Happy New Year!!!

Good-bye 2008, hello 2009!

For the first time ever, we let the older 4 children stay up until midnight to welcome in the new year. We shared sparkling raspberry juice and cheered and hugged and kissed each other. And then went to bed. :-)

Today we are working on setting goals for the new year. We do this every year and it is really fun to go back and look at some of their goals from years past and see whether or not they were met. We have each of the children choose ONE thing they want to learn, or learn to do, or do differently during the new year. It can be a physical thing, like learning to tie their shoes, or a relational thing, like being more kind to a certain sibling. We write them down in a little notebook and periodically the children like to check the notebook and see how they are doing. Some goals from past years include being potty trained, learning to ride a bike without training wheels, and not yelling.

If I have their permission I will share later what goals they chose for this new year!

As for me, I am a very goal oriented person (surprise, surprise) and I love the "fresh start" aspect of January. Especially since it comes in the middle of winter when it's cold and dark and harder at times to be motivated. I have set 3 goals for the new year, and they are all health related. They are small and measurable, so I will have the greatest chance for long term success. I will share them at a later time too. Right now I am off to exercise! :-)