Weekly Goals

Well it wasn't a great week, but the great news is that it is a new week with a clean slate. Did you set any goals this week?

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

Creating My Household Binder

Well to get a jump on my goals for 2014, the last week of December I was spent putting together my Household Binder. I keep adding as I go, when I find something lacking. There are some really great household binder printables out there, but none really seemed to fit as a whole. I took one here, one there and feel pretty confident with what I currently have.

From organzinghomelife.com I took the daily and weekly chore chart. This helps to break up my day so I'm not looking at the clock and trying to do everything as I'm trying to cook supper. I also have a couple chores each day that need to be completed and there is usually enough time in the morning to complete them. I lamented this after creating my daily and weekly chores, so I could just check things off with dry erase markers everyday.

http://www.organizinghomelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Blank-Chore-List-Snapshot.png

I also took the monthly zones from organizinghomelife.com. In my house there are 4 zones that need a lot of work: laundry room, bedrooms, kitchen, and my sewing room. Small chores that need to be done monthly are listed in each zone. This I also laminated making it easy to check off and reuse.


http://www.organizinghomelife.com/archives/4433

Because we have a lot of insurance policies, I also printed those and the password and username sheet. There are many more to chose from just check out Organizing Home Life.

Over on Money Saving Mom I printed off a menu planner and a monthly/ semi-monthly cleaning list. These were both laminated, making checking off easy with dry erase markers.

On imom.com I printed off their cute calender to keep appointments and schedules organized.
 


I printed off my 2014 goals and my book list for 2014 so I can cross things off as I complete them. I also lamented a page to write my weekly goals on. I also put a notebook in to take notes for anything but specifically for blog ideas and organization.

Last but not least, I printed off a prayer journal from AmyBayliss.com. I love it because it is simple, but pretty. It has a space for date, person, fulfillment date, prayer request and any scripture that might be beneficial. 

My prayer is that I use my household binder to keep me organized and motivated to keep my house and family well taken care of. If you haven't made a household binder, I strongly encourage you to take a look at what's out there and see what might work for you.

Weekly Goals

I did pretty good. Not all goals were met but some goals are becoming more habit, that I can slowly remove and replace them. How was your week?

Last Weeks Goals:
Personal: 

• Daily Devotion/prayer
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times
• Try something new (did some sewing Sunday since we were stuck at home due to cold temps)
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day (close I drank over 6 every day)

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night(it turned into a train night, setting up an extravagant train track)
  

 Around the house

• Use household binder to stay organized 

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal: 

• Practice the piano for 2 hours this week
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night

 Around the house

• Keep kitchen clean every night

Hearts at Home: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Moms

My last session at Hearts at Home was called 7 Habits of Highly Effective Moms by Sherry Surratt. Sherry is the CEO of Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS), mother of two and grandmother to one. 

This session was slightly different because most of the session was conveying a study done to discover the habits of highly effective moms. It was very interesting to me as someone so enjoys numbers, data, and statistics. Here is what the study came up with: 

First they came up with the Better Mom Better World Metric to in a sense create the image of the perfect mom. This was used to study moms that had these qualities and from their study their habits.  An effective mom would have:

• A strong core resilience
• Healthy network of friends
• Supportive partner
• Developed Mom Finesse
• Spiritual Development

Now that we know what the characteristics of an effective mom are, the habits were easy to find. If you've ever heard of the 7 habits of highly effective leaders, you might be surprised to see some similarities in habits. In the end there were 7 very distinctive habits. 

1. They put themselves first in spiritual development. Their day is fit around God instead of trying to fit God into their day.
2. Engage in spiritual walk that has nothing to do with being a wife or a mom. You need an identity in Christ separate from everyone else. 
3. They form a S.W.A.T team of support. Husbands and mommy friends are the most common team members and are always trusted confidants. 
4. They continue to invest in who they were before they became a mom.
5. They balance being a mom and a woman. 
6. They keep their sense of humor. 
7. They parent with the end in mind.

Well if that list doesn't just make you want to crawl into bed and hide, you may be more effective than me. I can say I usually keep my sense of humor and I believe I parent with the end in mind although I know there is always room to grow. 

When I look at the habits I can tell that my hardest has to be number 4. I can hardly remember what it was like before kids. My whole identity is mom and wife and there are so many times where I can't remember who I was before that. There will come a day where I won't be mommy anymore and that scares me. Who will I be then? The good news is, the session ended on a really good note. 

3 Splendid and Beautiful Truths: 

1. There is NO perfect to achieve
2. Great moms don't happen on accident, but on purpose
3. God's got your back

I may not be able to achieve perfect but looking at the habits, I know which one I need to work on the most. In 2014 I can work to find who I am again and work towards being that person again. 

To end I will let you ponder the verses shared as the session closed out. It may seem a little odd at first but think about what it takes to be a mom. You need a plan and you need your weapons. What are those for you?

Ephesians 6: 13-18 "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes form the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

My Goals for 2014

This is the first time I am setting goals for the year. I am a little unsure of what goals I need to set for myself and my family. Here is what I have come up with and hope to accomplish

Blogging:

• 3 posts a week
•  Do at least 3 series posts
• Find 5 more companies who I can be affiliates with to generate some extra income
• Sign up for Twitter

Homeschooling:

• Purchase charts I want
• Read through the Alphabet (from thisreadingmama.com)
• One big craft project a month
• Establish a morning routine including personal hygiene care that the girls will do on their own

Relationships:

•  Date night with Hubby at least 6 times this year
• Play date at least once a month
• Plan a trip to Arizona, find a couple of places to stop along the way
• Sponsor a child from Compassion

Around the house:

• Create a weekly planner for cleaning, organizing, and meal plan
• Try one new recipe a month
• Plan a freezer cooking session once a month (at least one recipe doubled and put in the freezer)
• Create a recipe book complete with pictures

Finances:

• Completely pay off my student loans
• Start paying extra on one rental house
• Refinance rental houses
• Set up an IRA

Personal:

• Daily devotional, bible reading, and prayer time
• Read an average of at least 5 books a month from my reading list for 2014
• Save for a tread mill
• Exercise 5 days a week
• Try to find a Bible study that will work with my schedule
• Lose 20 pounds

What are We Reading This Month: January

January: Here in Minnesota it means cold temperatures. Very cold temperatures. Many days of negative temperatures. This month is going to be filled with appropriate cold books. Anything with snow will be covered this month.

Here is our list:

• The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll
• The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel
• The Hat by Jan Brett
• All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle
• You Can Do it Sam by Amy Hest
• Boots by Anne Schreiber
• A Silly Snowy Day by Michael Coleman
• There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell by Lucille Colandro
• Little Snowflake's Big Adventure by Steve Metzger
• The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg
• The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler

My 2014 Book List

I LOVE to read. I LOVE the Kindle app on my tablet. There are so many books that I have gotten for free that I really needed to write them down and make my list. So for the first time ever I have a reading list. I hope to be reading at least 4 at a time. One from Faith and Spirituality, Devotions, For Me, and one other category. My ultimate goal is one book a week, so 52 total. During the year I'll have updates on how I am doing. 


Faith and Spirituality: 

• Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine
• Just Like Jesus: A Heart Like His
• Jesus on Every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament
• Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity
• World of Jesus, The: Making Sense of the People and Places of Jesus' Day
• 10 People Every Christian Should Know 
• That's a Great Question: What to Say When Your Faith Is Questioned
• The Burden Bearer: Who’s Carrying Your Load?
• After God's Own Heart: The Key to Knowing and Living God's Passionate Love for You
• What is the Trinity?
• Minor Prophets: Major Issues
• Did the Resurrection Happen . . . Really?
• Why Trust Jesus?
• The Truth of the Cross  
• Dancing in the Arms of God: Discover Your Cinderella Story
• God's Grace Apart From Law
• And the Lamb Wins: Why the End of the World Is Really Good News
• Drawing Near to the Heart of God: Encouragement for Your Lifetime Journey 
• Understanding the Times
• God's Love Story
• Every Bush Is Burning
• The Bad Girls Of The Bible "7 Most Infamous" Book
• Handle with Prayer: Unwrap the Source of God's Strength for Living

Devotions:

• The 7-Day Prayer Warrior Experience  
• The Daily Walk Bible NLT: 31 Days with Jesus 
• The Wiersbe Bible Study Series: Isaiah: Feeling Secure in the Arms of God 
• Love Gives Life: A Study of 1 Corinthians 13
• 40 Days of Prayer 
• The Daily Devotional Series: The Gospel of John  
• 21 Days of Faith Challenge 
• The 7-Day Doubt Diet  
• The Wiersbe Bible Study Series: Mark: Serving Others as You Walk with the Master Servant
• Daily Devotional for Women and Men - Open Your Hymnal . . . Again
• Faith - Four Week Mini Bible Study
• Capture His Heart 

 Relationships: 

• The Purpose and Power of Love & Marriage
• Art of Neighboring, The: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside your Door
• The Essential Oil Advantage: How to Use Essential Oils to Create a Healthy Lifestyle
• Happily Ever After : Six Secrets to a Successful Marriage
  Be A People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective Relationships
• The 4 Seasons of Marriage: Secrets to a Lasting Marriage
• Never Stop Holding Hands: And Other Marriage Survival Tips
• A Faith Full Marriage: Building a Lifetime Love on Biblical Principles
• Praying Circles around Your Children 
• The Parenting Collection 
• The 5 Love Languages of Children 

 Homeschooling: 

• Science the Preschool Way
• Bucket List Learning: Creating An Experience Rich Education For Your Homeschool
• Overcome Your Fear of Homeschooling with Insider Information
  House Mommy's Boredom Busters – 201 Fun Things to Do With Kids!
• Kids Cooking and Learning Through Food Activities
• Grace for the Homeschool Mom

Around the Home:

• The Essential Oil Advantage: How to Use Essential Oils to Create a Healthy Lifestyle
• The Quick & Easy Pioneers' Cookbook
• 30 Delicious Dump Cake Recipes
• The Minimalist Cleaning Method 
• Kill The Clutter: Declutter Your Home and Organize Your Life 
• Homemade Jelly and Jam Recipes - 35 Recipes To Make Delicious Jams and Jellies from Scratch 

 History:

• While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement
• Portraits of Integrity: Real People Who Demonstrated Godly Character
• Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania
• Henry VIII’s Wives: History in an Hour 
• When You Come Home: The True Love Story Of A Soldier's Heroism, His Wife's Sacrifice and the Resilience of America's Greatest Generation
• The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson 
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Fanklin
• Extraordinary Patriots of the United States of America: Colonial Times to Pre-Civil War
• History of the United States
• Woman on the American Frontier 
• Rise of the New West, 1819-1829
• The Narrative of Sojourner Truth

For Me: 

• The Ultimate Gift: A Novel
• 50 Keys To Better Photography!
• How To Take Better Photos – Your Guide To Taking Better Pictures From Any Camera
• Abortion: A Rational Look at An Emotional Issue
• The Shut Mouth Society
  Agenda 21
• Made to Crave
• Contingency 
• The Hobbit  
• The Circle Series 
• Reshaping It All