Focus on the Family

This time of year is when most people try to make changes for the year ahead...to lose weight, quit smoking, or just generally make their lives better. We usually make resolutions, too, with some being successful and some not-so-much. This year, we've decided to focus on our family.

 

The recent tragedy at Sandy Hook (although we did our best to avoid all details) really made us pause. Then, on Christmas Eve, another less-publicized tragedy struck. A local family lost their almost 3-year-old daughter in a freak swing set accident. This one hit way too close to home for us, since the mother was in Tanner's Junior Womens Club, and the little girl would have been in the same grade at the same small school as Hampton. Not to mention, that the mom was a stay-at-home mom with a successful online monogramming business. Needless to say, we were devastated for them, as well as stopped in our tracks. We've decided to take stock of what's important, and we've realized that life is too short. We've got to make the most of what we've got.

 

So our resolution for this year is to live in the moment. Cherish our time with each other. Since that is sort of vague, we've set some little goals that will help us do that. First, we've started a daily gratitude journal. Every day, we're listing 5 things we're thankful for. That will keep us focused on all the blessings we have, big & small. We're also doing Project365, which is where you chronicle your year by taking at least one photo every day. That will keep us in the moment, and help us remember all the little moments as they pass. We'll be sharing some of those photos with you along the way.

 

Most importantly, The Monogrammed Monkey is changing. Although we have been beyond blessed with the success of our little business, a full-time income comes along with full-time work. We've decided that it's not worth it to us. So, we're making some big changes. We're limiting what we offer, and Tanner's mom is going to take over the majority of the work. She was already doing lots of it, but now she'll be the boss man. We'll just be doing the online work & marketing. We may change and tweak our plan along the way, because we want The Monogrammed Monkey to continue. But what we want more is memorable moments with our family. Because when it comes down to it, making memories with our loved ones trumps monogramming stuff for others EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.

 

We're looking forward to baking cookies, spending more time on the beach, doing crafts, singing silly songs, watching endless hours of Thomas the train, playing in the floor, and spending many, many more hours in amazement at the train museum (below). Here's to a Happy, Memorable 2013 for all of us....may you make wonderful memories with your family, too!