1. Go on 1 date night a month with my husband. (This will be no easy feat.) - Ummm this would go under the FAIL catagory - we managed one or two but definitely not 12.
2. Ride in a hot air balloon. - I had planned on making this my birthday treat but after researching the cost, I decided to scratch it off my list. Sheesh....who knew it would be so expensive.
3. Start and completely finish a Bible Study. - Not only did I finish one but I have finished 3 - a big shout out to my Sunday School class for keeping me accountable.
4. Teach Carson to sing Jesus loves me or at least some of it. - Had I known how much my boy would love to sing, I would've added multiple songs here but I so remember the very first time he sang this all by himself. It still warms my heart each time he does it.
5. Buy a new to me car....with CASH!!! - Well, it wasn't for me but we did buy Rooster and new truck and we don't owe a dime on it. Thank you Jesus!!!
6. Write a personal note to a friend or loved one at least once a week. - I can't say I managed to do this one every week but I did do more than I normally would have. I will be carrying this one over to this years list.
7. Take advantage of the beautiful land we have in Bethesda instead of just paying for it. - We had 2 big parties on our land and then decided to put it up for sale; which still makes me a little sad to think about.
8. Open my home to others more often. - There for a while, we had someone over for dinner at least once a week but I have been slacking a little with all the craziness. I am ready to get back to it because yall know I love to entertain.
9. Seek out ways to serve the Lord, with Carson by my side, so he can see what it means to live out ones faith. - We have been talking ALOT about serving Jesus and what it means to have Him love us and love him in return. I have some ideas about what we will do over the coming holidays to really live it out.
10. Have a girls night or a me night at least once every couple of months. - FAIL - I have had a few but nearly enough.
11. Plan a family trip for just the 3 of us that is creative and fun. (not just the beach) - FAIL - we went to the beach twice this year but no where else. (***I will say that Rooster and I are headed to NYC next week and that will be the first trip we have taken alone since Carson was born - I think that counts.***)
12. Find ways to love on my 4 nephews, individually, and let them know how much I love them. - Who knows...I feel like this is a FAIL but man I hope they know how much I love them.
13. Plan a surprise for someone and pull it off without them knowing. (who wants to be that person???) FAIL - I'm carrying this one over and have a good idea of what and who it is going to be.
14. Start a prayer journal and faithfully write in it. (I love to see how God is moving in mine and others lives.) - I have filled up 2 prayer journals this year but I can't say I have been as faithful as I would've liked to been.
15. Dance/play in the rain with my son. - I tried doing this and in turn, learned that my boy DOES NOT LIKE to be in the rain....what?!?! What little boy doesn't like to get wet and dirty???
16. Dream big and believe that God is bigger than any dream of mine. - Oh, I have dreams alright and am praying that God grants me each and everyone - as long as they are His dreams too.
17. Call and talk to my grandparents AT LEAST once a week. (How can I let so many days pass without speaking to two of my favorite people.) - FAIL - but I will say I have seen them more often than normal but still need to get better at this.
18. SLOW DOWN!!!! - I'm going half and half on this one. Carson and I enjoyed a lot of pajama days this year and those are some of my favorite. I have really tried to soak in my days off with him and make some real memories. I have also scaled back on some of my projects I generally tackle so I'm not pulled in so many directions but man is saying NO hard.
19. Wake up earlier and eat breakfast. (I generally do not eat breakfast and if I do, it is definitely not a healthy one.) - Definite FAIL - I still hate waking up early and I still don't really like breakfast.
20. Go to bed earlier so I can accomplish #19. (Currently, it is 10:30 and I am wide awake.) - Probably going to go with FAIL on this one too - I give up. I'm just a night owl and I don't think it's going to change.
21. Redo my bedroom, again. - Nope - but I did add some things to it after I redid the dining room. I plan on doing Carson's room next and then work on my room.
22. Use my wedding china and my waterford for a fancy girly party. - I know I have used my Waterford for multiple things but I can't remember pulling out the china this year which makes me sad. I will definitely be doing this next year.
23. Drink more water and less Dr Pepper and/or Sweet Tea - I have done WAAAY better on this one but still fall into lapses every now and again.
24. Prepare for taxes BEFORE the week they are due. MAJOR FAIL - I just filed them last month.
25. Bake some cookies like these (well at least the general idea) - Not only did I make these cookies - I have made more cookies than I can count - and sold the majority of them to boot. I have really loved getting into this cookie madness.
26. Go parasailing. - Again, looked into both trips to the beach and decided it wasn't worth the expense. (Funny how you are not willing to spend that kinda money on yourself anymore when you could do something with your kiddo that would be a lot more fun.)
27. Watch tv less and play in the floor more. - WIN - my favorite days are the ones where the tv stays off all day but I will say my favorite time of day is first thing in the morning, on my days off, when Cars comes and jumps in bed with me and we snuggle up and watch a movie while trying to wake up. I LOVE IT!!!
28. Start couponing again...it seriously irritates me that I have been paying full price for groceries. - FAIL - I just don't have it in me right now to deal with it. I am extremely thankful that we can afford groceries without the coupons but still feel guilty that I could be saving the extra money.
29. Run a 5k in less than 30 minutes. - I think this exact one is a FAIL but I did complete a 1/2 marathon in April and for that, I am very proud of myself. 13.1 miles is ALOT longer than 3.1 or however long a 5K is.
30. Read my "Keeping it Personal" devotional every day. - FAIL - I don't even know where this book is but I will say I have spent way more time in the Word this year than I ever have.
31. Find away to thin out my collection of Boyd's Bears. (It is time to let them some of them go.) - I am proud to say that some beautiful children involved with Ordinary Heros are now the proud owners of 75% of my collection. It wasn't nearly as hard letting go as I thought it would be.
32. Buy an awesome pair of boots for this winter....just cause. - SCORE - I actually bought 2 new pair last year - one brown and one black!!!
33. Be available: to God, to my husband, to my son, to my family, to my friends, to strangers. - I sure hope this one is a Win. In this crazy day and age, it is so hard to balance all of our "obligations" but man I hope I am someone who be counted on and who is willing to be there.
Well, there ya have it. There were a lot more FAILs than I would've liked but that just means I get to try again this year. I enjoyed having this list to reference throughout the year and will hopefully make another for this year. As for 34, I can't help but feel like God is going to do some pretty great things this year and I am thankful He lets me come along for the ride.
2. Ride in a hot air balloon. - I had planned on making this my birthday treat but after researching the cost, I decided to scratch it off my list. Sheesh....who knew it would be so expensive.
3. Start and completely finish a Bible Study. - Not only did I finish one but I have finished 3 - a big shout out to my Sunday School class for keeping me accountable.
4. Teach Carson to sing Jesus loves me or at least some of it. - Had I known how much my boy would love to sing, I would've added multiple songs here but I so remember the very first time he sang this all by himself. It still warms my heart each time he does it.
5. Buy a new to me car....with CASH!!! - Well, it wasn't for me but we did buy Rooster and new truck and we don't owe a dime on it. Thank you Jesus!!!
6. Write a personal note to a friend or loved one at least once a week. - I can't say I managed to do this one every week but I did do more than I normally would have. I will be carrying this one over to this years list.
7. Take advantage of the beautiful land we have in Bethesda instead of just paying for it. - We had 2 big parties on our land and then decided to put it up for sale; which still makes me a little sad to think about.
8. Open my home to others more often. - There for a while, we had someone over for dinner at least once a week but I have been slacking a little with all the craziness. I am ready to get back to it because yall know I love to entertain.
9. Seek out ways to serve the Lord, with Carson by my side, so he can see what it means to live out ones faith. - We have been talking ALOT about serving Jesus and what it means to have Him love us and love him in return. I have some ideas about what we will do over the coming holidays to really live it out.
10. Have a girls night or a me night at least once every couple of months. - FAIL - I have had a few but nearly enough.
11. Plan a family trip for just the 3 of us that is creative and fun. (not just the beach) - FAIL - we went to the beach twice this year but no where else. (***I will say that Rooster and I are headed to NYC next week and that will be the first trip we have taken alone since Carson was born - I think that counts.***)
12. Find ways to love on my 4 nephews, individually, and let them know how much I love them. - Who knows...I feel like this is a FAIL but man I hope they know how much I love them.
13. Plan a surprise for someone and pull it off without them knowing. (who wants to be that person???) FAIL - I'm carrying this one over and have a good idea of what and who it is going to be.
14. Start a prayer journal and faithfully write in it. (I love to see how God is moving in mine and others lives.) - I have filled up 2 prayer journals this year but I can't say I have been as faithful as I would've liked to been.
15. Dance/play in the rain with my son. - I tried doing this and in turn, learned that my boy DOES NOT LIKE to be in the rain....what?!?! What little boy doesn't like to get wet and dirty???
16. Dream big and believe that God is bigger than any dream of mine. - Oh, I have dreams alright and am praying that God grants me each and everyone - as long as they are His dreams too.
17. Call and talk to my grandparents AT LEAST once a week. (How can I let so many days pass without speaking to two of my favorite people.) - FAIL - but I will say I have seen them more often than normal but still need to get better at this.
18. SLOW DOWN!!!! - I'm going half and half on this one. Carson and I enjoyed a lot of pajama days this year and those are some of my favorite. I have really tried to soak in my days off with him and make some real memories. I have also scaled back on some of my projects I generally tackle so I'm not pulled in so many directions but man is saying NO hard.
19. Wake up earlier and eat breakfast. (I generally do not eat breakfast and if I do, it is definitely not a healthy one.) - Definite FAIL - I still hate waking up early and I still don't really like breakfast.
20. Go to bed earlier so I can accomplish #19. (Currently, it is 10:30 and I am wide awake.) - Probably going to go with FAIL on this one too - I give up. I'm just a night owl and I don't think it's going to change.
21. Redo my bedroom, again. - Nope - but I did add some things to it after I redid the dining room. I plan on doing Carson's room next and then work on my room.
22. Use my wedding china and my waterford for a fancy girly party. - I know I have used my Waterford for multiple things but I can't remember pulling out the china this year which makes me sad. I will definitely be doing this next year.
23. Drink more water and less Dr Pepper and/or Sweet Tea - I have done WAAAY better on this one but still fall into lapses every now and again.
24. Prepare for taxes BEFORE the week they are due. MAJOR FAIL - I just filed them last month.
25. Bake some cookies like these (well at least the general idea) - Not only did I make these cookies - I have made more cookies than I can count - and sold the majority of them to boot. I have really loved getting into this cookie madness.
26. Go parasailing. - Again, looked into both trips to the beach and decided it wasn't worth the expense. (Funny how you are not willing to spend that kinda money on yourself anymore when you could do something with your kiddo that would be a lot more fun.)
27. Watch tv less and play in the floor more. - WIN - my favorite days are the ones where the tv stays off all day but I will say my favorite time of day is first thing in the morning, on my days off, when Cars comes and jumps in bed with me and we snuggle up and watch a movie while trying to wake up. I LOVE IT!!!
28. Start couponing again...it seriously irritates me that I have been paying full price for groceries. - FAIL - I just don't have it in me right now to deal with it. I am extremely thankful that we can afford groceries without the coupons but still feel guilty that I could be saving the extra money.
29. Run a 5k in less than 30 minutes. - I think this exact one is a FAIL but I did complete a 1/2 marathon in April and for that, I am very proud of myself. 13.1 miles is ALOT longer than 3.1 or however long a 5K is.
30. Read my "Keeping it Personal" devotional every day. - FAIL - I don't even know where this book is but I will say I have spent way more time in the Word this year than I ever have.
31. Find away to thin out my collection of Boyd's Bears. (It is time to let them some of them go.) - I am proud to say that some beautiful children involved with Ordinary Heros are now the proud owners of 75% of my collection. It wasn't nearly as hard letting go as I thought it would be.
32. Buy an awesome pair of boots for this winter....just cause. - SCORE - I actually bought 2 new pair last year - one brown and one black!!!
33. Be available: to God, to my husband, to my son, to my family, to my friends, to strangers. - I sure hope this one is a Win. In this crazy day and age, it is so hard to balance all of our "obligations" but man I hope I am someone who be counted on and who is willing to be there.
Well, there ya have it. There were a lot more FAILs than I would've liked but that just means I get to try again this year. I enjoyed having this list to reference throughout the year and will hopefully make another for this year. As for 34, I can't help but feel like God is going to do some pretty great things this year and I am thankful He lets me come along for the ride.
