Goals for August

Yesterday I shared how I did on my goals for July. Today I am going to take you through my goals for August! 

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1. Take the ugly runner off our stairs.

Before we moved to this house in March we painted every wall and baseboard, took down ugly vertical blinds, and anything else we found offensive to our eyes, except this stair runner. Here is a photo of the progress made so far. Basically, we have just painted the walls. Only the stair runner remains but its days are now numbered!

Granted, it is providing a cushy feeling for our tootsies and helping keep the little ones from slipping, but it's time to rip it out and find a better solution. I have had a plan for this stairwell since before we moved in and it is time to get it started. We do also hope to eventually install some board and batten similar to this image down these stairs and throughout the main areas in the basement.

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But for the stairs themselves there are two options I am considering for replacing the runner - either painting them exactly like the image on the left (with a special compound you add to the paint that makes it grittier and non-slippery) or replacing it with a pretty new runner like the image on the right. I welcome your input on which one you like better or if you have an entirely new suggestion! Let me know in the comments below. I'll keep you posted as our plans come together and we start making some progress.

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But the first step is getting rid of the old! So that's on the to-do list this month!


2. Go on a spending freeze.

Phil and I have done this a few times and we find it's a good practice a few months out of the year. For that month we cut any extra spending - eating out or grabbing a coffee, any home decor items (even if I find a great deal), Netflix, clothing, etc. Anything outside of our regular necessary bills, committed giving, food, and gas is cut out for one month. It's great for the bank account and it's both revealing and good for our hearts. It's so easy to fall into finding pleasure in accumulating or buying the next new thing. But there is great satisfaction to be found in contentment, being grateful for all that I have and remembering I am not meant to love things, experiences, or status. I'm to love relationship, with God and people. As a Christian my treasure and status will be found in heaven, in eternity - not here. So my life and attitude should reflect that. I was really convicted reading through 1 John the past few days.

1 John 2:15-17 (NLT)

"Do not love the world nor the things if offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."

What an accurate description of our culture today - pride in our achievements and possessions. And a craving for everything we see (hello, that's me on Pinterest!). I too easily follow right along with it and contribute to the problem of comparison instead of love. It's not easy to tame our impulses and wants for a month, but we have always found it beneficial.

Some of you may be thinking this perhaps contrasts with my first goal. It's a valid point and I feel the tension of it. It's something I've been praying through a lot as I've relatively newly discovered a deep passion for decorating my home the past few years, while also wrestling with the excess it can tempt you towards. I think it comes down not so much to whether you decorate your home intentionally or not, but your heart and purposes in doing it. But I could be fooling myself. It's likely something I will blog about in the near future. If you have any thoughts or insight on this, I'd love to hear what you think. 

3. Meal plan every week. Infuse some variety into our diet!

We don't have air conditioning in our house (all the more reason we are grateful for our pool), so during these boiling hot months the last thing I want to be doing is turning on my oven. This means I need meals that are either quick on the stove top, can be grilled on the BBQ, or don't require any cooking at all. The problem is, I am the least creative person when it comes to cooking. I feel like we have been eating very repetitively and expensively because I haven't been planning our meals out. So I'm hoping to see my grocery bills go down as I plan seven days worth of meals and snacks each week and can then shop only for what we need.

If you have a great, simple summer dinner that doesn't involve using the oven, please share in the comments below! I'm desperate for inspiration! 

4. Read 2 more books.

My goal is to read 20 books this year. At this point I have read 11 so far and am right on track to reach my goal as long as I keep up with 2 books a month. Last month's two book selections were not well thought out - I just grabbed what was accessible. They were okay, but definitely not favourites. I'd love any book suggestions you may have for me! What are your favourite reads lately? Leave a comment below. 


5. Have a weekend away at the cottage with family.

I was supposed to have this booked and planned a month ago, so I am going to need to act quickly! We are looking forward to getting away with Phil's family for some quality time together in the sun and water. We haven't done this together since the summer of 2011 so we are really looking forward to it. (And if you have a cottage available for rent near the end of the month, let me know!)


6. Make a blogging schedule.

So far I am a fairly sporadic blogger. I would like to figure out a schedule that works for me and post on the same day(s) every week so you can know when to expect a new post. I am sure I won't always stick to it, but at least a bit of structure could be helpful.


7. Start Jen Wilkin's Bible study of 123 John.

My sister-in-law started this study in July and since I just finished Judges, I thought I would give 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John a try too. Feel free to join us as all of Jen's studies are available here for free (workbook and audio)!

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So what about you? What are your goals for August? I'd love to hear in the comments below.

How I did on my goals for July

I know I'm posting this a bit late. I've had a busy but wonderful week! Before I get to my goals for August, here is a look back at how I did on the goals I had set for July.

As I mentioned when I first started blogging my monthly goals on here, it's so important to give yourself grace as you work toward these things. This was a month I needed a lot of grace for myself as the unexpected and tragic happened with my miscarriage 11 days into the month. Some days in the midst of grief these goals I had made felt like slaps in the face of failure as I just could not find it in myself to buck up and get them done. But after some time, they actually provided a little bit of a lifeline as I am trying to pick myself up off the floor so to speak and keep on.

1. Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day.

I started and ended the month well on this one, but in the middle dealing with our miscarriage meant I just wasn't thinking about how much water I was drinking. Yet having set this as a goal kept it in my mind enough that I definitely did better than usual in this area this month. I've noticed a change in my skin from drinking water more faithfully.

2. Be in bed before 11 and be up before the kids in the morning.

I actually did better in this area in June than July. Many of the goals I set and wasn't able to keep this month don't really matter all that much to me in the grand scheme of things, but this is one I really missed and wish I could have maintained better. It is just so beneficial for me to have adequate sleep and to be awake before the kids.  I am trying to work my way back into discipline in this area. I have been very tired this month. There are a lot of reasons - staying up late crying to/with my husband about the baby, you're naturally more exhausted while grieving, and I wasn't getting good quality sleep at night with so much swirling through my mind. However, I have hope as I head into August that I will be able to get back on track in this.

3. Go camping.

Well, we visited my dad at a camp site, went to the beach there, fished, and roasted marshmallows over a campfire while singing some songs. Does that count?! ... I still want to officially camp in August. My sister-in-law has kindly offered us all the equipment we would need.

4. Spend some time each day playing with the kids.

This went okay. Really, I didn't think too much about it. All I know is we had a lot of great times together this month. I just didn't keep track of it.

5. Get the kids in the pool every day we can.

This has been one of the great joys of this month. In just one month's time both of my kids have gone from tentative and afraid to go in the pool to begging me multiple times a day to get in there. They have discovered the joy of swimming and both of them light up when they are in there. I'm surprised at how much both of them have learned. I am thrilled with their progress and it has been a lot of fun spending so much time together enjoying our pool. 

6. Run 3 times a week using the Couch-to-5k program.

This is the one I struggle the most with feeling like a failure. From the start I wasn't excited about it, but I started the first week and a bit. After the miscarriage happened, it was left behind. The doctor advised to take it easy for a while. In the last week or so as I've started to feel better I have been making exercise a priority again, but have only ran once.

7. Read 2 books.

Phew! I can redeem myself here. Done-zo. This month I read:

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

My mother-in-law had talked to me about this book years ago. When she passed away a few years ago, it got passed along to me. I finally picked it up this month.

The book is about a year-long quest the author went on to become more happy through making resolutions each month she had to live by and it shares what she discovered along the way. It definitely had some interesting points and was a great catalyst at helping me evaluate some things in my life. I liked that she emphasized the need to be you and find what you actually find fun and enjoyable. I took some good things away from it.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I had seen this on the best sellers lists but didn't know anything about it. I had been hankering for an easy read and one day as I came out of the grocery store loaded down with grocery bags and kiddos, I saw this book on top of the stack at a little donation library there. Perfect. No ordering online or having to traipse two kids into the library - win! It was a thriller and a page-turner so that was great, but a definitely a bit dark and depressing.  

8. Date my husband.

As expected, this was a favourite part of this month. We started the month off with dinner and tickets to see James Vincent McMorrow at the Montreal Jazz Festival. It was lovely. A little over a week later, we miscarried our 3rd sweet baby. There weren't many other official dates this month, but because of the miscarriage we were able to spend a lot of extra time together just the two us (even if it was just at the hospital). This month of dates wasn't how I had envisioned it or would have chosen, but the heart of the goal was to be drawn closer together with the amazing man I'm married to, and that certainly happened. We have been through a lot over the years that we've been together and I've never been more grateful than now for the loving husband God gave me.

9. Finish the Judges Bible study.

This was an easy one to complete because I enjoy these studies so much. Oh Judges, what a book! I'm deeply grateful for Jen Wilkin and her studies like this. I learned SO much. I can't wait to start a new study in August. 



Finally, here are the items we checked off our Summer Bucket List in July:

* Sidewalk chalk our driveway
* Swim at the beach
* Attend VBS at church
* Build a sand castle

And we also repeated a few of the activities we had already done in June. We went back to the zoo two more times this month and played some more games with water balloons.

So that is how July played out for me. It's not quite what I had hoped to be able to accomplish and as I end the month I am still feeling quite sad and struggling to be motivated. However, I am pressing forward and finding that doing some of these things even when I don't feel like it at least helps life move a bit more smoothly and they can help me feel a bit better. How did your month go? What are some goals you have for August? Stay tuned for my August goals soon!

Goals for July

So yesterday I shared how I did on my Goals for June. You can read my update on how I did on those here.

Today we are going to take a look at my Goals for July!

1. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

This should probably also say, "Give up coffee" or "Limit myself to one cup of coffee a day", but hush. There is no need to be so cruel. Let's not go there just yet. Baby steps, baby steps. More water it is!

2. Be in bed before 11 and be up before the kids in the morning.

Sleep is good for you. So I should probably get more than the 6 hours I've been averaging since Addie started sleeping through the night (before that, it was even less). Ideally, I'd like to be reading in bed by 10 with lights out by 10:30 (apparently the hours of sleep before midnight count for double) and up by 6 in the morning. But I'm also realistic enough to know that it may not always be possible. With it staying light out so late this time of year the kids are often up much later than during the rest of the year, so once they do go down it's nice to get some alone time to relax and chat with my hubby! I don't want to miss out on that, but I will do my best to find some balance.

3. Go camping.

Want to know how much camping equipment we own? Zip. Zero. Nothing. Nada. So this one will be an interesting one to accomplish this month! If you're local, look out. We'll probably be asking to borrow your camping equipment soon. You've been duly warned. 

4. Spend some time each day playing with the kids.

I stay home with my kids so you would think this wouldn't need to be a stated goal and would probably just happen naturally, and often it does. But the reality is that I'm usually very busy all day and it's easy for the day to go by without me stopping everything to just lighten up and play with them for a bit. I'm not a naturally playful person (thank God they have their super fun daddy), but it's an area I want to grow in.  I'm always around as they play and included occasionally, but it's too easy to be only partially checked-in while multi-tasking doing other things. I need to lay aside my love for marking things off my checklist, and just play for a while. I think I need to play with them as much as they need me to play with them. 

5. Get the kids in the pool every day we can. 

My son is a very cautious kid and has had a fear of swimming for quite a while. He's always been content to just sit on the side. Now that we have a pool, I would like the kids to learn to swim as soon as possible. The first step of that is just getting them used to the water and having some fun. I already started this with them and in just one week of getting them in the water almost every day, they have both really relaxed and actually enjoy and look forward it. I want to keep this up! Plus, I think I'm part fish, so I love being in the water anyway. Win win!

6. Run 3 times a week using the Couch to 5k Program.

I wish I was more excited about this one. This will take sheer willpower. I am not excited about it at all (which makes me fear it doesn't bode well for this one). Before I got pregnant with Addilyn I would run 5k's almost every morning like a boss and I loved and enjoyed it. Guys. I tried just running around our little neighbourhood a few mornings this past week, and it did not feel awesome. I always thought this photo was hilarious, but it isn't even accurate because right now when I run I 100% feel like the bottom photo. BUT you just have to press past the jiggles and the leg burning and get 'er done. I want to fall in love with running again. There's no way to do it but to start. So here we go!

7. Read 2 books.

For the past three years I've tried to read anywhere between 25-35 books a year. This year I'm just aiming for 20. I've got to get at it! If you have any recommendations, I'm all ears if you'd like to share your favourites in the comments below. I try to vary genres as much as I can handle.

8. Date my husband

For a variety of reasons since having kiddos, this has not been our strong point. We have found it really hard to make dates happen regularly, but when they do it's always wonderful. We are so thankful for many sweet family members who bless us by babysitting for us. Going on dates is something we definitely know we need and have been trying to make more of a priority. I can easily say this is the goal I'm looking forward to the most for this month. My husband surprised me with tickets to a concert at the Montreal Jazz Festival tomorrow night so it looks like we will be off to a good start in this area this month!

9. Finish the Judges Bible Study

I managed to complete 6 weeks of the 11 week study in the month of June so I think it's attainable to finish the last 5 weeks this month. I am so passionate about sharing Jen Wilkin's studies with any one I can. It's not because she is the be all end all of Bible studying, but that she challenges women to love God with our minds. She gets you to do the hard work of digging into the Word for yourself in the workbook - even the difficult passages - and think. It's not about her, and I love that. If you want, check out her Bible studies here. The audio and work books are online completely FREE! It's great listening to her teaching talks, but it will be so minuscule in comparison to the richness of listening after you've done the workbook work for yourself. So please don't skip that part! 


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So those are a few of my goals for this month! What do you have in mind to accomplish this month? What are some habits you'd like to work on developing or some tasks you've been putting off for too long? I would love to hear in the comments below.

How I Did On My Goals for June

Before I get to my new goals for July, let's take a look back and see how I did on my Goals for June:

1. Spend time each weekday doing Jen Wilkin's Bible study on the book of Judges.

This went really well! I can't say I did it every weekday (sometimes I'd make up for it on the weekend), but the heart of the goal was to get me in the Word, studying, and that goal was met. I am really enjoying this. I would never have ventured a study on the book of Judges by myself, but it has been so helpful in finally understanding what the deal is with that book and what it's message is. I really encourage you to check out Jen Wilkin's studies. She's fantastic. If you want to join me, you can get the workbook and audio for free here.

2. Exercise in some form every day.

Piper and Addie not sure they're awake enough for a walk.

This was a bit of a weak point for the first part of the month, except some family walks and bike rides. Between being busy, having guests, and a bout of sickness that hit our family, exercise got pushed mostly to the back burner for a few weeks, but I was able to finish the month strong the past two weeks. Most mornings I've been trying to get up between 5 and 6 to hit the pavement running, walking, or doing an exercise DVD before the kids wake up and my husband has to leave for work. My entire day is improved when I do this. That time to myself is life-giving! The peaceful quiet as the sun awakes and everything is still and dewy breathes vigour into my soul. I really am fighting to establish this as a habit.

3. Write at least one blog post a week.

Umm... oops! I think I missed an entire week, but then I put up two posts another week. (That makes up for it right?). There are other posts I've written but haven't completed yet. Ideally, I need to improve in this area and get some sort of regular schedule going.

4. Get the guest room ready for guests.

Well, it's not everything I would hope it to be, but I managed to get it functional. The junk pile got sorted through and put away in storage or given away. So far it has a bed, side tables, lamps and a dresser. We loved having my brother and sister-in-law from Alberta and my dad visit this month. I'm grateful to be able to offer them each a private room in this house! I have a girl's weekend coming up in July so I'm hoping to keep working on this, making it even better. I'd still like to at least add art, curtains, and a mirror. I'll have to snap a photo sometime to share.

5. Hang art in the living and dining rooms.

The upstairs living room.

Well, I completed this one! But then I proceeded to undo half of it. I found an awesome, large, old spinning wheel at this great outdoor market in our area and hung it above the couch in the living room. I love it! It was exactly the vision I had for that space and I got a great deal. It adds interest, texture, and dimension to the room. It also happens to be the exact same patina as the rustic wood floor lamp I had there, so it ties in beautifully. 

In the dining room I tried to work with what I had. I tried to channel my inner Joanna Gaines, putting up an old empty frame with a boxwood wreath in the middle of it, but I actually ended up taking it down after a few days. It was too dark and I didn't love it. I decided I'm okay with letting the walls breathe until I find something that I truly love to put there. 

I did hang two other photos in our entrance, so I'm telling myself that makes up for it. The truth is, I really want to be more selective in my home this time around. Many times I'll buy something because it's on sale and hope to find a spot for it. This time I want to have a design plan and wait to find what I know I'll love (and for a good deal, because I'm kind of allergic to paying full price for things). This home will develop over time, and that's fine with me. 

6. Plan a 4th birthday party that Jackson will love (not myself or Pinterest).

Done! It was a blast. We celebrated for four days straight. You can read all about it here.  

7. Do a fun activity with the kids off our Family Summer Bucket List at least once a week.

My boy hand to paw with a white lion at the zoo.

This goal was met and then some! We managed to check a few things off our list, but frankly, it was a month chalk-full of plenty of summer fun, whether it was on our list or not. But here are the ones we crossed off of our Summer Bucket List this month:

* Go fishing
* Go to the zoo
* Visit a new park
* Roast marshmallows
* Water balloon games

8. Take more photos with my "real" camera.

My hope in this goal was to just start taking photos with my Nikon again instead of always using my iPhone, and I really enjoyed this. From Jackson's birthday party, to hikes, time at the park, and little candid moments of our life, I took my camera along and have some precious, good quality snaps to show for it. I'd like to keep this up.

Overall, I'd say the hope of all of my goals were met this month! I found it really beneficial. Writing out my goals helped me remember to focus in on some things I wanted to accomplish (like getting the guest room ready and hanging some art) or areas I generally wanted to develop the habit of regularly including in my life (like Bible study, exercise, and planning special activities with the kids each week). 

As I look toward my goals for July, I'd like to keep up what I began in June when it comes to exercising every day, using my Nikon more often, and Bible study. I've also made some of those goals a bit more specific.

How about you? Did you set any goals you met this month? Do you have some ideas for next month? Share in the comments below if you'd like.

Stay tuned for my Goals for July tomorrow.

8 Goals for June (and grace for when I only end up doing 3 of them)

It's almost summer! I know it's four days into June already, but I thought I would get these up and out into the 'ole blogosphere now rather than never. A little public accountability never hurt anybody right? (...That's probably totally not true, the internet's a super nasty place at times.)

First off, I want to make sure to say that the main thing I remind myself when making goals is to sprinkle it all with grace. I have no clue what is in store for us this month. Sometimes life just throws us a curve and unexpected things come up. For me, sometimes out of nowhere in a month I struggle with depressive symptoms and just getting through the day caring for two little ones can be difficult enough to accomplish. So there needs to be grace all over these goals. That being said, I've found, for me, having at least loose routines and some goals in my life can help me to focus and determine what my priorities should be. When making goals I try to cover a variety of different areas. Some to consider are: spiritual, physical, emotional, financial, as well as home, family, work, and hobbies. So here is what I have for this month:

1. Spend time each weekday doing Jen Wilkin's Bible Study in Judges.

In the fall I started a Bible study of the book of Joshua by Jen Wilkin, and after a lengthy hiatus have just now finished it. I cannot recommend her studies enough and am so excited to dig into this next one. I love that she emphasizes doing the hard work of studying the Bible for yourself before you go and hear what others have to say in commentaries. She makes you work, makes you dig, and the experience in the Word is richer for it. So I've started her study of Judges this month and hope to invest some time in it every weekday. I'm very grateful to be in a season of motherhood where I finally feel I have a bit more time to devote to study again. You are more than welcome to join me! All her studies can be found here. The link to the workbook you can print as well as all the audio of her teaching is there for free.

2. Exercise in some form 'erryday. 

There isn't much more to be said about that, except I desire to be moving in the direction of health. And I've been moving a little too much in the (delicious) direction of ice cream lately.

3. Write at least one blog post a week. 

I have a lot in my heart I want to share with others - some things are deeply personal and serious while others are quite lighthearted.  It is a challenging discipline to sit down and find the words to share what God has laid on my heart, but I want to challenge myself in that. I need to just keep trying until I find my voice easier to get out. Thank you for being with me along the journey. And I appreciate any feedback you have, and I love to interact with people's responses to what I write. So don't be shy to leave comments!

4. Get the guest room ready for guests.

We just bought our very first house and actually have a space for guests! I've always wanted to be able to host people "properly" (the 'couch in the family room' approach worked for a while, but I'm glad to upgrade!). I'm so thankful for it, and this month we have quite a few out-of-province guests staying with us. So the pressure is on to get my butt in gear to sort through and clear out the half of the guest room that presently looks like someone built a store with half of the stock from Toys-R-Us and half from HomeSense (and maybe a little from the junk yard) and then set off a bomb in it.

5. Hang photos in the living and dining rooms. 

My family is notorious for never hanging some dang art on the walls! I need to break this generational cycle of naked walls, and just do something with what I have because it can always be changed later. Art really brings a space together.

6. Plan a 4th birthday Jackson will love, not myself or Pinterest. 

This year we want to let Jackson plan what he would like in a birthday party (within reason - "No Jackson, we can't ride flying tractors and fight Scar from the Lion King for your birthday") and I'm not going to worry about perfect decorations. We will have family visiting who he rarely gets to see, so I want it to be about making memories together, resisting my tendency towards desiring a picture-perfect presentation and a million crafting projects which become too much to handle in the end. I want to be happy mommy, celebrating the life of my sweet boy - not stressed-out mommy!







7. Do a fun activity with the kids off of our Family Summer Bucket List at least once a week. 

I'd like it to be more often, but let's start with baby steps, people!


8. Take more photos with my "real" camera. 

I adore photos and enjoy amateur photography. Now that we have our first house, I want to fill our home with our beautiful life. I want to print photos of all the sweet memories we have and hang them up. And yet, I've found that I have very few pictures that are good enough quality for printing, since I almost always use my iPhone camera. I want to remember every stage of my quickly growing babies, and my Nikon is my best friend for that. 

So those are some of my goals for June! I can certainly think of many more, but these are a few I'm going to try to emphasize this month. We will see how I do. What about you? Do you have any goals or dreams for this month? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.