Resolutions

Selfie on our "date" day

On New Years Eve we went to the Masts house and celebrated with the Masts and Mabrys. We have done this several years and I love spending New Years with friends! My parents had the kids New years Eve until lunchtime on Jan. 2. So we had all day on Friday to ourselves. It was difficult to decide what to do. Go to a movie? Out to dinner? Hang out at Starbucks? Too cold to go walking. So we did......nothing! In fact, we wore pajamas all day! We sat by the fire, ate leftovers, played Lords of Waterdeep, Heroes of Might and Magic, watched football, and read our books. It was a glorious day! Who knew doing nothing would be so awesome!

Magna-tiles

For Christmas, Matthew received Magna-tiles. It is the only thing he asked for. He LOVES them! He plays with them all the time with Sarah and even Jenna plays with them. It's a really great toy for him since he is a builder. He wants to be a "fixer" when he grows up. He'll also be a great "builder".

Jenna playing with magna-tiles

 Every night at dinner we read a question from a question bowl for our family to discuss. A few nights ago our question was, if you could eat dinner with three people alive or dead, who would it be. I though the answers were pretty hilarious:
Erik: Jesus, Tom Petty, and Gina
Gina: Jesus, Corrie Ten Boom, and Vin (from Mistborn)
Jenna: Jesus, Harry Potter, and Luke Skywalker
Sarah: Jesus, Jenna, and Peter
Matthew: Joel, Megan, and Darth Vader
we are all praying for Matthew....

Commissioned

 We were part of a kickstarter campaign for a cooperative Bible-based strategy game called Commissioned. We played it as a family even though it listed the ages as 14+.Well - Sarah had a hard time with it and Matthew didn't really play. I guess sometimes 14+ really does mean 14+. Jenna did fine. We ended up losing but still had fun.

One rings

I make bread every week - maybe 2-4 loaves. So I take of my wedding ring since there are several nooks and crannies (the technical term) that bread dough can get stuck in. Often I'm not wearing a ring for a week or so at a time because I forget to put it back on. So Erik and I decided to buy new wedding rings without nooks and crannies. And (obviously) we opted for the one ring. Now we have matching One Rings and I can make bread while still being married!

My new years goals/resolutions are:

1. No library fines. This will be the most difficult of all my goals. In fact, Erik laughed when I suggested this one.
2. Memorize a verse a week. We have post-it notes on our refrigerator with Bible verses and the girls are really good at memorizing! 
3. Lose the few pounds I gained over the holidays and maintain my weight under 123. 
4. Buy another rental house. We are looking for a new house but will most likely have to take out a mortgage. We want to leave the home equity line in case we want to buy land (which apparently  you can not take out a mortgage for!)
5. Enjoy every minute of my life! I'm not getting any younger.
6. Go on a weekend trip with Erik.
7. Sell more at a craft show.
8. Be early taking the kids to school.
9. Figure out how to grow zucchini without the squash beetle killing all of it.
10. Get more sleep