i'm one of those nerds that enjoys New Year's Resolutions. i haven't always been that way. but i find that if i set a few goals for myself, that i really do think about them the rest of the year. and i try really hard to stick to it. i love that feeling of accomplishment. like i said, I'm a nerd. ha!
for the year 2011 a few of my goals were:
*read more.
and i actually did. i read around 7 books. i think. and for me, with 2 toddlers, thats pretty good.
*lose weight. that was my biggest goal. i lost 35 lbs. i started in January and really worked hard until i got pregnant in late July. at that point i started watching my calories but not being as strict and i have not been as diligent about exercise. but, my weight gain for my pregnancy, up to this point at 24 weeks, has only been 5 lbs.
*take more pictures. i only did so so in this area. so, i've kept that on the list for this year.
*eat healthier. overall i have done much better about buying healthier snacks and cooking healthier versions of recipes.
*buy our first home. it was actually more of a prayer request than a resolution. and i'm thrilled to say the Lord met a need for us and we LOVE our new home.
i have really been thinking and praying about a few, reasonable goals for myself for 2012. praying the Lord gives me the diligence and strength to follow through.
save money.
this is a personal goal for Ben and I. we have a few things we would like to have money for and a few things we would like to do to bless others. praying the Lord gives us the self control and discipline to meet our financial goals.
open our home.
since we moved into this house in early September, we have tried to have people over as often as possible. we try, at least once a week, to have someone over for coffee, dessert, dinner or to just hang out. we have really enjoyed getting to know the people of our church by just spending time with them. this year, we are hosting a community group on Sunday nights in our home. we are going to try and have families or couples over for dinner or dessert (hopefully one a week, hopefully) and we just want to have an open door policy in our home. it is our home and a haven for our family. but we always want people to know that we are available and approachable. we want to love people by being hospitable and courteous. and show them grace by always allowing them to come and spend time with us. i NEVER want to be the staff wife or staff family that is too busy or too private to love people. i enjoy having a busy schedule of spending time with people, as long as it does not affect our home life. but so far, that has not been a problem.
serve and teach my children.
ben and i have the conviction to homeschool our kids. its something i have always wanted to do and i'm so thankful Ben shares in my desire to teach our kids at home. i want to use this year to begin preparations to teach Jack some preschool material this fall. and i want each day to be an opportunity for them to learn, through my speech and behavior, about how to honor the Lord. i've been gathering some simple scripture that they can memorize and i plan to implement that soon. we have been working on colors, numbers and letters. and we sing simple songs to help teach memory skills. we pray with them and over them at night and throughout the day to show them they can always talk to Jesus. but i want to be intentional in teaching them some basic skills, including some things they can do around home to help.
be more intentional in my time.
i want to have purpose and plans for each day. i want to wake up before my kids. i want to the time they are awake to spend with them playing, learning or running errands. i want to use naps for housework. and bedtime for some light picking up but then i plan to spend time with Ben. i don't want to always be using my "free time" to do chores or media time. i need to plan time each day to spend with my husband and to make him a priority. i want to plan time, within reason, to be with the ladies of our church. just getting coffee, having them over, talking on the phone or going to lunch. i want to keep my relationships with them ongoing, fun and encouraging. honestly, i just want to be teachable, approachable, honest and full of grace in those areas.
make Ben my first priority.
i think this is pretty self explanatory. but i just want to carve out time for him each day. encourage him more often and pray for him constantly.
continue in my weight loss and exercise
once Judah gets here, i plan to hit it hard (after recovery) back into the calorie counting and regular exercise. i actually miss it. i want to get back into Zumba. i would love to lose more weight and just be healthy for myself and my family.
read
i already have several books in mind. i enjoy reading and i've really learned so much that way
capture 366
this is a daily photo project. you take a picture each day and write a small caption. then at the end of the year, you have so many fun pictures to look back on. and since this is a leap year, i have 366 days to document. i'm pretty excited about it!
decorate and DIY projects
i want to be frugal in my house decor. and i want to plan a few DIY projects to complete. i have so much fun doing this stuff and its a good outlet for me to have fun. i don't want to be over zealous and feel like every room in my house has to be "done". i just want to do things as we can afford them and as i have the time.
looking back over this list it seems a little overwhelming. but i believe it can be done. most of them are just things i can do in my everyday life. as i go. some of them will take a constant effort and prayer. but i'm excited to see how the Lord will help me this year. i can't wait to learn how to balance 3 kids! and i'm so excited to have Jude and make time for him too. he's going to be such a fun addition to our family.
Happy 2012!!
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