Some goals for 2017!

I've been thinking a lot about a few goals and plans that I'm especially excited about for this coming year!

-Learning how to listen.

I want to learn how to listen to God! I want to learn to just clear my mind and hear what He has for me. Whether that be thoughts or feelings or a sense of peace. Too often I cloud my mind with endless to-do lists or lists of my own wants, or just noise of all kinds. I also want to be better at sincerely listening to those I communicate with.

-Cooking regularly! 

We were talking with some other married friends recently and the wives were joking about how their husbands gained some weight when they first got married. I was kind of confused by that....and then it struck me! That happens when a wife actually cooks for her husband! hahahaha! That's when I realized that I really haven't cooked much recently (...like in the past year)! But I've already started doing it more often, and I'm looking forward to learning new recipes!

-Becoming a certified Childbirth Educator!

I'm really excited about this! I've loved my studies at BYU in the School of Family Life department, but until recently, I wasn't quite sure which direction I wanted to take with this. I'm interested in Marriage Family Therapy, but becoming an MFT would require graduate school, and I've wanted to have a plan of what I could do in my field without the requirement of graduate school. Recently the pieces just came together in my mind, and I realized that childbirth education is something I'm really passionate about. I get all excited when people ask me about my experience with Eli's birth, and our Childbirth Educator made a big difference in our experience. I'd like to do the same for other couples! I believe that being educated and making informed decision can really make a difference. And I really believe that birth can be a beautiful and positive experience, rather than a scary or traumatic one. 

-Reading great books! 

I've been on a bit of a book buying spree lately  (if buying over 20 books in the last couple of weeks counts as a spree...haha). I'm looking forward to educating myself about lots of different topics through reading! I've got some biographies, some parenting books, some historical fiction, some books just for fun, and a book about how to make baby food! 

I love how invigorating it is to set new and realistic goals. I believe that God wants us to progress! To learn, grow, improve, and experience joy all along the way! I'm looking forward to another year of learning:) 

Hooray for another year!