2016

It's hard to believe that 2016 is already over. I feel like I was just reflecting on 2015 a few weeks ago.

2015 was full of transition and I'm grateful that 2016 only involved one move and one job change. It wasn't the easiest year when you think back on a miscarriage, Zika, losing a student, and family in the hospital at the holidays, but we definitely grew closer this year and our marriage is definitely stronger because of it!

Since 2015 was such a whirlwind, I didn't set too many goals for 2016. I was really looking forward to settling down some and enjoying the small moments of life that really make some of the greatest memories, which we did.

In 2016 I wanted to:
Learn Calligraphy

Run a 10K

Have a daily quiet time with Stephen

Stay off of Facebook for a while

Do a contentment challenge

Go camping

Buy a house

Read

I didn't make a ton of progress on these, but we had fun in 2016 nonetheless!

I bought a Calligraphy kit for beginners and plan on really diving into that in 2017.

We joined a gym and started doing Crossfit so running took a bit of a back seat. Crossfit has been a lot of fun!

Stephen got me the book The Songs of Jesus with a daily reading from Psalms. We did decent with this goal. We didn't read it everyday, but did it on a regular basis.

I was hesitant to think about giving up Facebook completely because I used it so much relied on it more than I wanted to admit. I read several blogs of girls who are great at setting goals. Nancy Ray really challenged people at the beginning of 2016 to not be scared to do the scary. Facebook had become a tool for constant comparison, a need for approval, seeking comments and likes, my way to waste time and avoid difficult tasks. So, I decided to give it up. I had Stephen change my password and it was harder than I expected. I would check it occasionally, having Stephen log me in every once in a while. I found I missed it when I was bored, but the same comparisons would come flooding back whenever I would log back in. In January, I was checking it 1 to 2 times a week. It got a little easier to stay off in February, but I still found myself missing it and even trying to guess my new password. I was still getting emails about notifications so that would lead me to get back on to check, but the times in between checking grew longer. I got better at logging off when I would start to compare myself to others. In March and April, I stayed logged in on the lap top at home, but stayed off on all other devices. This prevented me from checking it multiple times a day. As the year progressed, I slowly found my way back to being logged in all the time. I took a week off completely when we went to camp, but logged back in afterward. And, I accidentally figured out my password, making the temptation much easier to give into.  I will say checking it got a lot less and I find myself, even now, getting bored with it really quickly. I still aimlessly scroll through at times, but feel like I waste less time on it. It's hard to be completely off because that is one of our main ways of communicating at church. I'm hoping in 2017, Stephen and I can get more consistent at being present and putting social media down. It's sad how hard that is! So, while I didn't give it up completely, I feel like I learned to rely on it to fill down time less and learned that it is possible to go without it. Who knew?! Ha!

A contentment challenge is taking 3 months off from buying anything you don't really need. I didn't do this, but am incorporating it into my 2017 goals. I think I need to start smaller than diving into 3 months, not to mention I'm really good at justifying "needing" things.

We didn't go camping, but we DID buy a house!

I got in a reading funk this year and didn't read as much as I normally do.
My 2016 reading list:
The Pastor's Wife by Gloria Furman: Encouraging, good reminders
See Me by Nicholas Sparks: Not his typical love story, took a more criminal approach. I liked it!
Who do You Love? by Jennifer Weiner: cute chick flick story
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher: Suspenseful, great reminder of how we impact other people's lives, sad.
Best Boy by Eli Gottlieb: This book was okay...It's written from the point of view of an autistic adult so that was a different twist.
The Bet by Rachel Van Dyken: Typical chick flick, great summer read!
The Wager by Rachel Van Dyken: Second book after The Bet. Good, predictable, chick flick, perfect for summer.
In Between by Jenny B. Jones: Cute, easy read, nothing grand
Wonder by R. J. Palacio: I read this as my students were reading it in their Language Arts class. Really positive, encouraging story. Encourages kindness, which all middle schoolers can use!
The Red Geranium by Janette Oke: Short 72 page book I found at Grandma's. A sweet story about a boy and his great grandmother.
Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks: Not my favorite Nicholas Sparks book...

Stephen and I are setting some goals together for 2017 and am excited about what the year ahead holds!

Happy New Year!