Hopes for 2015

This is a post that makes me excited! I love the freshness that a new year brings.  It's also fun to look back at the end of the year and see all of my dreams from last year and where they actually went in the new year. I encourage everyone to do this. It's fun to have direction and hopes and dreams for the year ahead!

Marriage: 

Things are going great for us.  We've definitely grown closer through some growing pains this year.  I hope that we can continue to communicate honestly with one another and show each other love.  We REALLY need to utilize date nights this year as that time together is so valuable!   I also look forward to accompanying Peter on a trip to Ireland sometime this year and also hopefully will get away at least one more time during the year for a weekend away! 

Children:

   The kids are also doing well. They are very busy and a lot of work, but we're getting through the toddler years. I hope to grow in compassion and patience with them this year.  We've had a really great year of preschool with the 3 oldest and I look forward to finishing that up and starting a new year as Malachi moves into Kindergarten and the others move into 3 and 4 year preschool! 

House:

The house is still a work in progress but we're getting there.  I want to continue with the small things inside  to decorate it.  We've been here almost 2 years so it's time to prioritize all that. Our top priority outside will be a new fence and we're ready to get a garden planted this year! Inside, we're going to focus on renovating the playroom/schoolroom and setting up some really cool workstations for the kids to do their school.    

Health:

Health is still a work in progress. We'd both love to lose a few pounds but our primary focus is on being healthy. Peter needs to get back into running. I hope to focus more on 4-8 miles runs this year and might even contemplate training for a half marathon by the end of the year.  I'm also getting into yoga and we finally have the garage cleared out to start using our workout equipment again.  

Trips:

  We have some fun trips planned for the coming year!  I'm just waiting on word from Peter to book a trip to Ireland.  We're thinking spring but it might be the fall.  We've also booked a trip to Eagle Crest in August and we're hopeful that we will be taking all the kids to Disneyland in December!   

Finances:

   Finances always remain the thorn in our side.   This year we hope to pay off our adoption debt and replenish our savings that was depleted from our adoption.  We did end up taking a few steps back on our Total Money Makeover this year, but it was totally worth it to add LB to the family!  I think by the end of the year we should be back on track!  

Work:

   Peter has had a challenging year as he learns a whole new aspect of tax.  He joined a team and kind of got thrown in the deep end when 2 of the 3 members of his team ended up having babies and are on maternity leave for a year (gotta love Ireland!).  So he's had a crash course in the world of International Tax and has steadily worked 55+ hour weeks.  We're hoping things will settle down this year and he'll get a bit more comfortable with what he's doing.  We're also hoping there will be some career advancement this year!  Getting his Master's in Tax is always something we're discussing but that's just not a realistic possibility if his hours remain as high as they've been.   

Another exciting year ahead!  This APPEARS to be a pretty calm year ahead for us.  No big, exciting life changing PLANS for us. But who knows. We love living in chaos so you just never know........