Category: Yearly Goals

The sky has been a feast for the eyes all week long.  Much as I’d prefer to stay home, I must say that driving all over the place each afternoon and evening has brought the blessing of the sky to my heart.  It’s wonderful to watch the clouds roll through as I go from place to place.  Simple gifts.

It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing this for 42 weeks without a break.  The year is flying by.  This week’s report:  116 steps.  I got a lot of little things done this week.  Little and yet they add up.

Highlights:

1.  Although he was up very late doing it, my son completed a major project for one of his classes this week.  My husband and I were so pleased that it happened without any stress or negativity on his part or ours.  Victory!

2.  I gave haircuts to three of my girls this week.  I know that I don’t really know what I’m doing, but they all look cute so it works for me.


3.  I did a better job this week of reaching out and trying to connect with a few friends and acquaintances.  I’m kind of a homebody and I have more work to do than time to do it in, so I get swallowed up by my own house and schedule sometimes.  It’s nice to connect with others.

4.  Four of our five soccer players finished their seasons this week.

5.  I made some progress working on unfinished projects.  I’m still running on the momentum of my recent disgust with myself.

6.  I had to laugh when my daughter came home from a birthday party and had to take pictures of her creation before sharing it with her brothers and sisters.  These pictures are courtesy of my 8 year old.




7.  Added borders to a quilt top.

8.  Wisely chose to stay home and clean when I was tempted to shop.

9.  Spent several hours working on this .


It’s hard to believe that October is drawing to a close.  It’s been a beautiful month, and a month of long to do lists.  I’m hoping for a VERY productive week!

Wishing you a great week, Jennifer

I loved this sunset earlier in the week.  There is something about watching the sun disappear over the horizon that calms my heart and helps me shift into a slower gear for the evening.  So beautiful.

Here I am, another week gone.  It amazes me how the weeks,  months and years fly, yet how long the days can be.  This was a week of hard work.  Steps recorded:  78.

Highlights:

1.  On a whim, I tore my family room apart on Monday.  As it is right now, there are 2 items that have remained in their original location while the rest is completely different.  I love it.


2.  Tearing apart the family room created a ripple effect around the house, and I’ve cleaned out closets, rooms, etc. ever since.  A large majority of all my “storage” boxes and other containers now house completely different things.  It’s been a whirlwind, and I hope I can remember where things are.

3.  My husband and I went to the case lot sale at a local grocery store and stocked up on many items.  Later in the week as my four year old son was in the basement with his Dad pouring rice into buckets, he said, “Dad, I know what this means.  It means Heavenly Father loves us.”  Amen to that.

4.  I’m on a “finish all my projects before beginning another” kick, and I hope it lasts long enough to make some real dents in my bad habit of not finishing as much as I start.

5.  We had a couple of days off school this week, so we cleaned.  And cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned.  And it shows.

6.  We had a soccer game in North Salt Lake this week that we found out was canceled…. AFTER we got there.  The other team neglected to pass the info on to my son’s team.  So we turned around and drove home in rush hour traffic with construction on every imaginable road.  Talk about a waste of time and gas!

7.  Yesterday we cleaned out our garage, moved my husband’s tools, and swapped spaces for our cars.  Now we can walk to the refrigerator out there without opening the garage.  Hooray!  We’ve needed to do this for months.


8.  Today I took my eight year old daughter to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple for some pictures in preparation for her baptism.  Oh, I would have loved to have my sisters here to help me!  I prayed it would turn out, and we got several shots that both of us really like.

9.  My husband was awesome and played games with the older children tonight.  Four of them don’t have school tomorrow, so we were especially relaxed.  I appreciate his good example for me.


10.  Sat up late tonight talking with my husband about a thousand little things.  It was awesome.  Now it is very late and I’m dozing as I type.

And so I’m off to begin another busy week.  I wish you all the best in yours!

Jennifer

Fall.  I’m a few weeks behind the calendar, but in my heart it’s now officially fall.   I love this season so much.  I’m ready to wear snuggly clothes, cook our favorite soups, play in crunchy leaves, bake a pie and rediscover my love for all things pumpkin.  It rained most of the week, and with the rain has come cooler temperatures and the feeling of autumn in the air.


Only a few more weeks of soccer and we’ll have our Saturdays back for a while.  Much as I love soccer games, the season has stretched us so thin that I can now see holes.  I’m anxious to pause, regroup, gather in.

This week’s report:  79 steps.  It was a great week.
Highlights:

1.  This was a week to throw open the curtains and drink in the sight of green grass.  Yes, we’re still giddy about our new lawn.  I can hardly describe how joyful my heart feels each time I see it.

2.  This week we got out our Halloween  and pumpkin themed childrens books for reading.  I have a few that I really love, and it’s always fun to rediscover them.

3.  One day this week, while driving home from school, we watched the blue sky turn dark, then turn to light rain, then heavy rain, then pounding rain, and finally to hail.  My two year old, who typically is frightened of such things, squealed and laughed and yelled with delight as she watched it all unfold on the windshield.  I slowed down and we all enjoyed both the storm and her delight.

4.  We celebrated my daughter’s 8th birthday.  It was wonderful.

5.  I had lots of “moments” with my four year old son this week.  Oh my, he can be a handful.  I always wonder how the twos got such a bad reputation when it’s really 3 and 4 that wear you down.  One example:  at his soccer game, he flat out refused to play.  Then he sat down on the ground and cried.  It was our turn to provide the treat, so I told him that if he didn’t play, he wouldn’t have  a treat.  I would let his sister pass them out.  I sat there and ignored his attempts to gain attention through negative behavior, and I should probably be ashamed to admit that I was rather looking forward to marching him to the car after the game WITHOUT a treat of any kind.

Then, at the beginning of the 4th quarter (yes, the 4th quarter) I glanced up and saw that he had quietly walked up to stand right next to his coach, and the coach (bless his soul, he is so patient with this little nut of mine) had put his hand on my little guy’s head to keep him there.  So he played for the 4th quarter.  He also decided to use the world’s longest windup when he was assigned to kick the ball off.  He lined up back where the goalie would stand, then ran forward to the midfield line and kicked the ball about 4 feet.  For a few minutes he acted like he was really going to play, but suddenly he ran off the field again and I said to him “Oh no you don’t, you get back out there” when he stopped, looked deeply into my eyes, then quickly gave me a big hug before pulling back to look at me again, then turn and run right back on the field.

Of course, my heart softened.  Don’t worry, he had more in store.  When it was his turn to kick the ball in from the sideline, I suddenly couldn’t see him.  Then I noticed the coach saying, “He’s going to be coming right through here” as he motioned to parents to make room.  I wondered what on earth was going on, and took a cue from the heads of the parents on that part of the sideline.  I followed their gaze and saw that my son had backed up through the parents, across the opening, and onto a nearby field of soccer players 3 times his size.  He was a full 20 yards away from the ball.  All of a sudden he got an intense look on his face, ran the 20 yards and kicked the ball.  I think it went 3 feet.  I was torn between adoring him and feeling 100% embarrassed at his blatant attempt to procure attention.

I don’t share this because I care all that much about whether my child excels in soccer.  I’m only there because I love him and he asked to play.  I share it because I’m at a point in my life when every thing I do is countered by a long list of other things that I need to do but can’t because of the one thing that I am doing.  (Did that makes sense?)  So when soccer becomes a frustration for me and a reason for him to misbehave, I wonder at the wisdom of my decision.  It would be so simple if he would just cooperate, but that doesn’t seem to be in his genetic code this year.  I’ve got my work cut out for me.

6.  My sister, her husband and their 5 children stayed with us for a couple of nights this weekend.  When they arrived on Friday night I realized how much I love the experience of guests arriving late in the evening.   There is something so special about hushed greetings, quiet trips to the car for luggage, sleepy children walking slowly or being carried to various destinations around the darkened house to enjoy beds made lovingly by cousins before they fell asleep.  It doesn’t matter if I’m the one arriving or greeting, I love those few moments.  I love them for all the relief they hold, for the peace of a house that has expanded to hold additional loved ones, for the promise of rest and a joyful awakening in a few more hours.

It was a treat to have them here, to let the children play together.  We were sorry to say good-bye, but so grateful for the visit.  Thanks for coming, guys!

And so another week has given way to the next.   The only sound is the constant ticking of the clock and the clicking of keys on my keyboard.  With heavy eyes but happy heart I’ll surrender to the quiet and get some sleep.   About a month ago I noticed a different feeling in my heart on Sunday nights.   I used to go to bed each Sunday feeling stressed about the coming week, unable to keep Monday morning from squeezing the joy out of my night.  Not so anymore.  This One Step Report that I type each week has changed my Sunday nights.  Now I go to bed with a grateful heart, a sense of peace and contentment, and with confidence that Monday morning will take care of itself just as it did 7 days ago.  I am grateful for this gift, another evidence of the accumulated blessings of consistent small steps.

Life is good.

Have a great week!

Jennifer