Have A Blissful New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that every one of you has a blessed year.
I decided to ring the New Year in without any parties, snack food or parties. We tend to stay home to avoid the "crazies" out on New Year's Eve. So we stay home, kiss each other, and go to bed. Boring, yes. Satisfactory for now? Absolutely! I don't think this pregnant lady can handle too much excitement right now! I love being home instead.

So as I was lying on the couch last night, after tucking my sweet monkeys in bed, I was thinking that there may be no better way to ring in the new year than with a nice warm bath!

AHHHHHH! Bath, you are bliss! Oh, the thought of settling down in a tub of warm water with a good book (I got Gone With the Wind for Christmas), a few candles, and my MP3 player (I love Ravel's "Bolero" and "Hoedown" from "Rodeo" by Copland. Google them and see what I mean!), and sitting there until I am good and wrinkly -and then sit some more- warms my heart!

They say in real estate that men buy houses based on the garage and women on the kitchen, but I have decided that I will now judge potential homes by the bathroom! It is my dream to have one of those enormous, ancient, clawfoot tubs or an infinity tub (Do you know what that is? The tub fills all the way to the top, and has a reservoir for overflow. You can see a picture of one HERE.) Any home that does not have an adequate tub for some serious, Olympic-quality soaking time will get a resounding "Not that house!" from me! No, NOT really. I am thankful for the places that God provides, but that WILL be a place that I seriously look!

I was going to collect my paraphernalia and enjoy ringing in the new year last night, but fell asleep on the couch watching an old episode of Perry Mason. After Sweet Geek woke me up I went right to bed.


So instead, I waited and went up to the bathroom today and settled in for a soak.

Candles lighted, check.
Book, check.
MP3 player, check.
Monkey Shine occupied, check. ( DON'T need help! Check THIS post for an explanation!)

AHHHH! Water running, waiting for the tub to fill, looking forward to a wonderful, enduring soak. SIGH!

WHAT!? What is THIS?! The tub in only half full and the hot water is gone! Blast lovely, charming, old homes! They do not always have the best and most up-to-date equipment!
So I waited awhile, in hopes that the challenged hot water heater would catch up, but as I periodically checked, it continued to only run COLD water into my half-filled tub!
So I gave up, and determined to enjoy it as much as I could for as long as I could. I didn't crack my book open, I neglected my MP3, and I did not wrinkle even one little bit (that's OK, I have enough of those anyway!)
But I did enjoy my New Year's Day. And as I laid in my almost cold, half-full tub, I thanked God for the kids I have, and for protecting Larry when he fell, and for my family that I miss so very much. I thanked God for the child who kicks me, and for every kick. And I thought how many changes this year is going to bring, and I welcome them! I am excited for those changes, the blessings and challenges they will bring. And I hope that as things change that I change too, and in a way that will bring me closer to God's plan for me. I pray that I will be a better Mom and more loving & understanding wife. And that I won't let pride get in the way of being compassionate and admitting when I am wrong. And I am praying that I won't say things I don't mean, and will think before I speak. No New Year's resolutions, just the Hope of God's continued work in my life and my family's life. He promises that He will complete His work in us, and I am looking forward to the subtle nudging in 2010.
So Happy New Year! I hope that at the end of this year, we will look back and recognize the gentle and patient nudging of the loving Hand of God. I hope that we will all see Him in the way that only God can show himself to each person.
May you have a BLESSED new year!