All Things Divine in '09

It's amazing to think back at just how fast 2008 passed by. So many special things happened to our family this past year. So many that I cannot list them all, but here are the big ones that stick out to me:

• Randy and I celebrated our 5 year Anniversary.
• Our family grew by one more and was blessed with a healthy little girl...making our "Table for 4" complete.
• After 4 long years, Randy graduated from Medical School and moved us to South Texas for Residency.
• Josiah was blessed with another year of life; and turning 2 has turned out to be quite an adventure for all parties involved.

The Lord definitely carried us this past year. With the many things that happened, and we're not too proud to say, that without Him, we wouldn't been able to get through them as well as we did. Reflecting back on where we've come from only makes us excited about where He is going to take us next.

Continuing to reflect.....it's time for New Year's Resolutions. After all, I LOVE making lists and the feeling that crossing out completed tasks gives me. Last year, I set out to accomplish 6 goals. And I'm sad to report that I'll be dragging over some, if not all, of last year's resolutions to the 2009 List. Specifically, the half-marathon (it was too lofty of a goal to expect my body to be in the shape necessary to complete a 13.1 mile race 4 months after having given birth), learning to bake bread-from scratch, getting organized, and paying down debt.

So here is the list for 2009:

1. Lose 20 lbs. by May 1, 2009 (yes, the most popular of New Year's Resolutions made my list this year, but only because it is the year of the wedding).

• Complete a few 5 and 10K races....and maybe a half marathon in one of the cities I'll be visiting over the summer.

2. Get Organized

• Sort all of Josiah and Alayna's first year pictures in an album
• Implement and stick to 'zones' for cleaning the house. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord".
• Continue with meal planning (boy, does this make grocery shopping so much easier)

3. Pay down debt while saving

• Last year, I tried a lesser expensive diaper for Josiah and they worked. For 2009, I will use cloth diapers for Laney when at home to cut down some of the expense associated with buying two sets of diapers. And hopefully, Josiah will become potty trained sometime this year, so I won't need to buy many diapers at all.
• Implement and stick to a budget/envelope system (I know quite a few folks that use this methodology of budget control and it works--my big thing is just sticking to it and avoid getting sucked into the airline mile-accumulating credit card).
• Set aside some monies each month to go towards a family vacation, plane tickets, or Christmas gifts.

4. Take a picture every day....with my new fancy schmancy digital SLR that my husband surprised me with on Christmas. I'm SO excited to enhance my photography skills, I can hardly stand it.

5. Invest in relationships....my friends, including my friendship with the Lord, my husband, and my children, are my lifeline. I LOVE getting to know people, especially those with whom I've met via the blogosphere. I LOVE keeping up with what my friends are doing (another reason why I LOVE the blogosphere and Facebook). Nothing is sweeter than opening an email and seeing a quick message or comment from a friend, letting me know that they are thinking of me. So I resolve to do the same for my friends.....send a quick email, comment via blog or FB, or even an ol' fashioned note in the mail. Sadly, I've lost touch with so many friends I've made in my 31 years...you know, life just gets in the way sometimes. I also resolve to rekindle some of those long-lost friendships, including that with my husband. With all of the med school/residency chaos and our family expansion projection during the last 4.5 years, our relationship has fallen from the top of the priority list. In 2009, I resolve to schedule (if we don't schedule it, it won't get done) one date night/month in an effort to rekindle the love/relationship we had "back in the day".

6. Get involved in a church....the last 4 years have been pretty tough on us with regards to finding a church family. When we left our "family" behind in FTW, we never expected for it to be so hard to find another loving "home". We have learned, the hard way, that we cannot put God or the way He ministers to us in a box. We have to be open to learn of Him in new ways with new people. We think we have found a new "home", I feel comfortable there and they have a wonderful Children's Ministry. We just are still seeking His confirmation. I'm looking forward to the day we make the decision so that I can offer my time to a couple of women's ministries.

Well, I think that's it. More details may follow as I lunge forward into the action plans. I may have no idea what I'm up against, but I'm pretty excited about it.

So are you, too, one of the many millions of folks around the world who participates in Resolution planning? If so, what have you included on your list?