One Little Word for 2009

A few years ago I heard about the concept of choosing a word for the year to help you focus on something you wanted to change or do or just that pertained to your life. Ali Edwards was the start of it back in 2007. She's doing it again for 2009. You can check out her blog to see what she is choosing for 2009 & why & also to enter a giveaway that she is holding about it.


If you decide to really jump in to this project, you may want to check out the One Little Word blog. They even had a Flickr group so you can share photos. The blog gives you lots of different ways to have your word front & center with some pretty neat projects.


So, what's my word?

~~FAMILY~~

And why did I pick that particular word? Let me share. But first, let's define it...


The online version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary states that a family is...

1: a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head :

They have seven more definitions, but the first one is really what I'm looking at. Just to see how it would relate, I looked up "family" in the 1828 Webster Dictionary as well. Here is how it was defined then...

1. The collective body of persons who live in one house and under one head or manager; a household, including parents, children and servants, and as the case may be, lodgers or boarders.

Again, I chose just the first definition. There were five more there.


As 2009 starts tomorrow, I want my family to be my focus. I fear that for too long, I've allowed others things and people to be my focus - including myself. I see how my children react & act towards each other & my heart hurts too often. I want our time at home to be enjoyable. I want my sons to grow up to be best friends. I want our time together to be full of fun memories.


So my focus for 2009 will be my family. I can't wait.

Homeschool Memoirs #19 - Goals for 2009

Read more lists HERE.

THEME
This week I want to set our minds on setting some goals for next year, whether personal, for the whole family, or for school.

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I'm actually going to share three lists - some for the family, some for me, & some pertaining to school. This is something I've actually just started thinking about so some of these are ones I'm definitely planning to do & others are a work in progress.

For School

• Enjoy the school day with the boys - don't worry about "getting done"
• Plan out the next semester & include vacation days
• Have fun - live what I teach other moms
• Challenge them more
• Develop a "life skills" list & begin teaching them these skills

For the Family

• More family meals - make this a priority at least twice a week
• Evaluate outside activities to be sure we aren't overextending - evaluate reasons/purposes
• Implement a weekly family game night
• Plan a family vacation

For Myself

• Get at least eight hours of sleep every night
• Exercise 30-60 minutes a day at least five days a week
• Drink more water
• Eat better - healthier foods
• Implement a daily devotional time (goal: read through the Bible in a year - at least once)
• Spend more time listening to the boys & less time on the computer
• Reevaluate all my outside activities & let go those that no longer meet my needs or cause too much stress in our week
• Work on learning the guitar & relearning the piano
• Sing more

I'm very much looking forward to 2009. I don't always look forward to a new year. This year I am very much looking towards the beginning of 2009 & seeing all the wonderful possibilities it holds. I'm excited to see the changes come to our family. In 2009 I will have a teenager (B will turn 13 in August). I will be another year closer to turning 40. My "baby" will be turning five in a few short weeks. My middle son is heading towards becoming a "tween" super fast. We'll begin work on clearing land for our new home (which will hopefully be completed by 2012). Exciting times are ahead.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This is my pray for 2009.