Resolutiony things

At the end of every year, when me and DJ take the Christmas decorations down, we always stop to make a list of the things we hope and pray the Lord will do over the course of the next year. We fold them up, put them in our stockings, and pack them away in the attic until the next year when we take them out and see if and how the Lord's provision and works matched our hopes and dreams. It's a fun little tradition we do and a way to document all that the Lord has done. This year I noticed that my "hopes and dreams" were less hopey and dreamy and were more like the typical, first world, American new year's resolutions that everyone seems to have. There's nothing romantic about them and they are fairly average which feels a little boring and traditional, both of which I am learning that I am! But still, they are the things that I hope are accomplished in my life this year so I thought I would share anyway. This year, I wrote down things like:

• Eat healthy. BORING. Ya'll, I love potatoes and bread and my favorite food group is fat. As in, I literally drink heavy cream straight from the carton, it's just that delicious. Me and DJ love second dinner and there's nothing like putting the kids to bed and staying up late to eat a pint of ice cream together. Cream. Sauce. Dips. Anything heavy or starchy or fried or chocolately. Yes please. And yet, I am learning that I can no longer eat whatever I want at the ripe old age of 32 and I suppose I should maybe start eating better. Not because I am worried about my weight, but because I have this new friend name cellulite who has barged her way straight into my life with a vengeance. And by my life, I obviously mean my thighs.
• Love my phone less. Let's be honest; I think this has been on my list since the invention of the iPhone. It is seriously so hard for me.  I created a list of phone boundaries for myself to follow in 2014 and then started to implement them over a year later because I'm just that good at goals, ya'll. I blogged about it here, and due to a growing annoyance with social media and hating the way it pulls me away from my family, I am finally, finally starting to love my phone just a little bit less. I have hardly been on social media at all in the past month and it has been so great. I may not know what's going on in the world or in your life, but my mind feels less cluttered and my heart feels more full and I am glad for the little social media break. I am sure I will be pulled back in soon enough though, so I will see you all there when I do. 
• Research education. Moses just turned 4, but the education question is a huge stresser for me. In a makes me hyperventilate while my pits sweat through my shirt kind of way. I know we have time to decide, but I also know my tendency to ignore things that overwhelm me and to rush into decisions that I am not happy with because I wanted to avoid making them in the first place. Here's a shocking confession: I am currently more drawn to home school than any other option. Say whaaaa? I didn't knew I had it in me! But I get more and more excited with every little bit I learn and it leaves me excited to further explore that option. Obviously me and DJ have a lot of research to do and will make the decision together, but that is where my own heart has been leaning and I just never would have thought it. Eat healthy. Consider home school. I am just full of surprises these days.
• Have all the babies. Birth them. Adopt them. Love them. Okay, so maybe this is a tad ambitious to accomplish in the course of one year, but a girl can dream, eh?
• Take myself less seriously. Perfectionism is a beast. I want to better understand freedom and grace and to give myself permission to fail. I don't want to be so beat up and burned out by struggles and mistakes and I want to shrug and laugh it off and then keep on going without so much fear of how I am screwing up. This is so contrary to how I am wired but it's a gift that's been given to me by God so I want to learn to embrace it. Tips appreciated.

So you see? Nothing fancy or even fun really. Rather typical. But my hopes and dreams nonetheless and we'll see how I fare. Tell me... what are yours?!