Here's the extra post for this week. I also forgot to mention a milestone in the last one, so it's another reason to have the extra post.

First the milestone...we've been home for a year now, and it still feels good. We got home December 13 of last year.

Now for the word of the year. If you look back over the posts from December 2012 or January 2013, you will see that I was going to try something new this year. Instead of making resolutions, that I never keep, I was going to find a word to live by. The word I picked was FREEDOM. After living with so many appointments, doctors, etc. for the last couple of years, freedom sounded very appealing. Picking this word gave me the freedom to do what I wanted and not feel guilty if something didn't get done. So, if I wanted to sit and craft all day instead of cleaning house, it was OK to do that. At the same time, if I wanted to clean everything, that was OK too. And for the most part it worked. Of course there were still appointments and obligations that had to be kept, but if I wanted to stay home from church, that was OK too.

As I was looking over the list a couple of weeks ago, the word ORDER jumped out at me. I started thinking about that and, even though it's almost the opposite of the freedom I've had this year, order sounds very appealing to me this year. And, even though we lived by the appointments and obligations before, it was still chaotic at times. So, now I'm ready for the order.

For people who really know me, they know that I've always been a carefree housekeeper. Clutter didn't bother me and, if there were piles of things stacked everywhere, I usually knew what was in each pile and why it was kept. Now, that bothers me. So, I'm going to de-clutter my life, not just my house, but my life. But, I'm also going to remember my new-found freedom of this past year. Creating order is my goal, but, at the same time, if something doesn't get done, I'm not going to stress or feel guilty about it.

There you have it, my word for 2014 is ORDER. I'll let you know how it goes!