Everyday Goals

Everyday Goals for 2011


Say Yes

Smile more

Give thanks

Pray more, talk less

Less time online

Breakfast earlier

Bed earlier

Don’t procrastinate

Say no

I typed out this little list of “Everyday Goals” shortly after the new year. I’ve never been one to make resolutions, but since I took the step of “naming my year” I wanted to have some small, realistic goals to help me along my road to joy. Now we’re a few months into the year, and I thought it would help me to revisit this list. I really ought to print it out on some pretty paper and put it up where I’ll see it more often. (I think I should add “stop saying I really ought to” to my list.)

Here are the “baby steps” I set out to work on this year:

Say Yes

 Say yes to the kids when what they're asking for is reasonable, even if it might not be what I have planned, even if it inconveniences me in some way. Try to at least pause and think before just blurting out no. 

Smile More 

I've noticed that the physical act of making myself smile, even when I don't feel like it, can change not just the tone of my voice, but the attitude I have. I so often have an "edge" to my voice when correcting (for the fiftieth time!) some child, or instructing someone who isn't really listening. I listened to an excellent seminar called Hold on to Your Kids and the speaker stressed the importance of "collecting" our kids- taking a moment to get in their face in a friendly way, engage their eyes, get them smiling and nodding- before we give them some direction.  This seems to work wonders, and reinforces my resolve to smile more. 

Give Thanks

I wrote a bit about this when I shared my desire to become a more joy-filled person. This is a real discipline, and one I'm working on cultivating. After noticing many people talking about it, I finally decided to read One Thousand Gifts. It has been a real blessing, as Ann Voskamp fleshes out the connection between living a life of gratitude and being filled with joy. I felt like it was the perfect time for this book to come into my life, right after I'd made a commitment to foster joy in my heart. Highly recommended! I've started my own little gratitude journal and am up to about 150 things so far. Writing them down is very helpful.

Pray More, Talk Less

This is hard to do! "Pray and then speak. That's what to do with your children. If you are constantly lecturing them, you'll become tiresome and when they grow up they'll feel a kind of oppression. Prefer prayer and speak to them through prayer. Speak to God and God will speak to their hearts. That is, you shouldn't give guidance to your children with a voice that they hear with their ears. You may do this too, but above all you should speak to God about your children. Say, "Lord Jesus Christ, give Your light to my children. I entrust them to You. You gave them to me, but I am weak and unable to guide them, so, please, illuminate them." Elder Porphyrios

Less Time Online

I don't think that really needs any explanation!

Eat Breakfast Earlier

I have a hard time getting going in the morning, which leads to the next one...

Go to Bed Earlier

So, so hard to do! By the time the kids are settled down, Erik and I really like to just relax, but it's easy to stay up way too late. 

Don't Procrastinate

So often I put off the little things that really wouldn't take long to do. I'm trying to be better about just taking a moment to pick up a book, or a toy, or to carry something to a room I'm walking to anyway. It does make a difference!

Say No

My first goal was to say yes to my kids, and this one is to say no- to other things. Things that take my time and attention from serving my family and being content in my own home. They could be relationships, commitments, hobbies, opportunities, or "things" that distract me from what is given to me in the moment. 

The Poppy Dresses

(This is a repost from last year, updated with the Sixth Poppy Dress!)
When I was barely pregnant with our second baby, I was telling my niece how the heart was already beating, and only the size of a poppy seed. She said "oh, we should call the baby Poppy!" That became her "womb" nickname, and when our beautiful little girl was born, it only seemed right to add it into her name. So even though it's a middle name, it stuck, and so six years later she is our Poppy Joy Girl. I've made her a dress with Poppy fabric every year, and here they are all together in one place. (You can click on the picture to see them bigger.)

I used an Asian inspired pattern from Modkid and fabric I found on Etsy for this one. I love it, and love the way my girl looks in it!

The Five-Year Dress in all it's Poppy splendour! I had ordered the main fabric online and planned to pick a bright green contrast for the trim. But my girl went to the fabric store with me and wouldn't hear of green defiling her pink dress; so here it is in all it's Poppy Pinkness!

Here is her fourth birthday dress, made with Amy Butler fabrics; I think this is my favorite one so far.

The Third Birthday. You can't see the details on this one very well. The little red flowers are poppies. (Daddy was trying to capture the girl, not so much the dress!) If you look here there is one picture of her where you can see the full length a little better.

The Second Birthday. I wanted to make a classic "little girl" style dress while she was still little. She wore this one for a long time.

The First Birthday. I saw this batik fabric first online, then purchased it in a local quilting shop. I love how it brings out the blue in her eyes. (She got those from her Daddy!) There were yellow bloomers underneath.

So there you have it, the first five, of hopefully many, Poppy dresses. I don't sew for her as much as I'd like to, so I've really enjoyed doing these special dresses for her special days.