Yet Another Year Goes By

I have a confession…today I am another year older. I am now comfortably sitting in my 30s wondering how did I get here? Each year continues to get faster, whipping by before I can even embrace my new age. I love where I am in life. it is beautiful and chaotic. I am exactly where I want to be. Married to an amazing and supportive husband and mother to two intelligently wicked children. This past year has given me good and bad experiences.  Each experience has given me the ability to grow and gain greater understanding. I am wiser. I am older. I am looking forward to the next year.

With that being said I am writing out goals to accomplish within the next year. These goals are not only personal attempts to better myself but also fun goals to make the most out of life.

1. Work on my patience. I have absolutely no patience. I think this has greatly hindered my ability as a mother. I am so quick to freak out that many times I know this is only hurting my children. I need to take my time. I need to remember that these beautiful souls are still babies and learning. My greatest joy is being a mother. I want to be able to calmly look at a situation and work through it with my children with ease.
2. Learn how to play the piano. I took piano lessons for a split second when I was 13. I was able to play a few songs and then I quit. I know how to read music but the two hands playing different notes at the same time, mind-blowing! I have a beautiful piano and want to be able to play beautiful music on it and then be able to teach my children.     
3. Explore more. My girls are 5 and 4. I want to take them on more adventures. To see Greenfield Village, museums, nature walks, shipwrecks, waterfalls. Whatever it is I want them to have the love of exploring and learning about the things around us.
4. Read more informative books. I am such a book lover. I always have been. Classics, girl lit, suspense. Pretty much anything that grabs my attention and I will read it. However I have a number of books that focus on parenting and personal struggles that have been collecting dust on my shelves. I want to be well informed. I want to be better educated. These books have the possibility to give me tips and strategies to make my life easier.
5. Focus on my relationship with God. I have yet again faltered. I am not sure if the death of my father has set me back but I have fallen. This is the goal that is so vital for my life. I need to draw closer to God especially during this time.
6. Date my husband. Hopefully my husband is reading this. We are a month away from being married for ten years and since children we have had a difficult time setting aside time for just us. This next year I want more me and him time. I want game nights, movie nights, dinner dates, driving around aimlessly. I want to be able to talk uninterrupted. I want to gush over our children when they are not around. I know this is a challenging one. But I think he totally deserves to spend more time with me!
7. Practice with my wonderful new (to me) camera. My love for photography has always been there but I only really started exploring with my picture taking abilities since 2013. Up to this point all of my pictures have been taken with my iPhone. However my husband just bought me an actual camera! I have never been so excited. I can not wait to learn about the camera and take stellar pictures of my life!

So I think that is a good start. It may be a short list but with the year going quickly, it gives me plenty to do until I turn 34!

Wish me luck as I start my journey as a thirty-three year old!