2013

So last year this was my new years resolution post, have a better relationship with Heavenly Father, be positive and get fit.  How did I do this year?
I feel that my relationship with my Father in Heaven is always growing and will never be perfect in this life but I do feel that I was able to turn to Him a lot this year and to ask for His assistance in my life.  I also was more cognizant of His hand in my life and the way things worked the way He wanted and maybe not the way I first thought was best.  I have appreciated being able to see this in my life.
Be positive... I think this one happened and didn't happen depending on the day.  Some days it is easy to be positive and some it is harder but on average, I do feel that I am finding the silver lining in more situations this year than last.  One positive thing for me has been this pregnancy... Yes, there are things that I can complain about, but I don't feel the need to because it is such a great experience being pregnant.  Sometimes it is hard to know how to explain this to others because, yes, I am pregnant and yes, that is not always easy and sometimes I am sore or hurting or tired but I really have been blessed to have a great pregnancy overall and the things that I have had to deal with, all women deal with- so I haven't seen a point in complaining to anyone except Scott.  I guess I have been more aware of the blessings in my life this year.  Other positives are very obvious to see this year; getting pregnant, getting midwives, getting a fulltime permanent job doing what I love to do, Scott was able to finish his Master's a semester early, got TA positions for the semester to supplement our income, got a job teaching college for three classes in Red Deer and TA classes in Calgary at the UofC, the baby has been super healthy, Huckles has not died from all of his fiascos, we have been able to live in our house the entire year without too many house issues, we have been able to get ready for the little one AND Calgary was able to welcome its own temple which we have been able to go to and I was able to volunteer at.
Family has also been a blessing this year.  I think that when things go wrong, it makes you notice family so much more so and this was true for us with Ian's heart attack and subsequent quintuple bypass surgery.  The family really came together to support him and we were able to have Linda stay with us for over a month.  We also were able to see Diane again shortly after she had visited and went back home.  It was great to have the family all close and really working together towards a common goal, although we couldn't do anything physically for Ian.  Other family blessings have been the announcements of babies which always brings family close.  Crystal blogged about her upcoming little one here.
A few other blessings this year:
Scott and I were able to go on a Temple vacation where we saw seven temples in seven days and actually did work in six of those.
Matt and Katie moved to Strathmore and are closer to us.
An electric piano to practice on for myself and to teach my kidos how to play one day.
A new vehicle and selling two older ones.
New friends and better friendships with those around us- we have made some really close friends at church and from Scott's school years, etc.
Overall, we have really been blessed this year and I truly appreciated and still appreciate all the blessings that I have been made aware of.
Third goal- Be more fit... well, I have gained a lot of weight but before that we were really working on this and I had slimmed down doing Insanity.  I have pictures of when we started and then about two months later when I found out I was pregnant and the second ones are more defined.  During this pregnancy, I have had the opportunity to really work on my health as I have had to increase certain foods, decrease others and keep track of vitamins and protein intake.  I was also able to work on my health before the baby by all of the things that I had to do to update boosters, etc.  Although I do not look like I was thinking I would when I made the goal, I am feeling healthy and fit for where I am at.

Looking forward to the next year, many of my goals are similar.  I want to continue to work on my fitness, especially after the baby comes.  I don't need to be the weight I was beforehand because the weight isn't the big issue- it is the fitness level that I want to be back to what it was and also abs, as I have heard that this is a weak area after pregnancy.  Another goal is to work on my spirituality, specifically around lesson planning for Young Women classes and this has been made easier for me with the new curriculum for the youth which asks for more prep work and less reading from the manual.  Another difference is that we can't use any extras- no object lessons that I have found on the internet- which will make it more about the spirit for which I am grateful.  And my third goal is to be a better wife and find what my way of motherhood looks like with the help of the Lord.  I guess I am still trying to find joy in the journey and to improve my relationship with my Father in Heaven but those are goals that I will always be working on, just like becoming the mother, wife, daughter, sister and person that the Lord wants me to become.
So, that is it folks- the New Years Resolution for 2013 and I hope that I will be able to look back at the end of this year and see the great things that have happened to make 2013 amazing.
Hope you all had a great year!