2011 preview & goals

Here I am on the last day of the Christmas/New Year's break. I am home with the girls as they are building all kinds of contraptions and playing fully on their last day before school starts. I had a great break. Gary's mom was in town for a full week surrounding Christmas. We all enjoyed having her in town and know that she enjoyed being here, even if the weather was a bit strange. I have enjoyed getting organized to start the new year. I have been able to clean out several closets, including my own and have dropped off bags with charities. My playroom is organized and all the kids' new toys and gifts have found a new place. Christmas clothes and a few gifts have been purchased at after-Christmas sales and I have even started getting things prepared for the next round of kids' consignments sales. The finances are up to date and budgets are in place. The freezer and fridge have been cleaned out and organized. This still leaves plenty left to do but glad that I got a head start.

As I think ahead to 2011, I have some things I would like to do and some goals I would love to reach.

1. Be content- Love what has been given or earned. I often find myself in the comparison mode and need to realize that is totally not necessary. I read in a Lysa TerKeurst book last year that before we covet what others have, we need to realize that we only know a percentage of what their life is really like. We may think they have everything under control, but who really does?? If I don't like something about myself or my circumstances, I need to have the strength to make the change, as hard as that might be to get out of my comfort zone.
2. Be more patient - This is a daily request. I pray for a "perfect portion of patience" every day and hope that I can be more patient with everyone in my life, especially the girls. This includes thinking before speaking and trying to keep a sense of calm in the household.
3. Be more organized - My kitchen counters become a vast pit that seems to accumulate throughout the week only to be organized on Fridays when my house is cleaned. I would like to keep the important papers organized and within reach so I don't find myself wasting time looking for things all the time. Also, this fall I realized that the more I do the night before the kids then the more smoothly our morning routine goes.
4. Eat more healthy - If you live in the Zyriek house, you find yourself comparing your eating habits to that of Gary. Gary is very disciplined (he claims he is not) and does an excellent job of eating a balanced diet. I want to continue to take my lunch to work most days so that I can control my intake. I would also like for Gary and I to continue our quest to eat at home most days a healthy, balanced dinner.
5. Find ways to praise my situation, even when it is not the best - The message at church yesterday was to give praise, even when in the valleys of life. Everything will pass much easier if I take this approach.
6. Make and meet my fitness goals - My first goal of 2011 is to train for and run in the Germantown Half Marathon. I have started my training and really want to do well. I have not run a half in several years and with Gary training for a half iron-man in April, I find it is the perfect time to train and be encouraged to stick with it.
7. Realize perfection is never attainable - I have major issues with trying to be everything to everyone. This is never going to happen and the sooner I realize that I can only give what I have and nothing more, then the happier I can be. I will never be able to be everywhere I need to be. I will have to miss events or parties or other things but that is ok and I will be ok. I also don't want to put out an image that our family is perfect. We are definitely not. We have our challenges and our conflicts but hopefully we can work through them one at a time.
8. Put my family first - spending more time with just the four of us sounds great to me. We need to not find ourselves so wrapped up in being on the go all the time. Sometimes the best memories are made at home being together.
9. Spend less money - We do really well meeting our budget but it would be great to even beat it. We save well, think before making large purchases and don't take extravagant vacations. We don't carry a balance on our credit card and only have our house and car as debt. I would like to do an even better job of keeping our finances in order.
10. Celebrate more - I would like to celebrate the "small stuff" such as good conduct at school or doing well on a test or a project or just having a good day. Building up our self worth is very important, especially to the children.
11. Grow spiritually alone and with my family - I have a goal of reading my Bible in a year. I have done this twice before but would really like to do it again. I also am enjoying our Real Discipleship classes at church and hope to keep attending and learning. Finally, I would like to grow the faith of the girls. This can be as simple as having a family verse of the week or reading devotions before bed. It is so important for the girls to see our faith in action so that they can include that in their priorities as well. They are taught so much at church and school but it is our responsibility as parents to nurture those lessons and to continue to put our faith in action.

Lofty goals....I know. It does not hurt to put it on paper to remind me of what I would like to do. I'm never going to be fully organized, patient every moment of the day or the best mom/wife/daughter/sister. I can only hope to do my best!

2011 will bring many highs and lows. Gary and I are headed to Arizona on Saturday to cheer on Auburn in the National Championship game. I will turn 37 this year and Gary the big 4-0. We will face challenges but also celebrations. Here's to the best year yet!!