It is really fun to go back and read my old journals. I have made my dream list every year since I was 12. Earning vaulting medals, making straight A's, getting my driver's license, and winning goat showmanship at the fair were among my jr. high and high school dreams. One sad year, getting family counseling so I could speak to my parents again was my hope. Another year, my big dream was to get married. The next year the goal was to get pregnant (little did I know, I already was...just!). So much has happened throughout the years, and so many of my dreams have become reality. I am so blessed!
2012 Hopes, Dreams, and Goals
- Do a final purge of the house/garage/attic. Each time I purge, I am able to let go of more. Time to reach another level of "simplify."
- Complete our home study. Lord-willing, that should be done in the next few weeks!
- Welcome new baby nieces and nephews! Niece Leah Hope and another new niece or nephew (gender & name unknown) will be born in January! One will be born in California, the other in India.
- Spend time with visiting friends and family. Katie, the awesome college girl I mentored when she was in high school, is coming from Arkansas next week; Stan and Noel (our best besties) will be coming from California mid-January; and MY DADDY AND STEP-MOM arrive from California at the end of January!
- Raise more support. Ah yes, such is the life of a missionary. There's an ebb and flow in this way of life, and right now we're at an ebb. It's time to move toward a flow. We need $1200 new monthly support in preparation for growing our family. This means travel for Matt.
- Take a solo trip to California. My Granny is 94 years old. Parkinson's Disease and dementia are taking their toll. I haven't seen Granny in almost 2 years. I'm hoping to make the trip to see her in February or March. Just me, unless someone wants to give me $1500 for 4 plane tickets...
- Take the kids to the west coast to visit family. Our hope is to fly to California/Portland/Seattle/Spokane in the early part of summer. I checked fares today, and it will cost about $2000 for multi-city flights for the four of us. If I'm a frugal money nazi between now and April, I think we can manage it. It has been almost two years since we last saw our families, and with new kids coming into our house, we want to go once more before we have to buy six plane tickets instead of four.
- Go to Sea World. A lot. Remember those amazing rates I got on Florida resident passes? I plan to make the most of them.
- Welcome a new child or two into our home. If I get my wish, we'll be adopting a brother/sister pair. Do we know who they are yet? No. Well, maybe. If a particular pair are still available when our home study is finished, I'll be calling their caseworker.
- Celebrate anniversaries and birthdays. This summer we'll see our 11th anniversary (June), Pepper's 6th birthday (July), and Snapper's 10th birthday (September).
- Move forward with my projects at work. I love what I'm doing, and I'm ready to make forward progress.
- Continue to drop weight. Because of going gluten free, I've been consistently losing 1-2 pounds each week. I'm hoping that this pattern holds, and that the 2 miles I'm walking while Snapper swims 3-4 evenings per week will help firm me up. Down 2 sizes by the end of the year would be awesome!
- Go on more dates with my hubby. We've not been good at this at all. Our foster/adoption class got us out together every week for 3 months, but it definitely wasn't a date. Even if we can go out once a month we'll be making progress.
- Finalize an adoption. This is my hope, but the timing is completely in the Lord's hands.
I think it's going to be a full year! I'm excited to see how it plays out.
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