The art of the {short} list.

Last year I chose three words for my new years resolution. I chose words that I wanted to guide me and  serve as reminders of what I wanted to accomplish. At the beginning of 2013, I did what I usually do and really thought about what goals I had for this year and what resolutions I might want to make. But rather than three words coming to mind, as it happened in 2012, a very strong thought came to mind. This year, there aren't three words or a list of resolutions I want to keep. I have one resolution:

Keep a short list.

My list making capabilities are stellar (if I do say so myself) and I've got our life pretty dang organized on paper. But. Life is crazy and unpredictable with a newborn, and as far as keeping up with the list these days, well...I have a long list. It doesn't get done as quickly as it used to.

But I've realized that there's no award that I get for checking off all my to-do's at the end of the day. I can accomplish everything on that list, but when I wake up the next morning, a new list will be back. And if my focus each day is on getting through the list, I'm going to miss out. Miss out on crying happy tears when Vera is laughing and smiling at my silly faces. Miss out on sitting around at the dinner table just talking to Chris and daydreaming about the future. And miss out on soaking in the routine moments of our days that I know will be a distant memory in just a few short years.

My list of "should's" and "to-do's" is not why I was put on this earth. And my list will most certainly not be what I'll remember when I look back a year  (or 10 years) from now.

Lists are important. We've got to get things done. But this year I want to focus on the important list. Love my little girl and my husband. Learn from her joy. Show her beauty. Marvel at this life.

Pretty simple. It's a short list.

The NEW In-Between

I'm not going to even try to pretend that I can somehow magically recap the last 11 months since I blogged or  give you all the reasons that I've avoided writing. I think in this case, I'm just going to pick up where we left off.

The thing is, where I left off in February of last year is radically different than where I pick things up today.  Mainly because my sweet, sweet baby Vera Grace was born on October 29th and life most certainly is not the same.

(If you're interested in seeing pictures of our sweet Vera, there will be many to come on here...I'm a new mom after all!  But for now, here is a slideshow of just a few of the amazing pictures that one of my dearest friends, Jenna did for us during Vera's birth. I am reminded through this what a gift photos are. These images are special to use beyond words.  http://www.jennawalkerphotography.com/slideshows/veragrace/)

When I originally named this blog "Humphreys in Between" I had no idea that really, all of our life is an "in between" time. Right now, we are in the midst of transitioning to a family of 3 and our "in between" is a time that alternates between the highest highs of happiness we've ever experienced, and an overwhelming sense of how much there is to do and learn as we start navigating the murky waters of parenthood. How do I find my new sense of identity between the "old" Katie and the new Katie that someone now calls Mommy? (well, not yet...she's smart, but she's not talking yet! ;) How do Chris and I find a new relationship somewhere between the "old" us and the new us that now is consumed with caring for this little person who we both love so much that frankly, it's quite frightening at times. The in-betweens keep changing, but we are still a family in flux and taking one day at a time as we embrace this new reality.

The last year was by far the most challenging of my life thus far, and really the reason that I avoided blogging was because quite simply, I wasn't in a place to be able to get my thoughts out in a coherent sentence nor did I have the ability to stomach the heavy realities and big questions that I was faced with. Pregnancy was not kind to me (to say the least) and although the arrival of Vera was more than worth it, it's not a time that I'm necessarily eager to reflect on or to remember. However, I'm realizing that the things I went through during those 10 months are some of the most important lessons I've yet to learn in life and are the insight I was given during my pregnancy thankfully has woven its way into pieces of my new day to day life with Vera. And since Vera has come into our life and brightened our world, I feel like I'm ready to take a stab again at putting some thoughts to paper.

So where does this leave me with this blog? It too will be something different than it used to be, that is for certain. But I hope it will be a space that reminds me of the things we're going through during this beautifully treacherous, unbelievably precious, and joyful time.

Until next time. :)