Disney through the eyes of Sophia - Part 1

On our relatively recent trip to Disney, Sophia kept a journal of all the things we did on our trip.  When I eventually get around to making a photobook of this trip, I am planning to use her journal to make it.

Here is the tale of trip, through the eyes of Sophia....

Day 1 Thursday March 27 2014 

Today we woke up at 4:25 am! I know what your thinking, how could people do that to Sophia? It wasn't as bad as I thought. Anyway, we drove to Grand Forks and had breakfast at Denny's. I had chocolate chip pancakes and water. We then drove to the airport. Moms suitcase was too heavy so she had to put some stuff in Jacob's suitcase. Then we went through security, which went faster then I thought it would be. It usually takes 20 minutes, but it took 5-10 minutes. We waited a long time before going on the plane. Dad got me and Em a sandwich to share, and a water. We all went to the bathroom, and then got on the plane. When we boarded, it took a long time before we took off. Once we started going onto the runway we went pretty fast. Then we lifted off the ground and were above the clouds! It felt pretty cool. My ears didn't pop as much as I thought they would. I played on my iPad mostly the whole time, the flight was just under 4 hours. When we landed we rented a vehicle that seats 8 (me, mom, Dad, Emma, Olivia, Jacob, Grandma and Grandpa). It was an hour drive from the airport to the house (We rented a house, not hotel). Once we got to the house, we unpacked and went to Buffalo Wild Wings for supper (I got the jungle room).Me and Emma shared two meals of wings off the kids menu. Emma ordered BBQ wings and I ordered honey garlic wings, and Root Beer (which I obviously didn't share). We went back to the house after supper because we were tired from all the traveling. But we decided we could still go into the hot tub before bed. 

Day 2 Friday March 28 2014 

When I woke up this morning I heard everyone (except mom and Emma who were sleeping in, what a surprise!!) in the kitchen making breakfast. By the sound of dad's voice talking to everyone I knew that he knew I was awake and wanted me to get up and help in the kitchen. So I went downstairs (my room was upstairs) and started making breakfast. Once we finished making the breakfast Emma came down as though she knew we just finished the work so she didn't have to do any. While we were eating Dad made a rule that whoever doesn't help make the meal has to clean the dishes. We all agreed except Emma of course. Then mom came down and made her own meal so she didn't have to do the dishes. (Btw, we had scrambled eggs that I made, toast and orange juice which I just love!) to be honest, I don't know who ended up doing the dishes. It wasn't me though. After breakfast we put our swimsuits on and went to the pool. I wanted to get a good tan. It wasn't too warm so we didn't last out there very long. So we went inside to shower off. After I finished showering I played on my iPad a little and had some lunch. We had left over wings from last night with a banana. I played on my iPad some more after lunch and played with Jacob. I then got ready for supper, by then it warmed up a little. Giordano's was on the menu tonight for supper! We all had pizza obviously. The adults shared a deep dish pepperoni, bacon, and mushroom because mom doesn't like anything else, and the kids ordered a split pepperoni and cheese. The kids don't like anything else, I don't know what their problem is! After Giordano's we went to the outlets. I got two packages of loom bands. Pink and white. Then we got Krispy Kreme and went back to the house. Once we got back we ate the donuts and went right to bed. 

Day 3 Saturday March 29 2014 

Mom woke us up early as we went to Epcot today. We had toast for breakfast and left right after. Once we got to Epcot we went straight to Soar'n as that is the busiest ride, and one of our favourites. After Soar'n we went to the Finding Nemo ride and to Turtle Talk with Crush. Jacob and Olivia got called up to speak with crush and Jacob was really funny. After we went on a Norway ride which Olivia complained not to go on. After we went on a Mexican ride that wasn't as good as the others but was still a good ride. We went to our favourite ride next, Test Track! It's where you design your own car and test it! You go on your own car and go SUPER fast! Then we went back to the house. As soon as we got into the vehicle it started raining, as if the rain waited for us to get to a sheltered area. We picked up food from Chick-fil-a for lunch. We all got chicken burgers except Jacob, he got a bun. Once we finished eating we all stayed in our rooms to watch tv and have quiet time because it was raining outside. We all got ready for supper. We went to Carraba's. The wait was very long! They told us 10-15 minute wait. It ended up being a 40 minute wait. We were a party of 8 and they sat 2 other party of 8's. We went and complained and we got our table right away. After that we went to Target. I got Emma a blue eos for her birthday. After that we went home and went to bed. 

Day 4 Sunday March 30 2014 

Today it's Emma's birthday! She is now 13. I'm to tired to write very much so this will be short. We went to Magic Kingdom for Emma's birthday. We had eggs for breakfast, chicken burgers from Mc Donald's for lunch, and went to Long Horns for supper. I had chicken salad there. After we got Emma an ice cream cake for her birthday from Target. Btw, Olivia met a friend from England named Beth, she has the most adorable accent! 

Day 5 Monday March 31 2014 

Today we stayed at home, not doing anything except swimming all day. My hands are all pruned. Like prunes! We went shopping at the outlets. I got cheetah pj shorts, two packs of loom bands (orange and yellow) and Jolly Rancher lipstick that I'm sharing with Emma. 

Day 6 Tuesday APRIL 1 2014 

These days are going by SO fast! Not cool. Happy April fools. Today we went to Hollywood Studios! I went on Rock'n Roller coaster, Tower Of Terror, Toy Story Mania and Indiana jones, which is a show, not a ride. Tower Of Terror is awesome! It was the first time I've ever been on the ride. I was really scared, but excited! I squeezed Emma's hand, and squeezed dad's shorts. Only me, Emma, and Dad went on. Mom went later with Jacob Emma. I wanted to go again but I couldn't. Olivia didn't know what dad's name was until today. She thought it was Nathan but it's Nathaniel. That girl. We went to Cracker Barrel tonight for supper as a joke, but we ended up liking it. I had a burger with fries. 

Day 7 Wednesday April 2 2014 

Today we went to Blizzard Beach! My favourite water park! Its winter themed. It feels strange when I just got away from the cold and back into it. Mom forgot grandma and grandpas passes to get in so Dad went back with them to get them. (My note: Grandma also admits to forgetting the passes, so we've decided to share the blame on this one) While they were gone the kids and mom went to the kid area. There was a zip line, tube water slides, other water slides and icebergs to walk on. When they got back we went on a family raft and went racing on toboggans. After we ate lunch, I had a hot dog. We then went on really big tube rides. There were two different kinds. I went on both. One was in the dark and the other was bright. After that we went on the lazy river with tubes. I pulled everyone along. After we went home. We went to Giordano's for supper. Everyone had the same stuff as last time. We all had left overs as well. 

Day 8 Thursday April 3 2014 

Today mom and Dad went to Universal Studios, or whatever that park is called. It's an adult park so Grandma and Grandpa stayed at the house with the kids. We watched The Aristocats while they were gone. I made a loom bracelet and swam. We had left overs from last night. We swam the rest of the day and went to Outback Steakhouse for supper. I had a burger with fries. Olivia had ceased salad and didn't finish so I finished it for her.matter we got Cold Stone ice cream. I got fudge truffle with Reese's, it was so good! After we went to bed. Btw, Grandma and Grandpa are going on a cruise tomorrow. That was sudden!

Stay tuned for the second half of our trip, through the eyes of Sophia!

Book Review: The Queen's Handmaid by Tracy L Higley

About the book: From the servant halls of Cleopatra's Egyptian palace to the courts of Herod the Great, Lydia will serve two queens to see prophecy fulfilled.

Alexandria, Egypt 39 BC

Orphaned at birth, Lydia was raised as a servant in Cleopatra's palace, working hard to please while keeping everyone at arm's length. She's been rejected and left with a broken heart too many times in her short life.

But then her dying mentor entrusts her with secret writings of the prophet Daniel and charges her to deliver this vital information to those watching for the promised King of Israel. Lydia must leave the nearest thing she's had to a family and flee to Jerusalem. Once in the Holy City, she attaches herself to the newly appointed king, Herod the Great, as handmaid to Queen Mariamme.

Trapped among the scheming women of Herod's political family---his sister, his wife, and their mothers---and forced to serve in the palace to protect her treasure, Lydia must deliver the scrolls before dark forces warring against the truth destroy all hope of the coming Messiah.

My Thoughts: I love historical fiction, and I particular love historical fiction that takes place around the time of Christ or other biblical characters, or even revolving around famous kings and queens.  So, I was really looking forward to reading this book, certain that I would love it.

Though I did like it, I didn't love it.  I liked the story line but I found the historical details were rather hard to keep straight and I found myself getting bogged down in the details instead of caught up in the story.  I'm not entirely sure if that was due to the writing, or to my frame of mind while reading (I was tired and perhaps not as ready as I needed to be to have my brain heavily engaged in processing the information).  From a quick glance at some of the other reviews, I seem to be in the minority here, so take that with a grain of salt.

That being said, the storyline was still engaging, the characters were realistic and well developed, and I really enjoyed watching all the different plot points come together.

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

Book Review: Dancing with Fireflies

About the book: A Chapel Springs Romance.  Jade returns home to Chapel Springs after years of protecting her fragile heart. Then along comes Daniel, making her long to dance again.

Creative and complicated, Jade McKinley felt like a weed in a rose garden growing up in Chapel Springs. When she left, she thought she'd never look back. But now, pregnant, alone, and broke, she has no other choice but to return.

The mayor of Chapel Springs, Daniel Dawson, has been an honorary member of the McKinley family for years. While his own home life was almost non-existent, Daniel fit right into the boisterous McKinley family. He's loved Jade for years, but she always saw him as a big brother. Now that she's back, his feelings are stronger than ever.

As Jade attempts to settle in, nothing feels right. God seems far away, she's hiding secrets from her family, and she's strangely attracted to the man who's always called her "squirt." Finding her way home may prove more difficult than she imagined.

My Thoughts:  I loved this book and had a really hard time putting it down.  Hunter has done a superb job of crafting a story that gets you personally invested in the main character's lives, rooting for the two to come together as a couple, hurting with them as they deal with different issues. The characters feel real, and to me that's always the mark of a well-written story.

Though this book is one of a series, you didn't feel like you were necessarily missing out on anything - except that it'll make you want to read all the others!

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

Book Review: The Devil Walks in Mattingly

About the Book: For the three people tortured by their secret complicity in a young man's untimely death, redemption is what they most long for . . . and the last thing they expect to receive.

It has been twenty years since Philip McBride's body was found along the riverbank in the dark woods known as Happy Hollow. His death was ruled a suicide. But three people have carried the truth ever since---Philip didn't kill himself that day. He was murdered.

Each of the three have wilted in the shadow of their sins. Jake Barnett is Mattingly's sheriff, where he spends his days polishing the fragile shell of the man he pretends to be. His wife, Kate, has convinced herself the good she does for the poor will someday wash the blood from her hands. And high in the mountains, Taylor Hathcock lives in seclusion and fear, fueled by madness and hatred.

Yet what cannot be laid to rest is bound to rise again. Philip McBride has haunted Jake's dreams for weeks, warning that he is coming back for them all. When Taylor finds mysterious footprints leading from the Hollow, he believes his redemption has come. His actions will plunge the quiet town of Mattingly into darkness. These three will be drawn together for a final confrontation between life and death . . . Between truth and lies.

My Thoughts:  To be honest, this was not my favourite book, and I only finished it because I had committed to reading it and writing this review.  However, this is not because the book itself is "bad", but more that the style of the writing is not my personal preference - the wording has an artsy feel and the subject has some supernatural/borderline weird aspects to it.  

That being said, the author deals with the question of how we deal with sin and guilt in our lives.  Some of us bury it deep inside, unwilling to deal with it.  Some of us try to atone for our sin by doing enough good deeds to somehow make up for what we've done.  Some of us try to rationalize it away but have to twist reality in order to do so.  But what we need to do with it is deal with it head on.  To acknowledge our responsibility (but not take on responsibility for the actions of others), and to repent, throwing ourselves upon the mercy of the only One who can forgive and wash away our guilt.

I liked the actual storyline, but would've enjoyed it more had it been stylistically different.

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

Book Review: The A-Z of C.S. Lewis by Colin Duriez

About the Book: A Complete Guide to His Life, Thoughts and Writings

Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of C. S. Lewis's death, this complete guide covers all of Lewis' works, from his literary criticism to Narnia.

C. S. Lewis's work is widely known and regarded, but enthusiasts are often only aware of one part of his work-his children's stories and his popular theology; and yet he wrote so much more, including science fiction and literary criticism. This volume brings together all aspects of C S Lewis's life and thought. Arranged in alphabetical order, it begins with The Abolition of Man-written in 1943 and described as "almost my favorite"-to Wormwood, a character in The Screwtape Letters. This book will delight anyone who is interested in C. S. Lewis and wants to learn more about him, his thought, his works, and his life.

My Thoughts: Lewis is famous for his children's series The Chronicles of Narnia, but only a brief glance through this encyclopedic book will confirm that there is so much more to learn about this man, his family, his career, and his other writings.  Anyone with a penchant for facts and love for Lewis would devour this book.

I'm not sure why, but I had a different idea in my mind about what this book would be.  For some reason I thought it would be a collection of excerpts from each of his works, giving you a taste of each one and enticing you to read them all!  However, that was not the case (though I would love to read such a book!).  Instead, this book is a veritable encyclopedia.  Literally arranged from A-Z this book covers facts and information about every aspect of Lewis' life - everything from his family, to his career, to his books, to the specific characters from his books, to his views on different topics, to people who were an influence on his life and theology - everything you could possibly wish to know, fact wise, about CS Lewis is included in this book.

This is not a leisurely read, but an excellent resource for Narnia and Lewis fans.  

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

Book Review: The Bargain by Stephanie Reed

About the book: Book one in the Plain City Peace series.

It's 1971, and Betsie Troyer's peaceful and predictable life is about to become anything but.

When their parents flee the Amish, nineteen-year-old Betsie and her seventeen-year-old sister Sadie are distraught. Under the dubious guidance of a doting aunt, the girls struggle to keep the secret, praying their parents will return before anyone learns the truth-a truth that may end all hopes of Betsie's marriage to Charley Yoder.

My Thoughts: I admit that I had grown tired of the standard Amish novels, but this one was different than the rest.

I really enjoyed watching Betsie's thought process as she struggled with the differences between the Amish and English lifestyles and what she personally thought, not just what she had been taught to think.  I liked that it stressed the differences in theology as well, not just lifestyle.  There certainly are Amish believers, but in general, the Amish do not believe that you can have assurance of salvation, which is contrary to biblical teaching.

Interesting read!

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

Book Review: Distortion by Terri Blackstock

About the book: Juliet Cole's life has been dismantled by the murder of her husband. She doesn't know who---or what---to trust when everything she has believed to be true about her marriage has been a lie.

When Juliet Cole's husband of fifteen years is murdered before her eyes, she thinks it was a random shooting. Devastated and traumatized, she answers hours of questioning, then returns home to break the tragic news to her boys. But a threatening voicemail takes this from a random shooting to a planned, deliberate attack.

Juliet realizes that she and her children are in danger too, unless she meets the killers' demands. But as she and her sisters untangle the clues, her husband's dark secrets come to light. The more she learns, the more of her life is dismantled. Was her husband an innocent victim or a hardened criminal?

My Thoughts:  It took me about a chapter or two to get into this one, but it took off from there and I thoroughly enjoyed it the rest of the way through.  I have not read other books in this series but it wasn't much of a hindrance.

I enjoyed the private eye and investigative aspect of this one.  I love it when you can't tell for sure who the good guys and bad guys are, with lots of twists and turns - but not too much that it's overdone.  Blackstock strikes the right balance with this one to keep your interest high all the way through.  Might have to look up some of the other books in this series!

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

Book Review: It Had to be You by Susan May Warren

About the book: A Christensen Family Novel.

Eden Christiansen never imagined her role as her younger brother Owen's cheerleader would keep her on the sidelines of her own life. Sure, it feels good to be needed, but looking after the reckless NHL rookie leaves little time for Eden to focus on her own career. She dreamed of making a name for herself as a reporter, but is stuck writing obits---and starting to fear she doesn't have the chops to land a major story. If only someone would step up to mentor Owen . . . but she knows better than to expect help from team veteran and bad-boy enforcer Jace Jacobsen.

Jace has built his career on the infamous reputation of his aggressive behavior---on and off the ice. Now at a crossroads about his future in hockey, that reputation has him trapped. And the guilt-trip he's getting from Eden Christiansen isn't making things any easier. But when Owen's carelessness leads to a career-threatening injury and Eden stumbles upon a story that could be her big break, she and Jace are thrown together . . . and begin to wonder if they belong on the same team after all.

My Thoughts:

Susan May Warren is one of my favourite authors and this book did not disappoint. One thing I like about her writing (as opposed to Karen Kingsbury) is that her characters can't read each other's thoughts just by looking in their eyes.  In fact, they often read each other's body language completely wrong.  You know, like normal people.  In this case, they possibly misunderstand each other too much to be totally believable, but it's still more believable than the other way around.

We are a hockey loving family around here, so I really enjoyed that aspect of this storyline.  I also really enjoyed the theological look at why God allows things to happen, and the definition of hope.  

Pick this one up - you won't be disappointed!

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

Book Review: Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck

About the Book: 

Regina Beswick was born to be a princess.

But she's content to be a small-town girl, running a classic auto restoration shop, unaware a secret destiny awaits her. One that will leap from the pages of her grandmother's hand-painted book of fairytales.

Tanner Burkhardt is the stoic Minister of Culture for the Grand Duchy of Hessenberg. When he is tasked to retrieve the long-lost princess, he must overcome his fear of failure in order to secure his nation's future---and his own.

Yet lurking in the political shadows is a fierce opponent with sinister plans to abolish the throne forever. Overwhelmed with opposition, Regina must decide if she's destined to restore old cars or an ancient nation. Together---with a little divine intervention---Regina and Tanner discover the truth of her heritage and the healing power of true love.

My Thoughts:  I loved this book!  What little girl doesn't love the idea of being a long lost princess?  The reality, of course, would be quite different than the fairy tale. It's not so easy to give up life as you know it, including family and friends.  

I love how Hauck makes the characters real - their flaws, weaknesses & strengths, personalities all ring true to life.  I enjoyed watching the characters discover God's purpose for their life, and coming to the realization that our best laid plans are not comparable to God's plan for our lives.  Taking that step of faith is hard, but so worth it.  

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

Goals for 2013 and 2014

Time for a check on how I did with my goals from last year.  I'd like to say in advance, I did very poorly.  One of the biggest reasons why I did so poorly was because I forgot it was even a goal!  If I don't check back, or write down this list, how in the world will I accomplish it?  Yeah, too late to come to that epiphany.

Anyway, here's the rundown of the goals I set last year and whether or not I accomplished them....

1) Read my Bible in a year (for the 4th time in 5 years) and participate in my Bible in a Year Blog.
This is "an easy one" because of the continued accountability factor of my blog. Last year I did not read through the Bible in a year because I was doing the majority of the postings - generally 9 days every 2 weeks. But this year we have more participants again, so I'm down to only one post per week, so I'm reading through the Bible in a year again as well as our in depth book study.

Partial success.  Participated on the blog yes.  But I got behind on the Bible in a Year plan in September and never got back on track.

2) Develop a consistent and organized prayer time.
Yup, another repeat. This was an absolute fail and I need to set aside prayer time as priority time.

Fail.  

3) Being a more deliberate wife, mother and friend.
As I mentioned above, this is never something you have arrived at and is always a worthy goal, so it stays on the list too!

Hard to measure quantitatively, but I'd say progress was made, and more progress yet to go.

4) Begin each day praying that God would guide me to do what He has planned for my day - pursuing His agenda instead of my own.
Again, another one that could be on the list every year.

See #2.

5) Continue to exercise regularly and eat healthier.
Broken record here, I know. 

Exercised regularly - check!

Eat healthier - not bad, but still room for improvement.


6) Write weekly on my prayer blogs for my kids.
Similar to #2 but specific to my children. This was one of those great ideas that I just haven't managed to keep up. I created prayer blogs for all our kids that would contain both letters to them, and prayers for them as individuals. My plan is to make it into a book to give to them at some point during their teenagerhood, either at a certain age or whenever I think they might need it. Like may of my plans, good intentions have not given way to reality - so far I've only written 3 posts on Emma's blog. At this point I need to write more often in the older kids blogs in order to "catch up" to at least an approximately even number of entries. I've decided I need to dedicate one day per week to writing in these blogs so that it actually happens. (They are private so you won't be able to read them, sorry!).

Fail.  This is something I really want to do, so I think I'm going to have to pick a day that I want to do this and literally put it in my calendar/to do list or it's simply not going to happen.

7) Work on scripture memory.
Last January I began a scripture memory blog to help keep me accountable to memorize scripture as it was something I had felt convicted about for some time and really wanted to do. It worked, up until September when I fell off the bandwagon. So, this is a good time to get back on! Last year I memorized Psalms 1, 23, 46, 121, 134, 1 Corinthians 13 and the Book of Titus (which is 3 chapters). I will be starting off by reviewing each chapter for one day, and then I will start working on memorizing new chapters. If you're interested in joining me, I'm following Janet Pope's method and it was much, much easier than I had anticipated and literally took no extra time out of my day. Check it out!

Fail.  Only memorized about 15 verses of James 1.  Back on the bandwagon again this year - starting out with review and then continuing on in James.

8) Write regularly to our sponsored children.
More details on this will come in a post shortly, but for now, suffice it to say that I need to make it a priority to write to our sponsored children. Or rather, to get our children to write to them. We have one sponsored child for each of our children - all their ages. They love writing the letters but it's up to me to make sure it happens!

Mostly fail.  I did organize almost all of our previous correspondence in binders for each child, and I did get the kids to write and draw pictures a couple times this year (which is more than we've done some previous years, but not nearly what I had envisioned when I wrote this goal).  This has to become a priority and I'll have to set it into my calendar or it just won't happen.  

9) Get caught up on bookwork and then continue to stay caught up.
I do the bookwork for my husband's home building company and I am always behind. Don't get me wrong - I do always pay all the bills, but I don't always enter everything in. I have to get caught up at least every 3 months to submit GST (good thing for that checkpoint!), but then inevitably I get behind once again. So, this year, I want to get caught up and then purposefully set aside one day per week to work on bookwork so that I stay caught up.

Fail.  Wow, sounding like a broken record.  This one has to change this year!

10) I want to do a "Twelve Days of Christmas gift extravaganza" for Nathan this coming Christmas. My sister Andrea did this for her husband Les this past Christmas and I thought it was a fantastic idea and want to do it myself next year. You can check out what she did here. Needless to say, Les loved it, and I'm sure Nathan will too. After all, who wouldn't?! My friend Pamela is doing this one too. Anyone else in for this challenge? 

Finally - success!!  Did it - loved it!

11) Take and post 365 iPhone photos - one for each day of the year for 2013. I got this idea from my friend Pamelaonce again. She has created a new blog specifically for this project and I decided to follow suit. You can check out my iPhone Photo Project 365 blog here - I've even already done today's post. Pamela mentioned that blogger has an app for posting. I know it doesn't do everything you can do on the regular blogging platform, but it does what I need it to do for this project, so I think this will be relatively easy to do. And a great memory tool for years to come! Here's 10 great reasons why you should do it too. Anyone else game for this challenge?

Success!!  There were a couple days I fudged a bit (took the picture later but made sure it was applicable to the day) and one day where I literally had nothing, but I'd say I was 100% successful 358ish days of the year, so I call that a success.  I used Blurb's "blog to book" feature in order to make a photobook of the past year - I can't wait to get it!  And I'm totally doing this again this year - check it out here.

12) Sew big bags for the kids sleeping bags and bedding for camp. Another idea stolen from Pamela (hey, she had some good ones!). They should be relatively easy to make, I'll let the kids choose their fabric, they will be sturdier than garbage bags and easier to identify - and just fun!

5/6 successful.  I had wanted to do 3 bags (for each of the girls) and 2 of them have been completed, and I have material bought for Emma's, but it still needs to be sewn.


And this year?

Well, I'm going to have fewer specific goals.  Many of the above things are things I will continue to do (like exercise, participate in the Bible blog, photo/day).  I do plan to continue to work on scripture memory and of course I want to continue to be a more purposeful wife/mother/friend.  But I am limiting my list and having more quantitative goals so I can have something to actually measure against, to see if progress has been made.

1) Post once a month on each child's prayer blog.  I am going to put this into my calendar right now, so that it happens.
2) Catch up on office bookwork and stay caught up.
3) Write monthly to our sponsored children.  This is going in my calendar right now as well!

That's it.  Surely I can do 3 goals!