In the past few years I have stopped setting personal new years resolutions. I found that after a month or two they always seem to fade away and then I feel like a failure. Instead we have been setting family goals. Things we want to work toward as a family.
If we make some progress we are happy. We don't have to meet all our goals perfectly. Even meeting them half way makes huge difference. This year will be no different. Even if we cannot come to a perfect completion of all our goals, our family will be better off for the progress we make.
This year our goals are as follows:
To get the kids doing chores, daily, in exchange for an allowance.
We have recently noticed that our children (especially our oldest) have a huge disregard for money. They also lack respect for items bought for them. With this goal we are trying to teach them a good work ethic as well as the value of money.
We are going to continue with our date nights.
This is something we started doing for ourselves and our marriage. Our marriage is happy and healthy, and we want to keep it that way. We have recently realized the benefit of some alone time. We get to be two adults, flirting and having real conversation- without interruptions. It's really quite lovely. Our family is also better for it, because happy parents make for happy children!
Our next goal is better eating.
Now, we do eat healthy at meal time. We have noticed however, that the children seem to have an incredible amount of junk food! Most of it seems to appear when family come to visit or after returning from visiting a family members house. Though we distribute it over an amount of time, it's still adding up to a lot. I do not want my children's to struggle with weight and poor self image the way I have. We also don't want them to suffer the bad health consequences of too much junk food.
Routines and organization are next on the list.
While I was suffering from depression earlier in the year some of these got left behind and forgotten. I assure you our home runs much better WITH them then without them! A small space and five people can only function well and stay clean with a lot of organization a some important routines! I can't wait to get a handle on these again!
Family worship and personal bible study.
Family worship is something we have started and let fall by the wayside many times. We want this year to be the year it sticks. The kids are at such a tender age for teaching them about Gods love. We are generally good about doing their sabbath school lesson with them daily, but we could do a little better there as well. This is something that I know will benefit and bless each member of the family.
Te last thing we want to do in 2012 is actually more of a challenge then a goal. It's something I am personally very excited about! It's a consumer challenge. As a family we are pledging to do our best, and not purchase anything that is not a need.
If something large or household becomes a need we are going to try and source it secondhand. Excessive clothing, toys, excessive snack food, and random "things" are some of the items that are not imperative to our survival. I'm really excited to see how much we save by not giving in to consumer greed!
Well, those are our goals! What does your family do? Does each member set their own goals? Do you set goals as a family? Do you usually reach them?
I hope you have have a very safe and very happy new years! May the lord bless you and yours and may your year be full of the love and laughter of those who matter most!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
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