8 is enough...

I've decided 8 is plenty of goals for one year. It's not quite as catchy as "10 in 2010," but it'll have to do. I don't want to just make up 2 more random goals to reach a certain number. :) Here are a few other high points I'd like to hit in this post:

• Abby and I are taking a potty training break for now. She did really well the first day and then had a meltdown the second day. I didn't want to traumatize her, so we left it alone for a while. Then we took a trip to visit my friend Lindsey for a few days (more on that later), and now Abby has been sick the past few days. Nobody wants to potty train a toddler with a fever! I did buy some pull-ups a few days ago, but I think we're going to give it another week or two before starting back up.
• The trip to visit Lindsey in NW Arkansas was a very busy time, but it was a lot of fun. We were best friends at Harding, and she just had her second baby right before Christmas. Her older daughter is just 3 months older than Abby, so they had a lot of fun playing together. Abby would wake up from her nap, look around, and say, "Hawie!" (aka Hallie) "Hawie, come on! Come on, Hawie!" Lindsey said Hallie has been asking about Abby since we've been gone, so I guess they bonded... :)
• Casey is still applying for jobs all over the place and waiting to hear back from the ones we've been really hoping for. In the meantime, he is going tomorrow to put his name in as a substitute teacher to the local school districts. I think he'll mainly sign up for high school, so we'll see how that works out. He was also told today that there might be a part-time job available for him related to computers that he could do in the late afternoon/evenings so he's going to look into that. Keep praying!!!
• My regular activities start back this week, so I'm really excited to get back into my routine. Living in a town that is so dependent on the university schedule really drags out holiday breaks...
• We still don't have a camera cord to hook up to the computer, so I don't have any new pictures to share. :( Sorry.

***Important! Some good friends of ours are beginning the process of adopting a baby, and they have started a new blog! I highly encourage everyone to visit the blog and donate in some way: it doesn't have to be money (although, I'm sure they'd appreciate it!), but you can donate your time to pray! Please check it out, share with others, and keep them and their future baby in your prayers! Nate and Mandy's Adoption Adventures We are so excited for them!!

Goals, and potties, and pictures--oh my!

A few more goals for 2010:

6. Read more books for the pure enjoyment of reading! I'm taking another break from grad school since we have no idea where life will lead us in the next couple of months, so I actually have time to read what I want to now! Current book: "Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw" by John Flanagan. This is #6 in the series--love it!

7. Plan a big family vacation. There is no way we will be able to afford one of these any time soon, but I think it's important to dream and plan together for something fun like this! Then if/when we do save up the money, we'll be all set! Current possible locations: Australia/New Zealand, Ireland/Scotland, and Italy.

8. Send cards/notes to those who need encouragement. I'm that person who always knows who to send the note to, thinks about it a few times, might even buy or make the card.... and then never sends it. LAME. And then I kick myself for it! It meant a lot to us when people let us know they were thinking of us and praying for our family when we were having a rough time. There is no good reason why I can't do the same for others!

Only 2 more goals..... hmmmm..... I'll have to get back to them later.

In other news, Abby started potty training today, and she did amazingly well! A friend's mother-in-law recommended using a particular method and sent me a copy of the book she used. I was a bit anxious about starting the process since I haven't done anything like this before, but Abby made the whole day so easy! The only accident we had was at the end of the night--she had just gotten in trouble and was crying, so I think she just let it all out (quite literally). But other than that, she used her potty all day! We'll see if it lasts...

Other than a few rejection emails, no more news on the job front for Casey. He has several good possibilities in Searcy, Memphis, and Jackson, TN, so we're waiting to hear back from them. He has applied for about 60 jobs in the past couple of weeks, so we really hope one of them works out!

We left our camera's computer cord in Ohio, so here are a couple of the latest pictures I have on my computer--enjoy!

Before the haircut

Five inches later!

Love the baby...

My sweet family--I am so blessed!

10 for 2010

This might be a common thing right now, but my friend Clarice blogged about having 10 goals for 2010 (as opposed to making a "resolution"). I love the idea.... mostly because the "new year's resolution" is infamous for being a huge failure. There probably isn't actually much difference between a resolution and a goal, but I like the way it sounds. :) This is still a work in progress, but here's what I've got so far:

1. Study the Bible more often each week. Right now this means staying on top of the Beth Moore study on the book of Esther that my ladies' class is doing. I really love it, but I don't always make time to study it as thoroughly as I'd like to.
2. Focus on each day as it is happening. I'm a big planner, so it's really easy to miss what it happening "right now" and be constantly focused on what is coming.
3. Get in better physical shape. I purposefully didn't list "Lose weight" here because that isn't really what I want to focus on. It would be nice to lose another 10-15 pounds, but I really just want to be in decent shape. I'm working on a plan to make time for work-outs at home.
4. Get more sleep. I am so tired (literally) of staying up too late for no good reason at all! I spend way too much time on the internet or watching junk on TV. Luckily, we just switched from Cable to Netflix, so I won't have as many options to tempt me. :) I know that Abby will wake up between 7 and 8 a.m., so I need to plan my bedtime accordingly.
5. Drink more water!!! This is a huge one for me because my lack of hydration is a huge part of the pain I have most of the time. If I would keep my muscles hydrated, they wouldn't scream at me so much! Tara got me the tumbler I wanted with lids and straws for Christmas so I can keep water with me all the time--perfect!

There will be more, but these are the ones that stand out for me the most. Stay tuned for the rest!