2012 Resolutions

Ah, 2012 - you've already come in with a bang! We got to spend the weekend with family in Tahoe celebrating and ringing in the new year. It truly was a weekend we'll never forget!  Gotta love spending time with the ones you love.

But seeing as how we have already established I love resolutions, here are my 2012 resolutions. Sure, we can call them goals, or hopes, or dreams, or whatever you want. They're still resolutions.

Mental 

1. Write. Write. Write! For more specifics on this, feel free to check out my six writing goals here at my writing blog. 
2. Read the 3 books I have on writing that are collecting too much dust on my shelves.

Physical 

1. Pick up again with my healthy eating habits and stick to it (mostly just ditch the sugary bad habit I've reverted to this holiday season). Ok yes,  ideally I would like to lose another 10 pounds. There, I said it.
   
2. Run a 10K (or maybe even a half-marathon) this year.
3. Make my bed everyday {couldn't think what other category this fit into}

Spiritual/Emotional Health

1. Start a small groups bible study in our home (A goal my Grandma and I have together)
2. Keep reading the Bible, but also read: Steps to Christ,  The Great Controversy, and The Desire of Ages.  
3. Visit and spend more time with friends (who live near and far)
4. Practice forgiving everyday, all day.  Brush off the negativity and rejoice in the ultimate love of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Remember that His sacrifice makes ANY slight against us  - no matter how real - nothing, not compared to the rejection He must feel when we refuse His Gifts.

Creative

1. Learn to knit so my Grandma doesn't laugh at my pathetic attempts at just a simple cast on. Oh yes, and make something for the girls (Yes, even scarves count)
2. Help Brandon finish the DIY desk-into-play-kitchen project we've been working on before Annabelle's 2nd birthday.
3. Finish our family photo books to be here in time for Christmas 2012. 

Parenting

1. Take the afternoons that Eleanor doesn't nap and work on preschool activities (i.e. crafts) together. To make it easier, follow a home school preschool kit like this one.
2. Follow the 31 Days to Happier Children Series. Try to remember even in the very difficult, frustrating moments of parenting that these years will be gone in a flash. Make sure to enjoy this year, the challenges along with the joys. In other words: be positive, and be fully in the present for the girls. 

I know its a lot, but I find life is always lived best when lived to the fullest, making the most of every moment God has given to us. 
 
Here's to living 2012 the way we were made to live it.

A few things about these pictures. A.) Top left corner is our first family photo of 2012. Yes, we had to wake up Annabelle at midnight for the picture. She crashed around 9 after trying her hardest to stay up. B.) Yes,  Eleanor is drinking sparkling martineli's, just so we're clear. She stayed up until midnight with the most amazing show of energy. C.) Since when do my girls and I have red-tinted hair? And how am I just noticing this now? D.) I have the most handsome and amazing husband ever.  E.) There is no E.