Dear 2011

Dear 2011,
I started out last year with a list of 101 goals to accomplish in 1001 days.  My ultimate desire... to be intentional.

This year, I'm doing the opposite.  Like so many people I know, my goal for this year is to do more by doing less.

Though I plan to keep working on my 101 goals, I am hoping to modify them a bit and if it takes me longer than 1001 days to accomplish them, I'm okay with that.

Truth is, that it bugs me to no end that I haven't blogged about Girls' Trip 2010, going to NYC, the first trimester of LBC, Finley's first haricut, our newest Christmas traditions, and about a million other things, but these last two weeks of being home with Finley without the stress of a million obligations, I have remembered something...

Finley will only be 2 once.

LbC will only be a newborn once.

And Devin only has one wife.

I feel like I have had so much going on lately that I haven't been making time for what is truly important and so this year, I want to spend more time focused on being still.  I want to grow spiritually... truly grow instead of just completing my quiet time to mark it off my to-do list.  I want to spend time with my precious kids and not because they are demanding it.  I want to still have enough energy when Devin comes home that I can focus on him instead of vegging out on my computer because it's easier.  I want to be still before my Savior and really hear His voice.

One day I will have tons of time to read all the books I want to read, to complete all the craft projects I'm dying to do, to serve on all the church committees that are important to me, to catch up on blogging, to learn better photography skills, to watch all the TV shows I've heard are good, and to put together a million Shutterfly scrapbooks of our years together.

This year I want to focus less on recording memories and more on making them.  I want to be okay with buying something I could've made myself because it'll give me more time with God, my family, or my friends.  I want to be free to do something nice for my neighbors or loved ones at the spur of the moment because I have the time to do it.

I want to enjoy what I enjoy doing instead of letting stress steal my joy.  I want to end each day knowing that I have spend quality time with those that are important.

So that's the goal, 2011... to do more by doing less.  Simple, but probably the most difficult goal of all.

Love,
MLC