I absolutely love New Years Resolutions. I am that goal-setting, project driven, organized sole who loves to plan and prepare.... So I actually put a lot of thought into my resolutions and I do aim for actually fulfilling them because hey - let's be honest - everyone needs to work on improving something in their lives!
So here goes!
1.Start doing "quiet time" again - Private Bible Study.
2. Finish P90X - and that means actually completing the full 90 days and not quitting. We're already half way there.
3. Continue our crazy strict debt-payoff plan all year long. 2013 is when things will actually start getting the 0 balance paperwork, but that's only if we're strict in 2012.
4. Run 2 half marathons sometime in the year 2012.
5. Successfully get down to my goal weight (which means shedding 10-15 pounds) by June and to my target weight (another 10 pounds) by my birthday. Then the idea is to maintain that!
6. Start/Finish the
"Insanity" workout.
7. Spend as much time with my precious family as I possible can - without being on the computer. This is a totally unmeasurable goal but nonetheless, it's something I desperately need to work on. I tend to be such a "busy body" thinking I always have to be productive that I tend to ignore these little cuties who are more than deserving of that attention. Emails, laundry, cleaning - for the most part, can wait til naptime. That is going to be the hardest of all these goals cuz old habits are hard to break!
I know these are mostly revolving around fitness but personally,
that's what I want 2012 to be about.
Side note: Ryan and I joined a community group at church - we're meeting once a week with our group to study God's Word. This was a big step in our faith. We're still attending church almost every single week now and volunteering as the teachers in Ethan's room every other Sunday. We've begun really talking to Jackson about God and Jesus and reading him Bible stories, saying grace before dinner, etc.
So I'm really excited about where God is leading us. Now, we need to just get our finances in order and get our bodies healthy!
2012 is going to be a GREAT year!
Last week, we were ever-so-lucky to be visited by our good friend Hollie and her beyond-beautiful little girls Clayre and baby Izabelle. It was my first time to meet sweet Izzy, so I was in heaven holding this precious little 3 month old baby! Clayre and Jackson are only about 3 mos apart - and they played great together.... It's so fun to get these kiddos together! Love them, and their momma!! :)
Jackson's true love gave to him.... The Mall of America! We saved the best for last - hoping that Monday, Jan 2nd wouldn't be as busy at the Mall of America as the previous days and I think we guessed right. This place is insane. I mean, seriously. I have never seen anything like that place. It's an enormous mall - first thing - but we didn't even get to see the mall really. We took the boys straight to Nickelodeon Universe and he was in awe. This smile never left his face in all 3 or 4 hours we were there. Aunt Carla quickly became his favorite person in the world cuz she rode many rides with him - including his first ever ride on Diego's Rescue Rider! I wasn't sure how he'd react since it took him up pretty high and then down around in a circle and back up, etc... but he relished every second! He wanted more, more, more!!! He got to ride the blue train one twice... well, of course. And he rode one with Uncle Dave - the big balloon one. At the end, Ryan had an idea that J may like the bumper cars... let's just say that I'm really glad Ryan got that on video. I laughed so hard. He did not move and he did NOT enjoy getting bumped into. It. was. hilarious. :) He really wanted to go on the huge roller coasters, but we had to explain to him that he's not quite ready for those yet... but he really wanted to. E didn't last through the whole thing, but J probably would've been happy to never leave. So glad we went there! The next morning, we got up at 400am to pack the car and head home. It took us about 10.5 hours to get home - and needless to say, all of us were glad to get out of that truck! I'm so glad we took so many pictures because that was a really really fun trip! Happy New Year!!!
On Sunday, January 1, 2012 - we all awoke a little later from our late-night fun... Ethan woke first and found his own kind of entertainment while he waited (pulling all the book down from the shelves!). Jackson played with one of his new Christmas toys while we all took our time that morning. That afternoon, we drove over to Edina - a suburb of Minneapolis where they have Edinborough Park - one of the largest indoor play structures in the country! It is massive! Jackson went in full-force and basically ran through it non-stop for over an hour! They had some smaller stuff for Ethan too... Then we walked over to the gym area - where they had balls, bikes, etc on a giant basketball court. We just let the boys run wild and burn a ton of energy. That night, we went over to Dana's house where Phil fixed some incredible Cajun Gumbo and Carla and I learned how to play hand and foot. If anyone around here knows how to play that game, let's have a game night! It was SO much fun!
That evening, Dave and Carla hosted New Years Eve at their home for all of us and Dana, Phil and the twins - who opted to stay the night, knowing the kids would have to go to bed before midnight. It was a super fun night - and so nice to get to spend more time with Dana, whom we haven't seen in several years. The Jackson and Coleman played downstairs most of the night playing with one of Coleman's new toys (which J was fortunate to also get for Christmas) and Zoe and Ethan played upstairs until E/J had to go to bed (10p!). Dave and Carla had a spread of food and Dana and Phil brought over this amazing stuffed chicken!!! Wow, was that good! Later that night, it started snowing - and at midnight, the neighbors shot off fireworks! After the NY was rang in, we had mimosas and played Apples to Apples til we were all too tired to move. What a great night and awesome year!
