I know some people hate the idea of making goals or resolutions for New Years. I love it though! It just seems right. I love the idea of a new beginning. We are a few days in and I think I have finally settled on some goals I would like to focus on.

1. Purge + Simplify. This is the big one for me. I want to purge the excess in my life. I want to get rid of the “clutter” that surrounds us. First, I want to go through our house and donate the stuff that has collected over time. We don’t need half of it. I want our house to be clean, organized and simple. That goes for toys too. Oh Boy! The toys are out of control around here. Thousands of mismatched pieces everywhere. I would like to have just a small amount of toys. I want the girls to get creative when they play, I want them to go outside, I want them to create. I feel like that doesn’t happen when there are piles of unnecessary toys everywhere. Now purge doesn’t just mean “things”, I mean life in general. I just want to live simply and happily. I don’t want to get bogged down with unnecessary things. I don’t want to fall into that “I need that” trap. Materialism is a big problem in our country and I really want this to be a year where I am super conscious about that in our lives. Same goes for social media and being online. So much time wasted. It has it’s place for sure, but I want to make sure it’s in balance

2. Be Healthy. I don’t have any specific weight loss goals or anything. I am honestly quite happy with the “number” I weigh, but I have really enjoyed these past few months exercising with Kev. Our fitness routines have always been separate. He lifted weights, I run/do cardio machines. When he said he wanted to run a half with me, we started doing it all together. What a difference it makes. I really think it has made us even closer. Bonded us on a whole new level. It’s been so fun training together. I still grumble and hate working out, but I want to keep it up. Kev got T25 for Christmas and we’ve started doing that at night since it’s like -12 outside and running really isn’t an option. I look forward to signing up for more races in 2014 though. Wouldn’t it be awesome to travel around to new places just to run races together?

3. Adventure. This is one of my goals every year because I really think it’s a conscious choice you have to make with your family. We love going on adventures! But it can be very easy to miss fun opportunities when you let the idea of it being a hassle out weight the fun. Because lets face it, with kids around there will always be a bit of a hassle involved. But that’s what makes it beautiful. Too much sweet isn’t good for anyone right? I want to take every opportunity this year to get out there with my family and make the most of life. I want to take trips and see new things with them. Locally and far away. There is just so much to see in this life and I don’t want to miss it.

4. Take Risks. I’ve had a list of “dreams goals” in a little notebook for a few years now. Nothing that I really want to share here at the moment, but I want this to be a year I don’t let the fear of failure hold me back from pursuing one or more of those goals. A lot of them are creative pursuits that I know will be good for the soul to dive into and get messy with. I want to spend less time in front of the computer and social media. I want to be downstairs in my craft room creating more often than not. I want to work hard to make some of these dreams come true.

5. Our House. We’ve lived in our house for a little over a year now and I can see some of the steam we had when we first moved in slowing down. I don’t want to to not finish those projects we said we would do. I want to work hard this year making each room feel finished. Along with goal 1, I want every room, closet, drawer in our house clean, organized and decorated. I know I will always be rearranging and decorating but I want to at least come into our house and think it feels finished. I plan on making an in depth post with pictures of specific goals for the house so you can follow along this year.

6. Prayer + Bible Reading. I want to make this a priority this year. It should be a priority every year but I can honestly say it just isn’t. I want to be intentional with my time, my prayers and my reading. There is a christian company in Hawaii called HE>I. I bought one of their tank tops when we were out there this year. I really want that thought to surround me this year. He is greater than I. I need to allow Jesus room in my life. I need to decrease and He needs to increase. All these other goals are nothing without this first and foremost. Jesus must be first.END.OF.STORY.

7. Family. This is a big one! 2014 is going to be a big, big year for us. I just know it. Kev and I have had some major tugging on our hearts lately about changes we would like for our family. We’ve been in prayer over it for quite sometime. God is going to challenge us this year and we’re going to have to fully rely on him for what lies ahead. I am so excited though!! We’ve been given the greatest gift to care and love on our 2 little girls. I can’t wait to see what adventures lie ahead of us for 2014.

Happy New Year Everyone!!
What a blessing you are to me.