Reality.

Sometimes taking a step back and looking at things like they really are is hard, really hard. You have to do it though if you want to get ahead. So, on New Year's Day, Justin and I sat down and picked apart everything we were unhappy/wanted to improve about in our current situation. Here is a list of what we are going to tackle:

*Spend more time as a family without things getting in the middle of our time. The kids are growing way too fast and we want to enjoy all the stages and steps that we have with them. You have no idea when that time will be gone.
*Eat healthy and at home. We got into a terrible routine of eating out and grabbing something quick. This hurt us in many ways-we have put on weight, we have spent money we don't have on food, and we have given up that time around the table as a family. I love cooking, meal planning, and providing dinner for the family. We have enjoyed doing this for the last two weeks.
*Exercise and lose weight. Justin rocked out losing weight towards the end of the year and I did nothing to lose weight. In fact it appears as though I was doing everything to gain weight. For our Christmas present to each other we bought an elliptical machine and will work out on this here at home. My goal is 5 days a week, Justin does it just about everyday! I'm going to do my best to make small weight loss goals to reach instead of the big goal at the end...I will update as I go.
*Pay off our debt. We would like to build/buy a house and be settled in the school district that we want the kids to go to by the time Taegan starts school. She will start September of 13. That gives us this entire year to pay off all the debt we can and start saving. Justin is very into wanting to build and although I think that would be great I'm just not sure we can afford that? We will see. But right now our goal is to pay off debt.
*Not use credit cards. With the goal of paying everything off in mind we are going to be using only cash. We have sat down and looked at stuff and have divided up where money will go. It is very similar to Dave Ramsey and we have money envelopes for each month and for different areas in that month. This will be SO hard, but I know it will be for the best.
*Get involved more in church. We attend every Sunday at 9:30 and for a while we were going to an adult class after service. This was a great class and we liked the people, but we need to find our place in a lot of things before committing to other things. Sunday is our only day for family time and that was taking away time with the kids that right now we are wanting. Our goal is to join back up with the class, when we feel the time is right.


So right now our reality is...being home! We are eager to see what changes happen for us this year and what goals we can reach by being strong and pushing each other. Here is to a great 2012!!!