2026 Goals

 3 days in to 2026 already!

My goals for the year, very similar to last year, a little hopeful to cross things off the list once and for all in 2026 :)

Marriage Goals:

- Date nights 1x a month.

- Do The Husband Project. 

- Finish reading Cherish together.

- Dance lessons.

Mothering Goals:

- Complete the Parenting from Surviving to Thriving workbook together. So close, only 2 more chapters to go!

- Continue "Monday Momming" prayer check-ins with Liz. 

- Mom and kid date nights

Faith Goals:

- Read through my Intentional Word Bible. 

- Family Service Projects

- Do several mini devotions thru my Bible app.

Fitness/Health Goals:

- Weight between 135-140#

- 5k fun run with Doug

- Get (and keep) cholesterol and kidney numbers within normal limits (I feel so old even typing that)

Personal Goals:

- Use the harp lessons from my 40th bday. 

- German lessons

- Find some time to play the piano

- Read more of my book pile

Home Goals: 

- Save $1k/month towards a mortgage

- Make some sort of progress towards moving

Travel Goals: 

- Go visit Joel

- Girls' roadtrip to go visit Brigetta

- Family cruise (signed up for it in February!! 🥳 excited to cross 2 more countries off my list!)

- Midwest road trip this summer

And again, hard to quantify, but this year more that anything I want more of Jesus - less of me. More of love and peace and patience and kindness - and less of short temper and selfishness. More hugs and cuddles with my kiddos, more smiles and hand holds and hugs for my husband. More of what matters and letting the things that don't - go. Here's to 2026!

Reflections on 2025

Yes, I know I checked out of blogging. 

Maybe I mentioned before, but this blogspot hosting site is actually really annoying to use. Everything is hard about it from start to finish: logging in, uploading pics- it always does it in the wrong order, and... I guess that's it, but those things make it time consuming when I really don't feel I have that much extra spare time to give.

I think this blog served its purpose in self-reflecting thru a hard time, and has been fun here and there, but mostly now feels like another chore. Hence, not being on here hardly ever.

That said, I do like setting goals and then reflecting on them later- so here I am. 

And here we go.

All year I kept this piece of paper in a desk drawer and I could look at it and see where I was at, that was helpful to see it consistently and be reminded, but there were A LOT of 'no's or just didn't get to it yets... 

Marriage Goals:

- Complete the Love & Respect workbook with Doug. I want to get back into doing this, it should be so easy to do this on the weekday when I work, when I really don't feel like doing much more when I come home after work. - nope, it's been sitting there all year 

- Date nights 1x a month. - probably 8 out of 12 months we had a date night!

- Do The Husband Project. - not yet

- Pray consistently for Doug and our marriage. - always going thru Power of a Praying Wife book of prayers, but still needs that consistency 

- Finish reading Cherish together. - nope

Mothering Goals:

- Complete the Parenting from Surviving to Thriving workbook together. 4 more chapters to go! - CLOSE, we did a few, and have just 2 lessons left

- Continue "Monday Momming" prayer check-ins with Liz. - yes! Liz and I have emailed every Monday and traded prayer requests, altho my prayer life could use some more time and fervor all around

- Be better with menu-planning/grocery shopping to save time & money - did good in the first half of the year, getting tired of making food day in and out every day!!

- Figure out a way to eek out more one-on-one time with each kiddo - hard to quantify. Definitely more time with Lucy as we have a couple days alone, August always gets alone time with me at bedtime to read, but the girls share it. 

Faith Goals:

- Finish BSF. - Finished last year's study, and going strong, AND LOVING this years' study

- Read through my Intentional Word Bible. (I got 1/12th through in 2024.) - No, only made it to 2/12ths 

- Family Service Projects - nope, Doug and I couldn't agree on what to do, so we did nothing instead

- Do several mini devotions thru my Bible app, ones I've got saved are: - I did the Grit & Grace one (super good!) and also Overwhelmed by my Blessings

Work Goals:

- Finish off my 100 pack of index cards with writing 2 flashcards per shift: 1 drug and 1 disease/condition to study up on. - nope again

- Look into getting involved with the new Nurses Union. - looked into it and no one got back with me??!

Personal Goals:

- Use the harp lessons from my 40th bday. - nope

- Sign up for German lessons - I did get a language app, Mondly, from my friend, but haven't used it much

- Gratitude lists - started, not consistent

- Find a way to bring in some extra income - made a little extra, but not really enough to do anything with

- Read more of my book pile:

(and maybe re-read a few of my favorite child-raising ones too as we are in a difficult season right now! But that stack is shrinking, so I've made some progress last year!) - I read Prayer in the Night, Mama Bear Apologetics, and many others not on that list. But I didn't finish the others in that pile. 

I did read all these:

Fitness Goals: 

- At least 2 Keto Challenges. - I did 2 weeks in February, and 1 week in July

- Maintain weight and BMI under 24. - close, but this wasn't a great year for weight. I did lots of strength training. Finished Ashley's Firm 30 program and her 10 min plan, I've been doing workouts with Nourish Move Love. It has just been hard to lose weight/even stay at a weight these days. Maybe it's the perimenopause? Maybe it's the carbs? I did find my testosterone is low. I don't know, but it has been disheartening. I just keep on keeping on.

There have been other 'health things' that got added in 2025 without being on the horizon back in 2024- the biggest is getting a grain mill and grinding our own flour and making a lot of the bread we eat. This too has been a learning curve, and we for sure have not switched completely. But we have definitely been getting more of the nutrients from the whole grains back into the food and I'm sure that is a good thing. This podcast inspired that decision. 

- Complete a 5k or Fun Run of some sort - nope

- Heal up my diastasis recti, I thought I'd healed it in PT, but seems to be cracking open again - I've been doing a lot of core in the above programs, so I think there has been some progress, but hard to tell without an official PT measuring. 

Not resolutions, but hopes: 

- More photos in our photo travel map (aka more trips... we are going to Florida in March, and plan to go to Pennsylvania, and up to the U.P. this summer. So that'd only be one "new photo" place, but still looking forward to them anyway.) - Yes! we added photos/checked off: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware & even squeezed in New Jersey

- Rental property/ and/or Move. - no surprise here, but yeah, no. We remain in our home and mostly priced out/ interest rates too prohibitive for moving. 

2025 was I would say overall a good year. A hard year. The kids are a blessing, but a definite strain on both me personally and our marriage. This year I have been intentional on having more "me" time. And while I feel selfish needing that, I think and hope it can make me more refreshed and ready to give back. Although in some ways, the more I have, the more I want. So that is tricky. But this year I both played tennis in the spring, and did country line dance lessons in the fall, and of course, my monthly book club nights out. Another thing I did was over the summer fly down to see my friend in Missouri, we road-tripped to Oklahoma and climbed a mountain we had climbed together 20 years ago. It was really hard. But so wonderful to have that time together and to see how strong we still were all these years later. 

It's really frustrating as these years go by my kids seem messier, not less, and some bad behavior patterns don't seem to be lessening. I know "it takes a childhood to train a child" but the progress of certain things, especially the annoying bad behavior ones, just seem extra draining. It has been hard to respond with patience and grace a lot of the time and I know I am the model and the barometer for the home, so that feels like a lot of pressure. 

Anyway, I don't know the HOW but I do want there to be a change of heart (mine!!) over the next year. 

2025 Goals

 Bring on 2025!!

I love the inspiration a new year brings. Although, this year I still have a lot of carryovers. Nothing like a good check-list to get me motivated.

Marriage Goals:

- Complete the Love & Respect workbook with Doug. I want to get back into doing this, it should be so easy to do this on the weekday when I work, when I really don't feel like doing much more when I come home after work.

- Date nights 1x a month.

- Do The Husband Project. 

- Pray consistently for Doug and our marriage. 

- Finish reading Cherish together.

Mothering Goals:

- Complete the Parenting from Surviving to Thriving workbook together. 4 more chapters to go!

- Continue "Monday Momming" prayer check-ins with Liz. 

- Be better with menu-planning/grocery shopping to save time & money

- Figure out a way to eek out more one-on-one time with each kiddo

Faith Goals:

- Finish BSF. 

- Read through my Intentional Word Bible. (I got 1/12th through in 2024.)

- Family Service Projects

- Do several mini devotions thru my Bible app, ones I've got saved are: 

Work Goals:

- Finish off my 100 pack of index cards with writing 2 flashcards per shift: 1 drug and 1 disease/condition to study up on. 

- Look into getting involved with the new Nurses Union.

Personal Goals:

- Use the harp lessons from my 40th bday. 

- Sign up for German lessons

- Gratitude lists

- Find a way to bring in some extra income

- Read more of my book pile:

(and maybe re-read a few of my favorite child-raising ones too as we are in a difficult season right now! But that stack is shrinking, so I've made some progress last year!)

Fitness Goals: 

- At least 2 Keto Challenges.

- Maintain weight and BMI under 24.

- Complete a 5k or Fun Run of some sort

- Heal up my diastasis recti, I thought I'd healed it in PT, but seems to be cracking open again

Not resolutions, but hopes: 

- More photos in our photo travel map (aka more trips... we are going to Florida in March, and plan to go to Pennsylvania, and up to the U.P. this summer. So that'd only be one "new photo" place, but still looking forward to them anyway.)

- Rental property/ and/or Move.

I look forward to all 2025 holds, I pray I can grow deeper in my relationship with the Lord, and also grow more in love and caring and (ungriping) service to my husband and family.

2024 Goals

 New Year, new goals!!!

I love setting goals. This year I wrote them on a piece of paper with kind of a checklist aspect. I am VERY motivated by checking things off. And I plan to keep this in sight this year, instead of just forgetting about the goals until the end of the year.... 😖

Marriage Goals:

- Complete the Love & Respect workbook with Doug. Read 15 of 52 chapters so far. 

- Date nights 1x a month (and weekly "date nights/connection time" at home also.

- Attend a marriage conference. 

- Do The Husband Project. 

- Pray consistently for Doug and our marriage. 

Mothering Goals:

- Complete the Parenting from Surviving to Thriving workbook together. Did 2 of 12 lessons so far. 

- Continue "Monday Momming" prayer check-ins with Liz. 

- * remember people matter more than a clean house!!! * 

(these motherhood thoughts get me every time!)

Faith Goals:

- Finish BSF. 

- Use the "snooze button" time to read my Bible instead. 

Work Goals:

- Write 2 flashcards per shift: 1 drug and 1 disease/condition to study up on. 

Personal Goals:

- Use the harp lessons from my 40th bday. 

- Read (some?) of my book pile: 

(I also plan to keep a list of books I read, so I can remember that too.)

Fitness Goals: 

- Complete the 10 minute plan.

- Complete the Firm 30 series.   

- I'll add myself to the millions of people who want to lose 10 lbs as a resolution! I've slowly and steadily gained weight since quitting breastfeeding last spring. My body is actually at what I would say the weight it likes to be at, but I like to be about 5-10 lbs lighter. Even that little makes a difference in the looseness of the pants, the effort to run up a flight of stairs, the difference in my face in photos, etc. Just obviously hard to do, especially when one already exercises and eats pretty healthfully, and is now over 40... 😩

Not resolutions, but hopes: 

- More photos in our photo travel map (flights already booked for a mid-winter break trip!)

- We'd love to get a 2nd rental property, we'll see what happens with the economy this year. 

- We're also looking to move, although I'm not going to move unless it's "the one". I do need to pray that Doug and I will be in unity about a decision- we ended up having some good conversations from what happened with the house we lost out on, but it was hard. We need to have a team approach going forward. 

- Doug has been wanting to do something volunteer wise with the kids, so we've been thinking about what we could do while still having little ones. 

Excited for this new year!!

2023

 Oh my gosh, I went to review my goals from last year and there weren't any! Geez.

So anyway, another year behind us and a fresh new year on the horizon. 

Goals for 2023:

- Complete the Love & Respect workbook with Doug, there are 52 chapters so should be able to do 1/wk (I have seriously had this book back from Andrew days, never did it, and think it could only benefit us)

- Complete a Parenting from Surviving to Thriving workbook together, 12 chapters, so 1/month

- Date nights 12x a year, finish our dance lessons CD together, and attend a marriage conference

- Purchase a new rental property

- Use my harp lessons gift certificate Doug got me when I turned 40

- Make a school decision for our son, keep him in school or move to a hybrid/homeschool option

- Complete the 10 minute plan (I did her 12 week postnatal plan pretty much on repeat all of 2022 so I'm ready to move to the next level)

- Read through the pile of books that has been on my nightstand for years now

- Complete this prayer journal (I like it's weekly and not daily, seems more attainable)

- Transition the girls into sharing a room (after 15+ months, we need the baby out of our room!)

- Get Jeanie potty trained

- Think about a job/career switch

- Find some way to streamline cooking/cleaning/laundry???

Pretty much my overall goal is to draw nearer to the Lord. Grow closer to Doug and strengthen our marriage. And be more intentional, loving, and purposeful in my relationships with my children. (and then expanding that to other family and friends.) It feels like such a busy season of life, but when will it not be? I want to be more at peace with the craziness and not let it swirl me away into chaos, and I want to find joy in the everyday drudgery of feed/clean/laundry/repeat. I heard this song the other day and I just was crying thinking about it, yes!! one day I won't be able to take any chances or spend that time, so the time is now. Looking forward to a new year, new growth, and new surprises along the way.

Reflections on 2020 Goals

If 2020 were a word, I'm pretty sure it could be summed up in one: "Covid". Well at least as I'm looking back on my 2020 goals:

- Read 2 books, then discuss and apply.  You & Me Forever and  Tactics Yes! We both read them, had some discussions here and there, but probably could have had a more thorough chapter by chapter discussion and lengthier application talks. 

- Lower my cholesterol into normal/good range! I did have a 3 month post-January recheck and my levels were lower, but still above normal. I will have another physical with blood work later this month, and recheck again. 

- Dance lessons. Um, yes? We bought the lessons! We did one so far, it was actually really fun, we just need to plan more "home dates" and do them. 

- Buy our second rental property and get it rented. Sheesh, again no. Last year we had an accepted offer, but then backed out after the inspection came back with tons of expensive repair to do. 

- See a financial adviser. Nope.

- Do a 5k together. Nope. Also, thanks to Covid, all 5ks this year were virtual. Lame. 

- Walk the Mackinac Bridge. No, this was also cancelled this year due to Covid, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to do this thanks to my work schedule. If I don't work the actual holiday I'm required to work the day before or after so that would give no time for traveling up there :(

- Talk with our neighbors about building. We did chat with our neighbors about building, but also my desire to stay in this neighborhood has increased and there is no land available. We actually wrote several letters like "we like your house should you be thinking of selling!" and put them in mailboxes in our neighborhood, but no bites yet. 

- Learn to play a piano song. Nope. It seems like my free time is always during the kid's quiet times or after bedtimes, so I can't be plunking around on the piano :(

- Read through this stack of books:

I read Surrender to Love, and Retire Inspired, but the rest of those need to be read still. I did read 12 additional "fun" books, one a month for book club that I seem to have no problem whizzing through, but these "self-help" and application books take so much longer as I try to absorb the information and take notes. 

- Travel. Thanks to Covid, my host-brother in Germany ended up postponing his wedding to August 2021, so no international trips for us. But we did do some stateside traveling. Jeanie and I went to Colorado to visit my brother and his family in February; we did a weekend trip to South Branch, Michigan in June; and a long weekend in the UP in July. Glacier National Park, Montana in end of August; and Sedona, Arizona in October. And a couple times up North to see my Grandpa as well. 

2020 went differently than many of us planned, but it was a wonderful year of learning to be flexible, letting go, and trusting the Lord!

2018 Goals

Well 2018 is already almost 1/12 over, time for some goals!

I have been feeling very busy with work and school and family life. It's been feeling like more of a chore to blog lately, but I have a minute now with August sleeping and dinner in the crock pot, so here we go:

- Finish my RN to BSN. This should be attainable as I only have one semester left and I'm already underway. This last class is a synthesis class and I could have either spent 15 weeks writing a paper, which I thought sounded pretty useless. Or I had the option to be in the ER for a semester. So I picked that option. After 3 years of being a nurse I still feel uncomfortable in emergency situations, and so I thought the experience would be useful for me. I already spent one day in the ER and saw lots of flu, but also saw a brain bleed, and a guy with a nail in his finger. This semester is turning out to take up a lot of time though. I have to do 126 hours of on-site experience and there are also 9 self-quiz packets on various topics: ventilators, trauma, hemodyncamics, advanced hemodynamics.... each packet is a 50-75 page PDF with 30 questions at the end and they are just so hard. And there are also 8 other fill-in-the-blank quizzes over the semester. So I am feeling stressed. But I think it will be worth it in the end and will make me a better nurse.

- Do the Bible in one year devotion. My friend Liz sent me the app and so far I'm on track. It's awesome because my phone can just read it to me while I prep dinner or wash dishes or what not. Unlike last year where there were just readings, this one also has a devotion part where it expounds on the daily reading and it makes a big difference I've noticed already. I'm also halfway through the Romans study in my Bible Study Fellowship group.

- Make a decision to move or buy another rental property. We are in the middle of lots of talking about this. Talking with a builder, looking at rental potentials. We are really in a nice spot now where our mortgage is very affordable so it seems daunting to have that possibly doubled.

- I'd love to make it through this stack of books that has been on my nightstand for years now, seriously, one of those is for engaged couples and we are in year 3 of marriage already. Now, don't get me wrong I love to read, just finished a novel in 2 days, but these non-fiction books take thought, and you can't just breeze through heavy topics all in one sitting. So they take forever. But I'd like to read them.

Otherwise I'm pretty open to what 2018 has in store. We hope it will bring an addition to our family, but that appears, like all things, to be on God's timing. I don't see any international trips in my future for 2018, but I am looking forward to a trip to DC in May for a friend's wedding, and a family reunion for my side of the family in Colorado in the summer. Doug's daydreaming about a Key West trip, so we'll see. Would also love to make an out East or Maine or Nova Scotia fall colors trip happen if at all possible.

Same as last year I want to be more intentional with my relationships. God, Doug, August, family, friends. I was just rocking August to sleep and singing Baby of Mine and of course the tears are coming down, one day he'll be too big to rock and one day he'll be gone to his own house and family. But today he is my baby and I love holding him close.

Hoping for good things in 2018 and for a closer walk with Jesus!

Reflection on 2017 Goals

Oh gosh, another year already!

Whelp, that time of year where I look back at my old goals and see things I totally forgot about, haha.

1) Plan vegan dinners 2-3 times a week - I would say this mostly happened, especially if we say 2 times. It was really hard for me to motivate cooking this year. I don't know why. My grocery budget was over $300 almost every month (for only 2.5 people!) and we still went out to eat a lot in addition. I don't know. It was harder to have time in the kitchen with a little one either on my back, by my feet, or yelling from another room, so I need to work on quicker things in the future and some of my favorite vegan meals (or regular meals) take a long time to prep.

2) Take a trip together. I really want to go to Acadia National Park in Maine. We are thinking maybe early October for a fall colors tour. However, a 15 hour road trip with a one year old? We shall see... - Yes! We went to Hawaii in May with August, back to Maui and also to Oahu. It was a great trip. No Acadia this year, but we did take a fall colors road trip around Lake Superior in October and it was wonderful. 1,300 miles with an 11 month old, he did pretty well. We tried to limit car time to 4-5 hours per day and we had a new hotel every night, but it was a great family trip.

3) Finish reading the Old Testament. - Nope, I was doing good until I switched phones and couldn't get my Bible app to work anymore. But I am about 3/4 the way through.

4) Breastfeed August to 12 months. - Yes! We are at 14 months, and I think we're now on the way out. I'm happy my body was able to do this, and I still have a freezer with 6 more months stored for him too.

5) Memorize one scripture passage per month. - Total fail. I just can't seem to remember anything. I had a new verse in my bathroom and read it several times each day, and I couldn't tell you any of them now. And the same one has been up now for months and I just can't remember it :(

6) Goal together with Doug, turn this house into our first rental property, and find a new house to move into. - Nope, we are still in our house, and there are some things I really appreciate about it so we probably won't move until "the perfect" one comes up. But we did buy a house and our first rental property is going well so far!

7) Spend as much time holding August as possible. - Yes and no. I really do not have a snuggler baby. He pretty only much lets me hold him when he's falling asleep. So I do hold him, look at his gorgeous eyelashes, kiss his forehead and nose, pray for him, sing to him, and then I go do my stuff. I have seen that somehow I have turned into a totally task-oriented person and I don't like that. People matter more than a clean house or chores, I just can't seem to put that into practice though.

8) Hug Doug whenever he wants. - Pretty sure Doug would say that was a fail too. Yes I'd hug him, but lots of times I wasn't fully present :( what is wrong with me, why can't I just stand there and hug and hold the person I love?!

My overall goal last year was intentional living, and I don't think I lived up to it. So many days I would just fall into bed at the end and think another day over and I just 'got thru it'. My word to focus on was grace/gracious, and I don't think I really was either. Man it's so hard to be fully present and be kind and loving in the midst of stress and the daily grind. I should give a little 'grace' to myself, but I also know I need to depend more on the Lord. I just flat out can't do it on my own. I need to find my fulfillment in Him and let that love overflow. I guess I'm not really sure 'how'. I'm already praying about this, involved in a small group, attending church... I know I can't earn it through my works, but I'm also asking for it through prayer, so I'm not sure. I am sure about one thing, I have a lot of continued growing to do in 2018!

A look back at my 2016 goals

How I did on my 2016 goals:

- finish out my BSF Bible study strong. I wanted to join this study but I never want to do the homework and most of the time don't want to actually go to the study! Altho I am always happy when I'm there. I finished the Revelations study and am now in the BSF study of the gospel of John. I still feel the same, sometimes not wanting to go, but I do think it's definitely good for me.

- read the entire OT straight through. Fail. I only made it through Numbers.

- re-do the front landscape in our yard. Done!

I finished this project last May. We'll see how it held up over the fall/winter. I'm sure I'll need to re-mulch. I'm hoping to have better luck and further growth in the spring, especially with my boxwoods, hydrangeas, and peonies. Doug is really wanting us to move next year, so goodbye all my hard work! It really takes years to develop a garden.

- passport stamp!! Doug and I are in the early trip planning stages. Yes! We went on a 12 day trip to the Netherlands, Germany and Austria, resulting in 2 passport stamps :)

- do a devotional guide several evenings a week with Doug either over dinner or before bed. Boo, another fail. We really need to do this. Although, starting Tuesday Doug and I will be taking an Apologetics course together through the Detroit Bible Institute, so that will be good.

- finish a couple books that I am only halfway through: Emotional Spirituality, Made to Crave, and some marriage ones I have on the nightstand. Geez, maybe next year I should look at these goals more often so I don't forget about them all! I did read some in each of these books, but I don't think I finished any of them.

- find a church to attend and get involved in together, preferably in the first half of the year. Ok, we are at least closer in this decision. We have been attending a church we both like and are getting a lot out of the messages so far, it's not perfect, but it seems pretty good.

- And probably like many others, I would like to lose about 5lbs. I feel healthier and have more energy at that lower weight. Oddly enough, I think I met this goal. First gained 25lbs while pregnant, but lost 30, so guess I did that. I still want to stay consistent with exercising and eating healthier more whole foods and plant based meals in 2017.

Overall 2016 was a great year, of course with the biggest blessing being the much hoped for pregnancy and birth of our son August. We also dreamed and planned together for our future, traveled, had dinner and game nights with friends and family, Doug earned his 4th Associate's Degree, and I am 4 classes away from my BSN. I am excited for all that 2017 holds!