Starting Off Right

I want to be intentional this year. Intentional about what I do, what I say, how I say it. I want to spend more time with my kids and less time with Facebook. It's important to be intentional with our time or it can so easily get away from us. I've really been convicted lately about my poor attitude and my laziness, and I want to intentionally make changes that impact my family and my life in a positive way. I'm tired of just following the current, of being apathetic, of letting myself do wherever sounds good at the time. (I sort of feel like the ship captain from Wall-E: "I don't want to survive, I wanna LIVE!" Haha.)  I'm ready for my life to be different. And what better time to start than with a fresh, new year?

That said, I'm not really much for New Year's Resolutions. I always think they sound good at the time, but I keep up with them for about 5 minutes, if I'm lucky. This year I'd like to do things a little differently. I'm setting goals for myself instead of just throwing out a "resolution" or two; written, tracked, measured goals. And in order to help keep myself a bit more accountable, I'm going to post them here and update every so often about my progress. I hope this helps me stay on the right path!

The first, and biggest, goal that I'm setting is to read my Bible and spend time with God every day. In the past I've been very here-and-there about this one. I will go in spurts and read my Bible every day for a month, and then forget about it for much longer. That's no good! I have a Bible reading plan to read through the Bible in a year, and even if I don't get all the way through it, I want to read a little bit every day. It's the 4th of January today and so far so good! (Baby steps, right?)

My home keeping binder

I also want to get (and STAY) organized around our home. I had previously been using The Fly Lady's system to clean and de-clutter the house, but I've fallen off the wagon. Again. So I pulled my binder out, dusted it off (see what I did there?), and signed back up for her daily reminder emails. It's a great system and I've really had success with it in the past if I keep it up, so I'm going to to my best to stay with it this time! To me it's great to be able to find what you need, when you need it, and not have to dig through the mess to locate it, and I know Rob appreciates a clean house, too. If you need help getting things in order at  your house, check her out! I think you'll like it.

Finally, I have a goal to become a more healthy cook and save us some money on groceries if I can. I use Plan to Eat for meal planning and keeping my recipes organized, and I really love it! I sit down at the end of each month and plan all our meals for the month ahead. It makes dinnertime SO much easier if I can just look at the calendar and see what I've already planned for the meal. And we have limited our going out to eat to once a week also, which is a huge money saver.

And there you have it! There are lots of other things I want to work on this year as well, but these are the big ones for now. It feels good to have a plan of attack for the year! Did you set any goals for 2014? Share them with me! We can all keep each other on track. :)

Christmas 2013

Emily is three, Natalie just turned one, both such fun ages. It's amazing to experience the joy and wonder of Christmas through a child's eyes! Emmie is finally getting old enough to understand the season and had a great time doing crafts, reading books and looking at Christmas lights. Nattie thought the tree was the most exciting thing ever!

Our Christmas Card

Daddy and Emily before they went to see The Nutcracker! She LOVED it!

Christmas Cookies!

Before the Christmas Eve church service

Opening their Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve

Natalie didn't quite get it, but she sure loved the bows!

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did, too!

Throwback Thursday

In the spirit of the last post, this one is of Emily at one year old. How cute is she?!

Natalie is ONE!!

*Photo credit to Rachel Brock*

Natalie, I've been holding off on writing this post because I just can't believe you are one year old already! ONE! It's true what they say, time has wings. And the older I get, the faster it flies away from me.

This last year has been quite a whirlwind with you, sweet girl! We've had so much fun! I want to stop and hold you close and drink you in and remember these moments. They are precious, and they don't last long.

You are starting to change from my tiny baby into your own little person, and it's amazing to watch! At your one year checkup you weighed just under 17.5 pounds and measured 28.5 inches tall. You're a skinny little thing. Because you can't drink milk due to an allergy, you aren't gaining as much weight as we would like. So per your doctor we are trying to fatten you up with bread and carbs (which you love) and avocado (which you hate). Mealtime is always interesting with you. You'll eat a few bites from your own plate, and then yell at me until I share what's on mine. You are definitely a stubborn girl, that's for sure!

You love: your mama, sucking your thumb, blocks, stuffed animals, books, spoons, your favorite purple blankie, trying to sneak into the bathroom when we aren't looking, and most of all your big sissy. You follow her everywhere! She's very patient with you and shares her toys (usually) and helps you learn. Watching you two together just melts my mama heart. You especially adore your daddy and clap and squeal when he comes in the door from work. He's already your hero. (Again with the melting heart!)

You don't love: when mama puts you down, shoes on your feet, sleep (you don't sleep through the night, but feel free to change that anytime), anything too loud that startles you, and when mama puts you down. If you had your way I'd be carrying you all day long! Every once in a while you let your daddy have a turn, too. ;)

You aren't walking quite yet but you crawl and cruise all over the place. I think it won't be long before we will have to chase you as you run around the house. You bolt for the stairs every chance you get and can climb them like a pro already, and when you get to the top you want to turn around and do it again! Baby gates are our best friend right now.

You are chatting up a storm these days! You say "DAT!" and point at everything, all the time. You are so curious and want us to name everything you see. Some favorites are lights and light switches, the fridge, and pictures on the wall. There's a figurine that your daddy gave me that plays music when we wind it up, and you insist on having your daddy turn it on and dance with you at least twice a day. It's your favorite thing right now (and I think daddy loves it, too!) and so fun to watch you wiggle and dance to the music. Will you be a music girl like you sissy? I sure hope so.

You are silly, curious, stubborn, a little shy, awfully sweet, very snuggly, and so happy! You have your daddy's heart and your mama's attitude. We love watching you grow and change, and can't wait to see what the future holds for you! With your big sister as your guide (accomplice?) I know there's nothing you can't do. We love you so much, Nattie Roo! Now please, stop growing up already, would you? :)