Tuesday, December 31, 2013

'14 It's Almost Time!

A new year feels like a breath of fresh air.  2013 has been a good year, but I am looking forward to moving on from here and kind of hitting the reset button and refocusing on things that we want to improve. We all enter a year hoping for the best but know there will be bumps in the road.  I can't help but wonder what this year will hold.  With that being said, here some of my hopes and goals for 2014!  I'm not making any bold claims for a calm year ahead, because at this point I am pretty well convinced that we just don't roll that way.  


Marriage: 
  Peter and I are doing great and so I don't feel like there is anything that stands out in my mind for our marriage this year.  Minor things to work harder and just enjoy our time together.  I'm not always the best (especially after a busy day with the kids) of appreciating Peter or letting him know he is loved and I want to get better at that.  I would love to try and get out on dates a little more often and maybe sneak away for a weekend together at least once before LB (nickname for the new baby) gets home. 


Children:
    I am hoping for a good year ahead with the kids.  I am hoping the age of 4 will give us some respite and that as Eli is leaving the 2's behind that maybe the no-itis will disappear with it.   Not sure how a 2 year old girl is, but with all the attitude bundled up in her already it could get interesting. I look forward to the yard being more put together this spring and summer for the kids to enjoy and digging in to more days of school time with the kids in the days ahead. My highest hope is that we will get to welcome LB home in the year ahead.  Can't wait to see who God has in store for our family! 


House:
  Fortunately a lot of the big jobs on the house are now complete.  This year, we would love to get a garden planted and finish up a few more odd jobs outside.  I would love to get a gas fire pit but that may  need to wait awhile longer.  We were hoping to get a sprinkler system and new yard planted but I think that is going to get delayed another year too.  As our atrocious electric bill in December proved, we will need to focus on getting a new furnace this year for the house and that is going to be the big upcoming expense on this place.  

Health:
   We want to continue our trend of running. I would love to throw a few more days of strength training in there.  We also want to focus on better eating and possibly losing a few pounds. With running I would love to see myself get a bit faster.  I want to consistently be able to run those longer mileage days between 9-10 minute mile pace.  I want to get more comfortable with 7 and 8 mile runs and possibly start contemplating increasing my mileage up to the half marathon level.  Peter is hoping to run a marathon in the year ahead.  Hoping for more energy free running this year as that slowed us down several times this year. 

Trips:
  We are starting this year off with a bang as we prepare to travel to Ethiopia in just a few short weeks.  My parents also gifted us a week at Eagle Crest with the kids in August but besides that our travel calendar is pretty empty.  We have no plans for a Disney trip this year.  If we get matched this year, then we will be spending at least a couple weeks somewhere else in the US and it will be exciting to see where that will be!  

Finances:
   Ugh, the worst part of it all.  We have a lot we want to work on here this year.  We need to get better with our budgets and continue to stay focused on our ultimate goals.  A lot of our financial goals are kind of on the back burner right now as we try to focus on funding our adoption.  


Work:
   Peter will hit 5 years with his company this year.  That is exciting because he will be getting more vacation time which is always appreciated!  We are also hopeful that this year  holds some exciting advancements for Peter.  If that works out then there is also a decent possibility that he could be going back to school to get his masters in tax which would just keep that crazy train rolling right on through this place!  


2014!  I hope you are a good year to our family. Here's to a year of prosper, lots of loving, and health for us all.  Happy New Year friends!  

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