Just about over...

The end of the month is nearing...1/12th of 2010 has nearly passed. How is the year going so far? For me January has simply whizzed by.



Our friends the Halls are now all settled in at home with their darling newborn Emerald. It was a tense Thursday last week as we all prayed for the final papers for the adoption and that they would get to the places they needed to be and that Alisa would get permissons to leave for home. In faith we all left for the airport with a backup plan in place. We boarded our plane for California and Alisa patiently waited in the airport awaiting news. The good news for Alisa finally came at the last moment, but it came :) We were so relieved for her.


The pilot of our Delta flight greeted us with those words all travelers dread I'm sorry to inform you that due to extreme weather your luggage has not been loaded... WHAT???? I need my baggage...We have our semi-formal event TONIGHT!
At least we are not alone in our predicament, our Xango founder Gordon Morton and his wife Rachel were in the same boat but still, I'm thinking green tennis shoes and blue jeans at a semi-formal event...waaaah!















In spite of the lack of luggage our first day, we enjoyed ourselves. Our few days at the fabulous Montage Resort with our Xango business partner leaders and corporate hosts was delightful. We heard the latest updates, reviewed our successes and shared ideas while being treated to sumptuous breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
















We love to mix business and pleasure and this time on Saturday we met up with long time friends the Jonovich's. Lunch overlooking the pool at the Montage was such a treat. The Halibut Tacos are delicious! The next day we all went bike riding in Huntington Beach, enjoyed breakfast, the beach and walking the pier before heading back to the condo for a rest. We finished off the afternoon eating outdoors at the Shake Shack in Crystal Cove while enjoying the breathtaking overlook to the ocean...as our friend John would quip..."life by design...truely."

Babies...I love them babies!!

We have friends who are staying with us this week. The family is adopting and last night they were able to bring home thier newborn daughter, she is soooo-ooo beautiful!. Don't we forget just how tiny newborns are?

Another friend is waiting on her adoption...please join us in praying for her...there is a holdup in the process and she could really use all the prayers you'd lift for her and her son.

Here's a sweet quote I read..."A baby is a great way to start a person!"...I so agree!

I'd like to offer up a prayer for her..."Dear Lord Jesus we thank you so much for the blessed gift of new life...Thank you for this beautiful little one. We ask that you would wrap your arms of protection around this family, help them to direct your precious child toward you and let them embrace her as if you personally were holding her in your arms. Thank you for picking the Halls as this new little one's mommy and daddy. May they each find great joy in one another. In appreciation for all that you have done and will do for this family.
In your precious name we pray Jesus,

Amen

Getting Off In The New Year On The Right Track

We all make some kind of commitments to ourselves this time of year; it just comes with the season don't you think?

Change is undeniably one of the most difficult things we choose do in life. In my experience of all the people I've known who do step forward to change something in their life, these people are some of the most happy and excited folks I've seen, they're about enjoying life at its fullest without limits. In fact these folks are living their dreams out loud!

Doesn't it seem like Y2K and it's concerns were just a few years ago?? In fact you may be like me...wondering where oh where did the last decade go?

We've all heard the classic definition of insanity... (Doing the same thing expecting different results), LOL.

A few months ago my sweet husband and I were were setting up his new office furniture. We had boxed up all of his books from his old office space and they had been packed for quite a few months. As I carried up some things from downstairs and laid them on the desk, I noticed one of his older journals,one from back in the early 90's. I started flipping through it, reading here and there and came across a posting from January 21 1994. It was really exciting to read a list of his top 10 goals. What was more fun was seeing my husbands reaction as he read through this list...He was almost shouting "Carol look at this!" All of his list had been achieved...All of them~ DONE! The power of the written word coupled with desire and vision STILL astounds me!

But lets be clear, desire and vision are not the same, nor are wishing to create change versus real outcomes based on activity toward change. The path that must be followed to achieve what we want in life really isn’t rocket science, but it does require commitment and effort. My desire is to explore even more in this next decade, to reach beyond myself...and even suprise myself with amazing discoveries. I have chosen to use the S.M.A.R.T. Track to direct myself to my desired outcomes. SMART TRACK...What is that you might ask?? S.M.A.R.T. Track is a focus group of like minded individuals who choose to set goals, meet weekly and report what happened for a 6 week period. S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, & Timely. So what is it you have been planning to do? Why not turn it into a S.M.A.R.T. goal?

This could be fun... it could push you out of your comfort zone too!It just might help you grow and facilitate your helping others with thier goals too! Why not change the direction of the next decade of YOUR life?

Out with the old & in with 2010!!

Have you heard the saying "Once in a Blue Moon"? Well guess what? This New Year of 2010 was truely a Blue Moon!! You can learn about this rare occurance a bit more on Yahoo.

The old year was full of wonderful times, great experiences with friends and business partners and traveling to new and exciting places, but it also was a time of financial hardships for so many, a time of leaving old lives behind and saying goodbye. I'm so excited to see this brand new year get started! Whoo Hoo! It's a brand new year...2010... and do I have plans! I want to make our rare BLUE MOON New Year into something special. Last year I was challenged to stop creating goals which are destined to fail,so this year I will be using new terms to creat my LifeMap.Instead I will be replacing my thinking and speaking with words like DESIRED OUTCOMES and EXPECTED RESULTS...I'll let you know how it turns out.

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My first craft of the New Year is going to be a desktop calendar...a cute CD style that I have been wanting to create digitally. Here is a photo of the sample and the link I found that has this template.



http://shuttersisters.com/home/2009/10/24/2010-photo-calendar-templates.html