New Year!

This year I have a lot of goals.  I am trying not to overwhelm myself with them but I like goals.  It helps me focus to what I really want to happen in my life.

My top three  four goals for 2015:

1. Prayer as a couple
2. Speak softer with my kids.
3. Exercise and have healthy eating habits.
4. Journal

I liked the idea of having a spiritual goal,  a goal for myself as a Mom and a personal goal.

How I plan to accomplish these.

1. Prayer as a couple: Mike and I have always been off and on with our couple prayers.  I want to have this time together so that we can focus and hear the concerns each other have in regards to our family. I am excited to make this a better habit for us.

2. Speak softer with my kids. Jaimme, Kara and I have form a support group of sorts to help us focus on being more mindful when we interact with our children.  I hate it when I lose it and yell at my kids and I want to find productive ways to help me communicate with them better.  I feel like I am a cross roads with my children. Seth and Sydney are getting older and at such an impressionable age.  I feel sometime I am to hard on them and expect to much.  I saw this sign the other day that said Let them be little!  I loved it! I placed in my kitchen window so that I will see it a lot during in the day.  I am excited that this reminder will help me pause and remember that they are just kids and that too soon they will be all grown up and I will look back hoping I made their childhood special.

3. Exercise and have healthy eating habits. I feel better when I workout.  It can be so hard to find the time. But I have realized over the past month and half with moving and the holidays and not being able to focus on any me time how important it is.  When I workout I feel better and I treat those I love better.  I also plan to stop and sit down and eat lunch with Claire. It has been fun to have conversations with her and I eat a better lunch.

4. Journal.  I used to be so good at keeping a journal. So I figured a great way to do this is start blogging again.

So welcome 2015 I have a feeling its going to be a great year!!

January Update

We arrived in Kalamazoo, Michigan on December 29th it was cold but we were surprised that there was no snow on the ground.

When we got here We said: We made it! We are in Michigan!
Claire:  This is not Michigan!
Dad: Yes it is.
Claire: No its not! There is no snow.
She was very confused. We have been talking so much about the snow that she was convinced we were not in MI yet.

Claire is at such a fun age and is always making us laugh with things she said. On the drive
She said:  Mom is this the pathway to MI?
A:  Yep
C: The Pathway with the beautiful trees?
A: Yes Claire
C: I like this pathway. It's beautiful pathway. With beautiful trees.

We were able to spend New Years eve with a family we met at MBA School, the Christensen's . It is such a blessing to have a familiar friendly face!  They have 5 kids as well and boys! Seth was very excited!  We all had a great time and Amelia their one girl is right between Chloe and Claire. Mike Christensen is the Bishop of our new ward and told Seth that their are 4 other 11 year olds in the ward Wahoo! Seth won't be alone. 

The truck was also unloaded at our new home 4711 Dartmor Ct. However, not all our stuff fit on the truck and they didn't even have all our beds!  It was nice though to keep the hotel for a few days it made it so much easier to come unpack and just be able to walk away from the mess and not have to live in it.  We still had plenty of mess to live in when we finally got the rest of our stuff. But it didn't turn out so bad. (I am still living in mess its a never ending job!)

Seth, Sydney and Chloe had their first day at Moorisbridge Elementary on Jan. 5th. We work up to a lot of snow and all our snow gear wasn't here yet!  I loaded up all the kids and we got them to their first day.  Seth has Ms. Vanderberg for 5th grade, Sydney is in Mrs. Mulder's 3rd grade and Chloe has Ms. Rantz.

They were all very nervous but so brave.  Chloe broke my heart she was trying so hard not to cry wiping at her eyes and looking at me with such a sad face. It was so hard to leave her! All admit when I got to the car I cried as well!  Sydney's teacher sent me an update email saying they were loving Sydney and that she loved her accent!  I had to laugh, Mike was thrilled that she had a little accent. They only had 2 days of school the first week and then we got a foot of snow in one night! So we had 3 snow days! Seth and Sydney start making a snow cave and they all couldn't wait to go sledding.

Snow Days!!

Sam wanted to play too! 

First time playing in the snow! Our friends lent us some snow gear. 

Samuel loved the snow! This was his first time playing in it!

We met up with the Christensen family to do some sledding on Saturday it was a lot of fun.

Claire Dixie and Mom Trying to stay warm. 

That has been our New Year in our New home, at a New school, with a New Job and making New friends. Missing everyone in Tn! Nana Wheeler comes to visit Next week!  Life is good!