Watch as we GROW!!!: Very well put... Simplicity should sum it up!

A few things I really want to remember through 2012 and beyond. I have accomplished a lot over the last couple of years, but I have said numerous times that 2012 needs to be a little more relaxed, but the word SIMPLICITY is better. Which those of you that know me, know that Simple is not me in a lot of ways, but I am becoming that! My house is for sure, not so crazy, I like simple, clean, and pristine. Clothes are still far from Simple, but that part is okay in my opinion, LOL. Now seriously, this year, I am trying to focus on a few other important points. Jeremy is good at a majority of these already (he is good at a lot), but I am working on them as well!!!

Slow down. Rushing is rarely worth it. Life is better enjoyed at a leisurely pace. I seem to rest more during the week!
Goals aren’t as important as we think. Try working without them for a week. Turns out, you can do amazing things without goals.. You’re less stressed without goals, and you’re freer to choose paths you couldn’t have foreseen without them.
The moment is all there is. All our worries and plans about the future, all our replaying of things that happened in the past — it’s all in our heads, and it just distracts us from fully living right now. Let go of all that, and just focus on what you’re doing, right at this moment. In this way, any activity can be meditation. FUTURE is so hard not to worry about, but I am home, have a healthy family, I want to just enjoy every moment and second and live it up, JUST like we did during the holidays. That is probably why they were so amazing!!!
When your child asks for your attention, always grant it. Give your child your full attention! I am so lucky to have that angel and I try to give her "me" when she wants to spend time with me. It won't be long and I won't be her center of attention, so I want to soak it up now.
You can’t motivate people. The best you can hope for is to inspire them with your actions.
If you find yourself swimming with all the other fish, go the other way. They don’t know where they’re going either.
You will miss a ton, but that’s OK. We’re so caught up in trying to do everything, experience all the essential things, not miss out on anything important … that we forget the simple fact that we cannot experience everything. Learn to enjoy the slice of life you experience, and life turns out to be wonderful. LOVE IT!!!!
Rest is more important than you think. People work too hard, forget to rest, and then begin to hate their jobs. In fitness, you see it constantly: people training for a marathon getting burned out because they don’t know how to let their straining muscles and joints recover. YES THIS WILL BE HARD FOR ME! I am a "go getter" and go non-stop, but after resting and enjoying my family so much in the last week, that is a goal of mine! I may be reading this post often to remind myself too!!!
There are few joys that equal a good book, a good walk, a good hug, or a good friend. All are free. ****Love this and YES, YES, YES, to this.
The destination is just a tiny slice of the journey. WELL SAID, after I stated many times that I would not have appreciated being back in Birmingham had we not experienced such an amazing adventure and journey along the way.
A good walk cures most problems. Want to lose weight and get fit? Walk. Want to enjoy life but spend less? Walk. Want to cure stress and clear your head? Walk. Want to meditate and live in the moment? Walk. Having trouble with a life or work problem? Walk, and your head gets clear..
Life is exceedingly brief. You might feel like there’s a huge mass of time ahead of you, but it passes much faster than you think. Your kids grow up so fast you get whiplash. You get gray hairs before you’re done getting your bearings on life. Appreciate every moment.
I look forward to life! Learning, living, and loving!

These words above are from the works of Leo Babauta (only edited here and there to suit my own life and are public domain).

So here is a little bit of a start to "simplicity". One of our leizurely days off at the park. SUPER SUPER cold this day so we didn't stay long. She loved every minute of it though and sang all the way to the park. We walked and it was about a mile away and she sang at the top of her lungs there and back. I loved it!!!

A little more simplicity and not setting a goal. Gingerbread house did not get made over Christmas. No worries at all! The stomach virus took over so it just didn't happen, but we just did it when we found time, stopped in the middle for dinner, which is why the last part of the pictures are of her in jammies. Then we finished up. We still had a blast and that was all that mattered. I even wanted the cute Dylan's Candy Bar Gingerbread house kit from Neimans. SUPER CUTE, but I forgot to go back and get it at the mall. No worries, the Sams kit did great!

She concentrated so hard and some of the pieces went "missing". There was a Santa gingerbread cookie, but it disappeared into someone's little belly. The snowman also lost his head somehow, LOL. She loved those cookies.