I don't really do the whole New Year's resolution thing. Never have really. I've always thought it kind of silly to set aside an arbitrary time once a year to evaluate your life. To me, that should be an ongoing process, and it irks me to see a huge focus on evaluating/goal-setting around January 1 and little to no focus on those things for the rest of the year.
That said, I've had a lot of time to think lately (being so sick that you're bedridden for several days will do that to you - bleh!), so one of my regular evaluating/goal-setting times has coincided with the start of the new year. Here goes (with random pictures throughout because, well, I like pictures!) ...
1. Cherish my friends.
Not just in my mind or with words, but in action. Little things like remembering to send birthday cards and being intentional about hanging out. I'm so blessed with sweet friends, and I don't want to ignore those blessings. This year, with all my health struggles, I've become more acutely aware of how much I love and need my friends
Us with our dear friends Hannah and Will at their wedding in March 2007
2. Take back the house from Lee (as much as possible).
My darling husband has taken over a lot of domestic duties since I got sick with my thyroid stuff, and I've realized lately that I typically have the time and energy to take some of that back. I just don't often because now it's become habit for Lee to do things that I used to do (and, to be honest, that I'd prefer to do, since I'm particular about weird things like the clothes hanging in the closet being organized by my completely reasonable system that Jenelle thinks is totally nutty!). Plus Lee has ignored tasks that matter to him, like finishing the entertainment cabinet that he started more than a year ago, to do laundry and dishes and whatnot, and I'd love to show my gratitude for all he's done by letting him do some of his stuff again.
My beloved girl and my beloved robot (Klepto the Roomba) in January 2007
3. Give birth to our little boy and adjust from having one kiddo to two!
An obvious one!
Me with Jocelyn shortly after I gave birth (note: yes, I am one of those women whose face swells up bigtime at the end of pregnancy, and yes, I do look tired since this was taken after about 19 hours of labor)
4. Be active.
It's easy to use health circumstances as an excuse for being a bum, but it's actually better for rheumatoid arthritis to be active and move the affected joints than it is to rest them. That's why, even when I'm in major pain, you'll very rarely see me wearing a wrap or brace on any of my joints, because immobilizing them might make them feel good for a little bit but only at the cost of more severe pain later.
Doing a little hiking in Sedona while Lee and I were dating
5. Do the stuff I like to do.
I'm bad about ignoring hobbies and activities I enjoy because they're not productive or they don't help me cross off an item on my to-do list. For Christmas, I got Photoshop Elements (to do some serious digital scrapbooking) and a new sewing machine and a new serger (because my old ones are struggling and are WAY too hard for me to thread easily, even on a good day). I have books on my shelf, including some news ones from Christmas, that I haven't read. I've been inconsistent at best at my efforts to pick up playing piano again, and my guitar ... um ... well, let's just say that I don't think it has left the closet this year. I have tons of crafty materials (for stamping, painting, old-school scrapbooking, etc.) that have sat mostly untouched since I became a mom. I'm not going to set lofty goals to churn out __ scrapbook pages, master __ chords on the guitar, learn __ new songs on the piano, create __ new sewing/stamping/craft projects, or read __ new books ... just simply to do things that I love to do and not get caught up in whether or not those activities are productive enough.
Jocelyn and I playing piano
6. Get Jocelyn potty-trained.
We started potty training last week since Jocelyn was showing some readiness signs, and then the plague of 2008 hit me hard, so we took a break. I'll probably make an entire post, complete with pics I haven't yet downloaded, about it soon, but I think - even though we had a promising start - that we may have jumped the gun, and I think we'll be waiting until sometime after Robbie arrives to start again. (While we're at it, I'd like to get the cats better trained in this area too! Since Wheeler had a UTI last month, the cats have been competing in marking a couple of areas. I'm strategizing right now to solve this, and the cats won't know what hit them in a few weeks!)
My homegirl in a Texas hat and her daddy's shoes
7. Be real.
I know this could be interpreted a lot of ways, so I'll do my best to explain what I mean. I believe that God has a purpose for my health struggles, and I don't want to hide them. I struggled with whether or not to include anything about my health in our annual Christmas letter (which went out today, so we're prolonging the celebration!), because most letters are a lot of smiles and cheers and warm fuzzies. Then, once I determined that the letter just couldn't truly capture what God's done in our lives this year without the health stuff, I struggled with how to explain it all. God is good, and He provided the words, but it was tough. It's often awkward to share the hope we have in Christ with others because I don't know how to bring it up; since I was diagnosed, people start asking questions out of curiosity, and it provides an easy way for me to say, "Actually, this has been a blessing because we've grown closer to God through it."
Not really related, but a cute sleeping pic of Jocelyn from our TX trip
8. Read through the entire Bible this year.
I've broken my new Chronological Bible into daily segments to get me through 2009, and I've already started, so I'm ahead of the game.
Once again, not related ... just an unhappy (but cute!) Jocelyn!
9. Be more intentional about my prayer life.
Particularly about praying for Lee, Jocelyn, Robbie, and future children.
Our family photo from the annual Sunday school class Christmas party
10. Start renovating the third floor.
Our attic will be two bedrooms and a bathroom (with a little storage space left) by the time we're done. We've been talking about this project since we saw our house, and we're starting this year!
Looking forward to having pictures like this while working on the third floor and holding Robbie
So what are you resolving for 2009?
