Sunday Seven : 2012 Version

I just love the new year. It's the start of something fresh. New. A clean slate. It's full of possibilities. It makes me excited. I'm ready to focus and kick this year off right.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want for this upcoming year. It's ripe with possibility and I'm so ready to see what it holds for my family and I. I'm ready to resume some things on this blog that I have put on the back burner while I sorted through the holidays. One of them is Sunday Seven. Here we are on January 1st and it's time to focus and prioritize what we'd like for the upcoming year. I'm taking Sunday Seven and tweaking it a bit this week to focus upcoming year rather than just the upcoming week.

If you're new to Finding Home, let me briefly recap what the Sunday Seven is all about. I first heard about this idea from Allison at The Intentional Peace. Each week you set aside some time to think about the top seven areas of your life. Then, you set a goal for each of those areas for you to accomplish for the next seven days. It's simple, focused and totally doable. This week lets dive into those top seven areas and set some goals for this upcoming year. I'm excited! Are you?

My Seven Areas Are:

1. Faith
2. Family and Relationships
3. Mommyhood
4. Work
5. Health and Fitness
6. Organization
7. Me Time


1. Faith
This is probably the most important area of my life but how quickly I can shuffle it to the back burner! It's quiet shameful really. This past year has been a whirlwind as I became a new mom and then had to move in with my in laws. Life has been crazy and things like my spiritual life have really taken a back seat to all of the things facing me day to day. But I hate that. Hate, hate, hate it. I've had to learn to seek the Lord in new ways as my time is not my own anymore. This upcoming year as the dust settles a bit on the craziness, I'm diving back in head first with my devotion and prayer time. Most mornings I try to start my day with my Bible, a devotional and a cup of coffee. I recently finished the devotion I had been reading so I'm in the market for a new one. Our church has a library and it's a great resource for finding awesome new Christian reading material. I'm hoping to scoop up a new devotional there next week. I also want to get more conscience about memorizing scripture. When I was in Master's Commission, we were required to memorize ten Bible verses a week. It can sound a little daunting and even intimidating, but when you practice the act of memorization, your mind really does become quiet sharp at doing so. I am committing to memorizing scripture verses this year. I need to hide His Word in this heart of mine! I'm also committing to really get involved in our church. It's funny, a few years ago, I was on staff at the church and had my hand in so many church projects and programs. I definitely needed a break and these past couple years have really provided me one. I'm feeling rested and ready to invest in my church and the people in it. I'll be praying for ministry opportunities. I'm keeping my ears open and my eyes alert! And one other thing I'm focusing on as far as my faith is concerned. I'm helping one of my best friends put together a girls conference for a bunch of churches in the Northern Ontario area. It's going to be a huge undertaking but it's been a God-dream for both of us for so long. I'm excited that this is going to become a reality. I can't wait to share with you the details as we start putting this project together. It's going to be amazing and I can't wait to be a part of it!


2. Family & Relationships
This year I hope that Shane and I can be more conscience about setting aside time for us as a couple. I'd love to go on a date once or twice a month. Once would be great, twice would be amazing. I think it's so important to maintain that friendship in marriage. He's busy, I'm busy and we need to get intentional about our time together. We're also planning on taking a vacation - just the two of us - soon. We have a date setup in the next couple of weeks. We'll see how that goes but the plan is to leave Aubrey with her grandparents for the weekend. It will be the first time Shane and I have been away since before she was born so I'm really looking forward to the mini-holiday. As far as relationships go, I've become friends with a couple of really amazing gals lately. Since moving to Canada, I had to leave some of my best friends behind. That's been one of the hardest aspects of my move here to another country. I'm thankful for social media that keeps me connected but when it comes to actually hanging out with someone, it's been very hard. Until God answered my prayer this year with the friendships of two amazing gals. I'm excited to spend more time with them as this year goes on. Each girl is at a different space in life - one has two little kids and we get to spend a lot of mommy and crafting time together. It's been so great to have a mommy-friend who is walking through or has been through so many things that I'm facing as a mother. We exchange advice, recipes, vents, tears, toys, laughs and our favorite pins. It's truly been amazing. My other friend is in the process of getting a heartbreaking divorce. It's quiet shocking really as it came as a surprise to us all. Walking through this divorce with her has forced me to look deeper into my own marriage and do my best to strengthen it as much as I can. This precious friendship is one that I love so very much. We are Weight Watcher buddies, walking partners and she is someone I can sit and have a coffee with and talk for hours. Time just flies by when I'm with her. Both girls are an answer to prayer as far as great friends go. I'm hoping that this year we can make a lot of great memories and truly get to know one another better.


3. Mommyhood
I cannot do anything in this life without first remembering that I'm a Mom. It's one of the things that defines me fully and will until the day I die. This area is highly important to me as I am responsible for another precious little life. As my baby takes on another year of her life, I'm so excited to see what she will tackle. I know this upcoming year we will experience her walking. Though she's taken a few steps already, I know that by years end we'll see her running. Oh I can't wait to see it! I know we'll also begin to hear her little mouth make more words. She's already fluent in all things "Dadda" and she references other objects in her world with variations of "Da" and "Ada". I can't wait to hear her little voice develop and say more things. One thing I struggle with is being intentional about my time with Aubrey. It's easy to just let her run rampant with her toys and play, play, play the day away. This year, I'm hoping to get a little more focused with some of that play time and let her experience some new things. I'm planning on setting her up with different Sensory Bins and let her experience different objects, shapes and textures through sensory learning. I'll post more about that at another point, but that's one thing I'm hoping to do with her this year. We also have an amazing Science Center here in town and when she's a little older (towards the end of the year) I'd love to take her there. There are all kinds of animal exhibits and even a butterfly garden. I'd love to see her bee-bopping around there. As far as myself, I'm ready to dig in deeper into a few books I'm reading about motherhood. I love reading about women who've gone before me and are sharing their wisdom and advice. I'll share with you some of the titles in another post. Mommyhood - what an adventure! Oh yeah, and at some point, we'll tackle potty training. I can't wait to be done with diapers!


4. Work
I'm officially able to work in Ontario now! I've applied and received my Social Insurance # which is like a Social Security #. It allows me to be able to make a paycheck in Canada. So, in the next couple of days, I'm going to sign up to be a Scentsy Consultant. I cannot wait!!! I've wanted to do this since July and it's been a long wait! I'm so excited to start my own business. I've been longing for something to call my own for so long. I can't wait to share my Scentsy journey with all of you too! And be on the lookout for a Scentsy giveaway soon!


5. Health and Fitness
Last May, I became a member of Weight Watchers. It truly is a life changing program. I'm loving it. But as the year drew to a close and the weather began to change, I found myself getting bored with the program. Bored with my food choices and bored with my exercise. I was ready for a shake-up. And just when I started to wonder if I should just give myself a break for awhile, WW changed up their program a bit and it brought back the energy I needed to start back on track. It truly is a new dawn, a new life and a new day! I also purchased a month long, unlimited membership at a local gym. I'm excited to take time out each day to work out my body in a new setting full of great machines. It will definitely be different than hoofing it around the block pushing Aubrey in her stroller! Though, I must admit, I am missing my little walking buddy!


6. Organization
This year, we are moving back into our house. We are all at the end of our ropes from living with one another for so long. Shane is at our house now doing some renovations. With that, will come a ton of organization! It makes me GIDDY! I thrive on an organized environment and I'm so anxious to get into my house and make it functional and efficient for our family. We don't have a large home so I'm excited to see how we can maximize our space in fun and creative ways. I can't wait to share all of that with you! This year, I'm also getting our papers in order. Paper piles are my biggest nemeses but it's also my largest organizing faux paus. I've got no sort of paper filing system...well one that works anyway. This year, I'm getting a system in place!! No ifs, ands or buts about it. Time to clear the clutter!


7. Me Time
Last year I took myself off of the priority list and in 2012, I'm putting myself back on it. I started today by doing a few beauty rituals that I don't normal do like using a foot scrub on my feet and taking some extra time to pamper my skin. I used to have a regular beauty routine that included doing a facial mask at least once a week and taking time to paint my nails. I was on the priority list and always felt so good about myself. After becoming a mom, time wasn't my own anymore but I'm vowing to again take that time for me. I'll be intentional about taking relaxing baths, reading a book before bed and making sure my nails are painted. Now that Aubrey is a little older and sleeping through the night, I have my nights to myself. I totally have time to paint my nails and do a few more things for me. It's so important and I'm excited that I'm back on the priority list! Remember, we are all worthy of that time!


So there are a few things that I'm looking forward to this year. How about you? What are you vowing to do this year? Write a post about it and leave the link in the comments! Or just write what you are hoping to do in the comments. Let's all be inspired! I'd love to see what you are hoping to accomplish!

Happy 2012!