Happy New Year! (And some 2014 goals)

*whew!*

Getting through that first birthday. And that first year.

I can’t believe we did that.

For those friends of mine who are still around following in similar situations – I can promise you that, as odd as it sounds, what they all say is true:

Losing a child is a little like losing an appendage. (I hear, anyway. Thankfully, I haven’t lost the latter.)

You always miss you you’ve lost; not a day goes by without your thinking of what you’ve lost; there is always a scar; but it doesn’t always hurt as acutely as it does in the beginning.

That’s where we all are now. And while again, I struggled with fear of facing little Kyle’s birthday, here I am on the other side. And I’m still breathing, and even getting out a few smiles now and then!

On that note – here we are. A new year, with new goals. I thought I’d list out a few of my goals for the year of 2014, and update you as I go along throughout the year. That’s accountability, right?

New Year, New Goals, New you

Personal:

* Pray for my children and my husband at least once a day.

* Get on a Scripture Memory Plan. (I’m waiting for Ann Voskamp’s plan to go live sometime today. Maybe you’ll join all of us over there?)

* Read 35 books.

* Train for and run a 5K with my aunt.

* Pay off our last remaining debts – two student loans – and become debt free!!!! (!!!!!!!) >except for our mortgage<

Family:

* Have a date night once a month with Chris.

* Have a “date day” with one of my girls once a month.

* Finish the Chronicles of Narnia Series with the girls. (We’ve finished the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe right before Christmas way back last year…or….uh….a few weeks ago.)

* Eat breakfast and lunch with my girls. (I have a habit of doing some housecleaning or other jobs during their mealtimes – while they were toddlers and preschoolers, it was a great time to do something nearby while they were happily occupied. Now, they’re past that stage, and I don’t want to waste that time.)

Homeschooling:

* Start school by 9 AM every morning.

* Read aloud to the girls 30 minutes each day before dinner.

Professional:

* Write 100 blog posts this year.

* Read 5 books/e-books about writing and publishing books and ebooks. (These are included in my 35 listed in that goal above….)

* Write 25 new recipe blog posts.

* Utilize my Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter account daily.

So there we have it. Anyone else out there taking some time to write out your goals? I had to. I just have to keep my head in a game of sorts – or it dwells in dark places these days. Perhaps this will help propel me onward to bigger and brighter things in the new year.

Let me know what your goals are! I’m happy to cheer you on – I’ll update once a month here and we can see how things are coming along for all of us!