2012 Goals

Not a very creative title, I know, but I just want to get these up here so I have some accountability. Anyway, here are my goals for this year. I may try to be a little more specific on some of them in the future, but for now they will do:

Personal:

-Read through the Bible reading plan I started each month

-Work out 4-5 times/week (once Felicity comes and I get the okay)

-Read 1 non-fiction book/month. This month I've read one already, so I am reading another one.

-Only check Facebook 1 time/day. I know that is ridiculous but I think I spend too much time on there.

Family:

-Have at least one date night/month with Joe

-Do one craft/new activity with V each week

-Teach V her ABCs by March

Home:

-Follow chore planner. I bought a downloadable one off the internet and it is really nice; it breaks everything down so it's more manageable and already in list form.

-Stick to our budget!!! This one will get more specific but for now I just wanted something down on paper about it.

We will see how all these go. I think they are fairly doable. Time to clean the V up from lunch.

Happy New Year!

Being that it's a new year and all, I figured I would actually write a little. Things have been fairly crazy the last couple of weeks with holidays and weddings and such. We also finally weaned V from her pacifier, which took a little longer than I had hoped. However, she seems to be sleeping better at night without it, which makes all of us grateful.

We also decided to move down to Grand Rapids earlier than planned. It was getting too expensive to live so far away from Joe's work, our doctors, etc. We had hoped to buy a house this spring but decided just to rent for a few months longer and take our time looking around at where we want to buy. I am excited to be going back to the city and am glad that we will be 45 minutes closer to the hospital I'll be delivering at at the end of the month, especially since we're starting to get more snow now.

I have been thinking about making a list of goals that I would like to accomplish this year in different areas of my life. I will probably share them in another post, but one in particular I would like to accomplish is to do more crafty/creative things with Verity. She is getting to the age now where she is more interested in stuff like that and can listen to instructions better, so I have been reading up on blogs and got a book for Christmas that should give me some ideas. Hopefully I can do at least one activity a week with her. For Christmas we got her some coloring books and she has been enjoying that:

We haven't had any issues with her trying to color on something other than the paper...yet. :)

Well, I suppose I should be thinking about dinner. Happy New Year everyone!

Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago, we went and had our pictures taken so we would have a half-way decent one for our Christmas card. It is the first time since we were married that we had something like that done. V wasn't real cooperative, but we got some nice pictures. Maybe by the time Felicity is here she will be more into it. Here are a few of them:

As far as life goes, things have been pretty good. Joe moves to second shift tomorrow, which will be a nice change as that is what we have been used to. I am also glad he will be around to help more during V's awake time. I have been unable to pick her up this weekend without being in extreme pain so the less I have to do it, the better at this point. We are fairly settled in to the cabin now and with our Christmas decorations up, it feels more like our own home. V is learning more and more words every day and has also picked up new skills, such as putting her garbage in the trash can and helping me unload the dishwasher. I really have been enjoying the time I have with her at home and am excited to be able to do more activities with her as she grows.

Well, Joe just brought me some applecrisp so I am going to go enjoy that now. Until next time.

Just in case

...you were wondering what we've been up to recently.

That's all for now. Enjoy. :)

An update of sorts

So it's week two of life up north. Besides the vast amounts of rain we've had, making it difficult to spend much time outdoors, things have been going really well. Verity has mostly settled back into a normal sleep schedule, which makes everyone happy, and is starting to eat more table food here and there again. In fact, she is taking her second nap of the day right now, which is the reason I am on here right now.

Actually, I feel like I spend more time online now than I did pre-Michigan; however, I have been a LOT more productive than I ever was in Louisville...well, post-V anyway. It's amazing how enjoyable cooking/housework is when you can do a little every day so it doesn't pile up like crazy. I have been able to actually stick to the meal plans I've made so far, keep up with the laundry fairly well, AND enjoy time with V. It's nice to sit down after she's gone to bed and not feel guilty since I have accomplished something with my day. We will see what happens once Felicity makes her appearance, but for now, things are going smoothly.

Joe is enjoying the pace of his job, as well as knowing he will be done at the same time every day. He still works up cases for the company he was working for in Louisville here and there, but he can choose when he wants to do it so it works out nicely. He is looking forward this weekend to be able to relax. After driving back and forth to KY for the last three, he is ready for a break.

Well, I probably should do something with my time; it's a lot easier to get stuff done when V is sleeping! Hopefully now that I have more time at home I will be better about updating this thing.

The end of an era...

Well, the time has come. After a few whirlwind months (thus the lack of posts), it's finally moving day. Everything...well, almost everything we own will be in Michigan by the end of the day. It's crazy to think that we're moving from this:

...to this:

Part of me still doesn't believe it's really happening. I've told several people that it just feels like we're going on a long vacation. I remember saying the same thing when we moved down here.

A lot of major changes happened in my life here in Louisville; the city holds a lot of dear memories. I got my first "real" job, had my first adultish apartment, bought new cars, lost a baby, had a baby, and lost my pets here. I also grew much deeper in my faith and made some lifelong friends in the 4.5 years we've lived here. As big of a blessing as this move will be for our family, I really will miss this place. Everything seems bittersweet, but I suppose that's how life is. Anyway, more updates on life back in the frozen tundra to come soon. Sorry for the corny nostalgia. :)

whirlwind

The past month and a half have been pretty crazy around here. Between V and Joe's birthdays, our anniversary, traveling, a new pregnancy, and the normal stuff of life, I feel like I can hardly think straight sometimes.

We found out at the end of May that Verity is going to have a new little sibling. This pregnancy has been quite a bit different from V's. I am a lot more nauseated this time, and my sense of smell is VERY sensitive. The only real similarity is the migraines, which hopefully will subside in a week or two; they did last time. We had an ultrasound on Tuesday and were very thankful and relieved to see Baby Martin moving around with a healthy heartbeat. (S)he is due January 31, but we'll see what happens as far as that goes.

Verity's birthday was a lot of fun; we had a big party at the park with her friends and opened presents on her actual birthday. She also had a party with Grandma and Grandpa Thiel and was able to open her gift from Grandma and Grandpa Hill when she went up to visit for Grandma Brown's 80th birthday. She really learned to enjoy cake.

Some friends came and watched Verity for the day while Joe and I went to Cincinnati to have an anniversary date. We went to the aquarium, the Harry Potter movie, and a Reds game. We had to leave early because I got really sick, but it was fun to be able to spend some kid-free time together for a day. Hopefully we'll be able to do that again soon.

Well, I suppose that's long enough for now. I really need to update this blog more often so posts like this don't occur frequently. Sorry for the weird format. I was trying something new and it just didn't look right. I ended up deleting a bunch of pictures to make it fit. Grr...