Thirty-three Things

Yesterday was my 33rd birthday.

For me, a birthday is like New Year's - a great time to set some resolutions and goals. I've been pondering all month what I'd like to accomplish before I turned 34. While waiting after school for the kids to get to the car, I would pull out my notebook and write. This is the list I came up with, thirty-three things I would like to accomplish this year:

Spiritual

1. Develop a meaningful and consistent personal scripture study program.
2. Keep the Sabbath Day holy in a more complete, meaningful way.
3. Increase my temple attendance.
4. With my family's participation, develop a more meaningful and consistent Family Home Evening program.
5. Memorize 12 new hymns.
6. Develop and implement a plan to study general conference talks between conferences.
7. Memorize the Book of Mormon scripture mastery scriptures (involve the boys).
8. Improve my Visiting Teaching.
9. Develop and implement a plan to be better prepared for Sunday lessons.

Health
10. Develop a plan to lose weight and increase my fitness through healthy eating and exercise. Reach the weight that is ideal for my body and work to maintain it.

Home
11. Develop a good system for food storage and meal planning.
12. Provide an environment conducive to academic success for daily homework.
13. Be a better homemaker. Create a plan for better housekeeping and stick to it.
14. Organize my cook book; learn 12 new recipes.

Marriage
15. Set important financial goals and create a plan to achieve them.
16. Go on a vacation together.
17. Find and implement new ways to honor Josh daily.

Children
18. Keep a journal for each child. Be as consistent as possible.
19. Study out each child's love language. Find ways to fill their buckets daily.
20. Implement consistent study of Preach My Gospel with the boys.
21. Increase my volunteering at school.

Educational
22. Read 12 new books.
23. Plan for finishing college. Research degree requirements and financial aid. Create a timeline for submitting applications, a start date and graduation.

Personal
24. Keep a daily, one-line journal.
25. Maintain a planner and use it regularly.

Dance
26. Seek out and implement methods to build the confidence and self-worth of my dancers.
27. Be 100% prepared for every class, rehearsal and private lesson.
28. Create an environment for my competitive dancers that is healthy, positive, and team-building.

Crafty
29. Submit to 12 publication calls.
30. Complete Adlyn's nursery/the craft room.
31. Be a better blogger and blog-reader. Post consistently. Comment regularly.
32. Make a birthday card for each member of my immediate family and send them out ahead of time.
33. Purchase a sewing machine and learn how to use it.

Some goals I have already started on. Some I will start working on today. I'll put the rest into action as I develop good habits and am ready. I am posting this list publicly so that I can be held accountable. I intend to revisit this list with you for updates. Some of these goals will have crafty projects related to them, and I'll be sure to share.

Thanks for the birthday wishes on Facebook and Instagram, by email, text and in person. There's nothing like a birthday to make you feel special :). Have a good one! Tessa

Wrap it Up Wednesday - SRM Stickers and DCWV

A friend was celebrating her birthday recently, so I made a card and wrapped up a box of Girl Scout cookies for her ;).

I made the card with the Magnolia Way stack by DCWV. This stack includes some sheets of paper that have a different design on each quarter, so I simply cut out the 6 x 6 piece that I wanted for the background, then fussy-cut the matching flower from another sheet. The sentiment is by SRM Stickers.

I also used SRM Stickers to cover the wrapped box. After I tied the grosgrain ribbon bow, I added stickers here and there to make it a bit more festive. 

All in all, it was a quick project to put together the card and package. I loved using SRM Stickers and DCWV to get the job done :).

My 4th grader is competing in the county spelling bee today. He won at his school, then the district level. I have no idea what to expect tomorrow, but I know one thing for certain - I am more nervous than he is! It's been hard to get his nose out of a book long enough for him to study, so who knows what will happen?! I just hope he enjoys the experience. Hopefully your day isn't filled with nervous butterflies! Thanks for stopping by :). Tessa

Happy Birthday, Honey!

To celebrate your birthday, Josh, the boys and I interviewed each other about what we love most about you and decided to write this blog post :).

Jaxon: Since he can't speak yet, we're going to say he loves snuggling to sleep with Daddy at night, wrestling, and hiding his pacifier from you.

Carson: "He's good at getting money. I love that he fixes cars. I love him so much."

Colten: "I love that he plays computer games with me and sometimes helps me.  He makes good paper airplanes and paper boats."

Me: "I love that he is a regular, down-to-earth, loving, goofy, guy.  I love that he works hard for our family, teaches his children the gospel, honors the priesthood, and loves us more than anything else in the world."

Happy birthday, honey! WE LOVE YOU!