One of my goals

One of my goals for this year is to be more prepared for the months and holidays. I find myself the day before or after a holiday saying "I wanted to do this, or make that" and I'm not prepared with the materials or ingredients that I need.

I want to have sheets made up for each month where I can list some of the things that I want to do. Then, I could start preparing and gathering things the month before. Right now I could be working on what I want to do for Valentines Day. It may seem early, but if I wait until the last minute I will never get done. I plan to keep these sheets in my home management notebook (a work in progress). Then if I think of an idea, I can write in down on the appropriate month and it will be there for next year.

I want to

-find Valentine type recipes that I have put away to make "someday"
-find Valentine type gifts and decorations that I have hidden
-print off Valentine coloring sheets for the boys
-get out Valentine or love related books to read to the boys

I'm sure there are other things, but this is what I can think of at the moment. Last year we tried to have a Valentines party w/ my grandparents, but the weather kept us from doing so. This makes me kind of sad because now my grandma is no longer with us. That's one of the reasons I want to plan better the things I want to do. We need to get done the things we want to do with those we love. You might not get another chance.

Christmas is over...

and not a moment too soon since today is New Year's Eve. Last night we had our last family Christmas at my grandpa's house. It was bittersweet without grandma there, but we still had a really good time. I will post pictures of that Christmas some time next year!

Tonight we are having people over for a party. I've been busy trying to get the house cleaned up a little. I do think I need a nap this afternoon though. We don't really have a theme this year, just lots of junk food and game playing. We are going to make Oreo shakes after seeing Cheryl's pictures from last year. Mm mm.

I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head for things I'd like to do in the next year. I really would like to see a radical change in myself and in my family. Like last year I want more action and less talk.

I haven't got anything down definite yet, but these are some of the things I've been thinking about.

As always, I want to spend time daily in God's word. Without doing that, everything else is in vain. Without him, I am nothing and I will accomplish nothing, no matter how worthy the goal.

I want my family (me included) to eat healthier in the new year. Less fast food, pizza, and boxed foods. I'm not talking about over the edge eating, just taking more steps in the right direction.

I want to do more preschool stuff with the boys.

I want to do less shopping. I want to save more money. I want to be a better financial steward of what God has blessed us with. I want to reduce our debt.

I want to be more open to others. More considerate, more encouraging. I had an encounter the other night at Aldi's and it's really got me thinking. I will post on that in a separate post. Basically, it's about opening my eyes to the people around me (strangers and those close to me) and really seeing deep inside to their needs and then showing them God and his love.

I've been thinking about not buying any books next year. We have so many I could spend years reading them. I don't need to spend the money. This would be radical for me because I love books! 365 days seems to go really fast though, and I know I would survive.

I know there are more, but for now that is all I can think of. I know that I need to take a day by day approach in order to reach my goals. As a mother of three young boys, I may need to take a moment by moment approach.

I want to live in the moment and live in light of eternity.