2012 Goals List

Well! This is almost two months late (I have been trying to finish this post since January!), but I have had my 2012 Goals List rarin’ to go since early January. Since I love making lists, this gigantic goals lists was fun for me to make. Note that I love making lists–not necessarily crossing goals off, so I am NOT really bothered or disappointed if I never accomplish all my goals! : )

Here are various areas I’ve brainstormed that I would like to do with my 2012 year:

Verses to set my heart upon:

I have a huge, huge list of verses that I lovingly call my “newborn verses” (though they don’t mention newborns!) that I am planning to read over and over and over and over when Cate comes.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. – Hebrews 10:23

I saw Heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. – Revelations 19:11

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13

Books:

I want to finish: Grace Grows Best in Winter by Margaret Clarkson; Teaching Kids Authentic Worship by Kathleen Chapman; The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer

I want to read at least two of these: Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick; Don’t Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Plowman; Educating the Whole-Hearted Child by Clay & Sally Clarkson; Adopted for Life by Russell Moore; or Running Scared: Fear, Worry, & the God of Rest by Edward Welch.

I want to read these while nursing: The Wonder Weeks by Hetty Van de Rijt; reread Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic; Toddlerwise by Gary Ezzo;  the Wingfeather Saga (fun fiction!) by Andrew Peterson; the James Herriot series; and How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One by Stanley Fish.

Purge & Organize:

As always, I want to purge, organize, and sort: digital pictures & my favorites on the computer, as well as my paper supply.

I  also want to sort through my “letter drawer” — a little cubby where I keep all my cards, letters, etc., since high school. I can barely open it!

My little etsy shop (happy one year birthday, little shop!!) has been on hiatus since first-and-second-trimester nausea hit in late summer. It will close down temporarily mid-March through most likely late June/early July, WHEN I am planning a fun “Christmas in July” update with wintery or Christmas-themed minibooks! Right now, HOWEVER, my little shop is having a sale to clear out all the remaining minibooks!! There are five left and they all have been reduced by $2-5  of their original price! I also have two unlisted “vintage grunge” minibooks like as this or this (but with different covers) that I haven’t had the time to add to the shop (maybe within the next two weeks?) that are $7 each (feel free to email if you are interested!).

Projects: Memory-Keeping

I want to finish before Cate’s arrival: Our 2011 Family Album from My Publisher (I’ve made one for 2009 & 2010); Noelle’s baby book; and a fun little present I’ve been working on for my mom & dad since (eek!!) LAST YEAR.

I also want to finish Noelle’s preggo mini (it is 50% completed) like I did to chronicle my pregnancy with Anna. (Oh oh! I HOPE I will eventually be able to do one for Cate!)

I want to make a 5×7-inch book using My Publisher that will compile all the developmental milestone posts I wrote for Noelle’s first year.

Projects: Home

Early this year we are planning to: move Noelle into Anna’s room (eek!) & finish getting those clear 12×12 frames for our beloved photowall.

We also want to make our corner entry/stairwell prettier but also more functional, by adding pretty lighting, a crafty coat hanger (like this or this), a pretty wall-hanging following the directions of this beautiful project, and a DIY shoe-bench to tame our terrible shoe mess right by the door.

Mothering:

I feel like most of my goals for mothering this year are to be more devoted to prayer & (emotional) preparation!– for Noelle & Anna rooming together, and the sleeping adjustment that will be; for Cate’s arrival; for me going back to getting up constantly in the middle of the night again; for helping my heart adjust to  having three little ones to look after with most likely no nap for me during the day & limited nighttime sleep; for the girls’ hearts to adjust well to little Cate’s arrival AND the fact that, at least at first, I won’t be as available as I am now to them; and prayer & preparation that even in spite of being tired, I will remember to enjoy & delight in my girls!!

So much to pray about!!

Schooling:

A few weeks ago I wrote a detailed post about the “little school” I have been doing with Annalou (with Noelle tagging along when interested). So, you probably know all you want to know about that! But here’s the gist of what I want to do the first part of this year (until August) for school with the girls:

• use Little Hands to Heaven 2-3 times a week
• pay a visit to the library every other week & make our way through classical/Charlotte Mason booklists, Jane Moncure soundbox book series, Let’s Read & Find Out science books for preschoolers, and “living math” books for preschoolers
• during the breaks, have Anna use the Kumon workbooks to still practice fine motor skills like prewriting, cutting, pasting, tracing, and number practice.

Nutrition & Recipes

Here are my goals in the area of the kitchen:

- Make 100% whole wheat bread consistently — and thanks to my new breadmaker, I am doing just that!

- Finish typing my handwritten recipes: print them out & add to new menu organization system. In November I overhauled how I meal-plan for the week & I LOVE this new way!

- Consistently make homemade yogurt — I caved and bought this yogurt maker. I’ve made two batches, one was a complete flop & the second, much better! I still need to perfect this!

- Consistently make (weekly or biweekly) homemade granola bars. My sister Mandy shares a delicious, healthy, and EASY recipe with me recently that she got from a lady at our church.

- Find a homemade cracker recipe that the girls love. They love crackers & end up eating quite a bit of Ritz — whole wheat, but I know still super processed. I have found five ‘candidate’ recipes that I want to try: DIY Crackers from Sagan, Cupcake Project’s Homemade Ritz Crackers, Fix Me a Snack’s Handy Crackers, Fix Me a Snack’s Cheese Crackers, and In the Kitchen with Kath’s ‘Melt-in-Your-Mouth’ Cheese Crackers.

And that’s that! Whew!

2011 Goals List

2011 Goals Check-In One, Two