Let's Do This!

Alright, the party's over.
Time to get down to business and nail down some resolutions for 2012!

Personal Goals

• Blog more about the issues closest to my heart: foster/orphan-care and adoption topics.
• Cleanse my closet of the things I don't wear, don't like how I look wearing, or keep for "one day this might fit..."
• Clear out clutter and donate/sell unnecessary household items.
• Make a recipe that calls for dry-active yeast. (It's my kitchen phobia.)
• Learn how to play chess. (It's true -- I have no clue how to play. Daniel intends on remedying this asap.)
• Go to a concert. (I don't know what it is with me and wanting to go to a concert...)
• Use the rest of the spa gift card Daniel gave me nearly TWO years ago!

Aubrey Goals

• Start working on memorizing Scripture.
• Start music lessons. (Aubrey says she would like to learn how to play the piano but is upset that she cannot pronounce it very well. She says "planyo". I think it's adorable.)
• Incorporate more focused/planned activities during our days.
• Get rid of LOTS of toys.
• Start eating more variety of foods.

Family Goals

• Finalize post-residency plans. To do a fellowship/To NOT do a fellowship? That is the question.
• Clean and keep clear our tornado safe spot. (Hello, Oklahoma.)
• Take a family trip.
• Start eating dinner as a family. (With Daniel's schedule becoming more regular, this will be so nice!)
• Take a just "Dan/Ashley" trip.
• Start a regular Family Fun Night each week. 

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Recap on 2011's goals:

Personal Goals

• Invest significant time with children in need (orphans / foster children). Well, the supply closet is GREAT, but I didn't have as much direct contact with children as I had hoped.
• To not watch a single minute of American Idol this season. Not one second. Not one article. Nothing. It was liberating.
• Give food to a homeless man or woman on the side of the road. Chicago homeless man.
• Read through the Bible in a year. I did it! More on that for another post...
• Go to a concert. Didn't happen. Unless I can count Shane and Shane who lead worship at church a awhile back. It was amazing...
• Not get a speeding ticket. No flashing lights in my rear-view mirror! Yahoo!
• No more wearing tennis shoes unless going to the zoo or park ('cause let's face it, they're sure not being worn to work-out!). I've been wearing "real" shoes, but there is the occasional grocery run when I don't. And if flip-flops are Summer's equivalent to Winter's tennis shoes, I'm in trouble.
• Try a new recipe once a month. DONE! And I have found some good ones! I'll share them with you soon. :)

Aubrey Goals

• Get her potty trained. I don't know how it happened, but it just did. I am still waiting for the day Aubrey decides she's over it. It was way too easy.
• Get rid of the papi (pacifier). You all know about it from this post.
• Pick a scripture to be "Aubrey's" verse that I pray for her every day. Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."
• Convert the loft to a playroom. Done!
• Ditch the diaper bag. Not yet, but I've been prowling around for the perfect purse. Ironically, all the ones I gravitate to look like diaper bags. Oh, and I'm totally obsessed with this one, which won't be happening any time soon.

Family Goals

• Go to an amusement park. Yep! Holiday World!
• Go on a trip with Daniel. Chi-town!
• Finish our family's 2010 blog-book. Oh, yeah...the blog book. Uhhhh...well...uhhhh...I finished a Shutterfly photo book -- can I count that?
• Use our video camera to capture every day moments once a week. Okay, maybe I haven't pulled it out every week, but I've been using it a ton more.   

Overall, I'd say 2011 went wonderfully well! Having this list was a great motivator for me! Let's hope the trend continues through the new year!

Sunday Snapshot

My first resolution for 2012:

To find beauty and peace even amongst the weeds of this life.

Life Lesson from a Homeless Man

**I wrote this post after Daniel and I went to Chicago back in April/May and realized I never posted it. Just in time for "Thanksgiving" I suppose...**

One of my resolutions was to give a meal to a homeless man or woman at some point before 2012.

While Daniel and I were in Chicago, we passed a lot of homeless men and women. They would hold their cup out, jangle it to get your attention, and then audibly beg for any spare change you might have.

I told Daniel after our first couple of days of walking the city streets, "I think this is the best place to check off my resolution to feed a homeless person."

I decided on our way out to a nice dinner, that I would bring back some food for the homeless man who asked us for money on our way there.

Once we finished our Italian cuisine, I had the Cavattapi con Pollo (corkscrew pasta with herb-grilled chicken breast, fresh spinach and a light creamy alfredo sauce.) and fresh bread ready to fill a hungry man's stomach.

Unfortunately, the man I saw on our way to the restaurant was long gone.

Before I had time to really wonder what I was going to do with the getting-colder-every-minute grub, I was interrupted:

"Spare change?" he asked us.
"No, but I have food for you!" I announced, instantly feeling a bit awkward now that we were face-to-face.
The man grumbled while shaking his head, "Please don't tell me it's pizza...if I have to eat one more piece of pizza..."*
I seriously laughed out loud.
"No, it's not pizza. It's pasta and bread. We just left the restaurant; it's still warm."
"Oh, okay. I'll give it a try, I guess. Sure you don't got any change? Anything?" he asked in a last attempt.
"Sorry...I hope this food blesses you tonight."
I watched as he walked down the street opening the bag.
*Ironically, the last time Daniel and I were in Chicago several years ago, we gave a homeless man our leftover Giordano's pizza.


"Please don't tell me it's pizza..." has been running through my head ever since that night.
I laugh every time I think about it.
I love it that a homeless man was picky about his free food.
It's hard for me to relate to an older gentleman who is wearing tattered clothes and sleeping in doorways or park benches every night.
But his picky-ness struck a chord with me.
He and I, all of a sudden, weren't so different.

The man was going to refuse food, Chicago's renowned deep-dish pizza no less, because he was sick of it.

Reminds me of the Israelites as they bellyached throughout the desert.
Please tell me it's not manna again.
I'm so sick of manna.

Hmmm...also reminds me of, well...me.

How often do I get sick of the manna God sends down to me each morning?
Fresh blessings to sustain me throughout the day that literally fall from Heaven down at my feet.
How many days do I just trample all over them?
Blessings I didn't work for, blessings I didn't earn.
Free manna, free blessing.

But so many days, I refuse.
Instead I hold my hand out, begging the world to fill me with something that just leads to a deeper emptiness.

So, thank you, Mr. Homeless Man in Chicago.
Your words were like a cold splash of water in my face.
You reminded me that God always miraculously provides and that I am rarely thankful for any of it.

Ever since that night on the streets of Chicago, I have started praying for gratefulness.
To hunger for it --  physically crave it.

I want to eat that deep-dish of blessing God keeps handing me morning after morning, day after day.
Because the more I look around me, the more I realize we're all begging and hungry for something.
And until we fully give our life to Christ, aren't we're all homeless?

Hang-on January!

I have been trying sooooo hard to get a list of resolutions down for 2011. In my mind, if I don't have it laid-out before February rolls around, it'll never happen.

So.

I did it.

In just the nick of time.

Whew.

Personal Goals

• Invest significant time with children in need (orphans / foster children).
• To not watch a single minute of American Idol this season.
• Give food to a homeless man or woman on the side of the road.
• Read through the Bible in a year. (I'm already trucking through Deuteronomy thanks to starting back in December!)
• Go to a concert.
• Not get a speeding ticket.
• No more wearing tennis shoes unless going to the zoo or park ('cause let's face it, they're sure not being worn to work-out!).
  
• Try a new recipe once a month.
  

Aubrey Goals

• Get her potty trained.
• Get rid of the papi (pacifier).
• Pick a scripture to be "Aubrey's" verse that I pray for her every day.
  
• Convert the loft to a playroom.
• Ditch the diaper bag.
  

Family Goals

• Go to an amusement park.
• Go on a trip with Daniel.
  
• Finish our family's 2010 blog-book.
• Use our video camera to capture every day moments once a week.

Almost put on the list, but let's be honest, it's not going to happen:

• Exercise and/or eat better.
• Stop biting my nails.
• Figure out what all the buttons on my camera actually do.
  

I'll be checking in periodically throughout the year to update my progress and status.

Let's hear it for twenty-eleven!