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So, we’re halfway through January and I’m just now solidifying my goals for the new year. Clearly we should begin with with “stop being such a procrastinator, Haley!” Anyhow, I’ve never spent much effort on resolutions at the start of a year, but I’ve really been reflecting on what I want 2013 to look like. I’ve been very inspired by all the great posts about goal-making, particularly Mandi’s of Life Your Way. So without further ado, my goals for 2013:
Choosing a saint for the year: St. Therese of Lisieux. We don’t have much in common, she was a nun, I’m a mother of (almost) three. But I’m drawn to the idea of learning to love God through every tiny task in one’s life–that our path to holiness can be found in the ordinary. Sweet friends brought back a St. Therese medal for Lucy from Rome a couple of weeks ago that was blessed by the Holy Father. And I have been reflecting on her quote: “Tout est grace.” What would life be like if I really believed that all is grace? All. Every joy, every hardship: the Grace of Our Lord.
Spiritual Health: I really needed a concrete goal about prayer because I always neglect my prayer life. I’m starting out by trying to pray the Rosary every single day. It’s not a very impressive goal but at least it’s something. If possible, I start my Rosary before the children get up (usually little footsteps run down the hall before I’m done with all five decades) and then finish it during naptime. All of this relies on getting enough sleep for my tired, pregnant body, so I’m trying to go to sleep super early every night so that I have the strength to get up in time to have quiet and reflective time. If the Rosary isn’t a spiritual discipline you’re familiar with, I highly recommend Karen Edmisten’s wonderful book: The Rosary: Keeping Company and Jesus and Mary. It’s also motivating to pray the Rosary now that I have a special rosary with my husband and children’s names on it made by my friend Melanie of Trendy Traditions (see image above).
Books: You can read all about my reading goals for the year by checking out yesterday’s post. Be sure to read the comments because there’s great suggestions by readers, as well!
Physical Health: I used to be addicted to sugar which caused terrible headaches, brain fog, and excruciating fatigue, but I broke the habit about 2.5 years ago and have been so much healthier and happier ever since. I always crave sweets during pregnancy, though, so I need to make a concerted effort to stay away from them, especially since I usually gain 50-60 lbs during pregnancy and that’s not exactly….erm….recommended. Thank goodness breastfeeding helps lose it all!
Organization and housekeeping: I am terrible at organization, but I think with each baby I get a little more organized in order to survive. I’m trying to put my second trimester energy boost to good use by deep cleaning our house. I bought Tsh Oxenreider’s ebook about Spring Cleaning a couple of years ago and I return to it whenever I need help getting motivated and focused on deep cleaning our home. So I’m decluttering one room at a time, deep cleaning, and organizing and getting rid of all the stuff we don’t need. Our living room is now the cleanest it’s ever been and I’m halfway done with the kitchen. Baby steps. I’m also staying organized and motivated regarding household tasks by using Ann Voskamp’s charming printable.
Homeschooling: I’m really enjoying using our preschool curriculum with Benjamin (Twenty-Six Letters to Heaven by Sarah Park) and want to finish it before the new baby comes. We took a long break when I was too ill to move (don’t worry, Baby Gwen, I love you no matter how many days I spent puking) so we’re just now finishing up Letter F. And I want to continue doing a couple of field trips a week to museums and historical sites before facing the big learning curve of how to transport three littles around town. Who gets unbuckled from their car seat first? Who holds my hand and who gets carried? Do I have to actually start using a stroller? Oh, dear.
Saving Money: Surviving on one income (plus my afternoon a week of teaching ballet) is always a big challenge. One of the ways I can be frugal is to be organized with meal planning and stocking our freezer with meals (I mostly use From Your Freezer to Your Family eCookbook written by my friend Stephanie for real food slow cooker meals. My favorite recipes I’ve tried out so far are the Peanut Stew, the Thai Chicken Curry, and the Cumin-Cinnamon Beef Stew but I’m still working my way through the cookbook.) We also found three car seats that will fit in the back of our Camry so that we don’t have to buy a minivan! Hooray! We can remain a one-car family without a car payment and I couldn’t be more excited about that.
Homesteading: This year we’ll be harvesting our meat birds so that our freezer will be stocked with organic meat, keeping the layers alive so that we can have plenty of farm fresh eggs, and maintaining our vegetable garden. I’d like to build a fence around our garden so that I can weed, etc. and not worry about Lucy running into the street. Daniel does almost everything with the garden and I really want to be more helpful, but it’s hard to weed AND wrangle babies.
Blogging: I really love writing, both as a creative outlet and as a way to connect with interesting and like-minded folks. I’m still going to write posts on urban homesteading for my friend Stephanie’s blog: Mama and Baby Love and maintain Carrots. I would really like to improve Carrots, but it’s hard to find the time to make major changes. I think in the future I will need to refocus this blog to move in a certain direction whereas right now it’s just a smattering of all the things I’m interested in. What are you most interested in hearing about? Anyhow, I’m going to be attending BlissDom this year to learn more about the world of blogging and for inspiration. Anybody else going?
What are your goals for the new year?
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