A New Beginning: My Simplification Plan for 2010

Here at Haines Hollow, we have been busy little bees lately. In fact, each day this past weekend, we took trips as a family away from the house. On Saturday, we took two! I plan on creating posts to capture some of the more special moments that have occurred recently (like Kathryn comforting Isaac for the first time, Isaac and Kathryn holding each other's hand during grace for the first time, our play date with the Demetrio girls, our first twin birthday party with the Howes...)...see! I wasn't kidding! As they say in the South, "Ain't no fleas on us"! But this post seems to be lying heavily on my mind so today's topic will be about my simplification plan for `10.

2009 was a tough year for us. It brought many ups and downs and to be quite honest, I am not sorry that 09 is now behind me. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for many moments that occurred last year and I am thankful for what I have on a larger scale (a loving husband, two precious children, one crazy puppy, caring family members--both near and far, friendships (new and old), food, shelter, clothing, our health, the ability to support ourselves, being able to stay at home w/ the kids...you get the idea); but as for 2009, yeah, I'm so glad it is over.

So this year, I am turning over a new leaf, so to speak. I will use my experiences up to this point to help better my life and the lives of those I love. I think the main reason our country is such a mess, our economy is in the can and our lives are out-of-control is we have over-complicated our lives. We need to return to a simpler time, simpler lives. So to start that simplification process in my life here are my goals for 2010 (in no particular order):

• Regularly attend and participate at our church,
• Have one date night w/ JWH per month,
• Have one Mom-Me night per month,
• Carve out time each day to spend w/ Kathryn and Isaac independently (this can be as simple as rocking and singing to each one individually before bed time),
• Reduce the "stuff" we have (especially those items we don't use!),
• More homemade~less pre-made/store bought (meals, gifts, household items),
• Exercise 3x a week,
• Pay off one major debt (we carry no credit card debt so that means paying off either student loans or the SUV's note),
• Reduce monthly expenses and increase monthly savings.

I plan to post here periodically about this process to help hold me accountable. Here's hoping 2010 is better for us all!