Reflecting on 2008

A friend of mine suggested that instead of looking at the old year, agonizing over all the things we did or didn't do, and then resolving to change everything in 2009, we should examine all the great things we accomplished in 2008. While I'm still in favor of resolutions and setting goals, I think that reflecting on the positive things that have happened this past year is a wonderful idea. So here's my list: 1. First and most importantly, we gave birth to our third baby, sweet little Averi Noelle. She is such a wonderful blessing to us and I can't imagine what we would do without her. 2. Katie is completely potty trained. Now only 2 left in diapers! She can also recognize both upper- and lowercase letters, can write a few of them, and can spell the names of everyone in her family. 3. Paul welcomed his baby sister without any jealousy. He also knows his colors, is learning to sing, and speaks quite well. 4. Aaron received a promotion at work and still continues to enjoy his job--a major accomplishment for most! 5. The paper that Aaron wrote for his Masters thesis was accepted for publication. 6. We purchased a "new" van this year, and we were able to pay for it in cash so we could avoid going into debt. 7. We were amazingly lucky to be able to take several wonderful vacations: New York, Vermont, Minnesota, Las Vegas, and Utah. Our parents (who still spoil us) helped us out and allowed us to go by ourselves (sans kids!) on many of these trips. 8. I continued to improve my scrapbooking skills and was accepted to several of my dream creative teams. 9. I increased my photography skills and took many photos that I love. 10. I planted my first garden, and we reaped a bumper crop of zucchini. The xeric garden that I planted is also thriving and made a wonderful addition to our backyard. There are so many more wonderful things that occurred in this past year; these are simply highlights. I also have a few resolutions that I will be working on for this coming year: 1. I am going to focus on spending mindfully rather than impulsively. 2. I am going to continue to exercise regularly and eat healthfully so that I can take care of my body and be a good example to my children. While I have other ideas of areas that I need to improve on, I'm going to limit the number of "resolutions" I make so as not to discourage myself. I've set specific goals for each of these resolutions so that I will know when I'm making progress. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing that you are improving in areas that are difficult for you. How was 2008 for you? What wonderful things happened? Do you have resolutions for 2009? I'd love to read your posts about them!