Sunday, January 16, 2011

My Goals for 2011

Looking over last year's goals, it's great to see how far the kids have come in just a year.  Jeremiah is whining/crying soooo much less and they are all so much more independent.  Many of my goals didn't come to fruition because of our unexpected baby and unexpected move and purchase of a home.  Five of the six trips I wanted to take didn't happen.  The hardest goals to press on with were my spiritual goals and marriage goals, proving that there is a definite spiritual battle going on over those areas of life.  I had many good books listed to read but didn't get to most of them with how busy our year was.  One of my goals was to step back from planning so many parties/showers last year but due to the fact that I know 54 people who had babies in 2010, I ended up throwing 4 baby showers and attending an additional 5!  I threw 17 birthday parties and had over 150 different guests over for meals!  So, my goal of stepping back was a flop!  But despite the fact that many of my goals were not accomplished, I'm still glad I set them.  Goals give us something to reach for and measure our progress by.

I'm trying to keep my goals pretty simple this year. 

Spiritual

Grow closer to God through prayer (praying before children awake)

Memorize the book of Colossians along with Ann from Holy Experience

Establish "True Bread" as a tradition in our home, which is what I call the practice of reading Scripture at each meal.  We did it some in 2010 but not enough. 

Encourage teen girls' in their faith--whether through a monthly prayer meeting, another modesty night, or just visiting more with them at church.

Host a sewing day to make things for women in Zimbabwe.

Continue helping my friend Amanda do a weekly Pray & Play group for moms.

Motto for me spiritually this year:  "Only speak words that make souls stronger." (from Ann Voskamp)


Physically
Go to bed at 11pm except for one "free" night each week
Lose 20 pounds of baby weight by continuing to "weigh-in" with a few of my friends via e-mail each week.


Financially
Use cash for grocery budget as much as possible and stay within budget
Save up to buy a DSLR camera (either a Canon Rebel T1i or Nikon D3100)
Use any bonus cash or tax refund to pay down our mortgage faster

Job
Work through the rest of My Father's World 1st Grade Curriculum with Ali
Teach Jeremiah his letters
Continue cleaning job (2 hours a week at a local law firm)
Read everything I can about photography
Learn to use photoshop
Learn to use my new DSLR
Put together a portfolio

Relationships
Continue our longstanding tradition of Friday night date-nights but find more creative ideas rather than just the usual movie

As much as I hate not doing something for friends to celebrate them, I'm going to try really hard to NOT plan a gazillion parties/showers this year.  Hospitality is my gift but with 4 small children, including a nursing baby, I need to step back.  So, I will give cards and small gifts to friends on their birthdays, or attend parties others are hosting but will not feel personally obligated to make a cake and do a "get-together" for friends' birthdays.  I expect to throw parties for my kids, hubby, and parents, and possibly a baby shower for one friend and my sis-in-law.

Trips
I hope we can do 2 weekend camping trips this year and possibly 1 other family vacation, like a trip to Rapid City, SD with Josiah's family

Homemaking
Start back up with the bulk cooking once a month that was such a blessing last year!  I haven't done it for 4 months because of baby and am missing it!

Shop less.  I once enjoyed grocery shopping but the more kids I have, the more tiresome it gets.  I'd love to be able to shop once a month but need to work up to that.  I currently shop once a week.  I hope by the end of the year I am shopping 1-2 times per month (not counting quick milk/produce runs to the store).

Plant my first garden now that we have a home of our own!

Plant grass.

Have Josiah paint the garage and fix the fencing around our yard this summer.

Kids
Train the children to do more household chores as part of their daily routine:
Justus-make his bed, clean up toys faster
Jeremiah-set the table, cook, clean faster, load laundry to laundry room, help bring groceries in
Alathia-help with dishes, cook, clean bathrooms, switch laundry, fold laundry
Breastfeed Katrielle until a year
Katrielle is already sleeping through the night so I don't have to make that a goal--HALLELUJAH!!!!
Justus-potty training this summer


Books I'd Like to Read in 2011

A Sweet and Bitter Providence
A Portrait of Calvin
Family Driven Faith
Heaven at Home
Womanly Dominion
Somewhere More Holy
1,000 Gifts
A Charlotte Mason Companion
Respectable Sins
Understood Betsy
Dug Down Deep
The Vine and the Trellis


Things I Expect to See in 2011
Meeting my new nephew--the first child of any of my own siblings--exciting!
Katrielle learning to eat food, crawl, talk, and walk
Lots of friends and family in our home.
Opening our home to missionaries who are traveling through.


This year's motto for our home:
A place where words of grace are spoken.

3 comments:

Sheila said...

I like your list! Your mention of camping and Rapid City made me wonder if you would enjoy staying in a yurt. We stayed in a yurt in Spearfish a few months ago. I found it on VRBO (vacation rental by owner). It was really neat - was on several acres, had a huge deck, a small kitchen and a bathroom. So, sort of like camping but then again not. :) We had an issue with the pellet stove while we were there, but I think the owner was going to replace it with a stove of a different kind. We were close enough to go to Mount Rushmore, etc., and yet the town of Spearfish was nice also. I have absolutely no affiliation with the owner or anything. I did get the impression from books that were there and a print on the wall that he is a Christian man, but I truly don't know anything about him. It's listing #302956 on VRBO. I notice that he has evidently added a TV - that wasn't there when we were there. I don't have anything to do with VRBO or the owner. We just have found VRBO to be a good source for places other than hotels to stay. We have used it for 3 vacations so far: Winter Park, Taos, and the Mount Rushmore trip.

Lea said...

Love your list! I too didn't meet many of my goals last year, but like you was so glad I set them!

An idea for your at home date nights: put together a puzzle together! We love it because we are doing something and we get to talk easily since it's not something that takes a lot of brain power. :)

Simply Modern Mom had a 52 date night project in 2010 and had some great ideas - and definitely some I wouldn't have thought of (like watching our wedding video or looking through old pics together). The link is: http://www.simplymodernmom.com/category/project-52

You did have a busy year in 2010! I hope you enjoy 2011.

Lea

Sarah @ Frugal Fun for Boys said...

Hi, I have been reading your blog for a couple years and always love catching up with your family! I bought a Cannon Rebel T1i last year, and I love it. I still have a long way to go to really maximize all that it can do, but the ability to take pictures so rapidly has enabled me to get MUCH BETTER shots of the kids! (3 boys ages 7, 4, and 1). My blog has pictures taken with it if you want to check it out, but keep in mind that I am not a very good photographer yet...

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