14 Goals for 2014: One Month Progress Report

I started off with 10.  But 10 soon became 11.  And I couldn't have a list of 11 because that seemed like an odd number.  So, here are my 14 goals for 2014.

I fully intended to post them at the beginning of the year, since that's when I wrote them.  But who has time for blogging these days?  Since I'm posting them one month+ late, I'm giving myself a one-month Progress Report to see how I'm doing so far in each area.  

In no particular order....

1.  Eat less (sugar, carbs, etc) and move more.  I know this is the obvious one that everyone does.  But I would really feel much better in my body if I could lose 5-10 pounds.  My goal is to exercise 3 times a week and to make better food choices.    
Progress: I started doing an exercise dvd on M, W, F (I'm two weeks in).  So far, so good.  But, I have almost no discipline when it comes to exercising so please feel free to ask me how I'm doing with this one especially as the weeks turn into months.  I have also started eating more salads, avocados, eggs, etc for breakfast and lunch and less breads.  Hoping I can keep up with this goal.            

2.  Limit facebook.  I was one of the last people I know to join facebook and now I act like I can't get through a day without checking it 5000 times a day.  My goal is to limit it to just once or twice a day and to not use it on my phone.
Progress: So far, I'm totally failing at this goal.  There are other ways to get on facebook from your phone even when you delete the app.  Dang.  Help!   

3. Figure out church.  There are many things that we love about our church.  But after a year, we still don't feel like we have "community" there and that's an odd feeling.  I want to consider if it might be time to make a change (or not).
Progress:  We visited a different church two Sundays in a row last month and it was really positive.  We'll see!  Time to pray for discernment.    
   
4.  Make a family budget and track our expenses this year. 
Progress:  I started working on the budget.  Does that count?  It's about half way done.  Would like to finish it by the end of Feb.    

5.  Continue with counseling.  I began counseling last fall and I'm starting to make some good headway.  So, I want to keep those appointments a priority - 2 times per month.
Progress:  Yep.  Still going.  

6.  More communion with God (through prayer and other spiritual disciplines).  Since starting Community Bible Study last fall, I've been studying the Bible more which is great.  But now I find that I'm praying and journaling less.  There's got to be a good balance to be found. 
Progress: This is tricky now that I've added a new job to the mix and all of the other things I'm doing on my days "off."  Feel free to ask me how I'm doing on this one. There is definitely room for improvement.  

7.  Plan times with the college-aged girls from The GreenHouse and figure out what those relationships might look like moving forward.  Since ending my position at The GreenHouse last June, I've been trying to figure out what my role/involvement at the GH would look like moving forward.  In the fall, I decided that I would not remain on the board of directors.  It's just not the right time for that.  So, that leaves me with some freedom to pursue something I've wanted to do for a long time....a discipleship group with young women from The GreenHouse.  My goal is for us to meet together every-other month.   
Progress: Check!  We had our first Young Women's Life Group meeting last weekend.  It was a long-time dream come true and it made my heart very happy.  We meet again in April but will be checking in with each other regularly until then.  Stay tuned for a blog post with more info about this exciting new group.         

8.  Be prepared for an emergency.  That might sound like an odd one for the list, but it's something I've wanted to do for awhile.  We don't even have flashlights that work in our house!  And even if I wanted to call 911 from our land line, I couldn't because the batteries in our home phones are all dead.  My goal is to have a kit with flashlights, batteries, and whatever else you need in an emergency.
Progress:  I haven't started on this goal yet.  I think this might be a one or two day project so I will set a deadline for the end of March.  

9.  Start photo organization projects.  I've got photos coming out of my ears.  In boxes.  On various hard drives and computers.  GreenHouse photos.  Family photos.  Childhood photos.  I dream of having them neatly organized into photo albums or computer files.  This also includes keeping up with blogging, since that's the only real "photo album" my kids will every know.  I'm thinking 1 day a month while my kids are at school (and on days that I'm not working or volunteering at the school or at CBS or at counseling, etc, etc) I could work on photo organization stuff.
Progress:  I haven't started on this goal yet.  There just hasn't been time yet.    

10.  Date nights with Steve - once a month. 
Progress:  We went on one day in January - yay!  We saw a movie and got ice cream.  

11.  Learn (and use) a new vocabulary for parenting and discipline that doesn't include words of shaming.  Learn to stay calm and understanding when dealing with extremely difficult impulsive and hyperactive behavior.  Take a Positive Discipline class with Steve in the Spring so we share a common vocabulary.
Progress:  The progress here has just been in making the goal and being more aware.  We are hoping to take a Positive Discipline class in the spring.  

12.  Develop a new friendship with someone that is different from me and go out more with the friends I already have.  My goal is to plan a fun girls night out once a month.  I need to accept that people might not be able to go (and not take it personally).  But I can at least try to plan them and see what happens.
Progress:  Needs work.  

13.  Start a new job.
Progress: Check!  Started four weeks ago!  Perhaps this could be another blog post as well.   

14.  Practice contentment, particularly with our housing situation.   I'm not sure how to measure contentment but I think I'll start with giving thanks for the house that we are in and remembering the story of how God provided it for us at just the right time.  (and then remembering that again tomorrow....)
Progress:  I'm doing better.  But I still check the MLS for houses that are for sale and get depressed when I see the quality of houses here that are in our price range.  I am not exaggerating when I say that I feel like I am living in a war-torn land when I drive around Oakland looking for houses in our price range.  It's really quite depressing.  

I am clearly going to need to keep these goals at the forefront of my mind this year if I am going to keep at them.  Thus, the blog post.  How about you?  Any goals for 2014 that you'd like to share?  I'd love to hear and help keep you accountable!     

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have had a wonderful time of celebration with family and friends this month.  I must say that having a December without working - especially at a job where December is an intensely busy month - was kind of nice!  I still managed to have a few patches of stress this year, but nothing like what I've endured in the past.  I'm thankful for that.  

Here are a few photo highlights from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We stayed home this year on both days, lounged around in our jammies on Christmas Day, and just enjoyed being together.   

Jonah's letter to Santa that he left under the mini-tree in his room, along with a veggie taco and some water.  Heehee.  How would you answer his questions?!

Three handsomes ready for Christmas Eve service.

My dad and my mom came over for dinner on Christmas Eve.  My dad came to church with us after dinner.

Love them!

Jonah singing Silent Night at church.  I cried.  That song always gets me.

Sweet Nicolas.

These two aren't as innocent as they look!  But they sure were cute with their candles.

After church we tracked Santa for a little while on Norad which was super fun for the boys.  Nicolas had a map out on the table so he could find all the countries.  Once the kids were asleep, the presents came out.  I love our tree this year!

The boys each got some new bey blades

and new LEGO sets.

Nicolas got football cards and Riley got baseball cards.  Nicolas sorted his cards by team before putting them in his binder.

Minecraft paper cut-outs made for hours of self-entertainment and focus

Minecraft swords and stuffed animals.

Bro-bros

Some of Nicolas' loot

and Jonah's

and Riley's.

A snuggly selfie moment with Riley.

After presents, Papa came over for Christmas brunch and some play time.  We snuck in a family photo in our matching jammies (opening new pajamas is one of our Christmas Eve traditions).  

What were some of your Christmas highlights and traditions?  We'd love to know! 

Minecraft Halloween

Here they are.  The costumes that I spent weeks making and the boys spent approximately 5 minutes wearing on Halloween.

Minecraft Madness: Jonah as a creeper, Riley as Steve, and Nicolas and a Wolf

Imagine how delighted I was carrying around those boxes as they trick-or-treated in their regular clothes. 

On the positive side...
They really did LOVE their costumes.
And I think they all really appreciated the effort I put into making them.
And they did indeed help me make them. (Jonah made Riley's pick axe entirely by himself, as well as a good portion of his own costume.) 
And duct tape was on sale at Beverly's. 
And I have always wanted the three of them to dress up as a theme. 

Overall, not bad for my first time making costumes.  But I'm pretty sure that my first time was also my last. 

The boys also had fun carving pumpkins a few days before Halloween.

 

Nicolas' (aka Mommy's) "Velcome," Jonah's vampire, and Riley's (aka Daddy's) Headless man

So, good-bye Halloween.  Frankly, you stressed me out too much this year.  Something about the candy and a certain child of mine's hyperactivity (Is it the dyes in the candy?  That IS the question!  Did you know that those dyes in our candy are outlawed in Europe?  We're going dye-free over here for a few weeks so I'll let you know if we see any changes). 

Friends: Old and New

Today I was missing Sacramento friends.  Having been at The Harvest Carnival at Ninos Park for the last twelve consecutive years, it felt really strange to be missing the thirteenth installment of that special event today.

Had I not just been at The GreenHouse on Thursday, delivering some donated couches for the new Clubhouse, I probably would have been there today.  But, it was too much for me to do that drive again today.  And actually, I'm thinking that it all worked out the way it was supposed to:  Me with my family in my new town, continuing to plant roots here and nurture new relationships;  The GreenHouse, growing strong on its own, developing new routines, carrying on community traditions.  (Though, I'm not gonna lie. It was hard for me to not be there today.  I would have loved to have said hello to all of the parents and given squeezes to all of the kids.).   

In spite of some sadness over missing friends from The GreenHouse today, I was moved with gratitude for the new friendships that are being formed here in Oakland.  One very special friendship that is growing is between Riley and his buddy from school Jaelyn.  They both love each other to pieces.   We caught them sharing a chair, arms around each other, after their soccer game today.  Sneaky Nicolas photo-bombed the picture, but I still love it and all that it says about how far we've come this past year. 

 
They couldn't have known how much my heart needed this moment today! 

Gandalf vs. King

Jonah's has a new obsession: stop animation.  Hours of creativity, story writing, set designing, and self-entertainment make this App the best 99 cents I ever spent!   

Here's a sample of one of his latest creations.  It's called "Gandalf vs. King: Fight at the Casel."  Love the spelling.  This short clip (it's only 12 seconds long) is made up 57 different pics that he took with my iphone.  Pretty cool!  Can't wait to see the creations that come from this new hobby.    

We're All in the Same Boat

"For 75 years, Finland's expectant mothers have been given a box by the state. It's like a starter kit of clothes, sheets and toys that can even be used as a bed. And some say it helped Finland achieve one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates. It's a tradition that dates back to the 1930s and it's designed to give all children in Finland, no matter what background they're from, an equal start in life. The maternity package - a gift from the government - is available to all expectant mothers." 

Continue reading the rest of this fascinating article here.       

There are so many reasons to love this article and the concept of giving out baby boxes to an entire country.  But, this quote from an expectant father hits the nail on the head for me,

"It strengthens that feeling that we are all in this together."

Giving the box out to all families, regardless of their background says something very important.  It says, as my friend David Lindner often declares: we're all in the same boat.  You and me.  We may not look the same.  We may not be from the same race, culture, socio-economic status, or neighborhood.  But parenthood instantly unites us.  We are both filled with hopes, dreams, doubts, fears, and an incredible amount of love for our children.   Both of our children are worthy of an equal start in life (how comforting and encouraging!).   

This is radical thinking for those of us in the US!  Most of the time, we do just the opposite of this: we give the box (metaphorically speaking) to just some of the families.  We draw lines in the sand.  Us and them.  They need the box.  I do not.  And since I do not need the box, I am better.  More powerful.  Above them.  And so I grow up feeling empowered, believing that my voice matters, that I can do anything I set my mind do.  They grow up feeling like they were the ones who needed the box.  (You could also flip this around to say...We draw lines in the sand.  Us and them.  I deserve the box so I get to have the box.  They don't deserve the box so they don't get one.  The box is just one more advantage in life that will help me achieve my dreams.  They grow up wondering why they never got to have a box). 

P.S. The "box" in the paragraph above isn't anything specific.  But, it could be a million different little things that pop up in our daily lives.

It is a passion and pursuit of mine to be more like Finland in my daily interactions.  At The GreenHouse, we call it Empowerment or Asset Based Community Development, but I think that calling it Finland works, too!   

One specific way I'm currently pursuing this mindset is through my new volunteer role as Classroom Coordinator for both of my kids classrooms.  My mantra for the year with regard to facilitating parent involvement: Everyone is valuable, everyone is needed, everyone has something to offer.  

As I seek to set up systems that invite, rather than exclude, I am starting to see some glimpses of Finland in our classrooms.  It's exciting to see parent involvement going way up as compared to last year.  Kids whose parents have never been involved before are now getting the pride and joy of knowing that their family is the one providing snacks for the class or donating supplies or having their voice heard.  

Imagine a school, a community, a nation where we all had "that feeling that we are all in this together."    

   

Camp Stratton - Week Three (4th of July)

The biggest highlight from Week Three of Camp Stratton was going camping with friends on the 4th of July at China Camp State Park.  The boys were in heaven: dirt, sand, water, lizards, s'mores, scary stories, campfire, and excellent friends.  What more could you ask for?  Minus slipping on a rock and falling hard on my bum (and therefore bruising my tailbone for the next 3 weeks), I had a pretty terrific time, too! 

Pics courtesy of the fabulous DeAnna Gallardo