NaDell's Goals for 2013

To review past goals for 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, click on the year.

I put these goals on my blog so that I'm more accountable to myself and those who know me.  I do not do this so everyone thinks I'm perfect.  If somehow after reading my blog, you think this, you need to come over and visit me (wake me up first!)

NaDell's Goals for 2013
1. Read books and magazines that inspire me spiritually as well as intellectually.
Because I bit off such a big goal last year of reading the entire LDS Quad set of scriptures, I'm way behind in my church magazines and other good books (although I still read close to 60 books in 2012...)  I'm DONE with continuing to read books that have foul language and behaviors that don't make me a better person for reading.  Curiosity over what the book's end might be is finished with the last few books I read that were bad.  Hopefully, sticking with suggestions on Goodreads from friends I know and trust will help more in this area.  My mind and time are too important to let filth into it.

2. More family exercise.
Somehow this has got to work.  Andy and I were asked to be "parents" on the Trek our Stake is doing this summer (right after I turn 31), so we need to do some walking to prepare our bodies for hot summer days of walking.  Hopefully, by doing this I will lose the last 16 pounds I'd like to get rid of too.  We also are nearly outfitted with bikes for our family and I'd like to go on family bike rides (and teach our children to learn to ride bikes---no, none of them know how!)

3. TEMPLE with Andy monthly.
Sometimes when we finally have a weekend evening free it's hard to pick whether to go on a "real" date or a date to the Temple, especially since we end up paying babysitters either time.  (If you happen to be reading this and want someone nearby to trade with, I'd love to!) I'd like to have more evening dates at home this year too.

4. Catch up my family scrapbooks.
This won't take me too long, but if I don't make a goal of it, I might just wait another year and then it will take awhile.  I generally get all of my photos printed, lined up with the paper stuff (invites, calendar, awards, etc.), and then just go for it several nights in a row.  I'm not a perfectionist and care more about getting the pictures and journaling on the page than fancy layouts, so I can do a month or so in a long evening after the kids go to bed, which is a lot because of how many pictures I take.

I think four goals for this year is sufficient.  I hope to continue budgeting better, getting more food storage, and so many other things, but I will focus on these four goals this year.  Maybe when I finish #4 I'll replace it with something else.
What are your goals?

Overall Goal Update for 2012

Before I set my goals for 2013, here are the ambitious goals I made for myself this year and my year-end update on how I did, not to show off or make you think I'm amazing (because that's not the reason), but to force myself to have some accountability.
  2012 GOALS
1. Read Scriptures and Pray before using computer.
     Andy and I both read (we'll finish tonight) the entire QUAD set of scriptures (King James Version Old and New Testament, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price). Altogether that was a few thousand pages of scripture.  I've been praying better too and doing my best to focus more on my spirituality, which has been great for me.  I recommend this challenge to read the entire Quad in a year (and if you aren't LDS, you can still read the Bible!), even though it's hard.  I've read through the Bible before, but it took me much longer.  I felt like I understood more and retained it better reading more at a time, although there were plenty of catch up days too when life was extra busy.

2. Exercise daily (instead of never)
      I did well with this until my walking buddy moved away in August.  Even a little bit afterwards, but it was harder to get out without my friend (I miss you!)  I tried to walk with a few other people, but adjusting schedules and sickness made it so it was once a week or less by the end of the year.  I miss the walking.  I plan to do more walking this year (and possibly throw in some running...huge surprise to me that I may end up liking running!) I lost some weight in the process of exercising and eating less and keeping track of it on My Fitness Pal (sign up and be my friend!)  I currently have 39 pounds lost just in 2012 and would like to lose another 16 to be at a good weight.

3. Only check computer three times a day (morning, noon, and night) instead of constantly.
     I laughed this goal off long ago, but it is a good goal.  There was just too much going on with people in our ward that I rationalized I needed to be on top of with my calling at Ward Compassionate Service Leader.  It really was a busy year for that calling, but I could have tried much harder on this.

4. Read more with the kids.
    Is there ever enough reading with kids?  This area can always use improvement and I think I need more defined goals for it.

5. Temple, Temple, Temple= EVERY month (instead of hardly ever like we did, but we did have a new baby....I can make all kinds of excuses, but that doesn't change that it's something we NEED to do.)
   In 2012 I think we just missed one month.  There were a few months when we may not have done actual ordinances, but we went to the Temple for sealings and to the Boise Open House.

More great (and needful) goals to come!

Love is in the Air

We were able to go to a very nice wedding today in the Columbia River Temple for our good friends, Mary and Gary.  Mary has been one of our longtime game night friends and she started bringing Gary around about six months ago and they are SOOOO happy together.  We were happy to be able to join them in the Temple with their family and other close friends and participate in such a special and happy occasion.
It was a cold December day when we went into the Temple and a cold, snowy day when we came out.  It was beautiful.
I took their picture at their reception later that evening.  Those smiles were permanent all night.  We hope to see them at many more game nights in the future.

I thought I'd throw this one in here too.  If you ever need style advice, Olivia's available for consultations. 

PS.  This is AFTER I made her take off the bright blue sequin headband and ponytail.  She was snapping to the music. 

First Real Snow!

We are terribly mean parents who didn't let their kids play in the snow on Christmas Day, so they were forced to play the day after.

Andy went back to work though.

After finding all of the snow gear and putting it on, Abby was all set to play in the snow for 3.7 minutes.  At least she looks cute and even coordinated! (This snowsuit came from a neighbor when Elizabeth was a baby.  She had it for her daughter who was my age, so it's vintage.)

Elizabeth wanted to build a snowfort....at first.

 Vincent threw some snow at Elizabeth's fort.  It was not well received.

 Once Olivia was finally dressed (she took forever and we left her inside), she got right to work on a snowman.

 Elizabeth changed her mind and built a snowman too.

 Olivia didn't take long to collect enough snow for a snowman.

 Elizabeth's snowman.  I think most of our snowmen are really girls because of our supply of girly hats and scarves.

 Elizabeth wanted to shovel our sidewalk.  Then she shoveled a neighbor's sidewalk too, just to be nice (although hoping they'd pay her something, I'm sure. No such luck.)

 Vincent made three snowkids.  Here are two of them.

Mostly we've just been playing and resting all day.  Time to clean up our messes before Andy gets home from work!  I still need to figure out what to make for dinner tonight.....better get busy!

Christmas Day

The kids woke up about 7am.  Pretty normal.  We don't allow earlier than that.  Andy checked to make sure Santa Claus had come to our house and that everyone got a gift and then took his traditional hallway picture of everyone but him lined up.

 Abby checking out Santa's leftovers.  It was a smiley face before she moved it around.

 Little stocking pets.  (I think I spotted some at Hallmark and it would have been something great to use their coupons on...)

 Santa even put a few pairs of earrings in Olivia's stocking.  She just knew he would do that.

 The sunrise was beautiful orange and pink.  Andy said there's an old sailor's line about "red sky at dawn, sailor take warning."  Those kinds of things don't just get made up.  We wondered what the day would bring.

 Santa brought Vincent the Cars 2 Squinkies he'd been wishing for.  There are 12 of them.

 Olivia found a big doll (American Girl size, but not brand---five times LESS than AG brand.)  Abby looks pretty excited for Olivia.

 Abby liked her Wonder Woman invisible jet.

 The girls made me open their present to me before my Santa present.  New slippers.  Oh, how I LOVE slippers!

 Santa brought Elizabeth the Littlest Pet Shop Magic Motion Treehouse she wished for.

 Santa brought an exciting movie for me.

 Santa outdid himself this year and brought Andy a suit coat in just the right size (pheww!)  Matching suit pants were in the box too.

 The kids did their sibling exchange.  Elizabeth and Vincent had each other and so did Olivia and Abby.  Vincent picked out a big, stuffed, striped dog for Elizabeth and she picked out a Nerf gun and extra foam darts for him.  Olivia picked a Dora doll for Abby and Abby picked out a necklace and earring set for Olivia.

 Andy made Vincent's day with a new Lego set.

 Abby got some fun blocks to play with (and she's holding her stocking doggie).

 Vincent likes his reversible Batman/Superman cape that Aunt Sara made.

 Olivia did get her American Girl Caroline doll, but it's a tiny one with a miniature book.

 Andy picked out a girl Lego set for Olivia. It's the Lego Friends Olivia set.

 I found a little beginning sewing machine for Elizabeth since she's so interested in sewing things lately.  I want her to learn on this instead of on mine.

 My new sander/cutter tool I requested.

 Andy I bought this Lego set for Andy.  Good thing he didn't already have it.

Abby next to most of her things.  She just wanted to color and eat gum all morning.

 Vincent with his loot. He has more in the box on the floor.  He broke one of his silver caps on his tooth shortly after this by eating a soft gumdrop candy.  I called the dentist the day after and they aren't open again until January 3rd.  We are saving the silver cap and hope he will last until then.  He doesn't act like it hurts at all.

Olivia with her gifts.

 Elizabeth's new fun things.

 The aftermath of Christmas morning in our house.  It may not look like much compared to some people's Christmases, but it's just enough for our house.  Plus, we have three kid birthdays coming up in January/February.

 Elizabeth diving into the pile of wrapping garbage.

 Abby eating any gum she could get her little paws on.

 Elizabeth had some help from Andy and his special tool to get her whole treehouse out to play with.

This crocodile dentist game is a hit!  No batteries, no super loud noises, and it doesn't take long to play.  Someone recommended it to me when we were going on our road trip this summer, so it was on my Amazon wish list.  You take turns pushing the little teeth until one of the teeth makes the crocodile bite you (but it doesn't really hurt).  It's a lot of fun.

My parent's and brother came over to our house instead of us going to Walla Walla because my Grandma Zora stayed in the hospital Christmas Eve.  She fell while getting into a car Sunday morning and was still hurting Monday, so she went in for x-rays and apparently she broke another vertebrae (she has really bad Osteoporosis) and it was what they call a burst fracture, so she's in a big back brace and on major medication trying to heal.
My Dad took my Grandpa out to lunch and Mom and Jeff came over to see us so Grandma Zora could rest a bit.  Grandma Mary brought some M&M's.  Abby laid down to enjoy them fully.

 Andy tried on his suit coat to show my mom.

 We gave my mom her gift from us.  A purple pashmina (scarf) and some earrings.  I think she liked them.

 The snow was falling pretty hard.  I saw a report that there was only a 9% chance of snow for our area on Christmas Day.

My Mom stayed with our kids while Andy, Jeff, and I went to visit Grandma Zora.  I took her the Christmas Quilt I made awhile ago to help cheer up her bed.  She's in a lot of pain.  I hope she'll be able to rest and heal.  We brought my Dad back home with us and fed everyone lunch (except my dad since he ate with Grandpa).  We all watched Olivia's Littlest Christmas Tree play a few times since we have the DVD.
My parents headed back home before the roads got worse.
We hung out at our house all afternoon and let the kids play with their toys.
Elizabeth built the car part of her car and trailer Lego set.

 Vincent with one of his little Lego cars.

 Olivia, Andy, and Vincent all reading their directions to build their Legos while Abby was still sleeping.

 I took some pictures of the snow.  It wasn't much snow, just an inch or so (although people always overestimate it-I heard someone say it's 3 inches!)
Here's my lilac bush in the winter.

 A view of one of our front yard trees through the branches.

I took a nice nap until it was time to head over to Andy's parent's house for dinner and presents.
They gave Vincent a Woody to go with his Buzz Lightyear he got for Christmas last year.

 Aunt Sara made this doll for Abby.  Abby loves dollies!

 Grandma Shirley and Grandpa George bought our girls slipper boots. Aren't they cute?

 Before we left, Vincent and Daphne were laying like Scooter.  Of course Scooter stood up before the picture was taken.

 I love how everyone helps my kids over there.  Notice how I'm just sitting there doing nothing?  Nice.

We were home in time to put the kids to bed and watched my new movie, "Leap Year" that I bought myself with Andy while he built part of his Lego set.
What a fun, nice Christmas, despite the tooth and Grandma in the hospital.