she continues to spread that sunshine to all who encounter her sweetness.
Adeline's word for 2018 was Grasp. We had hoped she would grasp for learning and she caught hold and has held tight. Through a study done before her 2nd birthday at the University of Utah, we found that our sweet rambunctious Adeline is a gifted child. She is advanced far past her age. The challenge for us is finding activities that keep her entertained and also challenge her. When it comes to learning, this girl has definitely grasped the train.
With the arrival of her little sister automatically bumping her to the "middle" child I wanted to make extra sure she grasped how loved she is. I am sure this will always be a work-in-progress with all our kids, but I felt it extra important for Addie to hold firm to the knowledge, I hope she and we will continue to do so.
She has grasped her role as "big sister". At first we worried a little, but soon those worries changed as she and Belle grew a little more. They are becoming the best of little friends. She has not only grasped her role, but exceeded expectations and become quite the teacher and helper.
With each new adventure that has come our way, Addie has fully grasped each one. We started saying, "Well Addie will" because her adventurous spirit and ability to be so resilient and try and do anything has been something we all want to be more like at times.
For 2019, Addie helped to choose her word: Soak. With all that she has grasped this year, we now hope she'll soak it in. We hope she'll be like a sponge and just absorb all the knowledge she learns and soak in the challenges-not letting them slow her down. We also hope she'll soak in kindness and love and them spread them around wherever she goes.
Lydia's word for 2018 was connect. I am grateful for this focus as this was the year that I feel like a lot of connections were needed.
Lydia has connected with many friends. The love of working and playing with others went a bit farther as she learned to bring it all together. She has made quite a few "best" friends and I love to hear her pray for her friends at night.
Speaking of praying, Lydia has connected more with the scriptures and most importantly more with her Savior. It has been fun to watch what we are learning at home and at church come out in normal conversations. "Mom, I think we should pray" is something Lydia does not hesitate to remind me, and I know it is because she has seen and felt a connection between prayer and divine help. We have loved reading of our Savior with her because her little brain is constantly forming connections and it will often spur questions and then wonderful family discussions.
Lydia started preschool, dance, and tumbling this year-this has been such wonderful avenue for her and helped her connect more to her body as she learns to move it and try new things. She has been able to connect more with her mind as she is learns to read and spell. She's exploring and learning so much and I absolutely love it.
Lydia chose the word Make for 2019. This is extremely fitting for her because this little girl has turned into a creative butterfly. She connected with her talents this last year and found that she loves all things arts and crafts. She can spend hours upon hours making things. We hope her ability to make things will go far beyond crafts. It is our hope that she will make more happiness, friends, and room for trying new things. I hope she can make the brave and right choice at times and that she can make room for spiritual talents to develop.
For 2018 I had chosen the word Cherish for a lot of reasons. One was that with the coming of our new baby, I was nervous and excited and worried all at the same time. But I knew what I needed most was to cherish the new experiences that were coming. I wanted to cherish every moment I could with the new baby because it is so fleeting. I have strived to cherish her and every stage she has passed through. I cherished the pregnancy as much as I could as well as the whole birth process.
I am still working on this one but I also wanted to cherish my amazing working body for growing 4 babies and delivering, feeding, and caring for 3. I am still working to cherish the way it looks-a little more stretched out and softer, but I am grateful for the progress I have made.
Cherishing my motherhood is something else I really worked on. Heaven knows I am far far far from perfect but one of the definitions of cherish is "keep a hope or ambition in one's mind" and that is how my motherhood is. I'm keeping the hope and ambition of being a better mom and trying a little harder every day in mind and pushing forward with the hope that I'll succeed even if it is just having the patience to sing "Let it Go" one more time or cleaning up one more spill. I love my role and I want to hold it dear and care and nourish it more.
I have always known I had a testimony of my Savior and His gospel, but I wanted to cherish it and protect and care for it more. I am so excited for the new Come Follow Me program and the opportunity to cherish and grow my testimony even further.
I have wanted to cherish and preserve my family and the memories we are making more. I have started organizing ALL my photos and journals (and when I say ALL I mean every photo I have ever taken) and put them into albums and books. Cherishing all my relationships-my friends, my siblings, my parents, my husband and kids, neighbors, and even the same two cashiers at Smiths that helps me with my groceries each week. It has been feeling a love for all of these people.
Overall I have strived to cherish change. With the unknown of Brian's job and the change in our home that has happened I have really tried to cherish my resilience to change. It was a really good year for me to cherish.
My new goal word for 2019 is HERE. I have felt such a pull to be more present and aware. My kids are growing up SO quickly. My baby is 8 months, my 2 year old is more like a 3 year old and my 4 year old thinks she is 13. I want to be right here with them every day and on most moments. I also want to be here in my head and body-not thinking so much about the next thing I need to do or want to buy or the next pound I want to drop. Stop thinking about the past and my mistakes or the mistakes of others. Live in the present and being grateful for the now.
Brian really tried to be more appreciative of life. He strived to appreciate me more as well as the little girlies that adore their daddy. He appreciated his testimony and his role as priesthood holder and head of our household. He appreciated his job more. His patients. His research. His rotations. And with his appreciation came more feelings of gratitude and happiness. He 2018 off started with such a burn out that he needed this focus to bring him out of it and grateful for the wonderful life he has created. He appreciated his calling more and we even where given another calling of teaching the YSA of our ward which he has loved and come to appreciate feeling young still.
Brian learned to really really appreciate his body as he turned 30 this year and the day after hurt his knees mountain biking that put him out for months. Two weeks after he got pretty sick and had his first ever ER visit just two months after. He has really learned to appreciate his health and what it means to take good care of himself.
Brian has worked to develop better study and spiritual habits and has come to really appreciate the knowledge he has learned and his desire to be a better disciple of Christ. This has really reflected in our life at home as well.
For 2019 Brian wants to be more present. Studies show that being more fully aware of the resent moment helps people be happier. He wants to be aware of what is happening and perceive more. He wants to sharpen his senses and be more immersed-in his job, family, relationships, studies, and just each day.
Alright 2019! We are ready for you!
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