On the verge of 2012

As soon as Christmas starts coming to a close, my mind starts working, setting goals.  I don't know that I'm so much of year long resolution setter.  My thought process is more along the lines of: We have put a lot of things off in the name of fun and Christmas, now I'm ready to refocus, prioritize and pick away at things I've been wanting to accomplish.  Here is a preliminary list of the things I have been thinking about:

• In recent years I have chosen a word for the year.  the words I have chosen are cherish, childhood. . . this year I have been thinking of the word "Charity."  No, there is no rule that it has to be a CH word, only coincidence.  I feel like I need to work on having more charitable feelings when it is hard to have charitable feelings.  This goes at home as well as with other people.  Also, that it would benefit me to fit more activities into my life that  are primarily for the purpose of serving someone else.  
• For the last couple of years, I have had the goal of teaching my kids about different countries and places around the world.  Last year, we learned about India and it stopped there.  I want to take action toward actually doing this and not just thinking about it.  My thought is that part of the reason I procrastinate this is because I do not have a system that works for doing it.  I spend time wondering what would be the best way to find the information.  My goal is to either find a book or website that has easy to find, go to information that we can use EASILY, and add to it if we want and not add to it if I don't want to.
• PURGE.  That is always a goal of mine.  Starting Tuesday I am going to go through all of my hidden corners and purge.  Then I'm going to go through Beckham's closet and purge.  Then I'm going to go through my basement and purge.  Then I am going to enjoy how organized it all feels =0).
• And perhaps a combination of the following: Paint.  I have a few pictures in my head that are ready to come to fruition.  Finish my blog book.  Play around with Macro Photography.  I can't lie that another one of my goals is to ......Paint the living room???  I really want to. . . but I'm not sure if I've gotten there yet.

I have no delusions of accomplishing all of these things quickly.  Picking away at them is the key phrase.  

And since I posted a picture of Brad as a kid. . . Here are a couple of me with my brothers and sisters =0). There is so much to be said about these pictures, I don't even know where to start.

Now we are off to go swimming.