welcome 2016

2015 is a year I will always remember.  For my little family, it was a wonderful year.  Tyler was blessed with a job that was a great fit for our family, and managers that were incredible.  I was totally blown away by how great Control4 was.  I hope we are lucky enough that Tyler gets a permanent job with a company like them!

Eli was born and boy, he is an adventure.  TJ is getting so big and independent.  We are just about the luckiest parents alive to have two such easy-going, happy little boys in our family.  We got to spend time with both of our parents (but not enough!) and did lots of fun things locally.

But gosh, there were some hard things this year.  While our family hasn't ever been at the center of the storm, we have endured some of the foul weather that comes from others with challenges.  I have learned so much about myself and my standing with God from watching some of the struggles those around us have faced, and I am more grateful for my marriage and my family than ever before.

On to the fun stuff.  I could have sworn I made goals for 2015, but when I looked through my journals I couldn't find any!   Oh well. I'll make up some goals that I know I have been working on all year:

Take control of our budget
Man, we killed it in budgeting this year.  A HUGE step for us was moving from monthly to weekly budgeting.  We have an entire year of finances in our excel spreadsheet.  We know where our money goes, and so we always know how much we are spending.  We went from almost always being $200 or more over our budget to being under budget more than half the time.  We started a teeny, tiny retirement fund and purchased a life insurance policy for Tyler.

Plan meals
This was to help with our budget, and it made a huge difference.  We ate out significantly less when I didn't have to think of something to make every night.  At the beginning of the year I planned a month at a time, but now I only plan a week at a time and we waste a lot less food and have cut about $50 out of our grocery budget.

I'm not sure I want to make goals, but I want to have a new attitude as a mom.  I've been marinating a couple of phrases and here is what I am down to:

I call these my "mom rules."  It seems like a lot, but they all contribute to the overall attitude and spirit I want to nurture in our home.  Lighten up is the big one - to me, it means let things go.  TJ spills his cereal?  Say uh-oh, clean it up, and let it go.  Don't lecture.  Don't let it make me super mad.  Because he is little and that is okay.  Right along side that, I want to take more time to play with the kids.  I want to be present and enjoy my kiddos - stop to play, go outside, and do it now because maybe he won't want to play with me later.  Last but not least, if  I am happy and if I have fun, my family will too.  I am a firm believer that if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy so I need to set the tone for everything from family interactions to discipline.  I am so excited to work on the "spirit" of our home this year, and I hope I can be as successful as I was in last years goals.  Wish me luck!

I did think of one GOAL goal I want to have - return to writing.  I am a huge journal-er, but my entries are getting farther and farther apart.  I love, love re-reading my journals and I don't want to miss anything from this time in my life because I was too lazy to sit down and write once a week.  I guess this falls right in with my mom rule - do it now!

Do you set goals or resolutions?