New Year's Resolutions

To those of you few (read -- parents and grandparents!) who actually read and follow my blog: I'm posting my resolutions mostly so you can be praying for me this year. How can I be specifically praying for you?

The Holy Spirit has been working on my heart the last several months, so I've had no trouble coming up with many resolutions for the New Year. Tomorrow, I am 20 weeks pregnant with our third child, and the reality of this "change" is beginning to sink in. I'm hoping these resolutions will help 2013 be a year marked by a closer walk with the Lord, spiritually sensitive children, and marriage/ home that honors the Lord.

Parenting:
1.  Use more positive reinforcement and praise. Abigail is a very helpful soon to be four year old. She is sweet, kind and a blessing. I find that I am often too hard on her, dwelling on her flaws and sin problem areas and not praising her for her growth, maturity and helpfulness.

2.  Be more consistent :) I think this is most important for Hannah because she's just learning about actions and consequences. Practically for me, this means getting off of facebook and the Ipad!

3.   Do regular morning devotions with the girls. This is something I actually resolved to do in late 2012 and started in November. Over the holidays, I fell out of my routine so it will be good to start afresh.

4.  Work on pre-reading skills with Abigail consistently!!!

Keeping the Home:
1. Declutter! I have a serious problem with stashing, and I have more than one "junk drawer" in my home. My girls also have tubs and tubs of clothes, many that they don't wear or never will wear. I have my work cut out for me. Thankfully, we addressed some problem areas in our home over the Christmas holiday, so I'm off to a good start!

2. Eat more vegetables and beans! This was my resolution last year and will probably have to be a resolution for the rest of my life because I prefer fruit, grains, meat and dairy.

3.  Incorporate some new, healthy recipes into our monthly meal plan.

4.  Start and finish Hannah's baby book before the new baby arrives in May :)

5.  Get caught up (aka: start and finish) family photo albums that I am WAY behind on.

Personal:
1. Spend "meaningful" time with the Lord each day. The legalistic aspect of reading my Bible has never been a problem, but I do tend to treat my relationship with the Lord as a checkmark on a long to-do list. This year, I want to spend more time in prayer and less time on the internet.
      What is prayer? Prayer is praising God! (I've had Abigail's catechism songs in my head!)

2. Exercise! We actually bought a treadmill this year as our Christmas gift to eachother. With each of my two previous pregnancies, I struggled with high blood pressure at the end, even though I kept my weight in check and exercised regular. So I REALLY need to make similar healthy choices with this pregnancy.

3.  Encourage my husband! We lead a very full life, which often leaves me tired.  My default personality when tired isn't often encouraging and positive.

4.  Spend more time reading. :)

That is not an exhaustive list, but it's a good start. I'm so thankful that the Lord promises that He will complete the good work that He has started in me.