Year Word and Year Goals

Well, it is currently blowing like crazy and we are forecasted to have up to eight inches of snow today. The drifts are over the drive, and we are tucked inside admiring the view. Part of the joys of having kids is reliving your childhood. My oldest and I went out exploring snowdrifts just like when I was a kid. This storm is definitely fulfilling my winter bucket. Hopefully the wind will slow down and it will warm up so we can go play in it.

2020 is looking to be a very active year.  My goals may sound a little crazy, but you have to have something to aim for. :-)

Here is my list of goals for 2020:
1. Read 10 books: yes, I know this is less than last year's goal. But I've been doing a lot of skimming of health and nutrition books lately which don't really count towards my goal, (skimming vs. reading) but allow me to learn a bunch of helpful information.  So, I decided a more reasonable goal is reading 10 books this year.

2. Cook/Bake/Make 52 new recipes: I have some cookbooks I'm excited to try, and my eye on a couple more I want to add to my collection. My husband is also urging me to 'attempt' meal planning so he's not met with the same 3 meals each time he asks what's for supper. ;-)

3. Secret Family Project (no, we are not moving again)

4. Plant trees: While we don't know anything about orchards, we are hoping to plant one in the NW corner of our property. We also need to add in wind break trees around our house to help with protection from the weather.

5. Plant a large garden: I'm excited to have our garden at the house this year, instead of having to drive there. We 'll have space to plant longer growing season crops (pumpkins, squash, etc) and we can add to the soil as we wish.

6. Get chickens: We are hopeful......but again this is something we have never tried before.

7. House projects: Our next project is carpeting our stairs and installing trim work in the hallway. I say 'we', but it's mostly my husband and I just get to help as needed.

8. Set up a school routine (which means we need to set up a school room first): my oldest is begging me to teach her to read...which means the school room needs to be set up in functioning order so I can mentally process better.

9. Nature Journaling: We regularly hike with our Wild and Free group, but I haven't done much with nature journaling yet. There's a Wild and Free nature class I would like to take and I would like to learn about watercolors and phenology wheels.

10.  Unpacking/decluttering: I feel like unpacking comes in stages. There's the initial unpacking where you unpack the main things (clothes, toys, kitchen, etc).  Then you unpack more in each room as you build or finish projects in those rooms (installing a bathroom vanity, hanging up laundry room shelving). There's also the downsizing that happens as you unpack (Why do I still have this?).


My word for this year is focus. I'm highly distracted by 'shiny things' and all the things I'm 'supposed' to be doing to be a good person/mom etc.  There's a thousand research articles and books promising to make you smart, and a lot of 'good' activities calling us to be part of them. But when you focus in with a camera, the background becomes blurry and only the main object stands out. I want to focus on what's most important (what the goal is), and not get sidetracked by what's in the background.

How about you? What do you hope for in 2020? What areas would you like to grow in? How can I help you with that? Please send me a message or leave a comment. :-)

Sojourning with you,
 Felicia

Goals and wishes

How is it January 10th? Wasn't Christmas just yesterday? I feel like the last month has been a blur of activity and I'm still trying to get my planner broke in. Though my calendar and planner may be behind, I've been pretty excited dreaming of our goals for this year. Honestly, at times I just want to sit in the middle of the floor and not even try because some projects seem overwhelming.  But if I look at the big picture (which is what we were discussing at Bible study last night), then I'm excited to see what God will do.

Let's start with last year's goals:
1. Read 12 books this year

Update: Update: I finished Cozy Minimalist Home, Peter Pan, Sacred Holidays, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle , Farmer Boy, Faith, The Life Giving Parent , The Middle Matters, and The Prairie Homestead Cookbook, How to Raise a Wild Child, Teaching from Rest, Action Bible, The Trumpet of the Swan (technically we read the last chapter this year, but I'll count it for last year's goal) and Loving the Little Years (such a great book!).

That's 14 books finished! A pretty successful reading year!

2. Explore the alphabet with my preschooler: Goal completed.

3. Identify 5 plants/tracks: Technically…..my goal is completed. But is learning about nature ever a completed goal?

4. Get rid of 50 things: completed

5. Learn to make more things from scratch: done

6. Prepare for secret project: We moved!  We bought our little "farm" and are excited for the adventures to come.

7. Blog/writing (I have ideas…but life seems to take all my time)

8. Finish 2nd kids baby book and do the 3rd kid’s book:  I finished the newborn photo book for the third kiddo, just not all the first year photos.

9. Clean out freezer and use up pantry: The freezer is significantly emptier!

10. Do 10 projects with the little ones: zoo trips, splash park, etc. We had an active summer!

As I think about goals for 2020, I have to remember what I wrote in so many posts this last year. The goal isn't perfection, or mastery or even completion. The goal is ...to do something. Where ever you are, move one step closer to where you want to be. The comparison isn't between you and the person next to you, nor you and the person you want to be. It's between you and who you were.

One of my goals this month is to create a school room. Right now, it's a storage room with boxes from our old basement, office, kids' stuff, and randomness. Today I called it "hopeful discouragement". It's overwhelming looking at the piles that I literally don't know what to do with. But it's hopeful as I see small spaces clear out and give room for dreams of what could be in that space. I can't do it all today or even this week. But I can do this one box. I can unpack those books. I can throw away those items. I can do...something.

As you pray and process what you want to do in 2020, remember to make it realistic with small steps you can regularly take. But more importantly, make them goals that matter. Do these goals align with God's calling for you? Do they enrich the lives of others? Will they make a long term difference, not just for today?

To finish, I'd like to introduce you to our new family member.

Boaz joined our family at Christmas this year and we love him! He is tough enough to wrestle with our Aussie, yet sweet and calm. This summer will be fun watching the dogs run around the newly fenced in yard.  He's going to be a big dog as he's just a pup, yet already 26 lbs. Look at that sweet face though!

I hope your new year was filled with thankfulness for how God worked in 2019 and anticipation for His plans in 2020. 

Sojourning with you,

 Felicia