New Year, New Goals

I'll be honest, I'm a celebrator of New Year's not because I enjoy seeing a new year come, but it's often because I'm mourning an old year ending and I need something uplifting to get me through it.  Sounds crazy, right?  Maybe I'm a sentimentalist.  Maybe I live in the past, but setting goals personally and as a family gives me something to look forward to in the new year.  (And some accomplishments to look back on when December of 2011 is winding down.)

So, that being said, here are our Gregg family goals (or most of them, a few have been left out for the sake of privacy ;)):

Family Goals: 

• Get healthy, which means better food choices, smaller portion sizes, and a lot more exercise together and separately.  I, personally, will be trying to do our ever infamous "eat healthy 6 days a week and have a cheater day" but I'm trying to figure out how that now fits with our current lifestyle.  I will figure it out.  Also for myself, I've set a goal weight of 125 (almost pre-pregnancy weight, that was 128), and I want to tone some.  I'm giving myself until the end of the year for that goal.  We'll see when I meet it, I'll keep you updated!
• Aaron and I are reading through the Bible in one year (in Bryton's presence).  We both felt it very important to be in the Word daily together, and I initially thought that we'd do the Bible in 90 days reading plan, but figured with all of the changes this year we'd do something slightly more attainable.  
• Aaron and I plan to meet together monthly to see how we are doing relationally.  
• 2 date nights a month.  I know it doesn't sound like much, but this means without the kids and is not something we succeeded at last year.  We'll plan accordingly and work our budget and our time in order to make it happen.  

Alicia Personal Goals:

• Blog more often.  I'm not promising everyday, and it may mean some days there may be multiples, but for now I'm shooting for one a day.  We'll see what our world looks like once Ansley gets here.  I'm sure it will calm down after awhile, but hopefully I'll be able to keep up with it.   
• Find a way to help add to my family's income while being able to be with my kids as much as possible. 
• Try new things.  For all of you who know me, you know I have this ugly fear of failure looming in my life.  I want to look back on 2011 and either say, 'wow, who knew what I could do if I would have just tried," or, "wow, I failed a lot this year, but I'm so glad I at least attempted it."  I don't want to leave the year feeling like I've missed opportunities.  As I said on facebook the other day, I want my fear of regret to overwhelm my fear of failure.  
• Write a short journal entry each day, in a journal.  I'm not going to lie, I have a few days to catch up on already, but I thought this would be a fun way to see what happened to all of us each day throughout the year.  The few that I've succeeded in have been just a few sentences long, and I'm fine with that.  
• I need the entire house clean every two weeks... somehow.  Whether that means a room a day for 6 out of 14 days or a whole day of cleaning, or whatever, it has to happen.  I know there are some of you out there that are scoffing about "every two weeks" because you are every weekers or more than that, but take a step into our church schedule and life with a two year old running around who hates the vacuum and wants to be into everything I'm into, and you'll see where I'm coming from.  

Bryton's Goals:  (He is still young enough for us to set them for him ;) 

• Potty trained by the end of the year.  (He'll be 3 years, 1 month by that time.)  Don't get me wrong, we are shooting for much before this, but I'm taking his readiness into consideration and attempting not to 'push it' on him. 
• Adding small responsibilities to his life in our household.  (We'll have chores that everybody does because they are part of the family, and then eventually he'll have 'extras' that are optional for him and earn him an 'allowance', pay depending on what he does and how often.)  For now, he's doing a great job picking up his toys and putting them away in the evening and helping mom put away his laundry (he actually does a decent job with this.)  A few things I'd like to add to this for sure is making him capable of putting away all of his own laundry and being able to scrape his plate after meals and put his plate in the sink (rinse and put in dishwasher will have to be a year or so down the road). 
• Lastly, the goal is for him to have all of his primary and secondary colors down by the end of the year and all of his numbers 1-10.  We have the idea of 'colors' down now (if you ask him what color something is he'll answer in a color but he always starts with green and yellow ;), but he needs work on knowing which ones go with what.  As far as numbers, he has 1-3 down on his own, and if you count with him he can get through 6, so this one shouldn't be very hard to attain.  

Keep in mind, I'm doing these Bryton goals from a 'new parents' perspective, I could be way off on all of them.  Maybe he'll have all of his colors, his numbers to 20 and his alphabet by the end of the year but won't be potty trained.  Maybe he'll be potty trained and we still won't have numbers... we'll just have to see.  After all, they are just goals :)

So there you go... there's the Gregg's goals... what are yours???

Alicia

And a New Year Turns...

Whew!  Finally through the holidays.  Not that I was rushing anything... I typically enjoy them, but they just seemed really cram packed with stuff this year!

So let's catch up to speed.  2011 is here, which of course brings in all of the New Year's Resolutions.  Be looking for a blog from me soon for the goals the Gregg family has set forth this year!  (Goals seem much more attainable... I feel like I have a year to succeed, not a one time mess up and you're done for another year kind of thing.)
But for now let's just mention a few things you can be expecting to see on the blog in the coming year:

• A lot more deals and couponing information / tips.  
• The typical family updates / faith updates this year.  (We should have a lot of both with a new baby being born in just a couple months!
• You may see this not so crafty individual attempt some craftiness.  You'll want to check out those successes and failures.  May just be good for laughs! 
• Menu planning / meal ideas.  I'll spill one of the new years goals early:  we're trying to get in shape and eat right this year... which should bring some interesting ideas to my menu planning.  
• Thoughts on random subjects / current events.  You know I can't resist some of them. 

So don't miss out this year!  Lots of good stuff coming your way, and I'm looking forward to writing them myself :)  

Resolutions errr, goals posted tomorrow :) 

-Alicia

Christmas...

I know I've said it before, but I loooove this time of year.  I have so many things to say in this blog that it may all come out pretty choppy, but I'm kind of just letting my thoughts spill out at the moment.
I woke up this morning to it snowing.  I can totally handle snow up until about December 26th, then it can be done.  So it's tolerable up until then... but for snow to come on Christmas Eve and Christmas... that's more than tolerable, that's magical.  The beauty of it... the purity of it... well, it reminds me a lot of what our Christmas season is all about... Jesus, pure, Holy beauty born of a woman in a manger to do for us what we not only could not do for ourselves, but wouldn't have understood that we needed.  There's so much analogy between the white purity of the snow, and how it lays and covers gently over the ground and trees, much as Jesus covers us from our sins.  I could write a whole blog about it.  So let's just say I'm digging the snow. 
From a mother's standpoint, Bryton gets his snowpants in his Christmas presents tomorrow, so I'm excited to see how he does with the opportunity to play in the snow tomorrow.  Last year he was very unsure, but he also didn't have the clothing for it either, so the poor guy was barely walking, so was falling all over the snow and was probably freezing.  I'm excited to see his excitement this year...
with the snow, and with everything else.
If there is something being a parent has taught me, if there's a way to become immediately, enjoyably unselfish, it's by having children.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about presents... but I'd be completely honest to say that I'm FAR more excited about Bryton opening his than anyone else.  And it's not just the presents.  It's the whole spirit of the season.  It was taking him through the lights at the fairgrounds and watching him dig the trains... it's watching his excitement when he gets a Christmas cookie (we don't do desserts very often... and this is one of the reasons I'm glad we don't... it's a 'treat' for him when he gets it... not something that's expected.)  It's seeing him enjoy family, and the snow, and our quality time together.  It's getting to share Jesus with him... in a very special celebration.   There's something about being a parent that makes you feel like a kid again.  It makes Christmas magical and wonderfully spiritual and pure.  I think about how far Bryton is from Jesus (in his 'lostness'), but how close he is as well (Matthew 19:14), and I swear to you sometimes I see the face of God through him... maybe it's his eyes when he asks to talk to "Gee gee", maybe it reminds me of how zealous God can be for us, and how zealous we should be for him... I don't know... but children seem to know something we have long forgotten about our King. 
And this is what it all comes down to... all the anticipation leading up until now... all of the waiting for God to provide a way... all of the Old Testament that has pointed to God working things out... through the conflicts and then the 400 years of silence... the climactic event happens now... God thrusting His Son into this shadow of sin to be our ransom, born of a virgin woman, in a manger, a sweet baby Himself, at a time where all of creation gasped and rejoiced. 
For our God has remembered us. 
Merry Christmas.

26 Things I've Learned By Age 26

I'm a long way from having much wisdom to impart.  Ten years ago 26 would have seemed really old, but I feel pretty young right now, all pregnancy symptoms aside.  So here's a short list of the things I have figured out by age 26... subject to change of course, with more age and wisdom...

1.)  I do NOT know everything, I have a lot to learn, and as long as I'm this side of the dirt, I'll never have it all figured out.  (Probably won't then either ;)

2.) My parents were right 97% of the time, about 77% more than what I gave them 10 years ago.  They were always right, growing up has just made me realize it.  Why the 3%? Well, because they aren't perfect either, and let's face it, it'd be unfair for me to expect them to be.

3.)  Often times contentment and 'happiness' in life comes only after difficult circumstances and experiences.  God allows us to endure one to better be able to enjoy the other.  (And because He knows what's best, unlike us, who just think we do.)

4.)  Love is a choice.  Sure there are lovey feelings from time to time, which are much welcomed, but our greatest blessing comes from learning to love when it seems most difficult.

5.)  Our own children become some of our most vital teachers.

6.) You should never have to change who you are in order to maintain friendships with anyone.  True friendship comes despite our successes and our failures, in the face of adversity, and endures the changing of the seasons of life.

7.) Worry really doesn't get you anywhere... but worrying about how much you worry just gives you something else to worry about.

8.) High school was not the best years of life.  In theory, can't you see how it'd be pretty sad to say that high school was the 'good ole days' in the presence of your spouse, your children, and your new life as a family?  It fails in comparison. 

9.)  If you want to be made quickly and enjoyably unselfish, have children.

10.) You can't judge people.  Get to know someone and learn their story and you'll know who they really are and why they are that way.

11.) It's important to not only be good stewards of our money, but also of our time and our service.

12.) Some things are just a pain in the butt to pay for... like trash bags.

13.) Jesus can handle all of our hard questions.

14.) There's a lot to be learned from people, even if you disagree with their opinions, morals, or convictions.

15.)  Men and women really are worlds different...

16.)  Forget the feminist movement... of course I can open my own door, pay my own way, stand on my own two feet, etc etc etc, but why would I want to when a husband can do those things for me out of an act of love?  I'm for chivalry, and I'm not going to fight against it!

17.)  Not every battle is worth fighting... choose wisely.

18.) Never, I repeat, never, make comments about other people's children and how 'your child will never act that way', until you have kids yourself and know for sure.  Sometimes you are catching kids at their worst moments... and they all have them. 

19.)  Even if money is tight, the absolute best thing you can do to help yourself stop worrying about money is to make yourself a written budget.  Include everything, then at the very minimum you know that you can afford all of those bills that are showing up at your door. 

20.)  Find time to play... all work and no play leads to burn out very quickly.  All play and no work, well, that just makes you lazy.

21.) Don't put people on pedestals... anyone.  Everyone will disappoint you... it's in our nature.

22.)  Go to Disney World... at least once in your life.  There's no place on Earth quite so magical :)

23.)  Honor your commitments.  In this day of age, integrity and good character are hard to come by.  Be a person who possesses both. 

24.)  Everyone has that thing they really enjoy.  A new pair of shoes, a new haircut, an awesome new outfit, a trip to the movies, whatever.  Budget for it and do it.  Trust me, a little splurge is worth it. 

25.)  Be serious less often.  I've learned this the hard way.  Laugh more.  People will like you better.

26.)  And lastly, don't care... completely... what people think.  Who cares if people hate your shoes if you love them?  Who cares if people can't stand your personality if you are who you are?  But guard your reputation, and live in such a way that people can't find fault with you (or inconsistencies).