a fresh start

I am not a fan of worn out New Years Resolutions that we never really intend to keep (How many years in a row can a person resolve to lose weight?!), but I love the fact that a new year is a fresh start of sorts and I love to make plans and goals for the coming twelve months. When I was growing up, we had a tradition of writing down individual lists of goals every year, and then as a family we would write a list of desires...these could be as realistic or as unrealistic as we wanted. It might include "a new chicken house" and it might include "a trip to Europe" but the idea was that nothing was beyond the realm of possibility. While we never made it to Europe (or haven't yet, anyway!), it was amazing how many of those seemingly impossble dreams came true. My dad kept them in a little notebook that he brought out year after year and we would read them together and marvel at God's provision and goodness.

We've had a wonderful New Years Eve so far. The temperature reached 70 and we spent lots of time outside. The boys built things in the shop with nails and scraps of wood. I finally finished shelling the pecans from my parents' tree that have been sitting on my counter for two months, and I made bread and organized my school supply closet in preparation for a new semester. It's been one of those days when you wish that time could stand still, if only for a little while.

Tonight I plan to cook a good supper and then spend some time thinking about, praying and planning for the year ahead. There are a few things that I already know will be on my list of goals:

* Continue eating a clean diet. I plan to systematically weed out the junk food that we eat, especially regular things like donuts at church on Sunday morning and eating out after church. I plan to utilize my crock pot and cook nutritious Sunday afternoon meals from now on!

* Revamp to some degree the way that we are doing school. My sister has written a timely post about this...I had already been thinking in this direction, and I feel like her post is confirmation that I should pursue it. I don't see us ever becoming hard and fast unschoolers, but I'm thinking of ways to incorporate school into real life as opposed to some of the rigid seatwork that we have been doing.

* Memorize more Scripture with the boys. I taught them the books of the Bible this year and was amazed at how quickly they learned them, especially Owen. At three years old, he can't even pronounce some of them, but he tries to say every one. I have seriously underestimated their memorization capabilities, and this year I plan to cram their little minds with the Word of God! The cool thing about teaching your kids is that you learn along with them, so I will hide more of it in my heart as well.

* Spend less time online and more time really living.

* Grow a good garden. We now have a tiller and I can't wait to get my hands in the dirt!

That's the start of my list. More to come. Have a happy and safe celebration tonight!