Reflections on 2011

I am not one for resolutions...I really am not into that.  But at the beginning of a new year, I do like to take a long look and reflect on the previous year.

First and foremost, I think it is the very first year since 1998 (WOW!) that I have had consistency and not a bunch of change.  The reason I say 1998 is because I graduated high school in 1999 and every year since then I have had major life changes...new place to live (some more drastic moves than others), new vehicles or new pets, new job, new child, major health issues, and sometimes almost all of these at once.  It has been exhausting, emotionally taxing, and just too much transition at times.  Other times, I have enjoyed the excitement of change and new things.

In 2011, we have enjoyed living in the SAME house, with us having the SAME jobs, SAME vehicles, SAME pets, and obviously no new children :) The closest we got to change was Damaris going to school for the first time (Preschool) and we now have a new brother-in-law.  I think this "settled" feeling was one of my very favorite things about 2011.

We definitely had some hard times, but overall, it really was a good year.

Here are some things that I am either looking forward to or hoping for in 2012:

• We desperately need someone to buy the parsonage in Crystal so we can start to get a housing allowance from the church.  This has been a huge weight, and I am ready to be out from under it.  We knew it would be tight until it sold, but over a year and a half of living "tight": I am VERY ready to be done with that.  It has been a lot longer than we anticipated, plus we have had some major, unexpected expenses come up, which has made it even harder on the budget.  If everything works out, we are hoping a lady is buying it this spring...we shall see!!
• I am excited for Damaris to start school full time.  She really likes it a lot, and it just reaches a new chapter in our lives with both kids in school.  I am really starting to enjoy the kids more and more the older they get.  It has been fun, and I am excited for both of them!!!
• My job is still hard.  I have mentioned before that I have SO MUCH to be thankful for...good pay, great boss and people work with, a lot of personal days, good benefits.  I like everything about it - except the actual work - ha!  So to sit there day after day, 45 hours a week, bored and tired of busy work...which leaves me feeling depressed some days, and utterly worthless and unfulfilled other days.  Just being honest here.  I love, love, LOVE Melaleuca (chemical free/wellness company and stinking amazing!!) that I work for on the side, but that's just it...I can only work on the side.  So although it is definitely helping us financially, it is not replacing my income quite yet.  I am really hoping that I can be CONTENT and find other ways to feel fulfilled besides my day job.  Easier said than done when my full time job is most of the hours in my days.  But that is what I would really like...and I remind myself to be content and THANKFUL multiple times a day already...so hoping the words stick :)
• My heart is stirring and walls that have been built for years and years I feel like are slowly melting away.  That excites me, and I am excited to see what God has in store for 2012.
• I really think we will be able to be completely vehicle debt free in 2012 [keeping my fingers crossed that my car holds out...it has 170,000 miles on it, and I really don't want to replace it!!].  We are SO CLOSE!!!!!!!!!  That is exciting to me...in SO many ways...because then this last payment we have can be rolled into one of our other debts, and we will really be flying then!! :)
•  Stephen and I made a huge change in our parenting this summer, and it has drastically changed our attitudes and the kids' behavior.  I rarely yell (never pegged myself as a yeller, but it is amazing the ugly parts of myself that kids can bring out in me), I truly enjoy being around my kids and spending time with them more than I ever did before, and they are happier and more obedient.  Now, as I type this, I am reminding myself that I have started to slip back into my old habits and I need to step up in this area again...bad habits are hard to break, that's for sure!!  But overall, I am very happy with how we are parenting right now.  Parenting is a LOT of work...and when I get lazy, that's when there are problems.  I really want to hit this hard in 2012 and make my natural instinct the new way instead of falling back to the old, horrible way.
• We are at the beginning stages of creating a chore chart for the kids.  They have always helped around the house and been good about chores...but nothing has been set in stone or consistent.  They are old enough that there is a LOT more that they can help with, and I really want them to be a part of the family in this way...not to mention that even though at first it will be more work, in the end it will be a huge help and lighten the load that Stephen and I are trying to keep up with.  Win-win all the way :)

I am sure there are more, but those are the ones swimming in my head at the moment.

Here's to 2012...a year that will have its challenges just like any other...but one that I am very much looking forward to!!