On our recent car trip, I was able to have some time to contemplate my goals for 2013. I know it sounds kind of crazy that one can actually contemplate with a van full of kids, but I was able to think more clearly than I can amidst the normal mayhem at home! Since I set 12 goals for 2012, I first thought that meant I HAD to set 13 goals for 2013. Then, I realized that soon enough I would be setting so many goals that they would likely be unachievable or not meaningful. So, this year, I decided to set monthly goals. Ideally, I will have a post to track my progress, too:)
January--Make a blanket and pillowcase.
This is actually a project for an orphanage in Kenya organized through our church. It is way out of my comfort zone, and I would not have decided on my own to take this on!
February--Watch David install ceiling fans.
We already have the holes ready; we just need the actual fans. I plan to help pick them out, but David is a pro at installing ceiling fans and I'll be more than huge by that time, so I think I'll be his gopher and cheerleader!
March--Birth Baby #5 at home.
Have I mentioned how excited I am to have Baby #5 at home? I attended a Birth Details Class in November and have a list of materials to assemble for the birth. Post-birth, I plan on to put school on hold and focus on fattening up the little one!
April--Plan our backyard landscape.
When we moved to our new house in September, the front was already landscaped. Per our ground lease, we have one year to landscape the back. We expect to implement the plan over several months, so this goal is just to come up with a plan.
May--Begin teaching the girls how to play the piano.
We pooled the Christmas money together last year and bought a digital piano. Since then, I have wanted to begin teaching the girls to play. I finally selected a curriculum (we'll be using Faber and Faber).
June--Put together photo albums for 2011 and 2012.
Okay, so we are really far behind in the photo department. I plan to get us caught up in June!
July--Revamp our Christmas devotions.
We do an assortment of special devotions at Christmastime. I do a daily Advent Jesse Tree devotion with the kids and David does a weekly Advent reading with them. For one, I am not happy with the particular devotions we have been using to go along with our Jesse Tree, so I want to just write my own. We would also like to eliminate the overlap between the different devotions and combine them somehow.
August--Go through My First Catechism with Mary and Maggie.
I have already gone through this with Mary, but I think Maggie is ready for it now, so I plan to go through it again with both girls.
September--Transfer Matthew and Jonathan to toddler beds.
In reality, this will likely be done much sooner than September, but the boys are behind at everything else, so this allows for some delay!
October--Learn to make a new dessert.
Okay, so this is not exactly specific. I like to bake, but these days, I really need inspiration and motivation to break out and try something new.
November--Complete reading The Valley of Vision.
The Valley of Vision
is a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. These prayers are
really rich in content. I plan to read one every day or so and complete
this book by November.
December--Run a 5K.
This year, David, Mary and Maggie ran the Renegade Santa Race in Irvine. Although I do not have any hopes of keeping up with David in the 5K, I hope to complete it!
Stay tuned for posts documenting my success/failure at achieving these goals!
The month of April is almost over, how's your landscaping plan progressing? That's one great goal to achieve in a year. Giving your yard a new landscape is like having a makeover to your house. I always pimp and accessories mine every other year as it a part of the home that represents it from the outside.
ReplyDeleteJohnson Rondeau