Act 5; Scene 18: New Year Resolutions, 2015

You guys, the first thing I have to say for this January 1st is...

WE DID IT!!!!

Maybe it's because I haven't had such a tangible, check-able goal for so long, but I could not be happier to report that Robert and I DID IT--we achieved our goal of going to the temple twice a month in 2014. 

And you know what? It wasn't even that hard. We felt very daunted by it last January. But we figured out a few things. First of all, we don't have to go together. Spending time in the temple alone while the spouse watches the kid(s) can be just as rewarding as going together (and many times much more practical). Second of all, if both of us are committed to the goal, we can really help each other out in completing it. We also learned that the more you go, the more you like going. Now if it's been two weeks since we have gone to the temple, we can really feel it--it seems as if it's calling us to come back soon! 

I also feel that we have had so many blessings this year. Earlier in the fall, I remember thinking, "Wow, we just keep getting these little miracles and random blessings--what is going on? (though I am very grateful)" And I realized that maybe, just maybe, some of it was because we were trying so much harder to put temple worship at the forefront of our lives.

And now we face a new year with new resolutions. We definitely want to keep up our at least twice a month temple attendance, but we also realize that with a new baby coming any day, that will become much harder for a short time. We want to keep in the habit, however, and we will.

Now on to our family goal for 2015.

Drum roll please.....

1. Complete a monthly target of food storage.

Food storage and emergency preparation has been on our minds a lot lately. We don't have a lot as far as a long-term food storage supply, so we decided that this year we would pick a goal each month for what to add to our food storage, and make that work in our budget. We are excited to be more prepared :-)

In reviewing my personal goals from last year, I'm not sure how well I did. I started out doing pretty well writing in my journal, but about halfway through the year that faded and I ended up writing about 2-3 times a month rather than twice a week. I was eating many more fruits and veggies...until I became pregnant and most veggies sounded disgusting. I do think I have done better at not having temper tantrums (although I can think of one that happened just this week...awesome...). I'm pretty sure I still talk too much about money--how expensive things are/the deals I find. Finding good deals is part of what I love in life, haha. After reviewing these and thinking about what I want to focus on this year, these are the new goals I have come up with:

1. Stop complaining. I do not want to complain about situations, people, things that are asked of me, foibles that happen-nothing. I have caught myself complaining so much this year. One day I just woke up and realized that complaining, even if it was just to Robert, was NOT making me a better person, it was eating up my soul. It doesn't matter if I have a "right" to complain or not, I do not need to say bad things about anything, at any time. So no complaining. Bring it on.
2. Get in shape to run a 5K by the spring. 
3. Work on not yelling. Sometimes the "angry voice" just comes out so easily at Tommy. You know what I mean. I have been trying hard to take a breath and calm myself before yelling or angry voice can come out. There is a better way--and this is my goal!
4. Have more meaningful, planned, family home evenings. That we really need. That are not just "afterthoughts."

And that is definitely enough to keep me plugging in 2015. I'm excited for this year. I'm excited to add another sweet little spirit to our family and watch how we all change. I am excited to try hard to become a better person. 

And now, I'm very excited to go to bed :-)

Happy New Year, everyone.