2K10 Goals

I liked how Kelly from Kelly's Korner organized her goals for 2k10 - so I'm going to do the same.

FIVE THINGS I AM GRATEFUL FOR FROM 2009:

1. I am thankful for our beautiful Eleanor Crosby. She has endured so much in her first 9 months of life yet she is a thriving! She is a happy, healthy little girl and we are so truly blessed! She went from...

to....

How can I not be thankful for this precious little one?!

2. I am thankful for my wonderful husband. I have always loved my husband but these past 9 months have made me realize just how much I truly LOVE my husband. He is my rock and my best friend. We weathered a lot in 2009 but we stood side by side for the whole journey. I don't know what I would do without the love and support from this wonderful man...this wonderful father. I am so thankful that he helps me with Elle. I am so thankful for the way she looks at him when she first sees him walk in the door from work and the pure joy they both share when they play together. I am so thankful God brought us together all those years ago.

3. I am thankful for our family. I am so thankful for the many dinners that were brought up to the hospital, all the visitors and all the prayers for our sweet baby. I am so thankful for the dinners we still get brought to us here at home!!! I am so thankful for the evenings spent in Elle's hospital room with all of our parents and grandparents - all of us secretly wondering what life would be like out of the hospital...and now...I am thankful for all those nights out of the hospital! I am thankful that we have both sets of parents living within 30 minutes of us. I am thankful that I see my parents on almost a daily basis and Lee's parent's as well. I am so thankful they are both such a huge part of Elle's life. I am so thankful for my mom and dad who watch Elle while I continue to work and for all of Vickie and Marks help with Elle so Lee and I can still be a part of society! I am thankful for our extended families - most of whom also live in Houston. I am so thankful to be a part of such loving families!

4. I am thankful for our friends. I am so thankful for our wonderful friends that send gift cards to the hospital to help pay for parking and for friends that brought me Starbucks and for friends that email or call everyday just to see what's going on. I am so thankful for friends who pray for Elle as much as they pray for their own families. I am thankful for friends that donate not only their time but also their energy to create a foundation to help raise money for families that go through hardships. I am so thankful for the Wee Dream Foundation. I am so thankful for friends that supported the Wee Dream Foundation and supported us as we traveled down a rough road. I am thankful for friends who want to continue the work of the foundation to help support other families that are in need. I am so thankful for friends that make us laugh and who know when to not say anything and instead send a funny email. Lee and I are so blessed to have such wonderful support!

5. I am thankful I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am thankful I can say that out loud. I am thankful for the moment Lee and I found out that our precious little baby was going to be sick. From that moment on, we truly gave our lives to Christ. I am thankful for December 16, 2008 - the date we found out that Elle has Congenital Heart Disease. It was so shockingly tough to hear but yet somehow we were both comforted. I am thankful for that moment - the moment of knowing that she is in God's hands. I am thankful Lee is a strong Christian and will raise Elle in a way that will glorify HIM in all things!

FIVE THINGS I WANT TO IMPROVE IN 2K10:

1. I want to improve my health. I am lugging around an extra 30 pounds of post baby weight and I can feel it with every step I take. My legs hurt, my feet hurt, my back hurts...all signs I need to put down the box of junior mints and take a walk. I want to exercise on the golf course! I have taken a 10 month hiatus and I am itching to play golf again! I want to improve my self image which will only happen if I make the commitment to myself to get back into shape in 2010!

2. I want to improve being a wife and mother. I pray daily for God to make me into a better wife and mother and I am going to do my best to work very hard to improve in this area. I want to improve my house cleaning abilities and cooking abilities. I want to be more organized when it comes it our home. I want for Elle to grow up knowing what it's like to live in a clean house with meals prepared at home and not bought from the nearest fast food restaurant (at least not EVERY meal...). I want Lee to come home from work and not worry about what to make for dinner or doing the dishes or cleaning but to instead come home from work and be fully devoted to Elle until she goes to sleep. I feel I have a lot of room for improvement in this area.

3. I want to improve my letter writing habits. There is something so nice about getting a letter in the mail and I want to improve my letter writing/sending skills. Pre baby, I was great at writing thank you notes. Since Elle was born, I have gotten into the very bad habit of writing thank you notes in my head. Literally, I will see a toy Elle is playing with and realize I haven't yet sent a much overdo thank you note and I will write the note in my head but never put my thoughts to paper! Another area where I feel there is a lot of room for improvement!

4. I want to improve our home. This may fall under the category of being a better wife and mother but it also has to do with actual home improvement projects. I've had my home improvement list on the refrigerator for 6 months now - but hopefully this year, we will get to them. I bought Lee and miter saw for Christmas with the hopes that he will want to put it to good use and put up crown molding and build custom built ins. We will see how this improvement goal goes...

5. I want to improve being a Christian. I have never read the Bible cover to cover and this is the year to start. I want to KNOW God, not just know him. I want to improve going to church. Granted, we've been in quarantine for a long time, but we are now out. I want Elle to experience the nursery at church so Lee and I can begin going to church together again. I want Elle to grow up knowing and loving God and all his wonders but I want her to hear it from everyone that surrounds her - not just us.

FIVE WAYS I WANT TO GIVE/HELP OTHERS THIS YEAR:

1. I want to support the Wee Dream Foundation and it's goal of helping families that have traveled down dark paths with their little ones. I want to have other people experience the feeling of pure gratitude as they see people gathered together to support them. I want others to know what it is like to be truly humbled by the support of perfect strangers. We have already begun the planning of the second Wee Dream fundraiser - a poker/casino night.

2. I want to become involved with organizations that help support children with special circumstances. I want to help "It's My Heart" for Congenital and Acquired Heart Disease and be a part of the Charge Syndrome Foundation and Texas Chargers. I want to meet other parents who are dealing with similar circumstances as to what we deal with and I want to help raise awareness and support for these wonderful organizations.

3. I want to spend more time with my friends and make new friends. I went to dinner tonight with some girl friends and it was long overdue. Friendship helps in all ways - I want to be a better friend. I want to go out with friends more and want to make more friends. Perhaps this goes back to being a better Christian too

4. I want to donate to the Ronald McDonald House. The RMH (RO HO) was our escape during all those horrible months at the hospital and I want to support it. I have an idea as to what kind of capacity I am going to support it, but there will be more details later on that.

5. I want to continue to blog about our daily walk. This is kind of far fetched but I truly believe there have been readers touched by our faithfulness during Elle's first 6 months of life. I know for a fact that our strength during Elle's first hospital stay affected one person. I pray that Elle's story and my recanting of it will act as a testimony and help bring someone closer to Jesus.

whew...glad I got that all written down because I had it written in my head for the past week!