What's new for 2011?

What is it about the human spirit that gets so optimistic and goal-oriented at the new year? It feels so cliche to make resolutions, but every year I truly do want to make new goals for myself. Something about a fresh slate and a whole year to institute change. Here are some things that are on my mind personally, and on our goal list as a family.

1. Be healthier. The most cliche of the cliche resolutions! But, I have a lot of room to improve here, as does the rest of the family. I know myself and I know my family. Cold turkey doesn't cut it. Drastic change won't work. I want to take small steps towards a healthier us. Some tiny examples from last year was going to natural peanut butter, buying more organic, and including more veggies in the family diet. In the coming year I want to focus more on replacing some regular food items with dye and preservative free alternatives. I want to make more meat-free meals. I want to eat at least 50% non-processed snacks.

2. For me, to lose weight. I'm very leery of setting any sort of weight loss goal for myself. The truth is, if I weigh less next year at this time than I do right now, I will count it as a success. My doc says very few fibromyalgia patients manage to even maintain their weight, let alone lose. It just HURTS to exercise. No nice endorphin benefit for me. =-( Nevertheless, I want to purpose to MOVE more and EAT less. I go back to the doc in 3 months. If I am 10 pounds lighter I will do a happy dance. If I am 40 pounds lighter by end of year....well....I can't even imagine how pleased I would be. Ideally I would set a goal of about 60 pounds to get to a weight I would feel happy with (probably a size 12).

3. For the family, to be better stewards of the things God has given us. Ten years ago I was a truly horrible housekeeper. I mean, HORRIBLE. I see pics from when Taevy was a baby and am shocked at how messy our living room was. And I only had 1 kid! What was I thinking? Needless to say, I've grown up and keep a better house now, although FAR from anybody calling it "clean." The common areas of our house are usually "picked up" though. Dishes and laundry is done daily. Sweeping and vacuuming daily or every other day. It sort of ends in the common areas. Our upstairs is "kid world." All the kids' rooms are up there while Eric and I share a room downstairs. We have no need to be up there. Therefore, it has become a horrible mess! We gripe at the kids. We yell from the bottom of the stairs. But somehow our legs have decided that we are too lazy to actually walk UP the stairs! As a result, our children have learned they don't have to be accountable. They have learned we don't check up on them enough. They have learned they don't REALLY have to keep it clean.

So...we are starting this week with a MAJOR clean out upstairs. Every room. We are majorly editing the amount of stuff our children own. Toys. Clothes. Everything. Everything will have a place, because there won't be that many things to put away! Once that is done, Eric and I have to step in and keep our kids accountable for their messes. We've got to make our lazy legs walk up the darned stairs (and hey--score for the mom that wants to MOVE more, right?!)! LOL! It's going to be our biggest challenges as we have all built up very bad habits where upstairs is concerned.

4. Home improvement/upkeep: In our last house we spent tons of time and money refurbishing the home. We refinished floors. We painted, and painted, and painted. We remodeled bathrooms. When we moved into this house we had no desire for home improvement, or even home maintenance! Now, 5 years in, it shows. If funds allow, we hope to do a pretty big remodel (down to new sheet rock) for the downstairs bathroom. The floors upstairs are RUINED from abuse. We hope to replace them with a combination of carpet and wood laminate. That is all if funds allow. But one thing we know funds will allow is paint. We have got to repaint the entire upstairs and much of the downstairs. Clean walls--walls minus boogers and sharpie marker signatures) will go a long way towards freshening the "look." Right now we are shabby minus the chic!

5. Debt: We want to continue the work we've done for the past few years in this department. We've loosely estimated that we paid off about $10,000 in debt in 2010, after going into no debt for Kendi's adoption in 2009 (a first for us). In 5 months we will pay of a debt that goes all the way back to Taevy's adoption! By end of 2010 we want to be without revolving debt--just down to house, car, and school loans, basically.

6. Christmas: Feels weird to have goals for next Christmas just 3 days after this Christmas! I think my thoughts on this are probably too many for a numbered list. I'll do a whole post. But we want Christmas to be LESS in some ways and MORE in others.

7. Last but not least: Please Lord we would be so thankful if Okie the Kidney continued to function so well (she's doing GREAT!), if Kendi's medications kept her HIV undetectable, if Taevy's heart "thing" is really a NOthing, if Bright continues to develop to the best of his abilities, if Samren's battle with laziness would be won with hard work-ethic, and if my Fibromyalgia symptoms would greatly decrease with a more healthy lifestyle!