Every year we make new years resolutions and most of us, break them. I stuck to my biggest one though, which was to complete a triathlon in 2006. I trained for eight months and it was one of the most challenging, rewarding things I’ve ever done. I can’t say for sure I’ll do another one this year, but I sure would like to. But I’m going to set some resolutions now and revisit this list in a year to see how I did.

• Be More Grateful. I think I will start journaling more and start a list of gratitude. I find that the secret to a happy life is to not sweat the small things and notice all the amazing things around us. But expressing them, either through written word or outloud, I believe will add some happiness to my day and hopefully others.
• Read the Bible. This has been a goal of mine for a long time. I always find scripture verses that are so inspiring yet I can only rattle off a few. I also have found many Bible stories growing up to seem so completely and utterly ridiculous that they must be fiction. Yet as I am now closer to God, I understand he works in mysterious ways and can do things mortals cannot. I would love to revisit these and also find out what the Bible really says about various issues. I was talking to a friend of mine the other night, who happens to be gay. When I asked him if he and his partner of 10 years were thinking of getting married, he said “well we’re kind of religious and I’m not quite sure if the Bible says we should be married. I’ve found passages that could go both for and against.” This in and of itself is a whole other blog post, but I would like to read for myself and find out some of the actual words the Bible uses on various social issues. 
• Lose weight. This one is pretty obvious btu I’ve recently lost some weight after having a child (backwards I know) and want to keep up that momentum. I actually miss working out so today, I joined a gym, and can’t wait to get back to the strength I once had in my triathlon days. It won’t be easy or fast, but I’d like to try.
   
• Be present for my kids. I try to find activities for them but some days it’s easier to give a kid an iPad. With a new baby, most days I’m just coming up for air and hoping not to drown. But I can’t really use that excuse much longer. We have a 3.5 year old and a 4 month old. I want to really, really, be there for them and inspire them. I’m not a Pinterest mom and we don’t have endless hours to sit around and craft. But I know how much my son enjoys me sitting down and playing a board game or telling him a story, and I want to make sure I choose time with him as much as possible.

• On the flipside, take time for myself. This might mean my gym time or scheduling a date night once a month or a girls’ night out once a month (let’s be honest, once a week isn’t realistic), but making sure I have some time to do some things I want to do. Especially with my husband and friends.

• Speaking of husband, I want to really show my gratitude toward him. We are like many couples I’m sure, and fall into routines very easily. We say obligatory I love yous and most of the time try to thakn one another for doing the various chores (he will thank me for dinner most nights and I try to remember to thank him for yard work), but I want to go out of my way to improve and continue to maintain our friendship and marriage. I don’t think you can take one another for granted nor forget that being friends is important. Even if it’s just making a campfire or watching a movie.

• Getting outside more. We tend to love our days of staying inside due to weather or pollen or whatever. But we bought a house with a big yard and a pool for a reason: to enjoy it. We have a safe neighborhood where I can be outside with my boys without real danger. I can probably accomplish numbers 3, 4 and 5, all while being outside! Having two boys I can only imagine the fun they will have outside. AT least I did. Although we didn’t have ipads and video games. So I want them to enjoy building forts and playing tag and chase and riding bikes. I can push the baby in a stroller while the eldest rides his tricycle.

• Play my instruments more. My son adores music, as anyone can imagine that knows me or my husband. So I want to give him live music with the help of instruments. He’s been playing piano and hand bells and singing in a choir, so music is part of his daily life. He must have at least, no lie, 100 songs memorized. It’s unbelievable how auditory he is. But showing him how to create music from my guitar or banjo or piano will, I believe, help his learning and love for music.

• Find more hours in the day to do these things. Can anyone help me with that one?