Resolutions

I think when people say they don't like making resolutions they are either scared of looking foolish when they don't follow through, or they are afraid of change. I'm the first category. I don't want to tell people what I want to change or do differently because there is some form of accountability. What if someone asks me about a resolution in March and I have already given it up? Alas, below are a few of my resolutions for 2011.

Pray with my husband every night

Kevin and I used to pray together every evening when we were first married and somehow we just stopped. But about a month ago, we started it up again. As we lay in bed winding down and talking about our day we close in prayer. We pray for each other and for what is going on around us. We pray for our daughter and our future children. We pray for our families. This time has become so precious to me; I really do look forward to it each evening. I hope to keep up this routine through 2011. I'm excited to soon begin praying with Lily before she goes to bed.

Make more things from scratch

A friend and I used to joke about grinding our own wheat to bake our own bread, and although I don't plan to grind my own wheat, I am going to make bread! Well, sort of. Remember the bread machine crazy in the mid-nineties? No? Just my mom? My mom brought me down her bread machine to use for a while. I could probably do just as well with my Kitchen Aid mixer and oven, but with most of her kids gone, she doesn't use it all that often. I'll let you know how that adventure goes. Additionally, I have simply been wanting to make fewer boxed meals. I am determined to make a lasagna from scratch this year; something I have never done. I will not, however, be making my own noodles. Martha Stewart may be really cool and make tasty food, but she also has a full staff of employees to take care of everything else around her homes (plural.) I might even make my own sauce. . . I also want to make a cake from scratch. I think I was in high school before I realized that you could actually make a cake without a cake mix. Frosting still seems daunting to me, but I am up for the challenge. Baking was never my strong point; you have to actually measure the ingredients!

Get a library card

I have lived in Riverside for over ten years and have never applied for a library card. I love to read, I just don't make the time. Now that we don't have television I have a lot more time. I also want to make sure I get books to read to Lily. Already, she will sit in my or Kevin's lap and look at the pages of her books as we read to her. Some of my favorite family time growing up was when Mom or Dad would read a chapter a night from some of our favorite books; Ramona and Beezus, Number The Stars, Superfudge, and some book written from the view of a toddler named Sam. I can't wait to read them all to Lily.

2010 was a good year for us. God has blessed us in ways we didn't know possible; so much more that we ever expected. But I am excited to see how God uses us for His glory in 2011. I pray that we listen and are ready and willing when He calls.