- Read the Book of Mormon. Last summer, I challenged the young women in our ward to do it with me. And for some bizarre reason, I was just a few chapters from the end when the deadline and ice cream party came rolling around. I got my ice cream sundae minus a cherry and whipped cream (because of the missing chapters), and promptly forgot to finish the Book. How horrible is that? So this year, we'll start again, but I will finish it. I want to read it with companion text to help me get more out of it. Seminary manual? Gospel Doctrine manual? Any other ideas?
- Keep a clean house. I want my house to a place where the Spirit can dwell for freely. Tom is the nicest person and never criticizes what I do (or don't do) all day, but every once in a while hints that he would like to come home to a cleaner house. I need to be more specific about how to keep my house clean. But here are a few ideas I have: make sure the front room and kitchen are clean when Tom gets home from work. Mop my floors once a week. Make my bed every day. Do some laundry almost every day and fold 1-2 baskets of clothes twice a week (I am hoping that will help me stay on top of it, without it being an all day, horrible, over whelming task).
- Spend time with each kid individually. I would like to do this weekly. Tom has started doing outings with each kid once a month. I don't need to do an outing, but sit a read a book with them, or paint nails, or drive trains around. Just something simple and fun.
- Run a marathon and do a triathlon post baby. My sister is doing her first marathon this year and I thought it would be so fun to be able to run with her. So I plan to do the St. George Marathon just a little over 3 months post baby. I signed up for the Kokopelli triathlon because it was cheaper than it ever has been and anyone who knows me, knows I can't pass up a good deal. I signed up for the Olympic distance but reserve the right to drop down to the sprint if I want to since the race is less than 3 months after babe is due.
- Have a healthy babe. I know I dodn't have complete control over this one, but I plan to do all I can to ensure the healthy arrival of the babe in June. This doesn't mean I can't downhill ski or eat a little bit of junk and drink an occassional Dr. Pepper. But I need to not overdue my indulgences and listen to my body.
- Don't yell at my kids so much. I don't know what I need to specifically do to accomplish this one, but life is too short, especially childhood, to yell at them over silly things.
- Go to the temple once a month. We made this goal last year, and failed so we'll try again. There is so much to be gained by going there, and I have zero excuse for not.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
2010
I guess it is time to publicly declare my resolutions for the year, so that maybe I will be motivated to achieve them. I have being thinking there is a lot I want to do this year and I am hoping that by doing these things I will become a better person: spiritually, motherly, physically, intellectually, etc.
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5 comments:
I have goals every year, too. I find that even if I do not fully accomplish them, I do so much better than when I'm just winging it. And it's funny how similar my list looks to yours. Moms must have very similar challenges. Just a couple of notes: My favorite Book of Mormon reading companion is the student manual that the church put out for college level courses (religion 121-122) in 1979-80. I use it when I study the BoM and it's easy to find at the DI.
In terms of house cleaning, I decided when the kids were younger that if the house was going to be clean at one time during a day (which is an enormous goal in and of itself) that time of day would be when Russ gets home from work. So the kids do their housework chores when they come home from school, and I clean up with them. That way the house looks fairly decent when Russ comes in and he feels good so I feel good, too. At our house the kids are old enough to do their chores twice a day, but yours are still pretty young. I suggest you try having your family cleaning time be in the afternoon, and you can do homework, violin practice, et.al. after dinner or in the mornings. This helped me for many years.
The individual time thing is hard. I have found that the outing thing like your husband does is actually easier than trying to find time with a kids while the others are in the house. It's just easier for me to focus on a child away from the pressures of home. The outing doesn't have to cost anything. Maybe you plan a weekly walk to the park with each one (Porter gets Wed. after dinner, or they each get a half-hour on Saturday morning, or something like that), or one gets to go WalMart/Lin's with you. That type of thing works better for me.
Wish I could help you with the yelling thing, but I have a very hard time with that, too, so I wouldn't be much help. Sometimes I just try to keep the level down so the neighbors don't call the cops (kidding...kind of).
As for monthly temple. You're going to have a new baby. That makes it so hard to get away for several hours at a time. Good luck. Just don't beat yourself up if you don't succeed on that one this year. There are seasons in our lives for everything. I hope my season for frequent temple attendance is coming up, because it's really difficult just now.
Loved the post! Perhaps I'll have to do one of my own. One of my goals could be "Quit telling people what to do already." Love you!!
I really liked the Book of Mormon Made Easier books. I'm using the OT ones this year. I also have the Gospel Doctrine manual which is cheaper and still very helpful. Good luck with your goals. I am horrible at making mine happen.
I'm reading your goals and it's like I'm reading my goals! I haven't officially written any, but the ones you've written fit me to a T (well, okay some of them. the housekeeping one, not yelling one, spending time with kids one, temple one). Seriously! Thanks Liz! Good luck to us!
Those are great goals, mind if I steal most of them. The yelling and temple and cleaning goals are all things that I really need to work on too.
I definitely need to get reading the bom again. Thanks for the motivation to get on it.
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