Wondering what Mommy Homework is??? Each week you will have an “assignment” here to share in our comments here on this site. You will love this-both sharing AND enjoying answers by others. Some of them, I compile into an ebook (contributors can resell as a product of their own–be sure to submit your email and full name when you register so I can credit you appropriately!).
The result is AWESOME!
We get to know each other…we are encouraged in our journey…and we glean super ideas from other great moms!
Ready for this week’s MH? This is a good one!
Our topic this week is “What do you need for a big finish?” Stick with me on what you are to share! 🙂 You will LOVE this one!
Your Assignment This Week…
This one will take some quiet time before you jump in. I want for this one to help you make this 2008 great! Your best year ever! So, our assignment for this week will be to share what you need for a big finish this year. How can you reach for your goals, dreams, and resolutions for this year? What will it take? What will you do this week to get one step closer to a great finish for this year?
Do you love it? I am really excited about this topic!
It is the middle of October. We have one more quarter in this year. I just pulled back to see how I am doing. I looked at my year, my big brainstorm notebook, and my calendar. This year has been super! I want a big finish! How about you? Let’s do it together!
How about jumping in to share on this Mommy Homework assignment?
Go back to the beginning of the year.
- What were your goals? What were your resolutions? What were your plans? What did you want for this year?
- Which are checked off? Which are a praise report? Which need to be on the calendar during the next few months? How are you doing? What have you done this year? What needs to be done to reach for your goals and resolutions?
- What would it take to have a big finish for this year? What will you do this week to gear up for a big finish?
OH! I can’t wait to read these submissions! Jump in!
So, grab a cup of tea…settle in for a bit. You will want to dig into this one sweet friends!!
Love ya!
Cindy
PS! Please remember to use your real name if you want credit for your Mommy Homework Credit. 
PPS! You CAN just share and not participate in Mommy Homework, BUT I would LOVE for you to get some goodies along the way!
PPSS! Want to check your credit? Here is the newest update: http://www.talk-a-latte.com/ebooks/MommyHomeworkCredits.pdf
PPPSS! If you are new, all you do to share your MH is first register (see the link on the bottom of the page–scroll all the way to the very bottom), then log in with your name and password that you select. Share away!
Deadline–Friday at midnight CST.
Okay, Cindy you said think about this, which I have been for a while, but I still took 2 hrs. to think some more. It is a little long, so if you need to edit this post, you have my permission to do so, I trust you completely.
1. What were your goals?
I don’t know that we had any “goals”. We were just trying to survive and heal. In January of 2007 my husband and I separated. We tentatively reconciled in the middle of that year. We were still just taking one day at a time in January of this year.
2. What were your resolutions, plans, what did you want for this year?
We had a curriculum for school at the beginning of 2008. Finances changed, what I had planned for the fall went out the window. I was headed in the right direction, just on the wrong track, like a train that someone had hit the switch to change tracks and somehow, somewhere along the way we changed tracks. We soon got back on the right track….PTL! That is when God lead me to a Cindy Rushton site and I discovered Notebooking as a way of learning. We were already Notebooking on a small scale, but did not realize the extent to which we could take it. Just goes to show my plans need to be God’s plans. Since I tend to plan BIG and then flop when something comes up, I am planning smaller, little sections at a time, we are currently in Rome in school, I want to be at the birth of Christ by Christmas.
What will you do this week to gear up for a big finish?
This week I am going to pull out our Thankful studies and go through some resources for our studies on Rome and Christianity. I want to begin next year focusing on my children’s relationship with Christ. I plan on purchasing the Ministering to The Heart of Your Child ebook and study in a couple of weeks and putting that into action in January. Yes, I know there is at least on person out there saying no, you need to start now. That is okay, normally I would say the same thing too. However, mom needs some ministering to her heart, it is being held together with glue, which is progress, it had been held together with ice and I did not know it. The one statement I heard this year that helped me with forgiveness is “I have to forgive myself for not being able to forgive” once I did that the ice began to melt, not completely just a little. We are told to forgive, we are told to let go, I said the words, I went through the motions, I gave it to God over and over, then could not figure out why I still felt and acted the way I did. It was not so much that I kept “picking it back up”, it was just that me, in my human form, could not forgive. I had to learn to forgive through Christ. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phl 4:13)”, but however “I can do nothing with out Him (John ‘s 15:5)”. Last night I visited Jacque Dixon’s webpage and the song Mercy Seat was playing on the player. I realized where the mercy seat now was. It was where Mary sat, at the feet of Christ. That is why Martha (me for years) got so flustered, Mary had figured out where the mercy seat was, Martha had not yet sat there, she (I) did not understand. So I intend to say good-bye to Martha once and for all (More Mary, Less Martha-good book) and spend more time sitting in the mercy seat, at Christ’s feet.
What would it take to have a big finish for this year? Honestly, that thought scares me, I have been in survival mode for so very long, I don’t know how else to live. All I want to do is finish this year, this decade as a whole family. As far as our schooling goes, In November we plan on taking a little “break” from regular studies and focus on Thanksgiving and being thankful, we could all use a more thankful attitude around here.
Big thanks for this MH Cindy, you really got me thinking……
Two words… SLOW DOWN! Despite all our plans to cut back and not do so much outside the home, we’re back to spinning around in a million different directions and not getting anywhere :(. What’s suffered? Time with the Lord (and what hope is there of getting things back on track without THAT, right?), regular meal times, adequate sleep, good organizational habits, and just plain FUN!
This has actually been quite heavy on my heart the past few weeks, as I feel as though our lives are just SO out of control — and everyone is tired and cranky to boot. This homework made me stop and think about specifically WHAT I need to do to get things back on track rather than just continue to say that we need to get things back on track.
So…
(1) Get to bed! Betcha thought I’d put time with Lord as the first thing, right? Well, in reality, that is, but in practice, if I don’t stop staying up until 1:00 am trying to do just one more thing, getting up in the morning to have my quiet time ain’t gonna happen!
(2) Get back to daily time with the Lord — FIRST THING! Once the day starts spinning, it’s way too late! I even have my nice little quiet time area all set up, but I have to set that alarm and get up and USE it :)!
(3) Take a couple days to get things back to a basic level of organization. The past few weeks, I swear we’ve spent more time looking for stuff than using it! And talk about stressful when no one can find anything they need and it’s time to go somewhere besides!
(4) Plan something FUN & outside! The weather is absolutely gorgeous and we all need to spend some time enjoying the fresh air & sunshine before it’s too cold!
I’m sure I could think of more ideas, but unfortunately, the timer is going off and it’s time to spin off to pick up the next kid from the next activity… see what I mean?
Looking forward to reading everyone else’s replies :)!
Cari
You were right when you said that we had to think about this for awhile!! I took a few days and still feel like my answers will be incomplete.
1. What were your goals? What were your resolutions? What were your plans? What did you want for this year?
In all honesty, I didn’t really make goals for the year. I have been dealing with difficulties with my daughter’s father who recently got out of prison and now demands to see her even though she doesn’t want to see him. (LOOONNG Story!!) Recently, though, I have made plans to get away from workbooks that aren’t helping anything and get to REAL learning. Learning life skills, history, science and reading and practical math. I have also have been planning to save money and pay off debts.
2. Which are checked off? Which are a praise report? Which need to be on the calendar during the next few months? How are you doing? What have you done this year? What needs to be done to reach for your goals and resolutions?
We have been doing a lot of fun things this year, a LOT more reading of real books and a LOT more discussions, experiments and trips to look at things. We were offered an art class for my daughter 1 day a week for 6 weeks for $30 from an art teacher at a museum. Then, just as that was ending, the teacher offered an additional 6 weeks for free if we wanted to continue going. This was great, because my daughter has so enjoyed these art classes!! We have been planning menus and buying groceries that are on sale and planning the menu or tweaking the menu around that. We have been also cooking ahead, but I’m seeing that we need to figure out what to do about only having 2 casserole dishes!! – I don’t want to rush out and buy, because I KNOW there has to be a better choice. I am working on a LOT of planning using Cindy’s planner that I absolutely LOVE!! I have modified a few of her Brain in a Binder and Let’s Get Ready forms for my own use and made them on MSWord. They aren’t as pretty, but they have a few extra things on them, but without Cindy’s forms, I wouldn’t even have thought of writing it down for future reference or planned that far ahead!!
3. What would it take to have a big finish for this year? What will you do this week to gear up for a big finish?
I am already working on planning a field trip with our homeschool group to the hospital for November. I have to continue working on my planning for the rest of the school year. This week my goal is to finish up my planning for the rest of the school year (I usually don’t do that until Christmas/New Year break) and work on the book I have started to write. Also, this week (I plan to take my cookbooks with me to work (I usually have 3 hours of silent desk time with nothing to do on Wednesday morning!!) and plan out more menus for big cooking things. We usually don’t have much of a “big finish” in the area of goals at this time of year. November and December here are full with birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and more, besides the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Elizabeth Bowen
This year has been very very difficult for me. I would have to say its been the most difficult year of my adult life. So many changes, transitions, problems, satan throwing me into walls, etc. So that said, i really didn’t HAVE many goals… we started the year immediately by moving to a new house, which was an answer to prayer and we love but still came with a LOT of transitions and adjustments. My best friend moved to a different state, and we ran into some financial difficulties, My dh and i have been having serious marital issues, mostly as a result of ME, and we lost a baby to early miscarraige last July. Sooo…. we’ve been busy and in basically survival mode. A couple things that had gone by the wayside though that i need to do is 1. quiet time with God. This has actually gone pretty well. Since the spring, its been on and off but mostly on, with offs only being for brief crises and like when I oversleep, a BIG improvement from NUTTIN! which is where i was at before. Then i started to get into the routine of exercising each morning, which hasn’t gone quite as well, I try to exercise every day but it works out to be more like 2-4 days, which isn’t perfect, but again is MUCH of an improvement so i’m trying to be kind to myself. The final thing i’d hoped to accomplish is doing more reading aloud to the children. I was impressed of the importance of this, or rather REimpressed as i fully know the importance of this, by the CM conference Cindy held, which was AWESOME as always. Its not gone as well as i’d liked… we just get out of practice.. i somehow need to get a better routine going to make it happen! But i tell you, when i do… WOW, its awesome for me as well as them. Like today, we started reading “Adam and his Kin” by Ruth Beechick, and WOW, the imagery is amazing… I’m a very literary person, i delight in the written word, its totally “my thing” but lately i’ve not had much time to read, just magazines mostly, and wow, good literature just impacts life in such cool ways. We had such a great conversation today too about how satan tricks us. It was very fruitful.
So being at this place where i’m starting anew in my marraige, in schooling my kiddos, in everything, i have been thinking about goals.
I’d like to continue to exercise and have a good quiet time with the Lord each morning. I’d like to make reading our primary educational tool, and i’d like to have at least one good DEEP conversation with dh each week, and every day of meaningful conversation with him at least a little. I have the book “created to be his helpmeet” and i want to get that read and implemented in our lives. Basically, i have HUGE goals because i want to allow God to transform me fr om the inside out into a new person. Lofty, i know, but necessary!!
I had several goals in mind as I began this last year. One really important one was to get back into the daily habit of being in God’s Word. I specifically desired to do this first thing in the morning as I had become lazy and put it off until later in the day when I often would get too busy and not do it at all. Another goal I have had this year is to be more deliberate in my relationship with my dh. Often he gets pushed to the back burner as I care for kids. He is in school now and also works full time, so the time we have together is very limited. I always want him to know how important he is to me. I have also desired to be more deliberate in training my children this year. To move toward that, I have made changes in the way we schooled. I have developed a working schedule which makes good use of our time. And I have tried to work on character development, not just academics.
In evaluating this past year, I can see that I have moved toward all these goals. My quiet time has gotten much better. This is a definite praise report because I can see how my whole day is affected when I begin it with the Lord. When I start my dad with Him, my whole focus is changed and I am better able to deal with the “stuff” that is bound to happen as the mother of four young children. I feel like my husband and I have strengthened our relationship also this year. This is still an area I constantly struggle in though. I am so tired and burned out at the end of the day- especially when he is gone all day to work and school and I am here alone- that I just don’t have much left for him. I am constantly working to keep him as a priority. Deliberate training of my children is going well. Again, I always struggle to stay on top of things, but I find when I do, it really pays off in the long run! I have been reading several Charlotte Mason homeschooling books (thanks to your online seminar which peaked my interest), and I am learning so many things about teaching and training my children. I just wish I had known more about this educational philosophy sooner because I am finding this is really where my heart is!
To end the year with a bang: Hmmmm. I think the way we go through the holidays will really determine this. The holiday season offers opportunity to refocus on the Lord and my relationship with Him. It offers a chance for dh and I to spend some alone time. (Our children are scheduled to spend Thanksgiving night with Grandmommy.) And it offers lots of opportunity for quality family time. Sp, I think to end the year with a bang, I want to be very deliberate in how we spend time this holiday season. I want to plan, so that our time is not hurried and rushed. I want to budget so that we are burdened financially. I want to make time to do special things with our family, so that we are truly focused on what God has done for us.
I think that will be a good ending to our year. 🙂
Leah Courtney
“What do you need for a big finish?”
My goals for this school year revolved basically around my habits. What happens in our school year, by and large, depends upon me!
We recently had a 1/2 way cross country move and I was determined to develop good work habits, consistency, and joy in our homeschool for this new school year. And it all begins with me.
So, I started the school year with a new schedule, and chores habits firmly in place – we worked on this over the summer, while doing a light version of our regular school.
With work habits firmly in place, we embarked on our new school year. Central to our days is my motivation and consistency. If I remain consistent, my children follow along. If I get lazy, even for a day, the family scatters to the four winds and nothing much gets done.
So, each morning, hubby and I begin with prayer. He leaves for work, I have my quiet time and then begin my day. With to-do list and calendar in hand, I form my plan. I wake my children, we eat, pray and work. At 9:00am Monday – Thursday we head upstairs to our schoolroom. This is our basics time. My youngest children are 4, 6, & 8. We are learning to read, write and do ‘rithmatic. So, this season of our schooling is foundational and very important. My children know exactly what we are doing, and they sit down and get on it. Handwriting first, then math, next phonics and then whatever I have planned for the day. We do as much together as we can. I still use workbooks for some subjects (math, phonics, handwriting) but have gone to a much more Charlotte Masonish method over the years. At 11:30 we break for some play time, lunch at noon and quiet time at 1pm for reading and resting. From about 2pm on we read aloud, do projects, or learn through living. 5pm is quick clean time, dinner prep and family time after dinner.
I do wish I could get an earlier bedtime, but I am ready to toss that overboard. Hubby is not willing to miss the time with them. So, they go to bed between 9-10pm.
All in all, our year is going fabulously! I am really pleased and my children are learning and loving it.
For the big finish – consistency, follow through, determination, and some days courage. These are the things I need. We are on the right track. In my 12th year of homeschooling, I finally feel like I may have some clue what I am doing. Praise God. His grace IS sufficient.
Fabulous question Cindy!
Trish Bevill
This is a tough one…only because I usually over-plan and then I can’t possibly get it all accomplished.
1. Goals/plans – I had my plan. School was to be the same as last year, strictly by the book, every page covered and the plan completed. We planned to convert our back yard into a garden. I planned to potty train my son. I had planned for three children to be having school every day.
2. How am I doing? – School had totally changed from the plan. A friend introduced me to Cindy Rushton and her Home School Expo in May. It totally changed the way I was planning and looking at school. I realized that I had basically brought school into our home. Through Cindy’s seminar and her affiliates, we changed a lot. We have had so much more flexibility in our home school. I allow the children time to study some of their own interests, instead of sticking to the curriculum plan. Some things are working out great. I really feel like I need to make more changes. I am working on it a little at a time. I really didn’t think that I could handle a total overhaul of our school time. The changes we have made have worked out great. I know allow the children to move ahead if there is a topic that they already know…This was a huge change from last year where every page had to be totally completed. As far as the garden, half of our back yard has now been converted. I have such a huge learning curve in this area. A lot of the time has been spent researching what to plant, how to plant it and where is the right spot. Then when the vegetables started coming in, I had to read about what to do with them. It has been a big undertaking, but one that seems to be well worth the effort. We still have a ways to go, but the fall garden is now in. As far as potty training my son, that started out good, but has lost momentum. He seems ready, but he just does not want to sit still and stay on the potty. This really needs more attention to make happen. 3 children home schooling, it is happening. Most of the time, it works out great. It is hard to juggle sometimes, but they are learning.
3. What would it take for a big finish? – More energy, determination, two of me? I do get tired. I want to be more consistent and make sure that I don’t just get off to a good start and then not finish. Our home school group seems to be dwindling. I try not to let this be discouraging. It is nice to have the support that I get from Cindy’s seminars and others like them. Just to stay connected with other Moms who are in the same boat as I am. The children learning is the priority and I need to stay focused. I would love to make more changes in the way we do our school work. The children get frustrated with so much review. They like learning practical things and learn by doing things. I need to make sure that projects stay a part of our every day. They seem to learn so much more that way. I want to break out of the “traditional public school” method of learning and I really want learning to become a way of life. If I can accomplish that, I will have done something this year.
Thank you for the opportunity to share and to hear from other Moms.
Katrina Boatwright
This has been a really hard year for me. It started with my dad’s death in a car accident when we were home on vacation in January and since then we’ve had 5 or 6 more funerals. I have strugged with consistency and getting back on track and I’m finally feeling like I’m getting there.
At the beginning of the year I wrote down some things I’d like to accomplish this year. We had a loan to pay off and we paid that off several years early this summer. We also have another loan for some land we bought (maybe we’ll retire there one day) that needs to be paid off in February and we are right on target for that. Once that is done we’ll only owe on our house and we plan to put extra money each month on that. My husband would like it paid off in 4-5 years.
I also wrote down that I wanted time and money to go on vacations with Don and our kids. Looking in my notebook I can see we are realizing that goal too. 🙂 We just got home from our annual fall camping trip. We are taking the kids to Biloxi this weekend for another little get-away, will go camping again in March, to Savannah (just the two of us) for our anniversary in June and back home to Michigan in August. I always book our camp site months in advance so that’s paid off and we’ve saved alot for our anniversary trip too. Don takes in whatever scrap metal he can find or get from friends who want their yards cleaned up so all that extra $ goes for our vacations. We put the $ in envelopes. It’s fun to track it as we go.
Earlier this year I started walking and losing weight. Our summer trip threw me off and it’s taken me two months to start walking again so I’m back to working on that goal. I am trying to eat healthier too. As long as I don’t buy junk food I do fine.
One thing we really need to work on is dinner time. We rarely eat together and I hate that. When Don gets home he goes for a run and likes to work in the garage with Steven til it’s time for bed. Other nights Steven and Hannah work so they’re gone by 6:30. We’ve also stopped reading at night as Steven and Hannah have gotten older. So I try to read longer during the day to them – usually about an hour is all I can do though. I know once December hits though we’ll be reading Jotham’s Journey again. We’ve read all 3 books in that series a few times now and all the kids love them. Things definitely change as they get older – I don’t think I appreciated the time when they were young as much as I should have!
So in order to finish this year off well, I’m working on being more consistent – walking at least 4 days a week, doing my bible study every day, mommy homework each week 🙂 , kids schoolwork and keeping up with the house. I need to start decluttering again too. I make lists for each day and try hard to really stick with that. I’m just glad that no matter how I struggle and work to do that which I feel I need to do, Jesus is walking this journey with me.
This is just the kick in the you knew what I needed.
Here are my answers after much prayer and seeking.
1. What were your goals?
To adjust to our new school year with two girls in school. I think this is coming along just great. One of our students is doing awesome in her reading using the new way suggested by Cindy.
To not go any further into debt. This is going great too, except we had to borrow money to have septic pumped and I just got released from the emergency room.
To become better organized. This is coming along good, I just sat down and used the methods that I had read about it is a little of everybody’s technique but it is working.
What were your resolutions?
To stop smoking. This is going good too.
To cut back on soda in our house, this is working out great too and saving money.
What were your plans?
Consistent quiet times with my Lord
To think before I speak
Pray over every decision until I have an answer
What did you want for this year?
To be able to visit my family in Michigan. This has not happened yet, and it was my main goal.
2. Which are checked off?
Organized Kitchen, schoolroom, living room, laundry room and bathroom, office.
Adjusting to school, consistent time with my Lord, prayer is deepening, decisions based on God’s will
Which are a praise report?
Almost all of the above. It is easy to find things and it is so nice to feel the peace from a godly made decision.
Which need to be on the calendar during the next few months?
Holidays and hopefully a family trip to Michigan.
How are you doing?
Good, alot better than last year.
What needs to be done to reach for your goals and resolutions?
We need to pay off the ER stay and septic bill in order to raise the money for our trip to Michigan.
3. What would it take to have a big finish for this year? What will you do this week to gear up for a big finish?
See above.
Melissa Waters
I read this one on Sunday and kept checking back to see responses. This is the first one, I think, where we didn’t all immediately respond. This one is a thought-provoker!
What were your goals? What were your resolutions? What were your plans? What did you want for this year?
Every New Year I make a million resolutions. I LOVE New Years! But I haven’t been organized and written them down or made them goals. So, for me, that process is just beginning. I’ve been developing my organizer/brain in a binder. I’m in the stage where I’m writing everything down, as per Cindy’s instructions. So I’ve got a giant “To Do” list that I began a little over a week ago and I’m now to the stage of sorting those into projects and goals.
Which are checked off? Which are a praise report? Which need to be on the calendar during the next few months?
I have changed how we homeschool a little. We are reading more. We are taking time to do the things I’ve always wanted to do. My oldest is 11.98 (birthday next week) and I see time slipping through my fingers. So we are taking time for the character building books that I want to plant into the boys’ lives. That was a plan from last year that is being carried out.
We are also really being choosey about our outside involvements. We don’t go-go-go and are very family-centric. That was another goal/hope/wish/prayer that is bearing fruit.
How are you doing? What have you done this year? What needs to be done to reach for your goals and resolutions?
I am back on track with organizing the house so that we are facilitated to a lifestyle of learning and not bogged down with clutter. Cindy’s current article about de-cluttering is very timely because I have begun a major de-clutter around here again. I have 3 boxes to go to good will this afternoon! I believe that as I declutter it will free us up for more spontaneous learning and give me time to write, which is my big dream.
What would it take to have a big finish for this year? What will you do this week to gear up for a big finish
Practically, I need a cord for my laptop. A critter (puppy or kitty) chewed through my power cord and I am not able to use the laptop DH bought me so that I could write. Because it will cost around $100 and the holidays are fast approaching, I am not high on the priority/budget list, so I will have to tuck away my pennies. I know God will provide when I need it!
The other thing I will need is to continue de-cluttering. When we get rid of the excess, it will give us time for the important.
Great question!!! It gets me excited!
Lori Lynn
Oh, Cindy, this one is really some kind of homework and has taken some big thinking!
First off, I don’t make resolutions because they never work for me! 🙂 But the first thing on my list was to draw nearer to the Lord through the year. I must say that one of the big things that has helped me was you, Cindy!! It seems that every time I turn around the Lord has placed you there to encourage me and help me to keep going.
Another thing at the top of my list was to draw nearer to my husband. We have had a wonderful almost 15 yrs together but the devil is always fighting to get into the home. Our closeness is being attacked through our children that has problems but with God’s help we are seeing God make a way for us to pull through these times.
The other area that has been a challenge for me is homeschooling! Yes, this sounds odd because it is so dear to me and I’m even a director of the state wide hs Christian organization in our state, but believe me, it all takes time! This year I not only had to hs my daughter and do the ministry but start hs my handicapped son and I must say this has been a challenge. God has lead a wonderful speech therapist into our lives that is starting to be able to help our son to take a few steps in the area of talking.
Last but not least I have had to place our oldest that doesn’t live at home with us because of things that he did as a child, in God’s hands all over again. Yes, we have seen a lot come from this year with this area, we have seen him graduate from high school (when the public school system said he was to stupid), we have seen him grow up a lot, and watched him continue to battle the problems that put him in this area with a stronger strength than ever before.
This has been a year of stress with my husband having to go through a lot at work but God is working this out. We were all disappointed when they froze our vacation time at the first of October when we had planned on taking our vacation to visit my cousin that is more like my twin sister. But thankfully, things are working out that starting this Friday we will be taking our vacation time. No it isn’t the trip we wanted, but God knows what is best and we are planning to make this a time at home when we can all be together and grow closer together.
The funny thing about how God works is that when we leave things in His hands He opens doors that we don’t dream about. Our sons’ therapist has had a hard time due to her husband dying suddenly and we have invited her to spend Christimas Eve with us this year. This is a special evening for our family when we get together and celebrate the Lord’s birth and have a birthday cake just for Him. This year we want to share our love with this person that is sharing her love of “helping” to our family.
Cindy, thanks again for all that you do with your ministry you have been such a blessing! Also, so many of those that attend the weekly mom-to-mom shows have also touched my life which has in turn touched my families, thanks to everyone.
Blessings,
Orilla Crider
Didn’t really set “goals” this year but there have been things God has been impressing on my hear that need to changer in our house.
Which need to be on the calendar during the next few months?
I am working on a schedule for our days here at home, so I can use my time wisely and also to implement one on one time with each child weekly to develop out personal relationships with each other and to keep their hearts knit with mine.
How are you doing? We are doing well with school and loving it! Amazlingly because we had a rough start. (see below)
What have you done this year? Boy we have been busy this year! Had baby #5 in June, 9 yr old dd broke her wrist 3 weeks later and hubby had knee surgery in July.
What would it take to have a big finish for this year? What will you do this week to gear up for a big finish?
This week I am going to purpose to get up early and excercise and have my quiet time BEFORE everyone else gets up. No matter how much sleep I didn’t get. God IS more important than sleep!!!!! I don’t think I need a big finish for the year I just need to keep on keeping on and change the areas of my life that God convicts me of and be obedient to Him! Then all will be well!!!
Lori Duncan
This year I “thought” I had simple plans. I quit my job and was finally going to get my house in order (for the first time ever). I was also going to loose some weight. Well, I lost 6 lbs…and then got pregnant so I will end the year heavier but for a very good reason. My house is in better order but still not where it should be. I’ve got excuses for days about why I haven’t met my goal yet but since I’ve been given the simple challenge I have thought of ways I can still get done by year end. I will cancel one play date a week (the kids get out too much anyway) and work on the house. Mostly I just need to declutter so just being home will help considerably with making progress.
I have cut our eating out by more than half since I stopped working, and that wasn’t even a goal at the beginning of the year. My husband recently told me that my cooking has improved greatly. That is worthy of praise if ever there was something!
What are your gaols/resolutions?
I have so much going on that is not scheduled or goal orriented that it is crazy right now. So today my first goal is to make a new set of goals and the first on is going to be the same one that has saved my sanity this far. Put God first. I have done much better with this in the past year and that’s a praise. I also have a very important goal to move out of my current house and find a hom to rent /buy befor snow flies. My current place has terriable mold and we have to take th roof off to fix it and we have 5 children so we will have to find another place and this home is way to small for us but we would have made it work if not for the damages to the home. So I have given it to God and I’m waiting patiently. I have goals to declutter many rooms and start packing soon, I also want to take more field trips with thekids this fall. We live in maine so the weather is changing and cold season is fast approching I want to do as much as we can outside and enjoy the rest of the season.
Which is a Praise the fact that I have gotten better at giving it to God. My children are healthy and happy and very involved in Church especially my 14 year old Daughter It is such a critical time in a young woman’s life. Praise GOD!!
What would it take for you to have a big finish this year?
To make the move and get set up to start the winter off better. I’m really excited to see what God has in store for our family.
I’ve sat on this one for days and still don’t feel like I have a good answer.
What were your goals? What were your resolutions? What were your plans? What did you want for this year?
I am not big on goals anymore. Maybe not meeting ‘grand plan’ goals has me shying away from them. However, there are some areas where I am always striving to do better.
1. spending more time in prayer, scripture study, or anything else that helps me build up the relationship with our Lord.
2. getting a tighter reign on spending so we can build up savings
3. working on relationships with my boys
4. finding time for me, to strengthen my body, mind and spirit
Which are checked off? Which are a praise report? Which need to be on the calendar during the next few months? How are you doing? What have you done this year? What needs to be done to reach for your goals and resolutions?
What would it take to have a big finish for this year? What will you do this week to gear up for a big finish?
Well, some of the ‘goals’ are continual works in progress, so I never get to where I can check them off. I have carved out more time with our Lord and up until recently was making progress on the budget. But, all the savings I built up are going poof on medical bills and my recent goof up of being late paying a bill. Those late fees and finance charges can be awful. Although, I am thankful that I had built up enough to cover these unanticipated expenses. Exercise is not happening as much as it should, but I’ve been able to hold my weight steady for a while.
One thing that wasn’t a planned goal which I did recently start was spending time reading for MY pleasure. After 2 years of reading be almost exclusively related to homeschooling the boys with the occasional scripture study or fun book, I joined a book club. So, at least one book per month is getting read with no connection to the boys. They are not all book I might have picked, but so far each one has been worth the time. The added benefit for the book club is meeting ladies in our new neighborhood.
A big finish this year would be to continue improving in the areas I am working on. Especially, to get the finances back under control and rebuild the savings. Hubby’s going to need a ‘new to us’ vehicle within the next year and I really don’t want to finance the whole thing.
Laura O’Neill
Listening to Cindy and Lucia early this year really got me inspired to set goals. This is the first year in a long time that I have allowed myself to dream big and really think about what I wanted to do. All I can say is “WOW!” I have accomplished more this year than ever before.
At the beginning of the year (it was actually the end of January/beginning of February sometime), I sat down and wrote out everything that I could think of that I wanted to do from ‘clean the microwave’ and ‘hang the numbers back on the house’ to ‘read the Bible all the way through’ and ‘kidnap my sweet hubby for a weekend getaway.’
Not everything on my list is done, and I know that some of the things will not be done by the end of the year. That was the hurdle that kept me from setting goals in the first place, my perfectionism told me that I had to reach all of the goals that I had set. Now I realize that my goals are to get me up and moving in the right direction and I don’t have to achieve them all.
I am really excited about this assignment, as I realize that I had set my goal list aside the past couple months. It was really good for me to get it out, dust it off, reflect on it, and look at moving forward.
So. . .some of the things off of my list
–I wanted to finish the big cross stitch that I have been working on for over a year. It still isn’t done, and probably won’t be by the end of this year. But I have really enjoyed working on it and have done quite a bit of it.
–I wanted to kidnap my dh for a romantic get away. I ended up having to tell him because he has to tell his boss the reason he wants certain days off, but that didn’t stop us from having a great time. All we did was stay in a simple hotel that was about 10 minutes down the road from Grandma’s house, where the kids spent the weekend. It was a great time to reconnect, to relax, and just to visit and have fun together. We didn’t realize how much we needed the time until we made time for it. If I had not made this a goal and written it down, I know that it would NOT have happened.
–I wanted to read the Bible from cover to cover. This is the first time I have ever accomplished this goal. It was an amazing experience. Once I let go of my perfectionism about needing to read a certain number of chapters, going in order, and doing it every day, I really got down to what was important, enjoying my love letter from God and building a relationship with Him.
–I also wanted to release down to 175 pounds this year. I figured that after my son was born in June that would put me needing to release about 10 pounds to reach this goal. I have actually gained about 6 pounds since June, but it has been due to gaining muscle while reducing fat. So I didn’t make the pound goal, but I am down 3 pant sizes, from a 22W to a 16W.
–I wanted to get myself a real iPod this year. I thought it was extravagant, but God sent me the money to do it and my husband insisted that this money was to be spent on something just for me. God is so good!
–I read The Tightwad Gazette and Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover again, but I didn’t get to a couple of other books I wanted to read this year.
–I had a debt I wanted to pay off this year. That didn’t happen. . .life has happened a lot to our finances instead.
–I planned to neaten up my flowerbeds this year, but that didn’t happen.
–I also planned to get a family portrait done, I think I might manage that one this weekend. (Most of the time we just have someone take our picture with the digital camera. It is easier on everyone and we have gotten them to come out very professional looking.)
I had some goals, that just happened and I didn’t really do anything to make them happen. I wanted to get my 8 year old ds reading. It finally happened, but I don’t think I really had anything to do with it. Even better his 6yo little brother is hot on his heels on reading too. Teaching dd10 some needle work skills such as crochet and embroidery. . .I don’t know what happened, she just gets it now. Night training ds6 is another one of those that just happened. God knows what He is doing, and I just need to get out of His way and let Him work His wonders. I have spent too much time fretting over these things and forgetting that His burden is light and His yoke is easy. I already have some other things that I just need to let go of for right now popping into my head.
Looking back I can see that my focus for this year has really been my relationship with God and my relationship with myself. I have never really had either one of those relationships.
I am learning that God wants me to talk to Him and ask Him for help with all of the little things in my life. He wants me to invite Him to come workout with me and to ask Him to show me how to make my workouts better. He knit my body together and knows it better than any “expert” ever could, He can show me how to use my muscles in the most effective way for me. He made the signals that tell my body to ‘store fat’ or ‘burn fat’ He can make them work the way they need to. God wants me to ask Him to help me make a menu plan and to ask Him to please bless my grocery shopping that I will find good deals and be able to get everything that I need with the money I have.
I have trouble with my perfectionism in regards to my relationship with God. I think that I have nothing to ask God for because I don’t have any big stuff, or I beat myself up for not being perfect and think that God won’t love me if I am not perfect. Well, if I were perfect I wouldn’t have needed Him to send His son to die for me, now would I? This year I have been learning that God loves me and that all I need to do is seek Him and He will show me the way to Him. This is really an AWESOME thing to realize.
I have also been working on my relationship with myself. I am learning that by taking care of myself I am better able to take care of my husband and children. I have been learning the importance of eating right and of exercising. I have also been learning the importance of being patient with myself and not beating myself up when it isn’t convenient for me to follow my original plans. Yes, I have a plan for my workouts for this month, but if the day is past and the work out didn’t get done I just have to let it go and look at today’s workout. I am also learning to take my feelings and energy level into consideration before I make a commitment, and I am learning that it is important for me to look nice. I have been making the time to pull away regularly for quiet time to think and plan as well as to go get my hair cut and things like that.
What will be my big finish for this year?
I don’t know that it will end with a big finish, but I am seeing goals for the rest of the year that go right along with my focus so far for the year.
–I want to work on getting back on track with basic routines and getting rid of clutter in my home. When my home is neat and tidy I feel more comfortable and less stressed. This is part of nourishing the relationship with myself. It is another way of taking care of myself, but it will also spill over into taking care of the rest of my family (they like an orderly, comfortable home as well).
–Having a more orderly home will lead into my next goal for making a good finish to the year, and that is having lots of holiday fun. Having fun means making sweet memories with my kids. We have Christmas coming up. I have been wanting a big Christmas tree, and so that is what my mom is giving me for my birthday. I am really excited. I am looking forward to putting the tree up with my kids and us making a bunch of ornaments for it. I am also looking forward to making Thanksgiving dinner together. Just lots of fun stuff coming up.
–I also need to continue working on my fitness class that I am taking. Charlotte Mason is so right about mommies/teachers needing to take classes and keep learning. I need to keep working on eating well and doing my workouts to my own best ability.
–Last but definitely not least, I need to keep inviting God into the little parts of my life like rocking a sick baby, making lunch, exercising, planning my day, everything. I think this is how we pray constantly.
Now that I look at it I do think I can have a big finish for this year. Will I be where I want to be in every area at the end of the year? Of course not. I don’t think I will ever be perfect in every area or even any area at any given time. I just have to let go of the perfectionism and make this year/ this week/ today the best yet. Today is really all I have to work with, we are not promised tomorrow. Time to go make those sweet memories with dh and my only little one to still be awake.
1.Goals/Resolutions/Plans–I don’t do resolutions or big goals. I get so down on myself for not meeting my expectations. I had general plans to focus on the basics and add in other things as I got more consistent with basics.
2. We had our fifth blessing in 7 years so I spent most of this year feeling as though I was in survival mode. Some weeks would move along great, then BAM life happened 🙂 We do pretty well keeping the basics–very basics done but can’t seem to move beyond that. My DH commented a few weeks ago that he noticed I had been doing much better keeping the dishes done daily. We have no dishwasher (except me & 2 in training), our counters are deeper than normal so the sink sits about 4 inches further away from the front of the counter and the counters are about 2 inches taller than normal. I am only 5′ 3″ so this makes it very uncomfortable for me. I have focused on assigning more of the daily work to my eldest daughters-soon to be 8 and soon to be 6. I have even had our 2 year old son helping me with laundry. This has kept him out of his sisters’ way while they were elsewhere doing another chore and helped him to take part in the necessary tasks of the day.
3. I still have a lot of decluttering to do, but I am feeling more positive now that I’ve been writing this out. If I am just more consistent EVERY day I know I can get things done. And my children are learning so much by helping alongside me rather than my previous methods of rushing them out the back door or to the other end of the house while I did everything myself. I need to break down my large seemingly impossible tasks into small bits to tackle daily. I get discouraged thinking it is so much & there isn’t enough time to do it all. When I was first married and expecting our first child, the Lord spoke to me saying if I would give him my time, He would MAKE time for me. I need to follow through on that DAILY.
Blessings!
Hillary in Indiana
At the beginning of the year, my goal was to just get by. We were struggling financially, my house was a mess, stress was piling on. God then slowly led us through that to a point where we decided bankruptcy was our only option. We are losing our house and both vehicles. While to most, this would seem tragic, to us, it was the biggest blessing God could bestow on us at the time. We have since been GIVEN a van, a car and a house. God has been so good to us. As have our friends and family.
Now my big finish is to get moved into our brand new house, maintain it as I should while making it a home for my family, to devote more time to studying God’s word, and to making my daughters homeschooling a priority and a blessing for them.
My husband and I both feel as though we are both getting a new lease on our lives. A fresh start and we intend to make the most of it.
In order to finish with a bang this year, I don’t need anything. God has provided it all, I just need to utilize what all he has given to us and finish this year with a bang, giving God all the glory.
Shannon Depew
What were your goals? What were your resolutions? What were your plans?
I had absolutely no goals for this year. When this year began, I had a newborn, a 2 and a 4 year old and life was on a survival basis. I was depressed, and didn’t care either way whether or not I achieved anything. (sad, huh?)
What did you want for this year?
To survive. Perhaps to get happy.
Which are checked off?
The happy one. Sometimes LOL
Which are a praise report?
I am definately not as depressed now. I do care one way or another if I achieve anything, and I am caring better for my kids and myself. Yeay God!!!
Which need to be on the calendar during the next few months?
Just to continue trying to be happier and more joyful in the Lord.
How are you doing?
Better LOL
What have you done this year?
Continued to raise my kids. But most importantly, I have begun to care. I always cared about my kids, but not my home, or the state of it, not myself, not my other relationships. So most importantly I have begun to care.
What needs to be done to reach for your goals and resolutions?
Nothing, I had none 🙂
What would it take to have a big finish for this year?
To get my home completely in order.
What will you do this week to gear up for a big finish?
Start following a schedule in order to keep up with daily chores and get on top of what else needs to be done around the house.
Michelle Rogan
I am really pleased at what we accomplished this year! We celebrated the arrival of Blessing #6 in April, and still managed to get a full year’s worth of school done! I had made a list of books that I wanted to read aloud in 2008 with my kiddos over Christmas Break last year, as well as a list of books MOM wanted to read. I am proud to say that we finished ALL of them by Labor Day! So, I made another list to finish out the year, and I’m so excited about all the reading we’ve gotten done!
We also set some goals for 2008 to “pretty up” our home. We live in a vintage 1970s home with all sorts of dated décor – think of that lovely flocked wallpaper that used to be at your Great-Aunt’s house! We’ve lived here 12 years, but we’ve been so busy “birthin’ babies” that we haven’t really gotten much extra done! We’ve slowly been scraping, painting, and trying to rid our home of shag carpet and harvest gold/avocado green. I’m happy to say that we now have completely redone all three kid’s bedrooms, and our goal is to finish the master bedroom before the end of the year. That includes scraping “popcorn” off of the ceiling, stripping, priming and painting walls, and removing all the old yucky shag carpet and laying laminate flooring. We are doing all the work ourselves, and only doing it in “spare moments” when school is done and babies are napping.
If I were to set spirit, soul, mind and body goals for the rest of the year—Spiritually, I would like to have a strong finish, and complete my 90-day study of the life of David I’m doing from a Beth Moore book. For my mind, I’d like to read a book a month for the next three months that will stimulate my thinking. For my soul, I’d like to be more intentional about date-nights and romancing my honey, and physically, I’d like to finish our home spruce-ups as outlined above.
A few of my main goals (intentions) for this year were:
1. Commit to having a quiet time every morning/read through the Bible.
2.Lose extra baby pounds by eating more whole foods and walking 3 miles/day.
3. Get more organized time wise/housework wise/ school wise.
4. Write at least one hour each day/submit more manuscripts.
5. De-clutter!
6. Read to my little ones more!
I don’t make resolutions anymore, but I do set goals and have intentions. I always fall short of my goals, but at least I have something to aim for.
I have tried to read at least the Proverb that corresponds with the date and have a time of prayer, but I did not read through the Bible. That needs to be more of a priority in the upcoming year.
I have maintained a schedule of walking and eating more whole foods…the weight is slowly coming off.
I have submitted more manuscripts this year and had publications, but I did not meet my goal of writing one hour each day. I write more in spurts when I have a deadline. I want to be more intentional with my writing.
I need to do some major revamping of our schedules and time management…and I REALLY need to declutter! I’ve set myself a goal of really sprinting to a finish over the next two months!
I did so good when my oldest were little to read aloud, but I had gotten away from the habit. But I’m happy to say that we’ve revived the practice, and I’ve enjoyed many great books with my littles this year! Yay!
What I need for a BIG finish is being more committed to doing things on purpose and not by default. I do really well with lists…because I like to cross things off! LOL I am going to take an hour or two this weekend to sit down and plan (step by step) what I need to do to reach my household/scheduling goals and bathe it in lots of prayer. Then I’m going to set aside at least an hour per day to tackle that list!
Thanks for such inspirational and thought provoking Mommy Homework!
Blessings,
Amy
1. What were your goals? What were your resolutions? What were your plans? What did you want for this year?
Since we take a definite summer break I break our year up more on the basis of our school year even in my own mind, and for my own personal life.
I have been terrible with writing down goals. I have a few things in my mind and maybe that is why things are not getting done that need to get done. I had planned to get more into Charlotte Mason homeschooling. I wanted to progress in our history reading. I wanted to enjoy our new found love of lapbooking. I wanted to continue reading to the boys for school and for pleasure, and I read to the whole family too. I wanted to encourage my boys to have a closer walk with the Lord and to do consistent Bible study.
I guess one of my goals needs to be to sit and pray and think and write out my goals!!! LOL Of course Cindy’s Mommy homework has gotten me thinking so I have already started, I just need to write this out or print it for myself and add to it.
2. Which are checked off? Which are a praise report? Which need to be on the calendar during the next few months? How are you doing? What have you done this year? What needs to be done to reach for your goals and resolutions?
For CM homeschooling: I have gotten rid of the workbooks for Language arts and we have been doing copywork but I have slacked off on doing Picture Study, Music Study, and we only do narrations occasionally, I need to get back to that!! Maybe I need a refresher by listening to and reading my CM stuff I have from Cindy!!! 😉
We have progressed well in our history reading though not as far as I might have liked but that is because we took the whole month of August to study the Olympics which also covers our new love of lapbooks. My dd Rachel age 22 and I love the Olympics and so we decided now was the time to do a lapbook of our own and do I did my own Beijing Olympics Lapbook and dd Rachel did one too. We are now starting a Viking Lapbook which we will probably be doing all ourselves since I can’t afford to buy the one from HOAC that I would like to have to save me time. But it will be fun planning and doing it with the boys leading the way, I hope!
We have done really well in our reading for school we have finished 3 historical fictions so far and are reading a Henty right now. We have not been reading our just for fun book lately and I just had to urge to start it back up this week. I have not started it back up yet… but plan to tomorrow night hopefully.
Consistent Bible study has definitely not happened. My own walk has been haphazard this year so how can I encourage my family. I have been doing better lately and have been better at encouraging my sons in their Bible study lately, but we have a Looooooooong way to go!
3. What would it take to have a big finish for this year? What will you do this week to gear up for a big finish?
A view of the few goals I have put here. Consistency on my part on following through with checking on the boys- making sure they have done what I told them to, continuing my own personal Bible study so I am close to the Lord and can encourage my family to do the same, much more prayer for each member of my family daily, getting back to the things I know I SHOULD do instead of doing so much of what I WANT to do!! 🙁
Thanks for the wake-up call Cindy 🙂
Debbie Phillips
I realized when Cindy blogged about setting goals a few weeks ago, that my hubby probably didn’t know much about that. From having a direct sales/party plan business, then Homeschooling, I knew about setting goals, but we haven’t been setting goals for our family and household.
Priase #1: We had a healty baby boy in Feburary, and Daddy took 3 weeks off!
The good thing about not being too scheduled is that you’re flexible (obviously?!). My good friend continued to struggle with an illness, and we were able to be available for her.
My hubby read Cindy’s post on goals; he liked it, and we’re going to set some goals together: short-and long-term household goals and “spiritual” goals, too! Praise #2: We talked last weekend and decided to make a bigger commitment to our church. Many people in our church are struggling with finances and putting their families first, and we feel we can be an example and/or teach in these areas. We are going to go around the house and make a list of what we each would like to see done on the physical aspects of the house.
Praise #3: We worked on giving the kids more responsibility around the house, and we do have a good flow to our morning routine.
To have a big finish, I just want everything to be organized, running smoothly. I want to be able to start school in the morning without having interruptions or starting late because of chores, showers, or phone calls. When we do a fun project, I want to be able to have all the supplies in one place, not half upstairs and half who knows where!
I need to make a goals sheet for the kids for school. I made one last year, and I wasn’t too happy with the progress, so I didn’t do one this year. Lame, I know 😉 I’m also going to get out Cindy’s planning sheets (I have them printed) and make a household cleaning list – daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly. I’ve started jotting down notes, but I want them on a form in my binder. I’m continuing to purge, file and organize, and I know that will make everyone around here happier.
And we are going to set goals for next year for the first time! Thanks, Cindy!
Danielle Hull
This is my first Mommy Homework and boy did I pick a challenging place to jump in!
Typically I don’t make many resolutions at the first of the year; instead I look at August as our beginning since that’s when the school year starts. But, this is a great time to look back over 2008 and see how I’m doing so far.
Like many of the ladies here, I have been striving to get closer to the Lord with a more consistent time of prayer and Bible study each day. I had a baby last December and hit a low point of depression about 3-4 months ago. I am just now coming out of that cloud and can’t tell you what a difference it makes to be more myself again.
I need to get up earlier to get a handle on my day before the children are up. I am trying to get in my prayer time personally before they get up; however, I want them to have a regular prayer time also and they are too young to do that on their own, so we are all praying together after breakfast time with we do a ‘prayer and praise’ time and talk about things for which we are thankful.
Several of the workshops from the UHSE gave me some good goals for organizing both my home and my homeschool and I am steadily working to implement those new ideas. For one, I am allowing my boys, who are reluctant writers, to use notebooking instead of their typical language arts workbooks. They enjoy it much more and are adapting to the change very well.
I am also trying to carve out time specifically for my younger ones for preschool activities so they aren’t being left out. That is more difficult since all my kiddos are fairly young (9, 8, 5, 3, 10 months), but I’m trying my best.
To have a big finish for the year, I want to get all the closets organized in our house. We seem to be drowning in laundry much of the time, so I am going to pare down on the clothes.
Also, I want to get back into regular menu planning and eating at home as much as possible. My husband travels a lot and when he is gone, we tend to eat out much more. I don’t want to do that anymore.
We are also working on eliminating debt. I wasn’t able to listen to the recent seminar, but I am saving up to purchase that one! We are reaching the point of desperation, which I guess is where we need to be in order to really enact change.
Lastly, I want to have a better evening routine for the kids. I would like their bedtime to be more consistent and maybe even make it a bit earlier.
Thanks for giving me the nudge I need to work through some of these things!!
~Karen S.
Boy, this is going to have to be the Reader’s Digest version.
Goals? Plans? Resolutions? Wants for this year?
Geez, just to get thru it and not want to suffer burn out or the monotany we had last year. To accomplish some minor things on my list and to move the classroom upstairs so I can use it more.
So-
I did get the classroom moved up. What a difference-we have all of our stuff right there and handy. The only problem is that it is the room right next to the front door-so I have to be diligent in maintaining order and keep it reasonably clean.
My resolution was to always do a weekly schedule for my daughter to follow because otherwise, it is easy to drift and not stay in the direction of the overall goal for each subject. I have managed outside of one week to do this. I always have to add stuff we didn’t get to (to the following week’s list) but we are able to accomplish most of it.
We have only been in the swing of things for about 5 weeks. We had a later start because we did a summer session that didn’t end until Labor Day. I still think I need some time off to do non-school related thinking. But alas, it hasn’t happened and most likely will not for a while.
We seem to be more interested in school stuff and actually doing it, because we are doing more hands on and fun things. We had to scale back last year due to my husband being pretty sick and various other happenings…so we did what we had to and nothing extra. It was a boring year and we barely made it. I decided we needed more artsy stuff, field trips, hands on activities and to keep the days not so crowded with academics. It has been working pretty good. I started with Friday being a half day, leaving the late morning and afternoon for various things like games and baking, nature study trips and so on. But after I was picked to be a part of the TOS review group-I had to switch up and claim Monday as my work day since our weekends are soooo busy. I need a day to do my stuff, catch up and plan out our week. So they do min. work and must be quiet. Then I started getting the products to review and have to weave that into our reg. stuff…so now we live week to week on our scheduling. A few more weeks and I should have it down pat. I hope.
Now I am going to be taking my 15 month old nephew a few times a week (all day) so who knows? I didn’t get too much accomplished this week when he was here b/cuz we needed to get him used to our home/us. Having a baby again is huge! Plus I am not used to early morning rising and no resting inbetween. (not to sound lazy- but I have spent the better part of the last 2+ years recovering from various health issues that wiped me out…I don’t want to go back to barely being able to get out of bed due to over doing it-so I am very aware of my need to rest).
Can I check anything off? Well I got my books ordered (ok, so 3 weeks later than I had hoped, but we had enough to keep us busy), I am not yet checking myself into the local looney bin, I can still recall my name and address, and I know that because the biggest thing that we are sticking to is the best we could ever do! I know we’ll get to our desitnation as we should. We are being diligent in doing our morning devotions, Bible reading and prayers. I let that slip and what a mistake that was! I fight for it-altho Satan has been trying hard to get us to let it go…but that is another post!
I don’t think much about the big finish because it is just too overwhelming, and besides, whenever I make big plans, ideas and think that is the best way to get there-no matter what-the Lord steps in and reminds me that is His way will be done and He may have completely different ideas of how to do it and perhaps a totally different route (like now taking on my nephew). I have learned thru His promptings as of late to let him take the wheel and keep it. I should be enjoying the ride, checking directions, and making some knowledgable requests (oh, say for stopping at Starbucks) every now and again, but He is in control and I need to relax and let go of the urge to hop into the driver’s seat.
I guess I may not of answered the questions as asked, I am totally exhausted and need to go to bed. Wanted to get this posted tho. I hope you ask this question in May or June when the year is suppose to be done. I may have a totally different post than this or I may be right about the same.
Blessings-
Sheri Hagemann
We began this year with a huge to do list…things around our home…things around our farm…things within our family.
Last year was our most trying year of our 17 years of married life. We were so thankful to have gotten through it all together and safe. Many items on our to do list were from last year.
We started out doing very well….getting little jobs accomplished. School wound down later than hoped for, but the end did come.
Then, July came..and my uncle passed away from a head injury sustained in a fall. My uncle was larger than life..and all of a sudden, he was gone. While I no longer live physically close to him (he lived in NY, we live in TN)…he had always made a big impact on my life.
Throughout this past year, I’ve seen friends lose their spouse, parents lose their children, children lose their parent. And it struck me…TIME….
What I learned was that life is too short. Yes, we should have a plan. Yes, we should set goals. But, when life happens, let it. I saw my babes growing up way too quickly for my taste. Our oldest is 15, our youngest is 5. Time…it’s too short. It’s too short to be spent worried about what I didn’t check off our list. It’s too short to be upset due to lack of time or money. It’s just too short.
So, I guess my answer is that we do still have plenty on our to do list..but we are taking it one day at a time. Actually, my Honey is on vacation now till Nov 3rd. Sure, we have a list..but at the top of that list is HAVE FUN TOGETHER.
I’m not sure this is exactly what you had hoped for..but that’s my contribution for this week! 🙂
As far back as I can remember I have been a clutter bug and messy. When my husband and I got married I found that we both were the same but he was also a pack rat. Well, no real confrontations between us about these issues occurred until we had kids. I wanted to keep things clean but didn’t know how to do that and take care of a baby and a house. But, my husband hounded me about it more so than I ever knew he even cared to have a clean house. What a surprise.
Well, I decided sometime around the end of 2007 that I really needed to make some changes in the way I kept house and my attitude about it. Oh, but so many areas int he house were cluttered or closets crammed packed and I just didn’t know how to get started.
A friend of mine introduced me to “The Fly Lady” but at that time I did not get online much – so I felt I needed books to read and I subscribed to a magazine hoping these would help me. I also found Messys Anonymous and realized I was a messy perfectionist. I wanted a clean home but thought in the back of my mind “If I can’t do it thouroughly and perfect then I am not doing it at all”. As I gathered all the information from books magazines and some from websites – I learned that I could do things in little steps and I didn’t have to get everything done in one day and I found I had to have daily chores to keep the house clean.
I never really set goals I just knew in my mind and then wrote a list of things needed to be done. And finding out in November 2007 we would have to move out by January 2008(later changed to Mar08)made it somewhat easier to get in gear to make the changes I wanted to make in our home and with myself. My friend and I would pray for each other and talk about the things each of us felt we needed to change with attitudes toward house cleaning, our children and our husbands. I slowly went through a closet here a cabinet there and on… The house we moved to has a huge attic but only 2 closets in the living area and furniture has turned into closet space and storage space. What a challenge and a blessing at the same time. I felt the Lord just gave this opportunity to me to just get rid of the garbage that was cluttering up the house just as He has removed the garbage from my life and continues to remove by His mercy. I had not even looked at it like that until now typing what I have written. You know why do we think that we need that whatever that we have not used in over a year when it just needs to be thrown away or given to someone else that really needs it. I just kept thinking I might use it when???????
The changes I made were not to have clutter collector’s in the bathroom and I am still working on getting rid of the rugs in the hallway(husband loves rugs). I don’t mind rugs just need clean lines and must be easy to sweep or vaccum. I would like to have a place designated for everything we have but not over do it with the perfection. But maybe it would be easier, I wouldn’t have to sit around trying to figure out where what goes if I had labels for everything.
There are things that have been accomplished this year and many other things that I want to accomplish in the next couple of months and next year. The big end of the year would be — I want to be able to enjoy my children more and be the mother that I know the Lord has called me to be. Being a better wife would be something my husband would appreciate and be in agreement on child discipline —there are so many things that could get better but I know that just like everyone else that has written MH, I would like to have time with the Lord and give my days to Him so that He would be glorified in our life and in our children’s life now and until they pass on to be with Him. His will be done.
Jessica Abel
What were your goals? What were your resolutions? What were your plans? What did you want for this year?
I wanted to get a lot done in school this year and really stay on track and not let too many days pass when we didn’t get all of our school work done.
I wanted to finally get my house completely cleaned and organized. Also the garage.
I wanted to be more patient with my kids and grow closer to them and to God.
Which are checked off? Which are a praise report? Which need to be on the calendar during the next few months? How are you doing? What have you done this year? What needs to be done to reach for your goals and resolutions?
Well, I can’t completely check off any of them. I really have gotten a lot closer to my house being done, although that is not including the garage and the outside of my house. I did have a garage sale and got my garage mostly done but not completely. I have been a little more patient with my kids but not perfectly. I have grown closer to God and have really, really turned my heart around more to my family and kids and actually enjoy some of the things now that I used to detest. I have a new appreciation for my kids and the housework and those sorts of things.
On the topic of school, my original goal has completely failed, BUT that is good. I have learned to relax and not try to get SOOO much done every day but to enjoy what we are doing and not to rush through things. I still struggle with this some but I am getting better! LOL
What would it take to have a big finish for this year? What will you do this week to gear up for a big finish?
You know, I have come a long way, but I am close to a lot of things, but have not Completed any of them. I need to really dig in and try to finish all the things I have started and start the new year off with a clean, organized slate!
This week I will work on finishing the last few rooms I need to organize in the house, which are the laundry room and the hall closet.
I will get those done and do another complete run down of the house and make sure everything is done inside and then I need to finish the outside, like the weeds in the flowerbeds and get may garage organized so that I can park in there this winter!
I will take more time to pray for all help with all of the things that I need help with. I really need more help with patience. I will make more time with God which will help me in all areas of my life.
Thanks for asking this question. It really made me think of putting it all in perspective.
Rodna James
when we decided to homeschool I set some goals and so far we are doing pretty good. One of the biggest things was to relax and be flexible. That has been hard at times but we are having fun and learning alot (parents included).
I don’t do the new year’s resolution thing as I never seem to keep them, but some things I have been trying to do are getting better. I wanted to write/ blog more this year and thanks to our homeschool I have. I wanted to spend more time in God’s word and well I’m working on it just as he is working on me.
I know I need to work on my patience and my Proverbs 31 skills. I know I can be the best wife and mother, I just need to balance my expectations and desires better.
Thanks for another great question. I could have gone on for hours, but it is late .
Cariann
Hi Cindy and Friends!
Well there was always the weight goal – I haven’t done very well in that regard. But it is something that is always on my heart and it is a battle. Losing 40 kilos would make a great finish!!
I had a marriage goal – to be able to communicate more with my hubbie and become closer – that is a praise report!!! I started viewing my husband the way God views him and things changed!
My homeschooling goal was to step up a gear and do more interesting projects and get my boys to think more for themselves – this is an ongoing goal i guess but I feel like we have done better this year than last year – always improving.
I had a goal to invite more families over for meals – that has stayed in the just- thinking part and next month (getting into more warmer weather for BBQs) we will invite some families over. If I could host three families for dinner over the next two months that would be great – this will be a big thing for me since I am not great at hosting dinners.
Financial goals – to buy a car debt free – ticked off. YAH!!! Still got the goal of having a debt free home – received promises from God on that one this year and are believing for one. Started to do my bit by selling stuff. So far I have sold swing and slide set, educational cd roms – to sell hopefully this week some nice suit clothes and kids puzzles and games.
Ministry goals: to organise a womans retreat – our first one! and my goal was to only speak God’s words and to encourage woman towards a closer walk with God – it was a great success – all praise to God. Started a womans home group/bible study and it has grown till we are bursting now and the prayer requests take 20 minutes to go through!!! I wanted to write more this year but with family commitments and my marriage goal I didn’t get any writing bar my journal done at all. But my marriage goal was more important than my writing goal.
My main housekeeping goal was to de clutter the home and then sell stuff and I feel great with the way our home looks – my homeschooling books all are in one place and are in different subject sections. Our games cupboard looks awesome. Our bedroom is great – more of a retreat. My dresser drawers are not overflowing with 20 year old clothes that I don’t wear anymore! We can walk in the hallway now without stepping over piles of books. Yes I can tick that off – just a few more things to sell.
Thanks Cindy it is great to review the year – I love it!
Rachel Larkin
To finish off the year in a big way will mean continuing the momentum I have had since my trip to the US.
Not allowing circumstances and other ‘challenges’ to slow me down nor stop me.
The last two months I have accomplished more than the rest of the year so it should be a good end.
Like Rachel and others, I have been de-cluttering and sorting out our home. Prior to being here I had only ever spent 2 years max in one home…so it was easy to stay on top of things.
In December I will have been in this house 7 years and you can tell. 🙂
As the place becomes more serene, less cluttered and more organised…and it is on the surface – just not underneath, I have noticed that things become quieter and easier to deal with. It’s like getting rid of the hidden clutter in the home is getting rid of a binding clutter in the mind.
The other thing I know that is the clincher to the whole lot is to keep building that relationship with my heavenly Father. He is my everything – He is what gets me through the day and keeps prompting me in the spirit to know that I can do it…but only in His strength.
I pray that for all of us…that we would finish this year in His Strength in a big and mighty way.