Do I Have To?

This time last year, I waxed philosophical (Sorry, Phil - I know that was painful!) and blabbed about a few things I wanted to accomplish in 2008.

How did I fare? Well...


1. Plant a garden with more than tomatoes and zucchini. Not intentional, but sometimes you have to take what you get! - ROFL!! I found out later this was probably a pumpkin...???? Maybe??

2. Start and FINISH making our bedroom look like a bedroom, and not a catch-all. Somewhere I have pictures, but I can't find them. It's still a bit of a catch-all, but at least the walls look nice! We did get a remodeled bathroom, though! It has so much more room for Gabe to move around! And my washer and dryer are upstairs now! Wow!!

3. Help raise significant funds for Gabe's school to build a new
facility. Must have team cooperation - I don't know who the team is. Maybe next year?

4. Have a ton of fun celebrating Preston's 16th birthday. Yes, we did!!

5. Find a new(er) van that has 2 doors on the driver's side!! (long teenage legs...) Nothing yet...gotta be soon, though! We can no longer go anywhere as a family without driving 2 vehicles...

6. Help Ron Paul win big. We did our best! Funny how he was ignored in the media until the Bailouts became Top News...then he was all over television. He's doing lots of good things, though! Pay attention to what he says - he's a very smart man.

7. Help Savannah improve her sewing skills. She's working on it.

8. Spend a long weekend away with Tom. (Florida???) It wasn't Florida, but Tom did plan a surprise weekend away for us in May, right down to the sitters! We fought off the vicious raccoons while camping at Pokagon. No kids, no cooking...My husband is wonderful!

9. Locate some indoor skateparks for Bucky. Still looking...any ideas?

10. Adopt a child. (We're approved, licensed, and ready, ya know!) April 9th - got Mister D; July 16th - got his sister Baby T; November 17th - biological mother voluntarily surrendered parental rights; December - biological father extradited back to Ohio for court hearings; WE WAIT...

11. Finish paying off Bucky's braces, the bike, and various small bills. Progess made.

12. While we're at it, paying off the house would be a HUGE answer to prayer. I dream big! Still dreamin'...

13. Follow God in dealing with a particular family situation and find peace. Hard to know how to handle - so many people affected in so many ways...

14. Be a Godly influence to my children's friends. I'm sure hoping it's a godly influence! Recently one of Bucky's friends told him that he thinks Tom and I smoke pot because "No one can be that happy ALL the time!" ROFL!!!!

15. Send Christmas cards! Does buying them last year, losing them, and finding them again count for ANYthing?

16. Have family pictures taken! As evidenced by the photos on this blog, we have not experienced any professional photo shoots this year!

So what's on the agenda for 2009?

I'm thinking about it.

At the top of my list is improving my attitude. I have such a hard time reading the book of James, because I really hate being slapped in the face. If I didn't have so many people getting in my way and annoying me, I wouldn't need to bite my tongue now, would I???!?? Hard as I've tried to convince myself, being separate doesn't mean I can go on extended vacation. Drat! Guess that rules out living in solitude in the Fiji Islands.

I have no more room on my list - this is gonna take a lot of work!