a new year | 2010

Here’s to wishing the best of new years to everyone that we know and love. We hope that your Christmas was merry and bright. We hope that 2010 is all that you wish it to be ... and more.

With the coming of each new year, it is a tradition of sorts for so many to make new resolutions. Resolutions for their families, for their homes, for their selves. Our family is no different – however we tend to call them ‘New Years Goals’ rather than the more common ‘New Years Resolutions’. Here are ours in no particular order – the goals of the Thomases Three – as they stand here and now:

[Brian] finish Graduate school \ read one non-school-related book for pleasure

[Stacy] learn to use the manual settings on her camera and begin to use it solely when shooting \ exercise more regularly \ drink less Sunkist \ decide what to do with her photography and design skills \ find more joy in her current situation (better organizing her home, making more room, maintaining all of the above) \ read at least six books that she has not read before \ catch up on our family scrapbooks and Ammon's scrapbook

[Ammon] only go to the corner three times a week \ go to Nursery at church and stay there by himself \ ditch the bink

[Family] add family scripture study to our family prayer and Happy Home Feeling (Family Home Evening) routine \ expand our food storage

So far, Ammon has been the most successful. Wednesday, December 30th, we were at Wal-Mart late at night getting some things after we left from visiting family. Ammon left his binky someplace at Wal-Mart. Ammon has slept all night without it ever since. Ammon has not asked for it once. Ammon is bink-less. Almost as if he just made the decision at Wal-Mart that he no longer wanted it – he has been doing wonderfully without his beloved bink.

My goals are broad and distinctive. All will be difficult for me personally to do. Which one do I expect to fail r.o.y.a.l.l.y at? Ditching Sunkist. Yes. Forget all the other more difficult goals to reach. Drinking less orange fizz will be my Achilles’ heel. Without a doubt.

Brian’s goals are the largest, obviously. Finishing school – or this leg of it, at least – will be a very big deal. A very, very big deal for all of us.

These are the things that we plan to work on this year. Who knows if we will be successful at all of them. Who knows if we will be successful at any of them. But – here’s to trying.

Happy New Year, everybody. Here's to a fabulous 2010.