I have seen a pattern on social media lately.  I feel like everyone has had a tough year.  It’s made me evaluate our year, as a friendly.  This year has been one of the best of my life.  Has it been the easiest year?  NO WAY!  But it’s been a great year.  Good growth, good memories.  I wouldn’t change a thing.  I started my holiday with a long list of resolutions.  I do this every year.  Drink more water, run more, blah blah blah…

Basically a ton of random goals – but mostly to make better healthier choices.  So what did we do on New Year’s Eve?  Chow down on my favorite dessert, obviously.  It was the “last supper” of sorts for me.  We had plans to spend the evening at our friends’ house – but Zach wasn’t feeling well.  So we enjoyed our brownie sundaes at home together just the three of us.  

We stayed in our comfies all night and watched the ball drop.  It wasn’t a rager, but it was pretty great.

New Year’s Day was just as relaxed.  We had lunch together at Pizzeria Limone and ran some errands.
Later that night I went to dinner with my high school friends.  Alison was in town from New York and so all of us girls ate at Finca (and some of our spouses – Zach stayed home because he still wasn’t feeling well).  It was so great to catch up with these ladies, they never disappoint.

I also got to dine out with my SBO friends at Tsunami over the holiday.  I haven’t seen some of them in almost two years – so it was a long time coming.  I also got to meet Bryson’s new baby – Sloane.

Now that it’s the new year, we have switched to 11:00 church.  It’s basically the best thing that has happened to us all year.  Literally, it’s only the second week…


That first Sunday we had my family over to our house for Sunday dinner.  I made my mother-in-laws crock pot turkey roast.  It was a hit (and easier than I’d like to let on).  
I don’t know why, or how it’s even possible, but Sloan has grown up so much over the past few weeks.  She’s started walking confidently now.  She can walk anywhere and everywhere.  There’s no stopping her now [unless she is wearing tights…those are slippery].  She’s also a very good eater, and has started to do it all on her own.  Seeing a plate full of “real” food in front of her makes me feel like I actually have a toddler living in the house.

Sloan has to have her nutrition on point – because she is now a swimmer.  Well, she’s in Mommy and Me Swim Classes.  She loves the water.  Floating on her back she does NOT love, but we’re working on that…
Sloan loved her swimming lessons so much that I decided to take it a step further.  My dad has been certified to teach Survival Swim Classes for years, so I conned him into spending his Saturday morning at the SDRC with Sloan and I.  She did better than I excepted.
Being underwater is not her favorite, but she’s getting used it.  It eases my mind that she will be able to learn what to do if she ever falls into a pool or lake.  Considering we have a family vacation planned for my birthday where we will be staying near water, I am glad we did it sooner rather than later.  Give her a few more weeks and she’ll be a pro!

We’ve also picked a family motto for the year.  It’s not glamorous – but it fits my intent for the upcoming year.  JUST DO IT.  Yes, Nike coined it first…but we have a different perspective.  At tithing settlement our Bishop gave us a quote from President Uchtdorf, “Don’t let a day go by without doing something to act on the prompting of the Spirit.”  It struck me and has stayed with me.  Too often I push aside simple promptings because I have my own agenda and to-do list.  I’ve decided that if I feel prompted to do something…even if it seems ridiculous, to DO IT.

My first experience happened just a few days ago.  Sloan went down for bed and Zach stayed home while I ran to the grocery store.  Going to the grocery store at 9:00 at night alone is much more productive than with a wee one in the middle of the day.  So, there I was flying through the grocery store and getting my list checked off in record time.  I had one more item to grab and was on my way down the corresponding aisle.  Right then a man walked by me (he must have been over 70 years old) walking on TWO crutches.  The poor man was moving in slow motion as he passed me and I pulled into a check-out lane.  Something inside of me told me to help him, but I had two other errands to run and it was already getting late.  So I began checking out.  Then I remembered my OWN MOTTO that I had chosen.  Just FREAKING do it.  So I asked the cashier to continue checking me out and then asked if she would watch my cart for me while I helped that man (she had seen him as well and her heart had ached like mine for him).  So the young girl guarded my cart while I ran to the back of the store.  I couldn’t find him.  I ran up and down the aisles until I finally spotted him in the health supplement area.  He was trying to reach something on the bottom shelf – which you can imagine is nearly impossible on TWO crutches.  So I approached him, asked if I could help him, and he obliged.  He had me grab 10 Five-Hour Energys (berry flavor) and helped him find a newspaper at the front of the store.  He told me that he also needed a powdered supplement because his wife can’t eat solid food.  That hit me the hardest.  This man, who probably needs a hip replacement, was caring for his wife who was in worse shape than he was.  While we were walking to the front of the store [it took a while] he talked to me about politics and current events.  For a second I thought I was walking with my Grandpa Fotheringham, who has been gone for a while now.  I helped him check out – I didn’t even catch his name – and he thanked me.  It was simple, took only 15 minutes, but he let me know that without my help it would have taken him double the time.  I got out to my car, loaded my groceries, and cried my freaking eyes out.

So, in short, I’m just going to do it.  Whatever that may be.  Call a friend if I feel like I should.  Drop off dinner if it feels right.  I feel like acting on these feelings will only help me be a better…and maybe eating a few less Cutler’s sugar cookies.  That won’t make me a BETTER person, but will possibly make me LOOK BETTER in a swim suit.