appreciation

gratitude

thankful recognition

We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.

---Frederick Keonig

After reading my girlfriend Genn's blog and her reference to this blog, I decided that I wanted to play along.

I have been thinking about it ever since reading about it. I've been trying to think of a word that I lack in my everyday life that I could try to really focus on and make a prominent part of my year.

I choose appreciation.

Appreciation; the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value. gratitude, thankful recognition.

I am appreciative of many things in my life. I appreciate my family, my friends, my job, my blessings...but so often I take all of the things in my life for granted. I get easily frustrated with the little things and am very impatient (Genn it was very tempting to choose patience too!)f I think that I constantly find the negative things in a situation but I really want to try to sit back and appreciate something because I really do think that good can come from even bad.

I want to try to appreciate that even though being a mom has it's times where it is hard (very hard), and working while the kids are at daycare, and my husband trying to make his business successful, and never having enough time, or money, or energy, that I am lucky and grateful that I have the opportunity to even feel these things.

I want to take the time to appreciate that even though Samantha is giving me attitude, that she is one smart cookie to even have the words to express how she feels. I want to appreciate that while T screams (btw, does anyone have a cure for that) because he is not getting enough attention from me, that I am lucky he wants attention from me because in years to come he will become more independent and not want momma! I want to appreciate that even though I fell like my husband doesn't hear what I say, he does have his ways to make me smile everyday.

That's just the tip of the iceberg...there are so many other things that I need to stop and reflect on how I can appreciate something of the situation.

I'm still working on posting it around, perhaps in lipstick on the bathroom mirror?! This is what I have so far, small but effective :)

Here we go! Happy New Year!!!