What are your words?

As 2015 draws to a close, and a new year approaches, I've been thinking about a word or words to represent the upcoming year.

But to come up with a word or words to represent the upcoming year, I had to look back on what words I would use to sum up the past couple of years.

Here's what I came up with:
2009- excitement, anticipation....This is was the year Cale was born and I was so excited about all of the new memories that were made and becoming an aunt to the coolest boy in the word.
2010- growth, joy....all of Cale's firsts started this year and watching him grow was so fun
2011- independence....I bought my first house and learned to live on my own completely. I love it!
2012- completeness, worry.....This is the year Reese was born and we felt complete. This is also when Keri was diagnosed with breast cancer and I started to worry.
2013- courage, strength....watching Keri fight so hard gave me the courage and strength to support her the way she needed me to
2014-faith & hope....the two things that got us through the year and that we carried in our hearts until the end of Keri's journey
2015- sadness and mourning....you know why

So, reflecting on the past 7 years, it's been easy to come up with words that represented  each year because I've already lived those years.

But....but what if, instead of waiting for 2016 to end so I can figure out what my word or words would be, why not come up with the words and live them for the year? Could it guide my year?

So, here are my words for 2016....love and happiness

Love- this year, my goal is going to be to love myself as much as I love other people. I always put myself last and this year, I'm going to start putting myself first in a lot of areas. I'm going to fall in love with me, so that maybe, just maybe, someone else will fall in love with me too. People can't truly be loved if they don't love themselves right?

Happiness- I'm tired of being sad about so many things, so I'm going to be happy. I'm going to do things that make me happy, be around people who make me happy, and share things that make me happy with others. When I was watching a Hallmark movie tonight there was a line that said, "Happiness isn't a destination, it's the journey along the way." I couldn't agree more. I'm excited about the journey of 2016!

So here's to love and happiness for 2016!

What are your words?