2010 New Year's Goals (and '09 goal report)

2009 Goal Report

1. Gain a healthy 20-25 lbs with my pregnancy, have a healthy delivery, and then lose my pregnancy weight plus 10 lbs.  Well, I gained closer to 40 lbs with my pregnancy and have yet to lose it all, much less the extra 10 lbs. However I did have a healthy delivery and a happy baby boy!

2. Potty train D by May and possible A by the end of the year.  D is potty-trained, though it didn't happen by May. He just wasn't ready. A is very close and I am looking at getting her trained this week even. So, while I didn't quite meet this goal I got pretty close!

3. Read more non-fiction this year. I didn't get any where near accomplishing this goal. After having J I just wanted entertainment so read tons and tons of fiction. I did get in a few non-fiction this year, but not nearly as much as I should have. I did join a book club though and while we haven't read any non-fiction yet; we are reading more challenging fiction and books I wouldn't have picked up myself.

4. Get settled in a new community and find a way to be more involved in church.  As often happens in life, our plans to move fell through and we are still in the same house has we have been for the past 4 1/2 years. We finished up our commitment to the church plant in Denver and then started attending a church back here in the Springs. Over the fall I got involved in MOPS, Bible study, a book club, and our sunday school community. So in one sense I did achieve this goal, but not in the way I thought I would. I am finding that being involved with others in the same stage of life has kept me sane, given me more self-confidence, and helped me to feel more at peace with my world.

On to 2010:

1. Lose 50-55 lbs. With my husband's encouragement and no pregnancy to derail my efforts this year, I am determined to get healthy and in shape. I know that carrying less weight will give me energy, self-confidence, and motivation to accomplish more and keep up with my children. Starting tomorrow I'm doing a weekly challenge of exercise, no sugar, drinking water, and healthy foods. Should be fun!

2. Develop my spiritual disciplines. I have been struggling with spiritual disciplines pretty much ever since I knew I was supposed to do them. For a long time though my motivations have been all wrong. I've been focused on what I needed to do to be a "good Christian" instead of just my need for God. Lately I've been realizing that prayer and Bible reading don't make me a better mom, wife, friend, sister, etc.; they make me good. Without God's help I am not good at anything, much less trying to be better. I need the discipline to help me grow in my faith and to teach my children how to be disciplined in their life.

3. Potty train A. It will seem like heaven to me to only have one in diapers. As mentioned above this may be one of my first goals accomplished!

4. Learn to be content in all circumstances. I don't know if our lives will change all that much this year. There is always the potential that they could, but they may not too. I must learn to be content with where God has us and make the most of it. While I like to hope for better/different things, I must be grateful for what I have. This goal may be a life long process, but I would like to see myself make some strides forward in this and really grow up a little.

5. Continue to build and cultivate new friendships. It has been a long time since I really have had close close friends. Do to some apathy and busyness on my part and just life circumstances I've let a lot of good friendships fade away. I know that I need one or two or three good girl friends that I can truly live life with. I am praying for God to lead me and I will do my part to reach out and help them grow.

So there are my 2010 goals! Happy New Year's all and may all your goals be reached!

2009 Gratitude

A friend of mine did this on her blog and I thought it was a good exercise for me as we are going into the New Year. Here are the top 10 things I am thankful for from '09!

1. The healthy delivery and first 7 months of life of my little boy J. In spite of having to come early due to complications, being hospitalized at 2 mos for RSV, and having outpatient surgery at 7 mos; Jackson has been a happy content little boy. He is growing like a weed and continually delights us with his sweet belly laughs. Though he was unexpected I am forever grateful to God for blessing us with him.

2. My amazing husband who, in spite of a struggling economy, hasn't given up on finding creative ways to get jobs and make money. He is an amazing provider! I am thankful for the leadership, love, and strength he brings to our family.

3. Our two toddlers. Unfortunately both D and A have hit the terrible two's at the same time. Yet in between temper tantrums and just general stubbornness, we see some beautiful characteristics coming out of them. They continue to amaze us with their knowledge, perceptiveness, and tenderness! They too are blessings.

4. For the new friends and community we are finding at church. Through Sunday school, MOPS, and women's Bible study I am finding a wealth of new friends that are sharpening me and challenging me. They also give me an outlet for adult conversation. I find that I am a better wife and mom because of having friends!

5. Our new mini-van! I know it sounds dorky, but it has really been a huge blessing to us. It's so convenient and spacious. We have taken a few trips in it and it has been a breeze!

6. God's creative provision in our lives. We have seen Him provide for us in ways we never dreamed possible! From gifts from family to refunds from unexpected places. We haven't been living in excess, but our needs have all been met!

7. For the opportunity to see extended family this past summer. It is hard to do any kind of lengthy travel to see family, so it was a huge blessing for us to have family come to Colorado this past summer! We thoroughly enjoyed the long weekend.

8. Our 5th anniversary get-a-way! We were able to leave all three kids at Grammie's and go to Vail for a few days. Thanks to saved up Marriot points we were able to do the whole trip very cheaply. It was such a blessing to spend time just as couple without children. I think we should try and do this once a year so as to not lose our identity as husband and wife in the midst of being parents.

9. Our 112 year old house. This is a hard one for me, because I spend most of my time focusing on all that needs to be fixed in our old house and how we can't afford it. However, I must be thankful for the fact that it is spacious, warm, still standing (after 100+ years), and that it is ours. I am the worst at playing the comparison game and always finding someone who has it better then me and yet I need to remember just how much better I have it then so many others... and be grateful!

10. While '09 has been a hard year for us Fisks' emotionally, spiritually and financially, I am thankful for God seeing us through and for strengthening our faith in this time. It is only because of hard times that we appreciate the good. We have learned the difference between need and want; and are in the process of being content with wherever God has us. I hope and pray that '10 has different lessons for us, but if not, I will continue to thank God for His many blessings in our life!

This month in pics

Since it has been awhile since I last posted I thought I'd let our pictures from this past month "tell" the stories of our holidays.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Do to the fact that we hosted the Cousin's Christmas Party this year we got our decorations up much earlier then normal. It was kind of nice to have an excuse to get motivated.

This year, in order to make Christmas day celebrations with family a little less chaotic we had the cousins all exchange presents early with a little "Cousin's Christmas Party".  It was a huge success and  a lot of fun to host. The kids all played really well together and enjoyed their new gifts.  A and D here enjoying muffins, fruit and yogurt.

The eight oldest cousins (all under 6) at the table eating! Auntie E is sitting with them too. :)

D and A sitting with K waiting to give their presents. There was quite a bit of confusion as to what they were to do with the presents. Before long they all started opening the presents that they were supposed to give.  lol!

A picture of the aftermath. A is actually playing with a toy she got for her birthday a few months ago. Kids are fickle I guess.

J in his new Bumpkins bib. We love it and actually got one for A for Christmas. I highly recommend.

Beautiful Auntie E and J.

We finally got the kids out to play in the snow this month. We had to wait until we had enough for them to play in. Of course that much snow came with sub-zero temperatures so they weren't out for very long.

D being a big man helping Daddy.

A just mostly stood the whole time she was outside as she was so bundled up!

D really got into the snow play.

Our cute little snow bunny.

J is a happy happy boy.

Our baby is now 7 months old and sitting up by himself!

The boys hanging out on a snowy day watching sports.

We had a wonderful peaceful Christmas this year. Because of budget constraints we really had to be creative with gifts this year. We were able to spend under $200 though on all our gifts while still giving meaningful and special gifts. Who says that you have to spend a lot. Two weekends before Christmas we had all of our holiday parties and enjoyed visiting with all of our friends and family. The week of Christmas was pretty low key. K didn't have much work to do so was home with the kids, which they loved. D ended up getting sick the 23rd-25th so we were forced not to do as much as we might have otherwise. Christmas Eve I took the younger two to Grammie's house for dinner and presents and then headed to church for the service. Unfortunately we only made it through half the service as A was not in the mood for quiet reverent worship and was being quite disruptive. Oh well at least we were there. On Christmas it was my turn to stay home with D so after a lazy quiet Christmas morning and afternoon K took the younger two to his family Christmas gathering. What an amazing husband I have as I'm sure it was quite a feat to keep track of those two in that crowd. I enjoyed the time alone with my son.

We celebrated Advent for the first time this year and I really think it added so much to the season for me. I found that my focus was far less on gifts, obligations, etc. and more on the anticipation of Christ and His worship. What a beautiful holiday this is!

Our sweet J on his first Christmas.

The boys were up first on Christmas and anxiously waiting for A to wake up.

D and A starting to open presents.

K and D setting up D's new race track!

A loves being a "mommy"!

J and the new blanket I made him for Christmas.

K and D opening a bunch of building blocks. Great father and son time.

A with all her accessories for her babies. She is in heaven with all these things to take care of her little ones.

Chillin' with daddy. Notice A still not far from her baby.

All of us having our Christmas dinner that Daddy so lovingly prepared. It was a rather fancy meal for toddlers but so delicious.

A and J

A loves to dress up in whatever she can.

A fancies herself J's mother and LOVES to help take care of him.

J's first tub bath. He wasn't sure how to react.