New Year's Thoughts

I'm really excited about this year. Last year was absolutely wonderful with the birth of my sweet Abbi Grace, and I am so thankful for her! It was a precious time. But with the birth of a child also comes a season of "just making it through each day." I definitely had a long stretch of never being able to get all the dishes washed, the laundry done, and the floors cleared. I was happy just to have meals made and reading time with my girls before crashing onto the couch, utterly exhausted, after putting them to bed. I don't really know what this year holds, but I am hoping to be a lot more purposeful with my time. Sometimes it seems a little silly to make a lot of New Years Resolutions because hardly anyone keeps them and what is so special about January 1st, anyways? I can make a resolution any day of the year. But I have to admit that I've been kind of excited for all the traveling to cease and for us to get back to a normal routine so that I can focus on some things that I've neglected. I thought I'd share some of my shortcomings from last year and goals for the new year with you.

1. Getting back to our budget -- We listened to the awesome Dave Ramsey CD's about a year and a half ago and made a new budget and did great with it.... for a time. But we stopped being so strict and we really need to start saving more money again. I have to admit, I'm a big fan of a good deal and have several deal blogs that I follow. But it doesn't really save me money if I keep using the money I save (and sometimes more) to snatch up the next good deal! So we are trying to get back to cash and debit-card only purchases to keep us in our budget. And I am really trying to ask myself before every purchase, "Do we really need this?" rather than "Is this a fabulous deal that my family could use?"

2. Planning a-get-away with my husband -- We were not able to do much for our 5th anniversary because I was nursing Karlie and we've been wanting to take a little trip together ever since. We have not had more than one night away from the kids since we had Karis 4.5 years ago! So this year I am determined to get away for at least a long weekend with my love once Abbi gives up nursing.

3. Throwing things away -- I am slowly going through each nook and cranny of my house and trying to throw (or give) away as much as possible. I have found that it is impossible to be organized when I have too much stuff. I have a hard time throwing away things that are given to us (even if we don't need them) and things my children make. (Even though they each make me about 10 pages of artwork a day.) We have too many clothes and too many toys. I am taking pictures of my girls' artwork and tossing most of the originals. I am going through their clothes and only keeping what will easily fit in their closet that they wear the most. Toys that don't have a good spot out of sight will be given away.

4. Going to bed earlier (so I can get up earlier!) -- My big girls are not allowed to come out of their room in the morning until their clock wakes up and my baby consistently sleeps until 8am, so I really have no good reason to not be able to get up and have my devotions and get breakfast all ready before I even see their cheery faces. Unfortunately, Mark and I have gotten into the habit of staying up too late and it makes getting up early much more difficult and I end up dragging all day. It is not worth it! We've started off our first week of the New Year by going to bed earlier and boy does it make a difference! (And it has the added bonus of having enough energy to stay awake and chat and enjoy each other rather than conking out immediately :)

5. Planning out all my meals for the month -- I used to do this regularly before Abbi was born, but I took a break and found myself scrounging for meals in a hurry. It also saves time and money to plan it for the month because I don't have to go to the store as often. So I made my plan for January and it has already made my life so much easier this week!