“If you don’t like where you are CHANGE IT!
You are not a tree.”
Quote by Jim Rohn
In no particular order, my goals for this year;
1. Listen the audio Bible 3x with the boys – we did it once last year over a period of 6 months and it was really such an encouragement. In this post I shared which audio Bible we use as well as links for free ones.
2. Read 3 books a month - last years reading list can be seen here. I have a few books picked out to read this year, but the rest will be ones I discover, am gifted or have recommended to me.
3. Finish writing an ebook - really excited about it! I started it last year and plan to finish it in the next couples months.
4. Finish memorizing Colossians 3 as a family and then decide on another chapter to memorize together.
5. Cook ethnic foods 1x a week – we really got into curry dishes last year as a result of this goal and I am excited to develop even more food interests.
6. Have weekly dates with Paul – even if they are just stay at home dates putting aside intentional time to do something fun together is so good for us! This was one of our favorite at home date nights this past year and we hope to rev up the creativity of our free at home dates.
7. Complete the 12 Habits with the boys – I have put a lot of effort into creating this and trying to keep it simple enough so that we can see it through from January to December. The complete list of habits for 2012 can be seen here and the run down on January’s habit of Thankfulness can be seen here.
8. Minimize what we own – instead of creating a shopping challenge for myself as I have in previous years I decided to simply focus on minimizing what we own. It is also a habit we will be working on in September. We are in no way minimalists but do desire to own things that we find to be useful, beautiful and/or meaningful and pass on that which we have no purpose for.
9. Pursue the hearts of Paul, Judah and Wesley – I spent the month of October sharing daily ideas and thoughts on romancing your spouse and children. It was a goal I had for 2011 and one I wish to continue pursuing this year. It has been so rewarding and worth every moment spent investing in their lives.
10. Have more ‘new’ people over for dinner – I want to get to know people better and more deeply and doing it over a meal is such a comfortable medium to use. We are fairly consistent at having people in our home but tend to stay within the realm of people we know well – this year I want to get to know more people well.
11. Finish my personal Bible study on what the Bible says about speech and what we should say – I started this late in 2011 and have enjoyed it so much. So far I have been through 14 books of the Bible highlighting each part that talks about what we should say or how we should say it.
12. Run 100 miles this year – I know it’s not much over the course of a year, but I ran for all of 5 minutes in 2011, so it’s a huge improvement!
We’re going to be starting a “Couples Biggest Loser” competition with some friends of ours and I am pretty sure running will become a part of my life once we official start the competition!
What are your goals for 2012? Did you share them on a blog? Share your link in the comments!
Reading List from 2011
One of my goals for 2011 was to read 3 books a month. I fell quite a bit short of my reading list goal – I averaged about 2 books per month – but I am quite satisfied with those I did read, and if the chapter books read aloud to the boys can count I came much, much closer the the goal of 36 books.
This is a bit out of order, but here is my reading list from 2011
1. East Wind by Ruth Hunt – a remarkable and very moving true story about Maria Zeitner Linke and how God worked through her during WWII.
2. My Life with the Gypsies by Marta Alder – a true story – shares ancient stories passed down amongst the gipsies, secrets about the womens work telling fortunes and collecting money in villages and traditions and rules the Romany Gipsies abide by. The story takes place during WWI and WWII and documents some of the difficulties and persecution the Gipsies went through. This is one book I would enjoy owning, but cannot find a copy of it!
3. The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz – a true story that will hold you captive – from snowy Siberia through the Gobi dessert and over the Himalayas these men overcame physical, mental and emotional challenges
4. Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider – if you haven’t already found a book that encourages you to declutter, clean and examine how you operate your home I would highly recommend this one. This is going on my list of books to read each year.
{these first four books were reviewed in full here}
5. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss – fiction - Some passages are, literally, breathtaking. I would stop and reread entire pages. And then go and find Paul to read the passages out loud to him. This book is a piece of art.
6. Care Packages for the Home – Regenerate Spirit Where You Live (A Sharing of Family Traditions, Rituals, and Legends to Make Home and Family More Positive and Meaningful) by Barbara A. Glanz – there are some fantastic ideas in here for creating special moments in the home, strengthening bonds within your family and encouraging your children to reach out to others.
{book number 5 and 6 are reviewed in full here}
7. Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald – the message is urgent and clear; it is entirely more important to have an orderly, disciplined time with the Lord than it is to have a busy, successful looking life.
8. A Severe Mercy by Shelden Vanauken - an incredible love story, or, as the author states “the spiritual autobiography of a love rather than of the lovers.” I was captivated by the deep love Sheldon and his wife Davy had for each other.
9. The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise - a wealth of information on Classical Education for teaching your children at home
{book 7, 8 and 9 were reviewed in full here}
10. Families Where Grace Is in Place: Building a Home Free of Manipulation, Legalism, and Shame by Jeff VanVonderen – I found the first half of the book completely dull, but the second half had solid, practical ideas.
11. Becoming a Person of Influence: How to Positively Impact the Lives of Others by John C Maxwell – thoroughly enjoyed this book and the wisdom shared within.
12. When I Lay My Isaac Down: Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances by Carol Kent – an incredible true story of a horrible event where her son murders his step daughters father and the process of healing and trusting God through it.
13. Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman – the story of the Chapman family and the death of their sweet daughter with the terrible accident. Mary Beth Chapman is so real and transparent in talking about her pain and her depression, the transparency is so refreshing.
14. Her Daughter’s Dream (Marta’s Legacy) by Francine Rivers – fiction – I really enjoyed this and the sequel - below. I finished both books in a matter of days… which was a reminder to myself why I don’t read much fiction; I get completely lost in the lives of the characters!
15. Her Mother’s Hope (Marta’s Legacy) by Francine Rivers
16. Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan – convicting to the core. This is also going on my list of books to read each year.
17. Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God by Noel Piper – this book highlights 5 different Christian women and their struggles and how they chose to rely on God. The humanity of the women, and the realness of their struggles, was nice to read about. Several of the women I knew of, the rest were introduced to me for the first time.
18. The Family You’ve Always Wanted: Five Ways You Can Make It Happen by Gary Chapman – from his own experience Gary Chapman shares practical ways to work on your own self to help influence your family.
The final four books on my 2011 Reading List are books that I have previously read and enjoyed so much they made it to my list of books to re-read each year.
19. THE POWER OF LESS by Leo Babauta - encourages a simpler lifestyle and shares practical ways to deal with the stuff in your life and the busy-ness of your life.
20. A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning by Karen Andreola – a thorough overview of the teachings of Charlotte Mason, filled with personal experience and advice.
21. Romancing Your Child’s Heart by Monte Swan – the book that inspired our idea of romancing our boys, which then inspired the 31 Days of Romance series in October.
22. Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas compiled by Nancy Guthrie – a great book to read through the month of December leading up to Christmas.
What were your favorites from your reading list this past year?
Update on 2011 Goal
A goal I had set for 2011 was to only buy 12 personal items throughout the year. I am so excited that I actually met that goal – and in a sense surpassed it as I only purchased 11 personal items!
My list of purchased items is below, but before I share that I wanted to make clear a couple exceptions that occurred throughout the year.
First, several people passed on their hand-me-downs to me and these items did not count towards my goal total.
I also received 6 cotton skirts, 2 silver necklaces, 1 set of earrings, 1 set of slippers and a pair of pajamas as gifts this year and none of those were counted in the total.
And, due to having lost some weight and old clothes no longer fitting me properly I exchanged on a 1:1 basis (without counting it towards my 12 total) 1 pair of jeans, 3 t-shirts, 1 turtle neck and 1 sweater.
So, with that out of the way, here are the 11 items I purchased in 2011 that count towards my goal of purchasing only 12 personal items. The items were a mix of thrift store and brand-new-from-a-real-store items and those are indicated below.
What I bought in 2011
1. A dress {from the thrift store – $2. I hadn’t been looking for a dress, but when I saw this one I knew it would be perfect for a ‘quick and easy pulled together look.’ It has served me well and has gotten lots of compliments!}
2. Black hoodie {from TJMax – $10 – had spent most of the year searching for one at the thrift store to no avail. After a couple washes the sleeves shrunk. Reminder of why I love thrift store clothes so much: they have been well washed and put through the “is-the-dryer-going-to-shrink-or-fade-this” test. Sadly, I hadn’t held onto the receipt and couldn’t return it.}
3. A pair of jeans {from the thrift store – $4. Love second hand jeans. Stylish, well fitting jeans can be hard to come by at the thrift store, but when I find them I love buying them! After finding this second pair – see above where I bought one in an exchange for a pair that no longer fit – I stayed away from the jean aisle at our local thrift store to avoid temptation!}
4. A sweater {from Banana Republic Outlet – $11. BR is one of my favorite outlet stores. They have fantastic deals the handful of times we’ve been – both for myself and for Paul.}
5. A t-shirt {from Banana Republic Outlet – $4}
6. Blue sweater {from thrift store – $3. I purchased this to wear over dresses and tank tops.}
7. Cowboy boots {from a local western store – $20, down from $100. So comfortable!}
8. A tank top {from Banana Republic Outlet – $9}
9. A silk tank top {from thrift store – $3 – have not worn it yet this year and am not sure that I will ever wear it… silly impulse buy – even on my limited items!}
10. Red leather purse {from Bealls – $20. Three of my purses retired this year due to tears, stains, etc. I didn’t count this purse in my 1:1 exchange as I still had other purses that are perfectly good to use so this wasn’t a dire need and therefore counted amongst my purchased items.}
11. A pair of hoop earrings {also from Bealls – $5. I wanted a pair of simple earrings that could be worn every day, and these have served that purpose well!}
The Goal For 2012
In considering what I should do for 2012 in regards to purchasing personal items for myself I think I am going to take a break from rigid guidelines. A goal set for myself for this year, which will be shared in more depth this week, is to minimize what we own, so that will be my guideline in regards to purchasing items.
The goals I am focusing on this year are ones that will help develop character, habits and relationships and at this stage in life focusing on what to or what not to purchase isn’t a problematic area – the past two years of intentionally considering my purchases {2010 being that I could only purchase items from a second hand store and 2011 being that I could only purchase 12 items} have been extremely helpful in creating a discipline in myself and an appreciation for the things I do have and to make what I purchase an area of intense focus for this year will only distract from the areas I do wish to focus on.
How about you? Any goal set for 2012 on what you will or will not be purchasing for yourself? Or any update on what happened with your goals in 2011?
With the holidays so recently finished thankfulness was the most natural habit to pick for January for us to work on since thank-you cards need to be done and this is a relatively easy habit to ease us into this year long focus of intentional habit building.
I have mapped out our activities for the month – a little something daily that will direct our attention to the subject of being thankful. These activities are meant to be short and simple. I don’t imagine any of them taking more than 5 minutes each day – and that is the point. My hope is that through simplicity faithfulness and focus will be developed and the habit of thankfulness will be deeply rooted in their foundation.
A lot of the activities are repetitive from week to week – I believe this will work well with the ages of my boys but I am ready to tweak the activities if they seem bored with the repetitiveness.
Activities for encouraging the habit of thankfulness
1. Sit one person in the “thankful seat” and everyone else mentions one thing each that they are thankful about the person. {We did this yesterday and I believe it had a lot of impact on them seeing both how good it feels to be on the receiving end of thankful people and how to personalize your thanks to another person. I wrote down each item so they will have a permanent record of it.}
2. Talk about times we have been thankful.
3. Read a short story.
4. Focus on saying thank-you for each meal throughout the day
5. Write thank-you notes for Christmas gifts recieved
6. Read Luke 17:11-19 – the story of the 10 lepers that were healed and 1 came back to say thanks
7. Hold up 10 fingers and list 10 things we’re thankful for. Write one item on each finger with permanent marker.
8. Talk about times other people may have been thankful for something we have done.
9. Gift wrap a random assortment of items (both things they love and oddities) and practice being sincere and communicating thankfulness for the items.
10. Read a short story
11. Focus on saying thank-you for each meal throughout the day
12. Write thank-you notes for Christmas gifts recieved
13. Read Luke 15:11-32 – the story of the prodigal son; the father was thankful for his sons return and the brother was not.
14. Hold up 10 fingers and list 10 things we’re thankful for. Write one item on each finger with permanent marker.
15. Talk about things God has done for us that we are thankful for.
16. Do something for our neighbors to thank them for being such great neighbors.
17. Read a short story
18. Focus on saying thank-you for each meal throughout the day
19. Write thank-you notes for Christmas gifts recieved
20. Read Psalm 136:1-3
21. Hold up 10 fingers and list 10 things we’re thankful for. Write one item on each finger with permanent marker.
22. Talk about times we have been unthankful and times others have been unthankful for things we have done and how it felt and may have felt to others.
23. Serve plain rice for all our meals to show how a lot of the world does live and how much we do have to be thankful for.
24. Read a short story
25. Focus on saying thank-you for each meal throughout the day
26. Write thank-you notes for Christmas gifts recieved
27. Read Philippians 4:6
28. Hold up 10 fingers and list 10 things we’re thankful for. Write one item on each finger with permanent marker.
29. Talk about ways that thankfulness can be shown (written, verbal, by our actions, etc.)
30. Let the boys use a camera to take pictures of things they are especially thankful for and make a photo album of their pictures
31. Read a short story
I am so, so thankful for all the dear people that have let me run these ideas by them, that have contributed their own ideas to this project and that have committed to pray for this year of intentional habit building.
I thought it would be fun to share an update on some of my favorite things from this past year that were shared on here – projects we did, adventures we shared, lessons learned – and round them up in a favorites thing post.
1. You may remember in January we made our own whiteboard. While we have yet to mount it, it rests comfortably against the wall in Paul’s office and is frequently used. If you need a large whiteboard this is a thrifty and relatively easy way to go!
2. In January we also made a cardboard box maze for Judah’s 4th birthday party. While it rightfully met its demise it did last for quite awhile and was a huge, HUGE hit! Judah has already asked if we would do another one for his upcoming 5th birthday. We had a whole lotta fun creating it!
3. & 4.We had our first experience with winter camping and were introduced to camping with hammocks – which we then used ourselves on our way home from our family vacation in Chicago this summer.
5. While doing some remodeling of our laundry room, which included tearing up the subflooring so we could access underneath the house, we made a miserable, seeming-to-never-end remodel into an adventure with fantastic memories by making a pirate treasure hunt for the boys. They ask to watch the movie at least weekly.
6. Wesley used his birthday money to buy icecream treats and hand out the extra ones to strangers – it was a moment of swallowing my pride and sense of what is proper and normal for the sake of my son owning the idea of giving and loving people. My boys are still normal people that struggle with a love for things but this was a foundation stone in their giving and it’s come up many times since it occurred.
7. We started – and finished! – listening to the Bible on audio during quiet moments in the morning playing with legos and trains. If I could encourage you to commit to one thing with your children next year it would be to listen to the Bible through with them! It’s been such a blessing.
8. We enjoyed two more seasons of one on one dates with the boys. These times focusing on the boys in an intimate and intentional manner is so precious to all of us. The boys now anticipate this and like to make plans for the next date time. One on one dates are now our normal – something they count on – and I love that.
9. We discovered the best popcorn secret ever - which is that you can pop popcorn kernels in a brown bag in the microwave! We have enjoyed using this piece of handy information as popcorn is a very popular treat in this house!
Later this week I’ll share updates from my 2011 Goals and Challenges and my 2012 Goals and Challenges – what were some of your highs from 2011?
:: Thanks for visiting! Please note, all progress on our year of intentional habit building for kids can be read here. Thanks to all who have been such an encouragement through this journey!::
Building Habits
2012 is going to be a year where we as a family focus on 12 different habits, one per month. I use the term habit loosely. A lot of the habits we are going to focus on are virtues, but they are virtues we want to build in our sons {and ourselves!}
This idea has been building in my mind for a while now, and after much prayer and with the help and wisdom of other mothers who are going through the raising of littles or who have passed through the little stage we have decided to embark on a year of intentional habit building with my boys.
The 12 Habits
While this list is subject to change as we see fit, we have planned out the 12 habits for 2012 as follows:
January – Thankfulness
February – Self discipline
March – Friendship
April – Responsibility
May – Compassion
June – Courage
July – Honesty
August – Loyalty
September – Planning
October – Work
November – Perseverance
December – Being Sincere
Each of these habits will have a specific focus each month. The premise is that if we enjoy this year of intentional habit building then we will repeat the above habits each year, with each specific focus being changed yearly as the boys grow, mature and needs change.
The Plan for Building Habits
Again, this is subject to tweaking – or revamping entirely – but the plan for intentionally working on each monthly habit is as follows, on a rotating 7 day cycle:
1. Talk about the habit, people we know with the habit, how it is a useful habit, discuss the weekly plan.
2. Do a fun activity related to the habit to grab their attention, reinforce the idea of the habit and keep them excited.
3. Devote a good deal of read aloud time to reading stories highlighting the habit.
4. Play a game – or do role playing – related to the habit.
5. Do something for someone else – find a way to make the habit practical and serviceable.
6. Read verses and/or Bible stories related to the habit.
7. Do an object lesson that highlights the habit.
Resources and Aids for Encouraging Habit Building
By the end of this year I am sure this list will have grown, but I wanted to include the few resources I know I’ll be using in case you’d like to use them too.
The Book of Virtues by William J Bennett
Everyday Graces: Child’s Book Of Good Manners by Karen Santorum
These two books have been in my collection for some time now and we have enjoyed reading stories from them. They are collections of shorter stories, poems or excerpts from longer books neatly categorized.
I’ll be using them each month to read stories pertaining to the monthly habit.
Blogging about the 12 Habits
I plan to blog about each habit at the beginning of the month to give you a run down on what the specific plan is for that month and then at the end of the month to update on how things went. Throughout the month I will share activities, books and other ideas we have used in our pursuit of intentionally building the habits.
I want to keep an online record of this to keep myself accountable and on track with our plans. All of the posts related to this subject of intentional habit building for kids can easily be found by clicking the button, as seen below, which will be on the sidebar to the right.
January’s habit with the specific focus and detailed daily plan will be posted January 2. I am so excited to get this started and hope you will follow along and chime in!
My friend Chelsea is planning on doing this with her kids and blogging about it at months end too.
It doesn’t take much to create special Christmas memories – in fact, too often trying to do too much will leave everyone tired, cranky and in tears. Finding simple ways to add a bit of special-ness to what is otherwise ordinary can be a stress {and cost!} free way of fostering special Christmas memories.
The other night at dinner cloth napkins, festive napkin rings and striped straws were the perfect accessories to turn our ordinary breakfast-for-dinner meal into special Christmas memories.
And while perhaps the memories made weren’t quite what I had intended, they were indeed perfect Christmas memories made of boys and their delightful imaginations.
“I have disappeared!”
Bandit
A hat
Handcuffs
{the cute straws come in a pack of 12 at the Dollar Tree!}
A Simple Christmas Lunch
It doesn’t take much to add a little bit of special to an every day normal such as lunch time.
A cookie cutter + slices of bread + random selection of sandwich fillings I had on hand = a simple Christmas lunch that delighted the boys and was easy to pull together last minute.
Read a Christmas story while the children cut, assemble and eat their own sandwiches for add special-ness.
